"The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth." (John 1:14, NIV)

The Old Testament makes a big deal out of God's glory. We're not allowed to see it. Just before Moses receives the Law on Mt. Sinai in Exodus 19:12, God tells him, "You shall set limits for the people all around, saying 'Be careful not to go up the mountain (where God is) or to touch the edge of it. Any who touch the mountain shall be put to death."

Later, after the Golden Calf fiasco, Moses pleads to be able to see God. Not an unreasonable request, it seems, after all the pleading, and intercession Moses has been engaged in for the people with God. "Show me your glory, I pray," Moses says in Ex. 33:18. God says no. But God makes Moses a deal. "You cannot see my face; for no one shall see me and live. ...There is a place by me where you shall stand on the rock; and while my glory passes by I will put you in a cleft of the rock, and I will cover you with my hand until I have passed by; then I will take away my hand, and you shall see my back; but my face shall not be seen." (Ex. 33:20-23)

And that is what God does. Afterward, Moses descends from Mt. Sinai and his face is glowing. "Moses came down from Mount Sinai. As he came down from the mountain with the two tablets of the covenant in his hand, Moses did not know that the skin of his face shone because he had been talking with God." (Ex. 34:29) This just from viewing the BACK SIDE of God, hidden in a cleft of rock, with God's hand covering Moses' eyes!

In Isaiah's great vision of God in chapter 6 of his prophetic book, Isaiah sees Seraphs, special 6-winged angels, hovering new God. In the Hebrew equivalent of underlining, CAPITALIZING, and bolding a phrase for emphasis, they are singing "holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts." Yet even these special attendants of God may not look upon Him. With two wings, they are covering their eyes. (Isa. 6:2)

I can understand why this would be so. Who can look upon God's purity and truth and love. When Isaiah gets a glimpse (in a vision), he cries out in Isa. 6:5, "Woe is me! I am lost, for I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips..."

With that background, John the Evangelist so easily writes, "We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only." So we get to see the glory of God at long last. And live. We had to be prepared. The time was not yet right in the Old Testament. But when God finally revealed His glory, what did it look like? Jesus. And what we see in God's glory is not Law, but grace. And Truth with a capital T. And in seeing, we received grace upon grace.

It was worth the wait.