“The Lord would speak to Moses face to face…”

“No one can see my face and live”

“Moses had married a Cushite woman, and Miriam and Aaron criticized him for it. They said, ‘Has the LORD spoken only through Moses? Hasn’t he also spoken through us?’ The LORD heard what they said. (Moses was a humble man, more humble than anyone else on earth.) Suddenly the LORD said to Moses, Aaron, and Miriam, ‘I want the three of you to come out to the Tent of my presence.’ They went, (Numbers 12:1-4 GNB)

and the LORD came down in a pillar of cloud, stood at the entrance of the Tent, and called out, ‘Aaron! Miriam!’ The two of them stepped forward, and the LORD said, ‘Now hear what I have to say! When there are prophets among you, I reveal myself to them in visions and speak to them in dreams. It is different when I speak with my servant Moses; I have put him in charge of all my people Israel. So I speak to him face-to-face, clearly and not in riddles; he has even seen my form! How dare you speak against my servant Moses?’” (Numbers 12:5-8 GNB)

“After Moses had gone in, the pillar of cloud would come down and stay at the door of the Tent, and the LORD would speak to Moses from the cloud. As soon as the people saw the pillar of cloud at the door of the Tent, they would bow down. The LORD would speak with Moses face-to-face, just as someone speaks with a friend.” (Exodus 33:9-11 GNB)

“Then Moses requested, ‘Please, let me see the dazzling light of your presence.’ The LORD answered, ‘I will make all my splendor pass before you and in your presence I will pronounce my sacred name. I am the LORD, and I show compassion and pity on those I choose. I will not let you see my face, because no one can see me and stay alive, but here is a place beside me where you can stand on a rock. When the dazzling light of my presence passes by, I will put you in an opening in the rock and cover you with my hand until I have passed by. Then I will take my hand away, and you will see my back but not my face.’” (Exodus 33:18-23 GNB)

“There has never been another prophet in Israel like Moses, whom the LORD dealt with face to face.” (Deuteronomy 34:10-12 GW)

“When there are prophets among you, I reveal myself to them in visions and speak to them in dreams. It is different when I speak with my servant Moses….I speak to him face-to-face, clearly and not in riddles; he has even seen my form!’” (Numbers 12:5-8 GNB)

PROPHETS

VisionsDreamsRiddlesDark Speech

MOSES

Face to face Intimately In personPlain speechClear knowledge

of God’s character

“I speak to him intimately, in person, in plain talk without riddles…” (Numbers 12:8 MSG)

“With him will I speak mouth to mouth, even apparently, and not in dark speeches…” (Numbers 12:8 KJV)

LXXM – “Stoma”

Wesley’s notes: “Mouth to mouth” - That is, distinctly…

not by an interpreter, nor by shadows and representations…as it is in visions and dreams; and familiarly.”

JFB Bible Commentary “With him will I speak mouth to mouth-

immediately, not by an interpreter, nor by visionary symbols…not in dark speeches-parables”

“The emphasis of the line is clear enough – it begins literally ‘mouth to mouth’ I will speak with him. In human communication this would mean equality of rank, but Moses is certainly not equal in rank with the Lord. And yet God is here stating that Moses has an immediacy and directness in communication with God. It goes beyond the idea of friendship, almost to that of a king’s confidant.”

“The term 'face to face‘…is rather a general assessment of Moses' greater familiarity and intimacy with God. Moses had a greater grasp of the divine than any other human being. Metaphorically speaking, his relationship with God was similar to that of friends who become closely acquainted with one another.”

“A figure of speech to describe intimate association, friendship shared.”

“Tell them how the LORD spoke to you from the fire, how you heard him speaking but did not see him in any form at all.” (Deuteronomy 4:12 GNB)

“There on the mountain the LORD spoke to you face-to-face from the fire. I stood between you and the LORD at that time to tell you what he said, because you were afraid of the fire and would not go up the mountain.” (Deuteronomy 5:4-5 GNB)

“Then Moses requested, ‘Please, let me see the dazzling light of your presence.’ The LORD answered, ‘I will make all my splendor pass before you and in your presence I will pronounce my sacred name.” (Exodus 33:18-19 GNB)

“The LORD came down in a cloud, stood with him there, and pronounced his holy name, the LORD. The LORD then passed in front of him and called out, ‘I, the LORD, am a God who is full of compassion and pity, who is not easily angered and who shows great love and faithfulness. I keep my promise for thousands of generations and forgive evil and sin…” (Exodus 34:5-7 GNB)

“The LORD is righteous. He loves a righteous way of life. Decent (virtuous, honest, upright) people will see his face.” (Psalms 11:7 GW)

Humility: “It is Pride which has been the chief cause of

misery in every nation and every family since the world began...As long as you are proud you cannot know God. A proud man is always looking down on things and people: and, of course, as long as you are looking down, you cannot see something that is above you.” ▪ C.S. Lewis

Other centered love: “Please forgive their sin; but if you

won’t then remove my name from the book in which you have written the names of your people.” (Exodus 32:32)

Friendship, intimacy and honesty with God: “Then Moses turned to the LORD again

and said, ‘Lord, why do you mistreat your people? Why did you send me here? Ever since I went to the king to speak for you, he has treated them cruelly. And you have done nothing to help them!’” (Exodus 5:22-23 GNB)

“…and he said to the LORD, ‘Why have you treated me so badly? Why are you displeased with me? Why have you given me the responsibility for all these people? I didn't create them or bring them to birth! Why should you ask me to act like a nurse and carry them in my arms like babies all the way to the land you promised to their ancestors? Where could I get enough meat for all these people? They keep whining and asking for meat. I can't be responsible for all these people by myself; it's too much for me! If you are going to treat me like this, have pity on me and kill me, so that I won't have to endure your cruelty any longer.’”(Numbers 11:11-15 GNB)

“Now, don't try to stop me. I am angry with them, and I am going to destroy them. Then I will make you and your descendants into a great nation.” (Exodus 32:10 GNB)

“Please forgive their sin; but if you won’t then remove my name from the book in which you have written the names of your people.” (Exodus 32:32)

“Go to that land flowing with milk and honey. But I will not be with you, because you are impossible to deal with, and I might destroy you on the way.” (Exodus 33:3)

“Moses replied, ‘If you do not go with us, don't make us leave this place. How will anyone know that you are pleased with your people and with me if you do not go with us? Your presence with us will distinguish us from any other people on earth.’” (Exodus 33:15-16 GNB)

“…he will send you a prophet like me from among your own people, and you are to obey him. On the day that you were gathered at Mount Sinai, you begged not to hear the LORD speak again or to see his fiery presence any more, because you were afraid you would die. So the LORD said to me, 'They have made a wise request. I will send them a prophet like you from among their own people; I will tell him what to say, and he will tell the people everything I command.” (Deuteronomy 18:14-18 GNB)

“No one has ever seen God. But the unique One, who is Himself God, is near to the Father's heart. He has revealed God to us.” (John 1:18 NLT)

“The Son radiates God's own glory and expresses the very character of God…” (Hebrews 1:3 NLT)

Humility “I am meek and humble of heart.”

(Matthew 11:29) Other centered love

“Father forgive them…” Friendship and intimacy

“I do not call you servants any longer…Instead, I call you friends…” (John 15:15)

“May they be in us, just as you are in me and I am in you…” (John 17:21)

“Satan, who is the god of this world, has blinded the minds of those who don't believe. They are unable to see the glorious light of the Good News. They don't understand this message about the glory of Christ, who is the exact likeness of God...For God, who said, ’Let there be light in the darkness,’ has made this light shine in our hearts so we could know the glory of God that is seen in the face of Jesus Christ.” (2 Corinthians 4:4-6 NLT)

“The historic Christian doctrine of the divinity of Christ does not simply mean that Jesus is like God. It is far more radical than that. It means that God is like Jesus.” -- D. Elton Trueblood

“I have told you these things in parables (veiled language, allegories, dark sayings); the hour is now coming when I shall no longer speak to you in figures of speech, but I shall tell you about the Father in plain words and openly (without reserve).” (John 16:25 - Amplified)

“I have been speaking to you in parables - but the time is coming to give up parables and tell you plainly about the Father. When that time comes, you will make your requests to him in my own name, for I need make no promise to plead (intercede) to the Father for you…

for the Father himself loves you…” (John 16:25-30, JB Phillips).

“Moses wore a veil…Only Christ can get rid of the veil …Whenever, they turn to face God as Moses did, God removes the veil and there they are--face to face! They suddenly recognize that God is a living, personal presence, not a piece of chiseled stone. Nothing between us and God, our faces shining with the brightness of his face. And so we are transfigured much like the Messiah, our lives gradually becoming brighter and more beautiful as God enters our lives and we become like him.” (2 Corinthians 3:13-18 MSG)

“They will see his face, and his name will be written on their foreheads.” (Revelation 22:4 GNB)

“But friends, that's exactly who we are: children of God. And that's only the beginning. Who knows how we'll end up! What we know is that when Christ is openly revealed, we'll see him--and in seeing him, become like him.” (1 John 3:2 MSG)

“Amidst the solemn majesty of the mountain solitudes Moses was alone with God. Everywhere the Creator’s name was written. Moses seemed to stand in His presence and to be overshadowed by His power. Here his self-sufficiency was swept away. In the presence of the Infinite One he realized how weak, how inefficient, how short-sighted, is man. Here Moses gained that which went with him throughout the years of his toilsome and care-burdened life--a sense of the personal presence of the Divine One. Not merely did he look down the ages for Christ to be made manifest in the flesh; he saw Christ accompanying the host of Israel in all their travels. When misunderstood and misrepresented, when called to bear reproach and insult, to face danger and death, he was able to endure "as seeing Him who is invisible." Hebrews 11:27

“Moses did not merely think of God, he saw Him. God was the constant vision before him. Never did he lose sight of His face. To Moses faith was no guesswork; it was a reality. He believed that God ruled his life in particular; and in all its details he acknowledged Him. For strength to withstand every temptation, he trusted in Him. The great work assigned him he desired to make in the highest degree successful, and he placed his whole dependence upon divine power. He felt his need of help, asked for it, by faith grasped it, and in the assurance of sustaining strength went forward.

“Such was the experience that Moses gained by his forty years of training in the desert. To impart such an experience, Infinite Wisdom counted not the period too long or the price too great…The highest testimony to the greatness of Moses, the judgment passed upon his life by Inspiration, is, ‘There arose not a prophet since in Israel like unto Moses, whom the Lord knew face to face.’ Deuteronomy 34:10.” (Education, pg. 63,64)