The Weight of Glory

John 1:14

¹⁴ And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.

Exodus 24:16-17

¹⁶ The glory of the Lord dwelt on Mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it six days. And on the seventh day he called to Moses out of the midst of the cloud. ¹⁷ Now the appearance of the glory of the Lord was like a devouring fire on the top of the mountain in the sight of the people of Israel.

Kavod, the Hebrew word for glory, is heaviness, weighty, denoting supreme authority. For the Jewish nation, the weight of His presence means the reality of His presence. God is REAL! It carries the magnified reality of who God is. God is the God of creation. He is the all devouring, consuming, fire that came down on Mount Sinai. And when He appeared, the Israelites cried out: You go, Moses, to speak to God... they were terrified, in awe. The Mountain was holy ground... approach with awe and holy reverence!

In the New Testament, the Greek word in John 1:14 is Doxa. God inspired John to use this word to related the idea of MORE REAL, MORE WEIGHTY, MORE SUBSTANTIAL... Jesus is the MORE REAL glory of God.

Alan showed the volcanic eruption of Mt. Fuego in Guatemala. Astounding... the force of that eruption pushed ashes and steam clouds to altitudes of 400-600 meters. Imagine that multiplied by who knows how much more to understand what the Israelites witnessed at the foot of Mt Sinai when God's glory appeared to them like a consuming fire on the top of the mountain!?!?! There were fire and thunder and flashes of lightning and sound of trumpet and the mountain shaking and smoking! No wonder they responded with such words to Moses (Exodus 20:19):“You speak to us, and we will listen; but do not let God speak to us, lest we die.”

How do we respond to the weight of God's glory?

1. With Worship & Reverence

2. With An Attitude of Humility

3. With Expectation of His REAL Presence

May we daily have a REAL encounter with the REAl glory of God... I know our lives will be changed-- for REAL!