But, he said, you cannot see my face, for no one may see me and live. The limit on Moses' request: the divine face cannot be seen by the living. The face-to-face friendship of verse 11 and the prohibition on seeing God's face in verse 20 are not contradictions but descriptions of different levels of encounter. Moses speaks with God as a friend; Moses cannot see God's face and survive. 1 Corinthians 13:12 says now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face — the face-to-face knowledge that Moses cannot have while living is the eschatological knowledge promised to those who are in Christ.

COMMUNITY REFLECTIONS

Publish a note on this verse