Go For the Glory
(Part I of 2)
By Dani’el Rendelman
www.findemet.com

Little Johnny had been misbehaving and was sent to his room. He emerged a couple minutes later and informed his mother that he had thought things over and had even said a little prayer. The mother was very happy and said, “If you asked your Heavenly Father to help you not misbehave, He will help you.” To which Johnny replied, “Oh, I didn’t ask Him for help with that, I asked Him to help you put up with me.”

You have to be careful what you pray for. The Almighty answers prayer. So, what are you praying for? Are you praying for the right thing? There is one specific prayer that all believers should utter. It’s the exact prayer that was spoken by Moses and later David. The Savior repeated the same plea. What could be so important that it was prayed for by the Prince of Egypt, the King of Israel, and the Redeemer of all mankind? Let’s read David’s prayer to find out.

“O YHWH; early will I seek You; my soul thirsts for You; my flesh longs for You. In a dry and thirsty land where there is no water. So I have looked for You in the sanctuary, to see Your power and Your glory,” Psalm / Tehillim 63:1-2, NKJV. (*YHWH is the ancient Hebrew name of the Creator, revealed in Exodus 3. This term is used almost 7,000 times throughout the Bible, hidden behind the capitalized terms “LORD” and “GOD.”)

David didn’t pray for a bigger kingdom, more friends, or a new car. David’s petition was to experience the glory of YHWH. David knew how significant the glory was. Indeed, the word “significance” is a good synonym for His glory. YHWH's glory is His significance. It’s what makes Him special, different, powerful, and perfect. The English term “glory” is clouded in mystery. What is glory? Many people would answer that “Glory” is the name of a movie about civil war heroes. Or it’s that feeling of preeminence a winner feels after victory. In the Bible, the word most often translated “glory” is the Hebrew phrase “kavod.” The Hebrew the root word for Kavod is spelled with the letters kof, bet, dalet. In Gematria “kavod” equals the number 26.

Dictionaries agree that YHWH’s kavod is His “weight, attributes, heaviness, significance, praise, power, moral beauty, perfect character, visible presence, and honor.” At certain places in the Bible, the kavod is spoken of as praise to YHWH. Other times the kavod is a physical manifestation, usually seen as light or fire. Mostly though, kavod is seen in the Scriptures as the significance of a person. YHWH’s kavod is the manifestation of who YHWH is. We see this clearly in Moshe’s prayer to see the glory.

Remember that Moses had previously seen the burning bush. He had already experienced many miracles including the plagues upon Egypt and the Red Sea parting. After all of those wonders, Moshe still longed for the glory / kavod of YHWH. He wanted to know YHWH more intimately.

“Moses said, "Please, show me Your glory." Then YHWH said, "I will make all My goodness pass before you, and I will proclaim the name of the YHWH before you. I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion. You cannot see My face; for no man shall see Me, and live." And YHWH passed before him and proclaimed, "YHWH, YHWH, the elohim, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abounding in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, by no means clearing the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children and the children's children to the third and the fourth generation." So Moses made haste and bowed his head toward the earth, and worshiped,” Exodus / Shemot 33:19-21, 34:5-8.

Moshe prayed to see YHWH’s glory. YHWH revealed Himself through calling forth His Name and His character traits. YHWH’s glory is the revelation of His nature. Moshe prayed for the glory and YHWH’s response was “I will cause my goodness to pass before you.” The goodness of YHWH is the kavod of YHWH. We see this again in the Newer Testament, in John 1:14. “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth,” John / Yochannan 1:14. When the people saw the Messiah they were looking upon the glory of YHWH wrapped within human skin.

Both Moshe and David longed to see and experience the glory because they understood its significance. Moshe the great prophet and David the man after YHWH’s own heart prayed for His kavod. How about you? When was the last time you prayed to see YHWH’s glory? How often do you cry out to know YHWH greater?

The story is told of a woman who entered a Haagen-Dazs store for an ice-cream cone. After making her selection, she turned and found herself face to face with Brad Pitt. He was in town filming a movie. Pitt’s beautiful face and dark eyes caused her knees to buckle. She managed to pay for her cone, then left the shop, heart pounding. When she gained her composure, she realized she didn’t have her cone. She started back to the store to get it and met Pitt at the door. "Are you looking for your ice-cream cone?" he asked. She nodded, unable to speak. "You put it in your purse with your change."

When was the last time the presence of YHWH quickened your pulse? When was the last time you were surprised by YHWH’s glory? If we are honest, we can agree that most believers have lost the hunger for the kavod. We haven’t prayed for His glory and THEREFORE we haven’t seen His glory! Sure, we’ve worshipped and prayed and studied but have we really experienced His kavod, His goodness? Think about it. The only time the Bible says that Moshe bowed and worshipped was when He encountered the kavod. Moshe was amazed when the bush burned. But Moshe worshipped when the kavod came. We all need a fresh glimpse of glory.

Mankind today may be religious but we are still distant from YHWH’s presence and power. We seldom see YHWH as grand and glorious. Instead, we picture YHWH as dehydrated and airless. We view Him as non-threatening and distant. Many people have a “pocket-Jesus” which they pull out when in need and then put back after the emergency is over. Churches everywhere start at 11am sharp and end at 12 noon dull. Sadly, we have put other issues above the kavod of YHWH. We think knowledge, doctrine, evangelism, Hebrew roots, and missions are the most important. However these are all sub-issues to the glory of YHWH. Everything should flow from the kavod. Not vice-versa.

Bible believers are to live glory-driven lives that reflect His kavod. Remember that kavod means “weight or heaviness.” This teaches us that we should not take His kavod lightly. The kavod, the praise of YHWH, should be the motivating factor behind our every action. Yet, our natural inclination is to rob YHWH of glory and to put it on ourselves. We think we are so precious to YHWH that creation exists to our glory. We reason that we are so worthwhile that to our own glory that Y’shua* came to save us. Do you hear the warped theology in that idea? Is everything for our glory or His? The truth is that YHWH sent His son to glorify Himself. (*Y’shua is the Hebrew name of the Messiah given to him by the angels is in Matthew 1. He was never called “Jesus” while He walked this earth. In Hebrew, Y’shua means “YHWH is salvation.”)

The main theme of the Bible and indeed the purpose of creation is to glorify YHWH. “Thou art worthy, O YHWH, to receive glory and honor and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure (thy glory) they are and were created,” Revelation 4:11. The book of Colossians agrees, “For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and FOR him.” Everything was made to bring Him glory.

The creation account teaches us much about the kavod. In the beginning, YHWH spoke the world into existence. The universe and everything it contains was made for the glory of YHWH. “All things were created by him, and for Him,” Colossians 1:13. Everything that is came from Him; therefore the entire universe contains His divine spark. From the Glorious One came a world filled with glory. “And blessed be his glorious name for ever: the whole earth is filled with his glory,” Psalm 72:19. The crown of creation was mankind, made in the image of the Holy One. Like YHWH, man was originally crowned with glory. Psalm 8:5, “For thou hast made him a little lower than the angels, and hast crowned him with glory and honor.”

Adam lived in perfection and had an unhindered relationship with YHWH. He walked with YHWH with a fullness of love and acceptance. But because of the fall, man was separated from YHWH. When Adam sinned, mankind lost the glory. Sin removed the crown of glory. “All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of YHWH,” Romans 3:23. Sin drove Adam out of the garden and pushed the glory away.

The glory / the significance of our relationship was broken because of disobedience. This is a pattern throughout the Scriptures. “So they sinned against me, therefore I will turn their kavod into shame,” Hosea / Hoshea 4:7. We see this again in the book of 1 Samuel 4:22, “The glory is departed from Israel: for the ark of YHWH is taken.”

Sin separates man from the kavod. Adam tried to replace his crown of glory and cover his shame by sewing fig leaves together. Like Adam, we too have tried to replace YHWH’s glory with our own works – our own garments. But these efforts are futile. Man cannot earn the crown of glory lost in Eden. This crown can only be replaced by King of Glory, YHWH Himself. It is to this purpose YHWH sent His only begotten Son. Y’shua came not to start a new religion or inspire a franchise chain of bookstores, but to bring back the glory! Y’shua wrapped Himself in human flesh to redeem the fall of Adam and restore mankind’s position as the crown of creation. This was His purpose and His prayer.

At His birth the angels appeared in glory and proclaimed the kavod. “And behold, an angel of the YHWH stood before them, and the kavod of YHWH shone around them, and they were greatly afraid. And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising YHWH and saying: "Glory to YHWH in the highest, And on earth peace, goodwill toward men,” Luke 2:9, 14. Y’shua came to earth amidst the glory in order to bring glory to YHWH by establishing peace between YHWH and men. He came as “A light to bring revelation to the Gentiles, and the glory of Your people Israel,” Luke 2:32.

Y’shua came to reveal the full kavod of YHWH. He traded His crown of glory for a crown of thorns in order to restore the kavod to mankind. “For YHWH, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of YHWH in the face of Y’shua HaMoshiach,” 2 Corinthians 4:6.

Y’shua came to restore the glory of YHWH lost by Adam’s sin. Believers can experience His glory through a relationship with Y’shua. We are to be changed by His glory. Moshe was different after he came face to face with the glory of YHWH. Exodus 34 speaks of how Moshe had to wear a veil over his face because it was so bright from the glory of YHWH. This is a picture of how YHWH wants to change His people today. We are to behold His face and be changed by His kavod. “But we all, with open face are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the YHWH,” 2 Corinthians 3:18. We are changed by His glory when we acknowledge His presence and power

Psalm 82:9 says, “the whole earth is filled with His glory.” This means that His presence is as close as our realization. The kavod is all around us. YHWH’s glory can be revealed through a religious prayer, beautiful scene of nature, a love song, a good doctor, a strong businessman, or a loving mother. CS Lewis once wrote, “If there lurks in most modern minds the notion that to desire our own good and earnestly hope for the enjoyment of it is a bad thing, I submit that this notion has crept in from Kant and the Stoics and is no part of the Christian faith. Indeed, if we consider the unblushing promises of reward and the staggering nature of the rewards promised in the Gospels, it would seem that our Lord finds our desires, not too strong, but too weak. We are half-hearted creatures, fooling around with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased." This concept is truly a Hebrew idea, as the Talmud teaches that each person will be judged in Heaven according to the pleasures they allowed themselves to experience. The Talmud says in Brachos that we will be held accountable if there is a fruit in this world we didn't at least taste once to see if we enjoyed it. What an awesome idea of how each of us should experience YHWH’s kavod in the little things in life.

How often do we recognize His glory? Do you acknowledge YHWH and glorify Him throughout the day? Do you praise Him for the good and the bad? To seek and experience His kavod was the prayer of Moses, David, and even Y’shua as found in John chapter 17. Y’shua prayed, “"And now, O Father, glorify Me together with Yourself, with the glory which I had with You before the world was. And the glory which You gave Me I have given them, that they may be one just as We are one: I in them, and You in Me; that they may be made perfect in one, and that the world may know that You have sent Me, and have loved them as You have loved Me. And the glory which You gave Me I have given them, that they may be one just as We are one: I in them, and You in Me; that they may be made perfect in one, and that the world may know that You have sent Me, and have loved them as You have loved Me,” John / Yochannan 17:5,22,23.

Y’shua wants us to seek His glory in everything that we do. He prayed like Moshe, “Father, I desire that they also whom You gave Me may be with Me where I am, that they may behold My glory which You have given Me; for You loved Me before the foundation of the world,” John 17:24. It is to his significance and praise that we are to live our lives. Everything in our day should praise Him including what we wear, how we talk, where we go, and what we do. “Whether you eat or drink or whatsoever you do, do it all to the KAVOD of YHWH,” 1 Corinthians 10:31.

The glory of YHW H is to be our prayer, our focus, and our hope. The glory of YHWH is the solution to our problems and the answer to our needs. For “my YHWH shall supply all my needs according to His riches in glory,” Philippians 4:19. The kavod was the purpose of creation and the proclamation at Y’shua’s birth. The glory will also accompany Y’shua when he returns. “For the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father with his angels; and then he shall reward every man according to his works,” Matthew / Mattiyahu 16:27. Y’shua is returning as He first came – in glory! Pray for the glory and experience YHWH’s power. Study the topic of “kavod” in your Bible and acknowledge YHWH’s presence in the world. Go for the glory and be changed forever. Find out more about Y’shua’s return and the restoration of glory coming to the body of Messiah in part 2.