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SDA Sabbath School Lesson 12- 3rd Quarter 2025-"Please, Show Me Your Glory"

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Richard Myers:
3rd Quarter        Lesson 12                                                                                                                                           Sept. 13-19
                                                                                                                               




 
"Please, Show Me Your Glory"

 


Commentary in Navy                  Inspiration in Maroon



Sabbath Afternoon

Read for This Week’s Study: Exod. 33:7-34:35; Deut. 18:15-18; John 17:3; Rom. 2:4; John 3:16; 2 Cor. 3:18

Memory Text: "And the LORD passed by before him, and proclaimed, The LORD, The LORD God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, Keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and that will by no means clear the guilty; visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the children's children, unto the third and to the fourth generation." Exod. 34:6-7

We all need to grow in our walk with God. Without growth, we are dead. The apostle Peter declares: "But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and forever! Amen" (2 Pet. 3:18, NIV). We need to be willing to grow. We are daily in God’s university, where there is no graduation but a constant learning process. In each stage of growth, you can be perfect if you allow God to mold you into the person that He calls you, in Christ, to be.

Amen!  Few believe in being perfect even though God says "be ye perfect."  False teachers have done this. Accursed be the man that bring another gospel into His church!

Think of a school. If first graders learn how to read and count to 100, they receive a passing grade because their knowledge is perfect at that stage and scale of growth. However, if this same level of knowledge, and no more, was detected in a high schooler, it would indicate a colossal failure in his or her education. It is similar with our growth in the grace and knowledge of God. In each stage of our development, we can be as perfect in our sphere as Christ was in His.

This week we study how Moses, through knowing and following God’s instructions, was growing in his walk with the Lord.

Study this week’s lesson to prepare for Sabbath, September 20.

Richard Myers:
Sunday        September 14
The Tent of Meeting

Read Exodus 33:7-11.


7 And Moses took the tabernacle, and pitched it without the camp, afar off from the camp, and called it the Tabernacle of the congregation. And it came to pass, that every one which sought the LORD went out unto the tabernacle of the congregation, which was without the camp.
8 And it came to pass, when Moses went out unto the tabernacle, that all the people rose up, and stood every man at his tent door, and looked after Moses, until he was gone into the tabernacle.
9 And it came to pass, as Moses entered into the tabernacle, the cloudy pillar descended, and stood at the door of the tabernacle, and the LORD talked with Moses.
10 And all the people saw the cloudy pillar stand at the tabernacle door: and all the people rose up and worshipped, every man in his tent door.
11 And the LORD spake unto Moses face to face, as a man speaketh unto his friend. And he turned again into the camp: but his servant Joshua, the son of Nun, a young man, departed not out of the tabernacle.

Why did God ask Moses to build the tent of meeting?

We must not confuse "the tent of meeting" (built outside of Israel’s camp) with the tabernacle, which was later constructed and located in the center of the camp. We do not know how often Moses consulted with God in the tent of meeting. However, one thing we know for sure: Moses’ encounters with God resulted in a close friendship between them. "The LORD spoke to Moses face to face, as a man speaks to his friend" (Exod. 33:11, NKJV). A friend is a person we can consult and openly discuss most everything with and trust that he or she will never reveal it to others. A friend is one of the nicest things to have and one of the nicest persons to be.

As recorded in Exodus 19-34, the story of Moses is very instructive of how God transforms our lives. How did God build a relationship with this outstanding leader? A study of the life of Moses shows how he grew in his knowledge, not only of God’s power but of His love and character. This is a crucial component of having a relationship with God.

Prior to arriving at Mount Sinai, Moses was mightily used by God even while being prepared for a special leadership role. In the land of Midian, while taking care of sheep, God inspired him to write two books: Job and Genesis. Then, in the dramatic event of the burning bush, he was called by God to lead Israel out of Egypt. He saw the defeat of the Egyptian gods and the mighty Egyptian army in the Red Sea. He observed for many weeks how God led Israel from Egypt to Sinai. After the experience resulted in his shining face, he led Israel for another 39 years, to the brink of the Promised Land. The biblical message states that Moses was a faithful servant of God (Deut. 34:5, Josh. 1:1), an unimpaired light in the darkness, a model prophet by whom others would be measured (Deut. 18:15-18). He was an agent of change, even though the people did not always follow his directions and words. When they did, they prospered.

What does it mean to be faithfull?

We may learn from Moses, because his exceptional life story tells us what God can do when we let Him change us. What were some turning points in your walk with God, where you recognized how He worked powerfully in your life?

Are we faithful?

Richard Myers:
Monday        September 15
That I May Know You

Read Exodus 33:12-17.

12 And Moses said unto the LORD, See, thou sayest unto me, Bring up this people: and thou hast not let me know whom thou wilt send with me. Yet thou hast said, I know thee by name, and thou hast also found grace in my sight.
13 Now therefore, I pray thee, if I have found grace in thy sight, shew me now thy way, that I may know thee, that I may find grace in thy sight: and consider that this nation is thy people.
14 And he said, My presence shall go with thee, and I will give thee rest.
15 And he said unto him, If thy presence go not with me, carry us not up hence.
16 For wherein shall it be known here that I and thy people have found grace in thy sight? is it not in that thou goest with us? so shall we be separated, I and thy people, from all the people that are upon the face of the earth.
17 And the LORD said unto Moses, I will do this thing also that thou hast spoken: for thou hast found grace in my sight, and I know thee by name .

What did Moses ask the Lord to teach him? Why did he demand God’s presence to guide them?

Moses’ growth in the Lord was steady. He drew closer and closer to the Lord and sought to model himself after God’s image. One day when he was conversing with God in the tent of meeting, Moses suddenly realized that he did not know Him, and he uttered a specific prayer: "Show me now Your way, that I may know You" (Exod. 33:13, NKJV). Moses was aware of his deep need to understand God on a new level. He discovered that the more he knew the Lord, the more he did not know Him. He recognized his need and wholeheartedly desired to know Him better. God willingly granted Moses’ wish.

By looking at the experiences of Moses so far, we can observe how Moses was drawn into a deeper, intimate relationship with the Lord and how he grew spiritually.

First, Moses climbed the mountain and "went up to God" (Exod. 19:3, NKJV). Then he went "to the top of the mountain" (Exod. 19:20, NKJV) and afterward approached the cloud, "the thick darkness" in which God resided (Exod. 20:21, NKJV).

On another occasion, "Moses entered the cloud" where God was, and he stayed with the Lord 40 days and 40 nights (Exod. 24:18, NIV). During these 40 days, God gave Moses two precious gifts: (1) the gift of the Decalogue written by God Himself on the two tablets, also chiseled by Him (Exod. 24:12), and (2) the instructions on how to build and furnish the tabernacle (see Exodus 25-31).

Then he spent another 40 days and nights with the Lord, interceding for sinners (Exod. 32:30-32, Deut. 9:18).

Yet, even after all this, Moses desired to know God’s character more concretely, and God soon gave him special insights to understand who He is. This knowledge Moses desired was not a mere intellectual understanding of God but an experiential knowledge of His person.

No wonder centuries later Jesus would say: "And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent" (John 17:3, NKJV). What better way for God to make Himself known to humans than by becoming a human Himself?

Do you know God, or do you just know about Him? What is the crucial difference between the two?

The only way to trust God will all we are and all we have, is to know Him intimately.  We must love the Lord our God with all of the heart.

Richard Myers:
Tuesday         September 16
"Please, Show Me Your Glory"

After the golden calf apostasy, Moses interceded for God’s people and wanted to be assured that the Lord would continue leading them to the Promised Land. Deep down within his being, he also wanted to know the Lord better.

Read Exodus 33:18-23. How did God answer Moses’ request to see His glory?

"Please, show me your glory," Moses asked the Lord. In His mercy, the Lord did reveal His glory to him. However, when answering Moses’ request, God promised to show him His "goodness." One can safely conclude that God’s glory is His goodness, that is, His character (see also Ellen G. White, The Acts of the Apostles, p. 576; Christ’s Object Lessons, pp. 414, 415; Prophets and Kings, p. 313).

"It is the glory of God to give His virtue to His children. He desires to see men and women reaching the highest standard."—Ellen G. White, The Acts of the Apostles, p. 530. His glory is to embrace repentant sinners (see Prophets and Kings, p. 668) and supply everything needed to change them. At the same time, it is our "glory" to reveal His character in our own lives and to make it known to others.

Amen! It is imparted not just imputed righteousness. We are to put on the wedding garment so that the world can see the power of God's grace to transform sinners into saints.

This reflection of God’s character, His goodness, kindness, and tender love, must be seen in our actions. This way, we have a chance to be not only a blessing to the world but a shining light to the onlooking universe. As Paul states: "For it seems to me that God has put us apostles on display at the end of the procession, like those condemned to die in the arena. We have been made a spectacle to the whole universe, to angels as well as to human beings" (1 Cor. 4:9, NIV). This cosmic dimension gives to our lives and service a meaning and purpose that we can barely begin to imagine.

In Romans 2:4, Paul says that "the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance". That is, it is God’s goodness and character pointed out by the Holy Spirit that convince people of their sinfulness and need of salvation. Indeed, when we look at the cross and know Who was there (the Lord Himself) and why He was there—because He loved us and this was the only way to save us—we have the greatest revelation possible of His goodness and character.

Amen!!

How much time do you spend focusing on the Cross and what it tells you about the character of God?

It would be good to spend a thoughtful hour a day contemplating the life of Jesus. For it is by beholding His glory we will be transformed into His image!

Richard Myers:
Wednesday         September 17
The Self-Revelation of God

Read Exodus 34:1-28.

1 And the LORD said unto Moses, Hew thee two tables of stone like unto the first: and I will write upon these tables the words that were in the first tables, which thou brakest.

2 And be ready in the morning, and come up in the morning unto mount Sinai, and present thyself there to me in the top of the mount.

3 And no man shall come up with thee, neither let any man be seen throughout all the mount; neither let the flocks nor herds feed before that mount.

4 And he hewed two tables of stone like unto the first; and Moses rose up early in the morning, and went up unto mount Sinai, as the LORD had commanded him, and took in his hand the two tables of stone.

5 And the LORD descended in the cloud, and stood with him there, and proclaimed the name of the LORD.

6 And the LORD passed by before him, and proclaimed, The LORD, The LORD God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth,

7 Keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and that will by no means clear the guilty; visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the children's children, unto the third and to the fourth generation.

8 And Moses made haste, and bowed his head toward the earth, and worshipped.

9 And he said, If now I have found grace in thy sight, O Lord, let my Lord, I pray thee, go among us; for it is a stiffnecked people; and pardon our iniquity and our sin, and take us for thine inheritance.

10 And he said, Behold, I make a covenant: before all thy people I will do marvels, such as have not been done in all the earth, nor in any nation: and all the people among which thou art shall see the work of the LORD: for it is a terrible thing that I will do with thee.

11 Observe thou that which I command thee this day: behold, I drive out before thee the Amorite, and the Canaanite, and the Hittite, and the Perizzite, and the Hivite, and the Jebusite.

12 Take heed to thyself, lest thou make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land whither thou goest, lest it be for a snare in the midst of thee:

13 But ye shall destroy their altars, break their images, and cut down their groves:

14 For thou shalt worship no other god: for the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God:

15 Lest thou make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land, and they go a whoring after their gods, and do sacrifice unto their gods, and one call thee, and thou eat of his sacrifice;

16 And thou take of their daughters unto thy sons, and their daughters go a whoring after their gods, and make thy sons go a whoring after their gods.

17 Thou shalt make thee no molten gods.

18 The feast of unleavened bread shalt thou keep. Seven days thou shalt eat unleavened bread, as I commanded thee, in the time of the month Abib: for in the month Abib thou camest out from Egypt.

19 All that openeth the matrix is mine; and every firstling among thy cattle, whether ox or sheep, that is male.

20 But the firstling of an ass thou shalt redeem with a lamb: and if thou redeem him not, then shalt thou break his neck. All the firstborn of thy sons thou shalt redeem. And none shall appear before me empty.

21 Six days thou shalt work, but on the seventh day thou shalt rest: in earing time and in harvest thou shalt rest.

22 And thou shalt observe the feast of weeks, of the firstfruits of wheat harvest, and the feast of ingathering at the year's end.

23 Thrice in the year shall all your men children appear before the Lord GOD, the God of Israel.

24 For I will cast out the nations before thee, and enlarge thy borders: neither shall any man desire thy land, when thou shalt go up to appear before the LORD thy God thrice in the year.

25 Thou shalt not offer the blood of my sacrifice with leaven; neither shall the sacrifice of the feast of the passover be left unto the morning.

26 The first of the firstfruits of thy land thou shalt bring unto the house of the LORD thy God. Thou shalt not seethe a kid in his mother's milk.

27 And the LORD said unto Moses, Write thou these words: for after the tenor of these words I have made a covenant with thee and with Israel.

28 And he was there with the LORD forty days and forty nights; he did neither eat bread, nor drink water. And he wrote upon the tables the words of the covenant, the ten commandments.

How did God reveal His glory to Moses?

Moses had to take with him two stone tablets like the first ones, which he had broken (Exod. 32:19). He was going to meet with the Lord on Mount Sinai for the seventh time. His previous climbs are mentioned in the following texts: (1) Exod. 19:3-7; (2) Exod. 19:8-14; (3) Exod. 19:20-25; (4) Exod. 20:21, Exod. 24:3; (5) Exod. 24:9-12-18; Exod. 32:15; (6) Exod. 32:30-31. Moses started his climb early in the morning.

Moses was now prepared for this glorious insight into God’s character. The beauty of God’s character is best explained in this stunning self-revelation of Himself. It is the most important description of who God is; it is the golden thread woven throughout the Bible (Num. 14:18, Neh. 9:17, Ps. 103:8, Joel 2:13, Jonah 4:2). The Lord’s proclamation here is the John 3:16 of the Old Testament. In crucial places, biblical authors apply, repeat, or expand on this self-proclamation of the living God, because God’s character must be correctly understood.

When Moses received the exceptional, unprecedented, and unparalleled explanation of God’s name, he bowed down and worshiped the Lord. When we get glimpses of God’s love, grace, mercy, compassion, goodness, faithfulness, forgiveness, holiness, and justice, we also are attracted to Him. It is when we see and admire His exceptional qualities that we start to love Him, a love that leads to the desire to serve and obey Him. Because He loves us, we love Him back (1 John 4:19).

In this self-revelation, God assures Moses that He will perform marvelous deeds for His people and lead them into the Promised Land. He renews the covenant with them, promising that other nations will see His majesty and awesome work. "And he said, Behold, I make a covenant: before all thy people I will do marvels, such as have not been done in all the earth, nor in any nation: and all the people among which thou art shall see the work of the LORD: for it is a terrible thing that I will do with thee." Exod. 34:10.

However, the Israelites needed to obey God and follow ten clear stipulations in order to secure their prosperity. Then Moses was asked by God to write the content of that covenant, which had already been broken (Exod. 34:27-28).

What did Moses write? He wrote all that God revealed about His government. There was moral law, ceremonial law, and civil law. The ten commandments were the foundation of all moral law. There is much moral law in the Old Testament that is still binding today. We acknowledge the health message, but there is much more that Moses wrote and we find in the Old Testament. An example would be the law regarding eating fruit from a young fruit tree. It is forbidden to eat fruit for the first three years. Yes, it is moral law just as eating what is good and not eating that which will injure your. Sadly many refuse to submit to controlling what they put into their bodies which are to be living temples for the indwelling of the Spirit.

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