In Exodus 33:18 when Moses was in the process of receiving the Ten Commandments, he made a request to the Lord, he said, “Now show me your glory.” And the Lord said, “I will cause all my goodness to pass in front of you, and I will proclaim my name, the Lord, in your presence.”
Notice how the Lord equates Moses’ request to see his glory with his goodness: “show me your glory…and the Lord replies, ““I will cause all my goodness to pass in front of you.” And the Lord adds, “and I will proclaim my name, the Lord, in your presence.”
So I think we could rightly conclude from this that the Lord defines his glory as his goodness. Then there’s the fact that in Biblical history a persons name revealed something about the person. So when the Lord spoke his name it was a self-revelation, a short hand way, if you will, of expressing the entirety of his nature or character.
Therefore, the Lord was not only going to reveal his goodness to Moses, but his character as embodied in his name. He proclaimed before Moses, “The Lord, the Lord, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness.” (34:6)
Another insight into the meaning of God’s glory comes from looking at the original meaning of the Hebrew word “kavod” translated “glory.”
One scholar writes, “The original concrete meaning of kavod is battle armaments. The meaning "armament" fits with the literal meaning of the root of kavod, which is "heavy," and armaments are the heavy weapons and defenses of battle. In Exodus 16:7, Israel will "see" the "armament" [that is, the “glory”] of YHWH, the one who has done battle for them with the Egyptians.” (article on Glory by Jeff A. Benner)
Notice that God’s glory is his armament, his heavy weaponry and defenses with which he wages war. That is to say, God overcomes everything that opposes him with his goodness — his compassion, his graciousness, his patience, his abounding love and faithfulness.
Little wonder, then, that we are commanded by the Apostle Paul, “Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.” Romans 12:21 (NIV)
In other words, when you face opposition, wage war as God does — use the weaponry of God’s glory!
