This passage must be an
indication of my spiritual blindness, as I cannot guess why the
lectionary lifts this passage up.

After the golden Calf
episode, Moses continues to plead for the people. If I read it
correctly, he is using God’s favor as a lever to gain support
for the people, not himself. (Note: grace/gracious/favor are all
variants for the word, hen, in Hebrew)

Is the desire to see
God’s glory/ goodness/presence in relation to the breaking of
the covenant with the Golden Calf? We have just been told that in the
tent God spoke with Moses face to face, as with a friend. and ate
with the elders in ch. 24. Is it a desire to be in communion with
God by himself? Is the warning a universal, or is it in relation to
the Golden Calf episode. I’m not sure how to read God’s
glory as opposed to God’s face. Knowing and seeing are
emphasized as ways of being in contact with God.

In a diverse age, the
emphasis on distinction is decidedly uncomfortable. (Although notice
the verbal link of the face of God and the face of the earth)

This could be a way to
deal with seekers or with stages/phases in spiritual development, as
they desire for communion with god seem to be deep-seated.

The backside of God may
be just a bit of a joke, or it could be all Moses could bear. (a
kenotic moment?).

Janzen makes an
extended case (24:7-9 Exodus).sees God as not being arbitrary in
showing mercy but a demonstration of divine character God is also
free to respond to new situations. He sees god as mourning the loss
of relationshiop more than beign angry at the idolatry. God will not
look at us in all of our shame and guilt, but with the eyes of love.
Perhaps, only heaven will unveil God too us, or even there, we will
see God face to face but still only partially, given our limitations.