08/23/2026
TODAY’S SERMON NOTES
What Glory Really Means
Exodus 33:18-23
Sunday, August 23, 2026
18 Moses said, “Please show me your glory.” 19 And he said, “I will make all my goodness pass before you and will proclaim before you my name ‘The Lord.’ And I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show mercy on whom I will show mercy. 20 But,” he said, “you cannot see my face, for man shall not see me and live.” 21 And the Lord said, “Behold, there is a place by me where you shall stand on the rock, 22 and while my glory passes by I will put you in a cleft of the rock, and I will cover you with my hand until I have passed by. 23 Then I will take away my hand, and you shall see my back, but my face shall not be seen.” ESV
When you hear the word "glory," what picture pops into your mind? Most people imagine glowing lights, bright halos, yellow clouds, or golden beams cutting through the sky. But when the Old Testament writers spoke about God’s glory, they were not thinking about shiny light.
The Hebrew word is kavad, which means one main thing: heaviness or the carrying of weight. To say God has glory does not mean He glows in the dark. It means He is the heaviest, most substantial reality in existence. He is the most significant, life changing presence in any place at any time.
GLORY EQUALS WEIGHT
To understand why glory means weight, we have to take a look at the ancient world. Back then, weight and value were the exact same thing. Before people used printed paper money, credit cards, or Zelle, coins like the Hebrew shekel were units of weight. You did not count your coins; you placed them on a balance scale and weighed them. Whatever was heavier had more value.
Imagine a modern jeweler working at a bench with a balance scale. In front of him are two gold colored rings. They look identical to the naked eye. But when the jeweler drops them onto the scale, one side drops down quickly while the other side rises. One ring is made of pure, solid metal; the other ring is hollow. The heavier ring is the valuable one.
When the Bible calls God "glorious," it is saying He is not hollow. He is not an imaginary idea, a fleeting feeling or exhilaration. He is solid, real, and heavy.
GLORY EQUALS CHARACTER
We see this reality in the life of Moses. In Exodus chapter 33, Moses was exhausted. Israel had
just sinned by building the golden calf, breaking their promise to God. Moses went up Mount Sinai and asked the Lord for something bold. In his desperation he cried out, "Please show me your glory."
Moses wanted to see His full kavad - His real weight. In response, God did not put on a dazzling laser light show. He did not make the sky flash with lightning. Instead, the Lord placed Moses in the hollow cleft of a rock and hid him as He passed by. Then, God spoke His true name and declared His nature.
Exodus 34:6-7
5 Then the Lord came down in a cloud and stood there with him; and he called out his own name, Yahweh. 6 The Lord passed in front of Moses, calling out, “Yahweh! The Lord! The God of compassion and mercy! I am slow to anger and filled with unfailing love and faithfulness. 7 I lavish unfailing love to a thousand generations. I forgive iniquity, rebellion, and sin. But I do not excuse the guilty. I lay the sins of the parents upon their children and grandchildren; the entire family is affected - even children in the third and fourth generations.” NLT
When Moses asked to see God’s weight, God showed him His character. He declared His mercy, His patience, His steadfast love, and His truth. That is what God considers heavy about Himself. Power is easy for God, but His infinite character—His loyal love and unchanging truth—is what tips the scales of reality.
GLORY IN HUMAN FLESH
Centuries later, God demonstrated weight of His character in a completely unexpected way.
John 1:14:
And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. ESV
Notice the exact words John uses - "full of grace and truth". These are the same two Hebrew ideas that God spoke to Moses on Mount Sinai.
When God came into the world in Jesus Christ, the heavy weight of God did not arrive as a blinding flash of light that crushed people. It arrived wrapped in muscle, bone, and skin. He sat down at a well to talk to an outcast woman. He kneeled on an upper room floor and washed dirty feet.
Think about a heavy ship anchor. It does not make noise or show off. It sits quietly at the bottom of the ocean, holding an enormous ship steady against strong waves and winds.
Jesus’s love is like that anchor. His glory is not a display of flashiness; it is the heaviest, most unshakable love in the universe.
That is what glory actually is.
Conclusion
Understanding kavad can change how we live every day. Glorifying God is not giving Him flattery. You cannot make an infinite God heavier than He already is. Glorifying God simply means treating Him like the heaviest reality in your life.
When anxiety, pressure, or fear enter your life, set them on the scale next to God. Compare the temporary weight of your troubles to the eternal weight of God's character. God’s mercy, patience, and love outweigh everything else. Let His presence tip the scale of your heart today.
