I recently watched The Prince of Egypt for the first time (it’s about time, I know), which led me to reflect again on the story of the Exodus. As I thought about Israel’s deliverance, I found myself struck by how much time passed between the major moments of the story.

And honestly, it left me with questions.

God, why did You allow the Israelites to live under oppression for so long? Why didn’t You change the Pharaoh’s heart before Hebrew children were killed? Why not move his heart to release Israel before the plagues? Why allow Your people to wander in the wilderness for forty years?

Those questions eventually sent me back to the book of Exodus itself, which, as many of you know, is quite different from the movie. As I read, I began thinking not only about Israel’s story but also about my own.

How many times have I looked at circumstances in my life and wondered why God allowed them to unfold the way they did? How many times have I thought there must have been a faster, easier, or less painful route?

If God is sovereign, why this way?

The more I read Exodus, however, the more I noticed something I had missed before. God was not simply bringing Israel to a destination. He was revealing Himself to them along the way.

When the Way Does Not Make Sense

By the time the story arrives at Exodus 33, Israel has already experienced extraordinary deliverance, but the journey has been anything but easy.

They panicked when Pharaoh’s army pursued them at the Red Sea and accused Moses of bringing them into the wilderness to die (Exodus 14:10–12). They traveled for three days without water before arriving at Marah, only to discover that the water was bitter (Exodus 15:22–24). They experienced hunger and complained that Moses and Aaron had brought them into the wilderness to starve (Exodus 16:2–3).

At Rephidim, there was no water, and once again the people feared they would die (Exodus 17:1–3). Then Amalek attacked Israel (Exodus 17:8–13).

And perhaps most devastatingly, while Moses was on Mount Sinai, the Israelites fashioned and worshiped a golden calf, crediting it with the deliverance God Himself had accomplished (Exodus 32:1–10). Judgment followed their rebellion (Exodus 32:25–35).

These were people who had witnessed the sea part, eaten bread from heaven, and watched God provide water in the wilderness. Yet they were still learning what it meant to know Him and trust His ways.

And so was their leader, Moses.

“Teach Me Your Ways”

After everything Moses had experienced, his words in Exodus 33 are striking:

“If you are pleased with me, teach me your ways so that I may know you and continue to find favor with you” (Exodus 33:13, NIV).

I love the earnestness of Moses here. He does not pretend to understand everything God is doing. He has been given an enormous responsibility, the people he is leading have repeatedly rebelled, and the road ahead is still uncertain. But Moses asks God for something deeper than an explanation.

“Teach me your ways.”

In other words, God, help me know You. The more instantly gratifying request would have been “Tell me why You did this, Lord.” But that’s not what we see here.

And God responds by assuring Moses, “My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest” (Exodus 33:14, NIV).

Then, only a few verses later, Moses makes another request:

“Now show me your glory” (Exodus 33:18, NIV).

Take a second to ponder that progression:

Teach me Your ways.

Show me Your glory.

Perhaps those two prayers belong together more often than we realize.

We frequently want God to explain His ways before we will trust Him. We want to understand why the road is this long, why the answer has not come, why the circumstances have not changed, or why God did not choose what seems to us like the simpler route.

But Moses’s prayer directs our attention somewhere else.

Instead of simply asking, “God, why are You doing it this way?” we can begin praying, “God, teach me Your ways so that I may know You.”

What It Means to See God’s Glory

The Hebrew word often translated “glory,” kabōd, carries the idea of weightiness, honor, or splendor. God’s glory is not simply brightness or an impressive display. It communicates the weight and worth of who God is.¹

When Moses asks to see God’s glory, God responds by saying, “I will cause all my goodness to pass in front of you” (Exodus 33:19).

That connection is beautiful: Moses asks for God’s glory, and God promises to reveal His goodness.

God places Moses in the cleft of a rock and covers him as His glory passes by, allowing Moses to experience His presence in a way he can endure (Exodus 33:20–23).

Moses does not receive every answer to every difficulty Israel has faced. Instead, he receives something far greater: a revelation of God Himself. And that encounter changes him. When Moses later comes down from Mount Sinai, his face reflects the glory of the God whose presence he has encountered (Exodus 34:29–35).

The circumstances had not suddenly become easy. Israel still had a journey ahead.

But Moses had seen the glory of God.

And sometimes that is what gives us the strength to keep walking.

Why God’s Presence Stays with Us Through the Wilderness

By the end of Exodus, the glory Moses once asked to see becomes central to Israel’s journey.

The glory of the Lord fills the tabernacle (Exodus 40:34–35), and the cloud of God’s presence determines when Israel travels and when they remain where they are (Exodus 40:36–38). Exodus 40:38 says that this visible manifestation of God’s presence remained “in the sight of all the Israelites during all their travels” (NIV).

During all their travels.

Through the waiting.

Through the wandering.

Through failure and restoration.

Through uncertainty about what came next.

The glory of God was there.

The story that began with Israel crying out under oppression ends with a people learning to live according to the presence of God.

The route was not meaningless.

It was a glory route.

When God Takes the Long Way

I think about this when I consider the circumstances in my own life that I wish God had handled differently.

There are moments when I can imagine a dozen ways God could have made something easier. He could have opened the door sooner. He could have changed someone’s heart. He could have removed the obstacle. He could have answered the prayer according to the timeline I thought made sense.

And sometimes, I desperately want to know why He didn’t.

But Exodus reminds me that God’s purposes are greater than simply moving His people from difficulty to comfort as quickly as possible. He knows what we can bear, and He meets us in it.

He is making Himself known to His people.

He is teaching us His ways.

He is showing us His character.

He is shaping His people through His presence.

And ultimately, He is displaying His glory.

We may not understand every turn in the route God chooses. Moses certainly did not. But perhaps our prayer in those seasons can begin to resemble his:

Lord, teach me Your ways so that I may know You.

And then, even when the road still does not make sense:

Show me Your glory.

The highest aim in every circumstance is not that everything would unfold according to our expectations but that God would be glorified.

The wilderness may not be the route we would have chosen. The waiting may be longer than we expected. The circumstances may leave us wondering why God did not accomplish His purposes another way.

But the God who led Israel through the wilderness is still faithful to lead His people. And His glory is not reserved only for the destination.

His glory meets us along the way.

If you liked this article, check out the related resources linked below!

Notes:

1. Carpenter and Comfort, Holman Treasury of Key Bible Words: 200 Greek and 200 Hebrew Words Defined and Explained, 72.

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Author Bio

Patricia Vachula is a Ph.D. student in Biblical Exposition at Liberty University. She is passionate about studying and unpacking Scripture within its literary and historical context and delights in helping others engage the Bible faithfully and clearly. She is originally from Long Island, New York, and now resides in Lynchburg, Virginia.

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