Glory is one of those words that you think you understand—at least until you’re asked to explain it. We know that glory is associated with God, but what does that actually mean? Is he bright and shiny? Rebecca G. S. Idestrom has done pastors and scholars a great favour by clearly defining glory and tracing its use throughout the Old Testament.

The Hebrew word translated ‘glory’ has the basic meaning of being heavy—weighty. From there, the root is remarkably supple. It can refer to gravitas, reputation, or prestige. It can indicate that someone or something is beautiful, impressive, or majestic. The Bible uses ‘glory’ to refer to God’s presence made apprehensible to the senses. It can even refer to more abstract notions like God’s character.

This final sense is my most important takeaway from the book. You may have heard about Moses’s request to see God’s glory followed by God’s decision to tuck him into a cleft in the rock so God could pass by and show Moses his backside. I had always assumed that experiencing God’s glory was some mystical experience where Moses would receive the theophanic glory of God through his senses. I’m sure that was part of it. What struck me, however, was that God associates his glory with his name—his character. Here’s what happened during that cleft-of-the-rock moment:

The Lord descended in the cloud and stood with him there and proclaimed the name, The Lord.” The Lord passed before him and proclaimed,

The Lord, the Lord,
a God merciful and gracious,
slow to anger,
and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness,
keeping steadfast love for the thousandth generation,
forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin,
yet by no means clearing the guilty. (Exod 34:5–7)

Incredible. It was right there in the text if I had bothered to read it closely. Thankfully, Idestrom did, pointing out the nuances of this encounter—along with many others throughout the Torah, Psalms, Isaiah, Ezekiel, and elsewhere.

This book is more than academic. Biblical and theological knowledge for it’s own sake, while aesthetically and intellectually satisfying, doesn’t do much good if it stays in the mind. For Idestrom,

The ultimate purpose in contemplating God’s glory is to be transformed into his likeness. (8)

With this in mind, Show Me Your Glory, while full of rigorous scholarship, can and should be read devotionally. May we all be transformed by our glorious God as we meditate on riches of his character.

Idestrom, Rebecca, G. S. Show Me Your Glory: The Glory of God in the Old Testament. Pickwick, 2023.