If we were to walk into Moses' house today, would there be statues of angels in the corner? Would the skirts of a cherubim softly cover the evergreen branches of his tree on Christmas morning? Would he hold the hands of his family at the thankful table and ask the Father to send His angels to protect the one absent from the gathering? I don't think so, because when God offered to send an angel forward with the children of Israel in Exodus 33, Moses said, "That's not good enough".
Why not, Moses? Why was an angel a good idea when Israel crossed the sea and fled from the Egyptians slavery, but it's not a good one now? Moses didn't balk when God offered His angel again when He spoke to him on the mountain and gave him the commandments. So why say no to the offer now?
In my New Living Sagely translation, I see it like this: Israel had just sinned with the golden calf, and God said, "I can't walk with the unholy without destroying them". The presence of God would not even walk in front of the Godless as long as they chose to move away from the path He was setting before them. But Moses knew that He had to be in front; an angel would no longer do. The cloud and the fire had been necessary for the people, and maybe even the promise of an angel would suffice for them now (after all, they were terrified of Presence as they saw Him break forth on the mountain). Maybe these were good enough for Israel, but they weren't for Moses. Why would Moses settle for an angel's wing when he could have Presence Himself? Moses didn't want a substitute; he wanted the Source. He wanted to know the ways of God Almighty, and he wanted to learn those ways first-hand. Moses wanted to walk on ground that was holy-sandals off-and there would be no holy without God.
So God listened to the cry of the beggar, and He made all of His goodness pass before him that day. He made a place beside Himself in the cleft of a rock--covering him with His hand so that the God-glory would not overwhelm him.
When Moses came down from that place, his face was shining. His glow did not come from the brush of an angel's wings; it came from the touch of Presence. You see, when Moses had argued with God in that place, it wasn't a disrespectful argue. Moses wanted more of God. Moses wanted Presence all over him, because when you love someone you want to know everything about them, and you can't do that without spending time with them. Some of that time would be spent walking in circles, in a wilderness made by the selfish choices of others. Some would be on the fields of battle, where the enemy would be defeated as well as defeat (when the chosen refused to seek Presence). And some would be when Moses was literally "between a rock and a hard place".
But Moses wanted the Glory. Moses wanted Presence. Moses wanted more of God...even if it meant that he would only see His back, because the back of Presence would always be more than just the wing of an angel.
