Experiencing God's Glory
For most, glory is associated with personal glory —the “glory days” of one’s youth, days of lost innocence, boundless energy, unfettered imagination, and uncomplicated living. The Bible, however, moves beyond “glory” in the past tense to an emphasis on glory in the present and future tenses based upon the possibility of a relationship with the God of glory. The word “glory” is derived from a Hebrew root that may mean “heavy,” “weighty,” or “numerous, severe” in a physical sense (that is, severe famine, Gen. 12:10; heavy yoke, 1 Kgs. 12:4). The related term kabod expresses the attribute of “glory,” “honor,” “splendor” as a derived meaning of the primary idea of weightiness or gravity (for example, Num. 24:11; Job 19:9; Prov. 3:16, 35). In the Old Testament, glory may be applied to a finely crafted object in the sense of cleverness of design, intricacy of artistic work, and beauty (Exod. 28:40). When applied to human beings, glory signifies dignity or respect as a characteri...