Poetry · Chapter
The Unseen Face explained
Moses pleads to see God's face, but is only permitted to see His back as He passes by.
What happens
Moses pleads to see God's face, but is only permitted to see His back as He passes by. The poem suggests that had Moses seen the face of Christ—the true man crowned with thorns and baptized with tears—he would have seen God's face and died.
Themes in this chapter
Divine Fatherhood
God's protective care in hiding Moses in the cleft and covering him with His hand reflects a fatherly love that shields while revealing.
Suffering and Purification
The face of Christ crowned with thorns and baptized with tears embodies suffering as the ultimate revelation of God.
Characters to notice
- Moses
Moses beseeches God to show His face and is placed in a cleft of the rock to see only God's back.
- God
God passes in cloud, hiding and revealing Himself, covering Moses with His hand.
- Jesus Christ
Implied as the true man whose face, crowned with thorns and baptized with tears, is the face of God.
Key passages
“I do beseech thee, God, show me thy face.”
Moses begs God to reveal His face to him.
Opening plea sets up the central desire for divine vision.
“He put him in a clift of the rock’s base, Covered him with his hand, his eyes to screen— Passed—lifted it: his back alone appears!”
God places Moses in a crevice, covers his eyes with His hand, passes by, then removes His hand so Moses only sees His back.
Describes the protective yet partial revelation of God to Moses.
“Ah, Moses, had he turned, and hadst thou seen The pale face crowned with thorns, baptized with tears, The eyes of the true man, by men belied, Thou hadst beheld God’s face, and straightway died!”
If Moses had seen Christ's suffering face, he would have seen God fully and died from the vision.
Climactic revelation that the face of Christ is the true face of God.