Jesus in the Old Testament: Christophany

In Exodus 33, Moses asks to see God, who replies and says that no one can see His face and live.

Exodus 33 v20

"But,” he said, “you cannot see my face, for no one may see me and live.”

Although, earlier in the chapter, we read

Exodus 33 v 11

So the LORD spoke to Moses face to face, as a man speaks to his friend.

This clearly comes across as a contradiction. How is it possible for God to speak to Moses face to face, but then be told that if anyone sees God, they will die?

Different commentaries try to square this circle by suggesting there is a difference between seeing God and "seeing God" in the flesh. Others say the difference is between the essence of God and the 'glorious presence' of God.

Another possibility is Moses is speaking with Christ face to face? If so, this would be a Christophany. A Christophany is an appearance of Jesus. These normally relate to appearances after His death and resurrection, but can include events in the Old Testament. Examples include the Angel of the Lord, the Son of Man in the Book of Daniel, and possibly here, speaking to Moses face to face.

In Genesis we see several stories where God is physically present. In one instance, we read about three strangers who meet Abraham.

Genesis 18 v 1

The Lord appeared to Abraham near the great trees of Mamre while he was sitting at the entrance to his tent in the heat of the day.

We learn later in the text, that two of the strangers are angels. But what about the third person?

When Abraham first sees the three men, he rushes over, bowing in worship. He asks the Lord to stay and eat with him.

Is this God, in all His glory eating, drinking and having His feet washed? Later in the text Sarai sins by laughing at God’s promise of a child. Why wasn’t she overwhelmed by God’s glorious holiness, now she had sinned?

If this is a similar situation with Moses above, then this stranger could be the pre-Incarnate Christ, and therefore a Christophany.

Another example is God was walking in the Garden of Eden.

Genesis 3 v 8

Then the man and his wife heard the voice of the LORD God walking in the garden in the breeze of the day, and they hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God among the trees of the garden.

Adam and Eve hear God walking in the Garden and hide themselves. They had sinned, so why hadn’t God’s glory consumed them. A further note to take from this is to see who the text says was walking in the Garden. It was the Voice of the Lord. In the New Testament, we learn how Christ is the Word of the Lord. So if God was walking in the Garden of Eden, could this be a Christophany? And if so, it is Jesus who is speaking with Adam and Eve after they sin.

A further example is Jacob wrestling with a man.

Genesis 32 v 24 & 30

So Jacob was left all alone, and there a man wrestled with him until daybreak.

So Jacob named the place Peniel, saying, “Indeed, I have seen God face to face, and yet my life was spared.”

Jacob wrestles with Him all night long, until eventually He damages his hip. He then changes Jacob’s name to Israel. But He refuses to give His own name when Jacob asks.

Jacob then names this place Peniel, which means ‘face of God’, because He met God face to face. How could God physically wrestle with a human?

We can understand wrestling spiritually with the idea of God, but how could this happen physically, unless God was physically present. Like in a Christophany.

It is debated whether these Christophanies are actually theophanies, where God makes Himself known in Creation. But then, we’d have to account for why theophanies no longer appear in the New Testament. We could argue that Christ fulfils this role and so theophanies are no longer needed. But then it could equally make sense that the Old Testament appearances of God are simply Christophanies as Jesus is God.

So, in the Old Testament, Jesus spoke face to face with Moses, but in the Gospels He speaks face to face with all Jews and Gentiles alike.

With Abraham in Genesis, Christ eats, drinks and has His feet washed. At the Last Supper, He shares the Bread and Wine and washes His disciples feet.

In the Garden of Eden, the Curse is placed on humanity. But in the Garden of Gethsemane, the Curse is fulfilled and Christ ascends to His Father.

And when Jacob wrestles with Jesus, and He does not give His name. In the New Testament, the Incarnate God reveals Himself:

John 8 v 58

“Very truly I tell you,” Jesus answered, “before Abraham was born, I am!”