What is the glory of God?

Let's begin to answer that question by looking at the first time the glory of the Lord appears in scripture. In Exodus 16 we read that the children of Israel are complaining because they do not have any food. Moses and Aaron their complaint and call them to draw near before the Lord.
"Now speak to them that the Lord has heard it came to pass as Aaron spoke to the whole congregation of the children of Israel, that they look toward the wilderness, and behold the glory of the Lord appeared in the cloud." (Exodus 16:9)

Moses asked God to show him his glory. God replied, "I will make all my goodness pass before you, and I will proclaim the name of the Lord before you. I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion." But He said, "You cannot see my face; for no man shall see me, and live." And the Lord said, "Here is a place by me, and you shall stand on the rock. So it shall be, while my glory passes by, that I will put you in the cleft of the rock, and will cover you with my hand while I pass by. Then I will take away my hand, and you shall see my back; but my face shall not be seen." (Exodus 33:19-23)

God explained to Moses that no one could see his face and live and offered to hide Moses as his glory passed by. God also equated his glory with his goodness.
According to Strong's Concordance the Hebrew word for goodness is tuwb which means good in the widest sense. It also carries with it the idea of beauty, gladness and welfare. God also proclaimed the name of Jehovah before Moses. Jehovah is the Jewish national name for God and means self-existent and eternal.

‘Glory’ (Hb)- heavy with weight, tangible- It simply means manifestation

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1. The original meaning of glory has to do with weightiness. The glory of God summarizes the seriousness, the perfection, and the infinite significance of all of the attributes of God. It sums up who He is, in the awesome brightness and weightiness of all His perfections.
2. God's glory is everything that makes up God; his authority, power, and sovereignty. Psalmists wrote that “the heavens declare the glory of God and that his glory is above the heavens and earth. “(Psalm 19:1; 113:4; 148:13) His glory is much more than we can comprehend; the depth of his goodness exceeds our grasp.
   
   “Therefore, also, God did highly exalt him, and gave to him a name that {is} above every name, that in the name of Jesus every knee may bow--of heavenlies, and earthlies, and what are under the earth--and every tongue may confess that Jesus Christ {is} Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”
   Philippians 2:9-11
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3. God's glory is the goal in all of His plans for mankind. The glory of God is all that we, his creation, are about. In fact, all that God orchestrates, all that God wills, all that God determines and purposes, all that God causes to occur in and through His creation in this life is for God's glory.
   
4. God's glory is synonymous with God's magnificence, God's splendor, His beauty, His perfection. Glory speaks to God's dignity, God's honor, God's wisdom, God's majesty, and His unquestionable justice in all His dealings with His creation. All is to the glory of our God. All credit for all things is to be given to our God. To Him alone belongs all glory! At least, you'd think so...
   
   ü God's Glory Revealed
   It is one thing to understand the concept of God's glory, but Ezekiel was able to see it and feel it and taste it and hear it. (Ezek 1:25-28). He experienced God's glory! It is hard for us to walk each day with having only heard and read of His glory. Yet God has given us a very special way to experience His glory at any time we choose. The Psalmist David reveals that "the heavens are telling of the glory of God" (19:1). The Seraphim seen by Isaiah confirm that "the whole earth is full of His glory" (6:3). When we need a glimpse of God's glory, we need only to walk outside and lift up our heads!
   v On a bright, sunny day, the radiance of the sun reminds us of the light of God's radiance. This suggests to us that God is powerful, omniscient, omnipresent, in control.
   v In the sound of thunder we hear the power of His voice. In the storm we recall that He is a holy God who will demand justice.
   v In the rain we remember His righteousness: "Drip down, O heavens, from above, and let the clouds pour down righteousness" (Is. 45:8).
   v In the rainbow we focus on His mercy in judgment and His covenant-keeping nature. Even on hazy, cloudless days we can sense His peace and comfort. He is a God who delights to reveal Himself to us. We need only seek Him. "So let us know, let us press on to know the Lord. As surely as the sun rises He will appear, and He will come to us like the rain, like the spring rain watering the earth" (Hosea 6:3).
   ü God's Glory Acknowledged
   We are not only to see God's glory, we are to acknowledge it. All of the men who recorded visions of God's glory also recorded the profound impact it had upon them. God's glory should impact us, too. A beautiful song relating to our response to God's glory has been written by Chris Rice and sung by Kathy Troccoli:
   A purple sky to close the day,I wade the surf where dolphins play.The taste of salt, the dance of waves,And my soul wells up with, "Hallelujah!"
   A lightening flash, my pounding heart,A breaching whale, a shooting star,Give testimony that You areAnd my soul wells up with, "Hallelujah!"
   O cratered moon and sparrow's wingsO thunder's boom and Saturn's ringsUnveil our Father as you singAnd my soul wells up with, "Hallelujah!"
   The pulse of life within my wrist,A fallen snow, a rising mist,There is no higher praise than this;And my soul wells up with, "Hallelujah!"
   O praise Him, all His mighty works.There is no language where You can't be heard;Your song goes out to all the earth.Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Hallelujah!
   When our souls wells up with "Hallelujah" then we are giving the glory to God. To give the glory to God does not mean that we add anything to His glory; we merely acknowledge His glory.
   
   
   ü God's Glory Applied
   [Ezekiel] lived and wrought in the light and power of [this vision of God's glory]. We, too, need to live and work in the light and power of this vision, or we shall faint at the discouragements of the times. Servant of Jesus, stand with Ezekiel again: get the sound of the wings and the chariot wheels in your ears again. ... This is the ... vision which turns fear to hope, and sighs to songs. May it be ever before our eyes! (J. Sidlow Baxter 35)
   Please, don't allow yourself to begin a day this week without a vision of the likeness of the glory of God!
   The church is desperate for the glory of the Lord to once again fill the temple. When his glory comes, his manifest presence, people change. Once we have experienced the wonder of his glory we will be ruined to everything we have known as church. In the presence of his majesty man's agendas disintegrate. Only in a place where self has died can God take up habitation. Let us clear our schedules and make a place for the God of glory to call home.