Ready for the Radiance
Opening Prayer
Thank You, Lord, that You want to spend time with me. Thank You for Your patience and kindness.
Read Exodus 34:29-35
[29] When Moses came down from Mount Sinai with the two tablets of the covenant law in his hands, he was not aware that his face was radiant because he had spoken with the LORD. [30] When Aaron and all the Israelites saw Moses, his face was radiant, and they were afraid to come near him. [31] But Moses called to them; so Aaron and all the leaders of the community came back to him, and he spoke to them. [32] Afterward all the Israelites came near him, and he gave them all the commands the LORD had given him on Mount Sinai. [33] When Moses finished speaking to them, he put a veil over his face. [34] But whenever he entered the LORD’s presence to speak with him, he removed the veil until he came out. And when he came out and told the Israelites what he had been commanded, [35] they saw that his face was radiant. Then Moses would put the veil back over his face until he went in to speak with the LORD. Scripture taken from the THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION, NIV Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Reflect
How do the Israelites react to Moses' radiant face?Moses’ descent from the mountain this time is completely different from the previous occasion. Aaron and the rest of the people seem to have learned their lesson. Instead of barely bothering to break off their partying to notice Moses’ return to the camp (cf. 32:19), now they are afraid to approach him (30). Moses has spoken with the Lord many times before, and he has spent forty days alone with him before, so why do you think his face becomes radiant this time and not the others? There are various explanations as to what the veil signifies (33). One is that the times when Moses takes the veil off, revealing the radiance, are the times when he speaks God’s word to the people. The radiance is a visible authentication that he is speaking God’s words on God’s behalf. The apostle Paul suggests, however, that the purpose of the veil is to prevent the Israelites from seeing the fading of God’s glory on Moses’ face. And, says Paul, the radiance on Moses’ face is nothing compared to the unfading and much more glorious radiance belonging to the new covenant (cf. 2 Cor. 3:13-18)!
Apply
What difference does it make to you when you spend time with the Lord? Do you think other people can tell?
Closing prayer
Lord, may I become more and more like Christ so that I will reflect Your glory to all around me.
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