A Radiant Face
Opening Prayer
Lord, make me aware of how my facial expressions appear to others. Help me to be radiant of You.
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.
New International Version (NIV)
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Reflect
Come with wonder that Christ “gave himself up for [the church]… to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish” (Eph. 5:25,27).
“A picture is worth a thousand words”—and faces communicate much. The combination of eyes, eyebrows and mouth is captured in the increasing range of emojis (“smileys” used in electronic messages): happiness and sadness, love and hate, excitement and boredom, acceptance and rejection, confidence and fear, contentment and anxiety. Look at the faces in a crowd when a sporting team wins or loses. What do people see as we worship, or leave a service, or talk about Christ? Or when we are with someone we love deeply? Faces affect how words come across.
Moses was unaware that his face was “radiant” (29), but when the people saw it they kept their distance. Moses, however, “called to them” (31) to come near, not covering his face until he had finished speaking. R.W.L. Moberly notes that the Hebrew qaran (“emit rays”; 29,30,35) is related to qeren “horn”: “Moses was to the people what they wanted the calf to be—a leader and mediator of the divine presence” (At the Mountain of God). Radiance indicates that Moses has been with God, and so the commands he issues are indeed what “the Lord had given him on Mount Sinai” (32).
Paul sees in the “veil” a picture of a temporary and hiding nature (2 Cor. 3:7–18), but he also speaks of how God “made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of God’s glory displayed in the face of Christ. But we have this treasure in jars of clay” (2 Cor. 4:6,7). In the ordinariness of everyday life, through the imperfections, fragility and cracks in the jars, we display this light to all around—and our faces play a major part. Being radiant flows from time spent with God, as we remain open to the work of Christ in our lives.
Apply
Reflect on how others might see some radiance in your face. It may help to consider how you see radiance in others.
Closing prayer
Lord, cause Your people to understand the value of time spent with You as we commune with our Creator.
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