28Moses was up on the mountain with the LORD forty days and forty nights. In all that time he neither ate nor drank. At that time he wrote the terms of the covenant--the Ten Commandments--on the stone tablets.
29When Moses came down the mountain carrying the stone tablets inscribed with the terms of the covenant, he wasn't aware that his face glowed because he had spoken to the LORD face to face. 30And when Aaron and the people of Israel saw the radiance of Moses' face, they were afraid to come near him.
31But Moses called to them and asked Aaron and the community leaders to come over and talk with him. 32Then all the people came, and Moses gave them the instructions the LORD had given him on Mount Sinai. 33When Moses had finished speaking with them, he put a veil over his face. 34But whenever he went into the Tent of Meeting to speak with the LORD, he removed the veil until he came out again. Then he would give the people whatever instructions the LORD had given him, 35and the people would see his face aglow. Afterward he would put the veil on again until he returned to speak with the LORD.
Points of Interest:
· ‘up on the mountain with the LORD forty days and forty nights’—this repeat of the covenant even includes a second time of writing the instructions and a second forty day stay on the mountain. Things go much better this time: Moses doesn’t come down to a golden calf or to wild, drunken revelry; and the stone tablets survive intact. This second time around, Moses succeeds in his mission to bring the law of God to the people; there is new hope for a happy ending and a prosperous future.
· ‘he neither ate nor drank’—Moses fasts for 40 days from both food and drink. Forty days without food is difficult, but not impossible. Forty days without water is a miracle. It’s as if Moses is nourished by God’s presence and his laws, rather than by food and water. Jesus later undergoes a 40 day fast also, and when Satan tempts him to turn a stone into a loaf of bread, he says something to the same effect: ‘One does not live by bread alone’ (Luke 4: 4).
· ‘his face glowed’—incidentally, something similar to this happened to Jesus also. One time, he went up to a mountain to meet with God, and he ended up having a conversation with God, Moses, and Elijah (the latter two having died hundreds of years ago). As they were talking, ‘his face shone like the sun, and his clothing became dazzling white’ (Matthew 17:2).
· ‘they were afraid to come near him’—do they think he’s a ghost? Are they afraid of even this reflected version of God’s glory? Or do they just find the glow a little freaky? It must have been a bit strange to see this glowing figure come down the mountain after 40 days. But when Moses calls out to them, it normalizes the situation a bit. Moses’ voice assures them that it is the same Moses that they have always known, even if he seems to have changed in some very extraordinary ways.
· ‘he put a veil over his face’—Moses’ use of the veil is interesting. He leaves his face uncovered while he is delivering God’s words; then he puts on the veil. He continues this pattern. When he is with God, he leaves his face uncovered. When he is speaking God’s words, he still leaves his face uncovered. When he is done delivering God’s message, he puts a veil on. Perhaps Moses is using a similar principle to the one we discussed about using the LORD’s name in vain: Moses considers it appropriate to show God’s glory on his face while delivering God’s words, but he doesn’t want to use the glory to add extra weight to his own words later. Basically, when the glory on his face is visible, he is God’s messenger; when it is covered by the veil, he is speaking for himself.
Taking it home:
- For you: Moses even looked different because he had been with God and heard his words. Pray that the time you spend with God would so transform you that people would see something different about you just by looking at your face.
- For your six: Have any of your six seen any drastic changes in you because of your relationship with God? Are any of them a little freaked out by what they’ve seen? Ask God to give you the right words to assure them and to explain what has happened to you.
- For our church: Pray for the people in our church who have chosen to fast during this time of Lent. Pray that God would supernaturally sustain them (and you, if you’re one of those people) during this time of fasting, and ask God to give them spiritual nourishment like they’ve never had before to more than make up for the physical nourishment they are foregoing.
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