Exodus 34:29-35: Shine for the Glory of the Lord
After Moses communes with God for 40 days and nights, he leaves Mt. Sinai, and his face is literally shining with the glory of the Lord. His face was so bright that he needed to put a veil on his face when speaking with others.
While I may not literally glow as Moses, I pray to be such an example. That my time spent with God makes me glow with the joy of the Lord. I want my face to show I am a child of the most High King and to be a reflection of Him wherever I go. I want my faith to be noticeable.
Although I am very shy, I want my relationship with Jesus to make me stand out. I do not want others to be afraid, nor do I want to cover my face, but I want to shine for the glory of the Lord so others may know and love Him too!
(Exodus 34:29-35) And it came to pass, when Moses came down from mount Sinai with the two tables of testimony in Moses' hand, when he came down from the mount, that Moses wist not that the skin of his face shone while he talked with him. And when Aaron and all the children of Israel saw Moses, behold, the skin of his face shone; and they were afraid to come nigh him.
And Moses called unto them; and Aaron and all the rulers of the congregation returned unto him: and Moses talked with them. And afterward all the children of Israel came nigh: and he gave them in commandment all that the Lord had spoken with him in mount Sinai. And till Moses had done speaking with them, he put a vail on his face.
But when Moses went in before the Lord to speak with him, he took the vail off, until he came out. And he came out, and spake unto the children of Israel that which he was commanded. And the children of Israel saw the face of Moses, that the skin of Moses' face shone: and Moses put the vail upon his face again, until he went in to speak with him.
Moses Veiled his Face, but our Unveiled Faces can Behold the Glory of the Lord
With that said, I want to make it clear what the Bible says, that we need to move forward to the New Testament and not live on the Old Covenant. 2 Corinthians chapter 3 clearly shows that we no longer live in the chains of the old laws, but in the grace of Jesus' Salvation and the new covenant (see Matthew 19:16-21 where Jesus says we are still to obey the 10 commandments.).
Please read the passage below where the apostle Paul clearly states we are to follow Jesus and bask in the light of His grace. Paul points out that we should not harden our hearts to obeying the 10 commandments, and to understand that true glory lies in Jesus Christ and His forgiveness of sins.
For those who still believe in following the Old Covenant ways, do not dismiss this important passage that points us away from the old ways that kill the soul (because no one could ever follow all their man-made laws, and they were always considered unclean), and turn to the True Light of Jesus whose death on the cross gave us freedom to ask Him for forgiveness of our sins without unnecessary rituals.
The below is a long passage because I decided to share the amplified version to make it easier to understand. Remember, grace and freedom in Christ is not freedom to sin (See Romans 6:1-2).
(2 Corinthians 3:6-18, AMP) He has qualified us [making us sufficient] as ministers of a new covenant [of salvation through Christ], not of the letter [of a written code] but of the Spirit; for the letter [of the Law] kills [by demanding obedience to 600 laws], but the Spirit gives life.
Now if the ministry of death, engraved in letters on stones [the covenant of the Law which led to death because of sin], came with such glory and splendor that the Israelites were not able to look steadily at the face of Moses because of its glory, [a brilliance] that was fading, how will the ministry of the Spirit [the new covenant which allows us to be Spirit-filled] fail to be even more glorious and splendid? For if the ministry that brings condemnation [the old covenant, the Law] has glory, how much more does glory overflow in the ministry that brings righteousness [the new covenant which declares believers free of guilt and sets them apart for God’s special purpose]! Indeed, what had glory [the Law], in this case no longer has glory because of the glory that surpasses it [the gospel]. For if that [Law] which fades away came with glory, how much more must that [gospel] which remains and is permanent abide in glory and splendor!
Since we have such a [glorious] hope and confident expectation, we speak with great courage, and we are not like Moses, who used to put a veil over his face so that the Israelites would not gaze at the end of the glory which was fading away. But [in fact] their minds were hardened [for they had lost the ability to understand]; for until this very day at the reading of the old covenant the same veil remains unlifted, because it is removed [only] in Christ. But to this day whenever Moses is read, a veil [of blindness] lies over their heart; but whenever a person turns [in repentance and faith] to the Lord, the veil is taken away.
Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty [emancipation from bondage, true freedom]. And we all, with unveiled face, continually seeing as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are progressively being transformed into His image from [one degree of] glory to [even more] glory, which comes from the Lord, [who is] the Spirit.
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