THE GLORY OF GOD ( PART 13 )
Pastor Christopher Choo
Lesson 3311
THE GLORY OF GOD ( PART 13 )
Why did Moses veil the glory shining from his face? ( Part 1 )
When Moses returned with the second set of the Ten Commandments at Mt.Sinai, a strange phenomenon happened.
When he came down the mountain, his face was shining with the glory of God (Exodus 34:29).
Because everyone was afraid to come near Moses (verse 31), he wore a veil over his face to shroud the glory (verses 33–35).
We are not told how long this lasted, but presumably the glory began to fade when Moses was no longer regularly going into the presence of God. How long Moses wore the veil is unknown, but the veil is not mentioned during the remaining years of his leadership—roughly 38 years.
Later in 2 Corinthians 3, Paul refers to Moses' Veil when he contrasted the glories of the Old and New Covenants, and he concluded that the New Covenant is far more glorious.
1. The Old Covenant was written on tablets of stone; the New Covenant is written on the heart (verse 3).
2. The Old Covenant is the letter of the Law, while the New Covenant is of the Spirit. The letter kills but the Spirit gives life (verse 6).
3. The Old Covenant brings condemnation; the New Covenant brings righteousness (verse 9).
4. The Old Covenant had a glory that faded; the New Covenant has a glory that remains and in fact so far surpasses it that the Old Covenant appears to have no glory by comparison (verses 10–11).
Abba Father, it appears that we reflect Your glory when we spend time - like Moses - in Your Presence. But let us not be puffed up by this revelation as we have no intrinsic glory of our own.
As Paul would direly remind us in:
Romans 3:23 (ESV)
23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
