Recently, God has had me look at the life of Moses. Moses was a powerful and effective leader. He was humble, yet powerful. He was a man called to lead perhaps two million dejected, defeated slaves out of bondage and into freedom. He was called to bring order to a stiff-necked people who began running wild once they tasted freedom. I finished listening to a fourteen-part study on his life; suffice to say, I have learned many lessons. One of my favorite sentences about Moses is, “his face was radiant because he had spoken with the LORD.”
Exodus chapter 34 verses 29-35 say, “ 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. When Aaron and all the Israelites saw Moses, his face was radiant, and they were afraid to come near him. But Moses called to them; so Aaron and all the leaders of the community came back to him, and he spoke to them. Afterward all the Israelites came near him, and he gave them all the commands the LORD had given him on Mount Sinai. When Moses finished speaking to them, he put a veil over his face. 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, 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.”
Moses is one of those epic leaders that we can look to and hope to emulate his example and perhaps foster some similar qualities. God spoke directly to Moses. God speaks directly to us. Moses’ face shone brightly because of his close proximity to God’s presence. He was saturated with God’s being. We can shine the same way, if we will draw close to God and allow His holy presence to saturate us.
The Israelites were uncomfortable around Moses when he came down bright faced. The same might be true for people around us if we are spending time in God’s presence and emanating His light from us.
To paraphrase Matthew Henry, like Moses wore a veil to cover his shining face, we must learn humility and modesty. God might be revealing great things to us or using us to do some good works, but we should never become puffed up about either. After all, it is God who works in and through us. Personally, our righteousness is as filthy rags.
In continuation of considering the veil, Henry also says, “preach to them [people] as they are able to bear it.” He essentially says, teach people as they are ready for the lesson. Don’t lord too difficult revelations over them. Nor should we try to dazzle a crowd by what we have learned or who God is molding us.
Moses’ face shone because of his time with God. Every time he went to speak with God, he removed the veil. Henry said, “before God, every man does and must appear unveiled.” Being in God’s presence, honest, humble and vulnerable is how Moses’ face came to shine, and as a habit, that is how he was to approach God- open, humble, and vulnerable. That expectation remains true for us today.
Like the epic leader, we are called to God to hear His purposes and plans, and we are to be His emissaries displaying the light He has ignited within us while embracing all humility and planting the seeds that can be accepted now or in due time. We are also expected to approach God in honesty, humility, and vulnerability.
