Exodus 34:15-35:9; Matthew 27:27-31; Psalms 34:1-3; Proverbs 12:2-3
OT: “Moses was there with the Lord forty days and forty nights; he did not eat food or drink water. He wrote the Ten Commandments, the words of the covenant, on the tablets. As Moses descended from Mount Sinai — with the two tablets of the testimony in his hands as he descended the mountain — he did not realize that the skin of his face shone as a result of his speaking with the Lord. When Aaron and all the Israelites saw Moses, the skin of his face shone! They were afraid to come near him… When Moses had finished speaking with them, he put a veil over his face. But whenever Moses went before the Lord to speak with him, he would remove the veil until he came out. After he came out, he would tell the Israelites what he had been commanded, and the Israelites would see that Moses’s face was radiant. Then Moses would put the veil over his face again until he went to speak with the Lord.” (Exodus 34:28-30, 33-35 CSB)
After Moses broke the first two stone tables inscribed by God, he had to return to the mountain and re-write the commandments of God as God dictated them to him. When Moses returned from being I God’s presence for 40 days, his face radiated with God’s glory. He had become radioactive, not with harmful radiation, but holiness. As he remained in God’s presence, his body absorbed some of God’s glory, and was now radiating what he had absorbed. What happened to Moses was a physical sign that signified that he had truly been with God, and it set him apart from everyone else. While physical glowing doesn’t happen now, when we spend time with God, there should be a “glow” about us. As we live and walk full of the Holy Spirit, God’s glory (albeit not physical) should radiate from us – we should be marked as ones who have been in God’s presence… and even better… remain in God’s presence. What should radiate from us? Paul tells us in Galatians 5:22-23: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. We don’t have the ability to muster those qualities in ourselves. They only come as we allow God’s presence to abide in us through the Holy Spirit, and as we spend time with God through studying and meditating on His word, praying, and living in worship to Him.
Psalms: “I will bless the Lord at all times; his praise will always be on my lips. I will boast in the Lord; the humble will hear and be glad. Proclaim the Lord’s greatness with me; let us exalt his name together.” (Psalms 34:1-3 CSB)
The introduction to this psalm says it was written during a time that King David was fleeing for his life. It wasn’t written when he was seated on his throne in the comfort of his palace. It was written during one of the most frightening times of his life – when it seemed the whole world was against him, and he had no one to trust and no place to go. In the midst of those terrifying times, he says, “I will bless the Lord at all times. His praise will always be on my lips. I will boast, not in myself – but in The Lord. Those who are humble… they will rejoice with me.” What was radiating from David at that moment? It wasn’t fear or worry or panic or anger. It was peace and joy and confidence and self-control. How was he able to do that? He knew how to spend time with the Lord and strengthen himself in the Lord when everything around him was falling apart. If he could do that, then we should be able to do that even more so.
Jamie Hicks 