“The old way, with laws etched in stone, led to death, though it began with such glory that the people of Israel could not bear to look at Moses’ face. For his face shone with the glory of God, even though the brightness was already fading away. Shouldn’t we expect far greater glory under the new way, now that the Holy Spirit is giving life?…Since this new way gives us such confidence, we can be very bold. We are not like Moses, who put a veil over his face so the people of Israel would not see the glory, even though it was destined to fade away. But the people’s minds were hardened, and to this day whenever the old covenant is being read, the same veil covers their minds so they cannot understand the truth. And this veil can be removed only by believing in Christ. Yes, even today when they read Moses’ writings, their hearts are covered with that veil, and they do not understand.
But whenever someone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. For the Lord is the Spirit, and wherever the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. So all of us who have had that veil removed can see and reflect the glory of the Lord. And the Lord—who is the Spirit—makes us more and more like him as we are changed into his glorious image.” 2 Corinth 3:7-8, 12-18 NLT
In Exodus, we read about Moses and the Israelites and God’s giving of the Ten Commandments. When Moses returned from the mountain after having an personal encounter with God, his face shined so brightly that no one could look upon him. The glory of God was radiating from his face, literally! As a result of Moses spending time in the presence of God, he literally soaked up God’s glory and was still glowing with it as he left the mountain. He was like a living glow in the dark toy! So to put it lightly, the Israelites were a little freaked out when they saw him, so Moses wore a veil to conceal his face because it was too bright and glorious.
In the Bible, we sometimes see two meanings for things. In these verses, there was a literal veil that Moses wore, but the veil also symbolizes the barrier between God and his people. Their hearts could not fully “see” what God was trying to show them. Their hearts were not yet enlightened–the veil remained and obscured their sight (literally and figuratively) from God’s glory.
At one time or another, a veil has covered our hearts. Because of a barrier between ourselves and God, we couldn’t see God’s glory. Instead of seeing the light, we walked in darkness.
But we have hope! Through Jesus’ death and resurrection, the veil between heaven and earth has been torn away (Matthew 27:50-54). When we turn our hearts to the Lord, we see truth and we find freedom from the veil that blinds us. The barrier between God and us no longer remains. In Christ, we can have full access to God’s spirit, in fact God spirit now resides within us! How amazing is that?!
Our encounter with the risen Christ doesn’t leave us with a glowing face like Moses, instead we radiate God’s glory daily as we spend time in His presence, being made more and more into the image of God. The veil has been removed and now we radiate God’s glory to the world around us. This brings a whole new meaning to letting your light shine!
We are not to conceal God’s glory from those around us, instead, we are to shine brightly and be a beacon in the darkness pointing others toward God.
Praying your encounters with God this week leave you filled to the fullness of God. Be bold and shine brightly!
