Daily Devotions
Exodus
"For the LORD your God is God of gods and LORD of lords, the great God, mighty and awesome, who shows no partiality nor takes a bribe." Deuteronomy 10:17
Text: Exodus 34 : 31-34
REASSURANCE NEEDED
What were the children of Israel afraid of as they gazed upon the shining face of Moses? Did they think that they had seen the ghost of Moses?
Should they not have been very glad that their leader Moses had indeed been in the very Presence of God and had returned to them to bring them a fresh sense of hope? Surely his shining face represented the glory of God! Moses knew exactly what he needed to do. He had to reassure the hearts of all in Israel.
“Then Moses called to them, and Aaron and all the rulers
of the congregation returned to him; and Moses talked with them.
Afterward all the children of Israel came near, and he gave them
as commandments all that the LORD had spoken with him on
Mount Sinai. And when Moses had finished speaking with them,
he put a veil on his face.”
EXODUS 34:31-33
1. “And Moses talked with them”
Moses had to talk to both leaders and congregation till they were assured that this was the same person who had led them out of Egypt. As the hours passed, the hearts of the people became more assured that this was no ghost. This was their leader, Moses!
2. “He gave them as commandments all that the LORD had spoken with him”
The focus and concentration of Moses was truly commendable! The center of conversation should not be his sojourn in the mountain, nor his shining face. The only important thing that was worth talking about should be the commandments that God had given to the nation! Moses must have skillfully steered all queries to the stone Tablets that he had been given by God.
3. “And when Moses had finished speaking with them, he put a veil on his face”
Moses knew the hearts of the children of Israel only too well. The people were more fascinated with the glow on his face than the commandments of God. At the end of his instruction, Moses deliberately covered his face so that no one would keep staring.
IN CONSTANT COMMUNION WITH GOD
Moses’ communion with God did not end when he came down from Mount Sinai. He kept up with his communion with the Lord.
“But whenever Moses went in before the LORD
to speak with Him, he would take the veil off until he came out;
and he would come out and speak to the children of Israel
whatever he had been commanded.”
EXODUS 34:34
The important thing was not the shining face of Moses, but the Word of God, which Moses faithfully sought to teach the yet spiritually immature children of Israel!