Take Off the Veil
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The Israelites were still camped at the foot of Mount Sinai, where a short time before, Moses had descended the mountain with the stones on which God had inscribed His ten laws for happiness. Upon hearing the noise and seeing the golden idol the Israelites were worshiping, Moses hurled the sacred stones to the ground in righteous anger.
By the next day, Moses, after having dealt with the problem, rebuked the people: “You have committed a great sin. So now I will go up to the LORD; perhaps I can make atonement for your sin” (Exodus 32:30, NKJV). Moses climbed across those rocky boulders again and asked God to forgive the stiff-necked people for their sin.
Now for a second time, God wrote His law on the stones, outlining how He wants to protect us and keep us happy. Also, on this trip, Moses felt bold enough to ask God to see His glory. God instructed him to stand in the cleft of a rock while He put His hand over the opening. Can you just imagine the size of God’s hand? Moses was not permitted to see God’s face—just His back after He passed by and removed His hand. But that was enough.
Moses was one-on-one with God’s splendor, majesty, sovereignty, and glory. What an unimaginable experience! At the end of forty days, Moses returned to the camp with the new tablets bearing God’s law. He was unaware of what his time with God had done to him, but when Aaron and the Israelites saw Moses’ face, they were afraid to come close to him because his face was so radiant, reflecting God’s glory.
Moses removed their fear by covering his face with a veil.
However, when he went back to spend time with God, he removed the veil to absorb more of God’s goodness. Just imagine! May we spend time each day, with no veil, beholding God’s goodness, compassion, and grace, so we can be transformed into His “image from glory to glory . . . by the Spirit of the Lord” (2 Corinthians 3:18, NKJV).
Roxy Hoehn
