“Reflecting the Glory of the Lord” (Exodus 34:29–35)

“Reflecting the Glory of the Lord” (Exodus 34:29–35)
Pastor Cameron Jungels
Eastside Baptist Church
Sunday PM, May 5, 2019

Exodus 34:29–35 (NIV)

²⁹ 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. ³⁰ When Aaron and all the Israelites saw Moses, his face was radiant, and they were afraid to come near him. ³¹ But Moses called to them; so Aaron and all the leaders of the community came back to him, and he spoke to them. ³² Afterward all the Israelites came near him, and he gave them all the commands the Lord had given him on Mount Sinai.

³³ When Moses finished speaking to them, he put a veil over his face. ³⁴ 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, ³⁵ 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.

1. The Glory of the Lord is Revealed in His Goodness.

a. The Declaration of His Goodness

⁶ And he passed in front of Moses, proclaiming, "The LORD, the LORD, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, ⁷ maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin. Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished; he punishes the children and their children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation." (Exod. 34:6-7 NIV)

b. The Application of His Goodness

¹ The LORD said to Moses, "Chisel out two stone tablets like the first ones, and I will write on them the words that were on the first tablets, which you broke. ² Be ready in the morning, and then come up on Mount Sinai. Present yourself to me there on top of the mountain. (Exod. 34:1-2 NIV)

Then the LORD said: "I am making a covenant with you. Before all your people I will do wonders never before done in any nation in all the world. The people you live among will see how awesome is the work that I, the LORD, will do for you. (Exod. 34:10 NIV)

²⁷ Then the LORD said to Moses, "Write down these words, for in accordance with these words I have made a covenant with you and with Israel." ²⁸ Moses was there with the LORD forty days and forty nights without eating bread or drinking water. And he wrote on the tablets the words of the covenant-- the Ten Commandments. (Exod. 34:27-28 NIV)

2. The Glory of the Lord is Reflected by the One Who Communes with the Lord.

a. Moses’s radiant face reflects the Lord’s glory as manifested in his goodness (Exod 34:6–7).

b. Moses’s radiant face reflects his spending much time with the Lord.

c. Moses’s radiant face is closely associated with receiving and proclaiming the gracious Word of the Lord.

...he was not aware that his face was radiant because he had spoken with the LORD (Exod. 34:29 NIV)

When Moses finished speaking to them, he put a veil over his face. (Exod. 34:33 NIV)

³⁴ 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, ³⁵ 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. (Exod. 34:34-35 NIV)

d. As radiant as Moses’s shining face was, it was a glory that represented a temporary covenant that at one point would give way to a better, new covenant.