When Moses came down from Mount Sinai, with the two tablets of the testimony in his hand as he came down from the mountain, Moses did not know that the skin of his face shone because he had been talking with God.
Exodus 34:29
This is the immediate effect of Moses encountering the glory of God on the mountain. For a second time Moses ascended Sinai. There God give him his request to behold God’s glory, even though it was just the “back” of God as He passed by, it was enough to physically transform Moses unknowingly. The glory of God left an afterglow. The face of Moses became radiant from talking with the God of glory.
The result when Moses came back to Israel’s camp was evident to all who saw him. The face of Moses shone in such an intense way that the sight was disturbing to everyone. The people were afraid when they saw it. Moses felt perfectly normal. But encountering God had changed Moses. And that encounter affected everyone with whom Moses came into contact.
I am not expecting to physically encounter God this same way, but this story reminds me that were it to happen, it would be significant and probably very overwhelming. So any person casually claiming to have spoken with God face to face has got some explaining to do if their face isn’t ultra-bright! Yes, I do want to encounter God. And as I open His Word each day, I see stories of His glory. I am witness to the power of God. I gain a language of worship. And I hope to convey the glory of God as I find Him in His Word. I know He will lead me to a final Day where the shining face of Jesus will beam upon me!
Jesus, through the work of the Holy Spirit, transforms me now as Paul reminds me in 2 Corinthians 3:18:
And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.
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