Exodus
34
THE
TWO TABLES RENEWED (vs. 1-4)
The fervent
and prolonged intercession of Moses had brought about the pardon of the
people; and
that, together with their repentance and their prayers (ch. 33:7), had been
accepted as
a renewal of the covenant on their part; but it remained for God to renew
the
covenant on His part. The first step to
this was the restoration of the tables, which
were
essential to the covenant, as being at once the basis of the law and of the
ordained
worship. To mark, however,
that something is always forfeited by sin, even when
forgiven, the
new tables were made to lose one glory of the first — they were not
shaped by God, as the first were (ch. 32:16), but by Moses.
vs. 1-4 –“And the LORD said unto Moses, Hew
thee two tables of stone like
unto the first: and I will write upon these
tables the words that were in the first
tables, which thou brakest. And be ready in the morning, and come up in
the
morning unto mount Sinai, and present
thyself there to me in the top of the
mount.
And no man shall come up with thee, neither let any man be seen
throughout all the mount; neither let the
flocks nor herds feed before that
mount. And he hewed two tables of stone like unto the
first; and Moses
rose up early in the morning, and went up
unto mount Sinai, as the LORD
had commanded him, and took in his hand the
two tables of stone.” – Moses
obeys all the directions given
him to the letter!
The Second Promulgation of the Moral Law –
The Renewal of the Two Tables
We are
taught that:
OF THE MORAL LAW. Moses had
not asked for a renewal of the tables.
He had requested the return of God’s
favor and the renewal of God’s
share of the covenant. It was God
who made the restoration of the tables a
condition. God, that is, will not
divorce favor from obedience, privilege
from the keeping of His law. Man
desires the rewards that God has to
bestow, but is not anxious to have
the rewards tied to a certain course of
action. God insists on
the combination. He can only enter into covenant
with those who accept His law as
their rule of life. This is not for His own
sake, but for theirs. They can only
be fitted to enjoy His favor, and the
rewards which He has to bestow on
them, by leading a life in accordance
with His law and acquiring the
character which such a life forms in them.
The broken tables must be restored.
In restoring them no change must be
made. Their very form must resemble as
nearly as may be the form of the
preceding ones. This, of course, was
typical. It foreshadowed the further
— not mere resemblance, but —
identity of the words that were to be
written on the tables. From first to
last, “the words were those that were in
the first table”
(v. 1). There is no hint of any alteration. Even Christianity
changes nothing in the law that is
moral. “Think not that I am come to
destroy
the law and the prophets,” says our Lord; “I am not come to
destroy
but to fulfil” (Matthew 5:17-18). No “jot or tittle” of the moral
law is to pass away. Even with
respect to the Sabbath, which verges upon
positive law, nothing is changed but
the day of the week, and to a small
extent the method of observance.
Apostolic writings show us the
Decalogue as still binding (Romans
13:9; Ephesians 6:2; James 2:11).
OBLIGATIONS. “Hew thee” — literally, “hew for
thyself” — “two
tables
of stone,” said the Lord to Moses; repair the
loss caused by thine own
action. Repentance
is no part of man’s original duty to God; but if he once
break the moral law, it becomes
obligatory on him. Every infraction
involves this new duty; some
infractions involve more. Fraud involves the
duty of restitution; calumny, that
of retractation; insult, that of apology;
and the like. Each of our sins lays
upon us as a new burden, not only of
guilt, but also of labor, to efface
it. We had best refrain from evil, even in
our own interest, or we may increase
our burden till we sink under it.
THE
FULFILLMENT OF GOD’S PROMISE TO MOSES (vs. 5-8)
This
section coheres closely with the last section of the preceding chapter, and
must be
regarded,
as the historical account of how God fulfilled the promises there made by
him to Moses
(ch. 33:19-23). The promises were mainly
two:
man might see of His glory. The
fulfillment of the first promise appears in
the long enumeration of attributes
contained in vs. 6-7; the fulfillment of
the second is expressed with extreme
brevity in the words — “And the
Lord
passed by before him”. Probably no further description could
be given of that marvelous
manifestation beyond those words in which it
was promised (ch. 33:21-23). Its effects
were seen in that permanent
reflection of God’s glory on the
face of Moses, which thenceforth compelled
him to wear a veil mostly when he
showed himself to the people (vs. 33-35).
vs. 5-8 – “And the LORD descended in the
cloud, and stood with him there,
and proclaimed the name of the LORD. And the LORD passed by before him,
and proclaimed, The LORD, The LORD God, merciful and gracious,
longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, Keeping mercy for thousands,
forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin,
and that will by no means clear the
guilty; visiting the iniquity” - While setting
forth His attribute of mercy in all its fullness,
God will not
have His attribute of justice forgotten (compare ch. 20:5) – “of the
fathers upon the children, and upon the
children’s children,
unto the third and to
the fourth generation.” - God did as
He had promised in ch. 33:22-23. He made His
glory pass
by, Moses, as he stood in a “clift of the rock,” and “covered him with His
hand as He passed by,” and, when He
had passed, “took
away His hand,” and allowed
Moses to
look after Him, and see a glorious and transcendent vision — a vision so
bright
and
radiant, and so real, that the light which streamed from it settled
on Moses face, and
remained
there (v. 20) In this
passage God proclaimed His name; not however, as in the
burning
bush, an actual name contained in a single word — but a
description in many words
of His
essential nature — a description setting forth especially His three qualities
of mercy,
truth, and justice, but dwelling most upon the first of the three
— perhaps, as most
essential,
for “God is love” (I John 4:8) —
certainly, as most needing to be prominently
set forth
at the time, when His favor had been justly forfeited, and
but for His mercy could
not have been
restored. Note the accumulation of terms that are nearly synonymous:
Ø Merciful
(or pitiful);
Ø Gracious;
Ø Long-suffering;
Ø Abundant in
goodness;
Ø Keeping
mercy for thousands: and
Ø Forgiving
iniquity and transgression and sin
An
accumulation for the purpose of emphasis — to assure Moses, and through
him
mankind at
large, of the reality of this attribute, on which the possibility of our
salvation
depends, and which had never hitherto been set forth with anything like
such fullness. (I would like to emphasize the remarkable
revelation also, that God
is “abundant in TRUTH” – what a concept! –
CY – 2010) – “And
Moses made
haste, and bowed his head toward the earth,
and worshipped.” - Worshipping
the
glory
that had passed by, and accepting the gracious words addressed to him.
The Second Proclamation of God’s Name
God had
proclaimed His name to Moses, when He spoke with him out of the burning
bush. He
had declared it to be JEHOVAH,
“the Self-Existent One.” Under this
name the
people of
Midian,
until that of which He is here speaking.
Hitherto it had sufficed for them. It
had marked
Him as:
Ø Eternal;
Ø Uncaused;
Ø Unconditioned;
Ø Self-sufficient;
Ø All-powerful
But it had
not revealed His moral nature. Something of that had always been known to man.
Something
more had become known to
But in
their present state of sorrow and depression (ch. 33:4-6) something further was
needed. God
accordingly “proclaimed
his name” afresh. Of this second proclamation
we may
note:
name are “Jehovah,
Jehovah El,” or “the
Self-Existent, the Self-Existent
God.” What had been revealed before
is confirmed; nay, is still put in the
forefront, as the proper foundation
of all the rest. For a true knowledge of
God, we must, first
and foremost, have the conviction that there is a
self-existent being, eternal, uncaused, the cause of all
things, and therefore
of our own
existence, on whom we are absolutely
dependent. It follows, after
this, to inquire and learn the moral
character of this Eternal One.
The Jewish
commentators make out thirteen epithets of God in these
two
verses, and say
that all but one are epithets of mercy. This seems to be
an
overstatement of
the actual fact, that the epithets of mercy form a
large
numerical majority.
They are:
ü Rakhum, “the tender or pitiful one,” who is full
of kindness and
compassion;
ü Khannun, “the gracious one,” who bestows His benefits out of mere
favor, without
obligation;
ü Erek appayim, “the long-suffering one,” who is not
easily provoked,
but “suffers long and is kind”;
ü Rab-khesed, “the great in mercy” which
needs no explanation;
ü Notser-khesed, “the keeper of mercy,” He who
does not desert those
He loves, but is merciful to them, and
their children, from generation to
generation;
ü Nose ‘avon, vapesha vekhattaah, “the forgiver of iniquity and
transgression and sin” — the being who alone can
forgive sin and give
peace to the guilty soul. Moses did
well to make appeal to this
description
of Himself by God Himself, when
time provoked God to destroy them (Numbers 14:17-18). We shall do
well to make our appeal to the same, whenever we have
offended our
Lord and Master by our faults and shortcomings, our “sins,
negligences, and
ignorances.” Conjured
by this “name,” God can
scarcely refuse to
reply, as He replied to Moses, “I have pardoned
according
to thy word” (Numbers 14:20).
God gives it as part of His name,
that He “will by no means clear the guilty,”
or rather perhaps that He will not “always” do so
(Kalisch). There is some
guilt that He will not, cannot
pardon. “There
is a sin unto death — I do not
say
that a man shall pray for it” (I John 5:16). Unrepented sin cannot
be forgiven. “Blasphemy against the Holy Ghost” cannot be
forgiven.
(Mark 3:29) - God’s justice is an
essential part of His nature, no less than His
mercy; and is perhaps, as has been
argued, a necessary consequence of His love.
Again, God is true — “abundant in truth” (v. 6). There can
be no trust in
any being who is not true. Truth lies at the root of
all moral goodness; and
the truth of God is pre-supposed in any revealed
religion, since without it
revelation could have no force or value. Further,
both in the Old and the
New Testament, God reveals Himself
as “true,” or sometimes as “the
truth.”
“Thy truth reacheth unto the
clouds” (Psalm 108:4). “The
truth
of
the Lord endureth for ever” (Psalm 117:2). “God is true.” “I am the
truth.”
It is essential to a right conception of Him that we should believe in
His absolute
veracity. If we “make him a
liar,” (I John 1:10) and we ruin our
whole idea of Him. We might as well
make Him non-existent??????????
THE
RENEWAL OF THE COVENANT (vs. 9-26)
Dazed,
as it would seem, by the splendor of the vision which he had beheld, Moses
forgot
that God had already pledged Himself to renew the covenant, and lead the
people
in person to
with
God on their behalf, and besought him:
to highly
recommend – Deuteronomy ch 32 v 9 – God’s Inheritance by
Arthur Pink –
this web site – CY – 2010) – Without replying separately to
these requests,
God formally renews the covenant; promises not only to go up
with the people,
but to work miracles for them (v. 10), and to drive out the
nations before
them when they have arrived (v. 11); and makes a brief
summary of the
chief points of positive observance, which He requires of
them in addition
to the moral law. These points may be reduced to twelve:
Ø That
no treaty of peace should be made with the Canaanite nations (v.12).
Ø That all
their images, altars, and groves should be destroyed (v.13).
Ø That
no molten image should be made to represent God (v.17).
Ø That
the Passover festival should be observed as previously commanded
(v.18).
Ø That
the first-born should be dedicated, or redeemed (vs. 19-20).
Ø That
the Sabbath rest should be observed at all times of the year (v. 21).
Ø That
the feast of Pentecost (weeks) should be observed regularly (v. 22).
Ø That
the feast of tabernacles should also be observed (ibid).
Ø That
at all the three great festivals all the males should appear before
God (v.23).
Ø That
no leaven should be used with any sacrifice (v.25).
Ø That
first-fruits of all things should be offered to God (v.26).
Ø That
no kid should be seethed in her mother’s milk (v.26).
vs. 9-26 – “And he said, If now I have
found grace in thy sight” - The vision
vouchsafed
him makes Moses feel that he has indeed been received into favor with
God. The
first use which it occurs to him to make of his position is to intercede anew
for his
people, he, apparently, forgets that God has already promised to go with them
(ch. 33:17), and prefers exactly the same request
which he had made on the preceding
day, and
which had been granted. To this he adds a prayer for pardon, and a
request
that God
would take
piece by Arthur Pink – CY – 2010) – “O LORD, let my LORD, I pray thee, go
among us; for it is a stiff-necked people; and
pardon our iniquity and our sin,
and take us for thine inheritance. And He said, Behold, I make a covenant:
before all thy people I will do marvels” - As the
drying up of the
(Joshua
3:16-17); the falling down of the walls of
slaughter
of the army of the five kings by hailstones (Joshua 10:11), and the like
“such as have not been done in all the
earth, nor in any
nation: and all
the
people among which thou art shall see the work of the LORD: for it is a terrible
thing that I will do with thee. Observe thou that which I command thee this
day:
behold, I drive out before thee the Amorite, and the
Canaanite, and the Hittite,
and the Perizzite, and the Hivite, and the Jebusite. Take
heed to thyself, lest
thou make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land whither thou goest,
lest it be
for a snare in the
midst of thee: (ch.
23:33) But ye shall destroy their altars,
break their images” - This
command is more sweeping than the corresponding one
in the “Book of the Covenant” (ch.
23:24), which expressly mentions only the
“images.” Here the
destruction of idol-altars and idol-groves is further commanded.
(Judges
2:2) – “and cut down their groves: For
thou shalt worship no other
God: for the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God: Lest thou make
a covenant with the inhabitants of the
land, and they
go a whoring after their
gods, and do sacrifice unto their gods, and one call thee, and thou eat of his
sacrifice; And thou take of their daughters unto thy
sons, and their daughters
go a whoring after their gods, and make thy
sons go a whoring after their gods.” –
The
probable consequences of making treaties with the Canaanite nations, alluded to
in v.12,
and in ch. 23:33, are here fully set
forth. They include:
ü Joining in
their idol-feasts;
ü Intermarriages;
ü The actual
apostasy of. those who married idolatrous wives.
ü
The event
fully justified the warning here given. See Judges 2:2,11-13, 17; 6:25;
10:6. “They go a whoring” – Mentioned
three times here, this expression, so
common in the
later books, is here used for the first time It implies that the relation
between man
and God is analogous to that of the marriage-bond, so that deserting
Him for other
gods is a species of adultery. Compare the
frequent representations
in the New
Testament of Christ as the “Bridegroom” and the Church as
His “Bride.” –
“Thou shalt make thee no molten gods. The
feast of unleavened bread shalt
thou keep. Seven days thou shalt eat unleavened bread, as I commanded
thee,
in the time of the month Abib: for in the month Abib thou
camest out from
All that
openeth the matrix is mine; and every firstling among thy cattle,
whether ox or sheep, that is male. But the firstling of an ass thou shalt redeem
with a lamb: and if thou redeem him not,
then shalt thou break his neck. All the
firstborn of thy sons thou shalt redeem.
And none shall appear before me empty.
Six
days thou shalt work, but on the seventh day thou shalt rest: in earing time
and in harvest thou shalt rest.” - This is
repeated from the “Book of the Covenant”
(ch. 23:12), but with a remarkable addition — “in earing time and in harvest thou
shalt
rest.” (An emphatic
command of which to ignore must mean that, by so
doing, one
does not believe that God will provide – CY – 2010)
“ And thou
shalt observe the feast of weeks, of the
first-fruits of wheat harvest, and the
feast of ingathering at the year’s end. Thrice
in the year shall all your men
children appear before the LORD God, the
God of
the nations before thee, and enlarge thy
borders:” - The original promise to
Abraham was
to give to his seed “the
this
promise was enlarged, and he was told that the land assigned them was the
entire
tract
between the Nile and the
possession
first of the one, while at a
later date their border was enlarged, and they
became
masters of the other. See I Kings 4:21,24; II Chronicles 9:26 – “neither shall
any man desire thy land, when
thou shalt go up to appear
before the LORD thy
God thrice in the year.” This
promise is nowhere else made. It would serve as a great
encouragement
to the proper observance of the festivals. “Thou shalt not offer the blood
of my sacrifice with leaven; neither shall the sacrifice of the feast of the passover
be left unto the morning. The
first of the firstfruits of thy land thou shalt bring unto
the house of the LORD thy God.” – (repeated
from ch. 23:18-19) - “Thou shalt not
seethe a kid in his mother’s milk.” - It is
remarkable that both legislations terminate
with
the same, somewhat strange, proviso. There must have been an intention of
impressing
strongly
upon the people the principle of tenderness involved in it.
The
Covenant Renewed
That God
should have consented to renew the covenant with
had been
violated so flagrantly is evidence of two things: (1) His faithfulness
towards His
true followers, which makes Him “merciful unto thousands of
those that love Him,” and renders
Him tender to the children for the sake of the
fathers; (2)
The value that he sets on intercessory prayer, when offered earnestly
by a
believer. In the renewal itself we may notice:
HAD BEEN MADE TO
THE PEOPLE PREVIOUSLY. Leadership
had
been promised;
help in driving out the nations had been promised; the
possession of
not been done in all the earth, nor in any
nation” (v.10) - not an
enlargement of the nation’s boundaries beyond
the limits of
(v. 24) — not security against their
land being invaded when they went
up to the three great festivals (ibid.). These,
so far as the people were
concerned, were new and additional
pledges. God is apt “to do exceeding
abundantly
beyond all that we ask or think.” (Ephesians 3:20) - He ties
Himself down to perform certain
promises; but He does not tie Himself down
not to do more than He has promised.
He will give to man ultimately, not only
more than He is bound to give, but
more than “it has entered into the heart
of
man
to conceive.” (I
Corinthians 2:9)
STRINGENT THAN
BEFORE. According to the former covenant,
idolatrous images were not to be
spared; according to this neither images,
nor altars, nor groves (v.13);
according to that, the Sabbath rest was not
to be infringed, as a general rule —
according to this, not even on account
of the most necessary operations of
husbandry (v. 21); according to that,
treaties were not to be made with
the Canaanitish nations — according to
this, neither treaties nor
matrimonial alliances. To balance the greater
favors, there were imposed greater
obligations, whereby was inculcated
the lesson that the two are
correlative.
III. THE PRECEPTS REIMPOSED WERE, IN ADDITION TO THE
DECALOGUE,
CHIEFLY THOSE CONNECTED WITH WORSHIP. It
was the
attraction of a corrupt worship which had caused
away. Their
best security against a second similar fall would be careful and
constant
observance of the pure worship prescribed to them. If they kept
properly
the Sabbath, the great festivals, the laws of sacrifice, of
redemption,
of first fruits, and whatever was similar to these, it might well
content
their religious aspirations, and leave no such vacuum in their lives
as they had
hoped to fill with their calf-worship. True, that many of the
precepts
could not be observed until they reached
compensation,
they would have in the wilderness the daily worship —
morning and
evening — of the tabernacle, and the near presence of God in
the pillar
of the cloud, not henceforth to be withdrawn from them. The true
spiritual
life could be amply sustained on these — it was only a pseudo-
spiritualism
that the calf-worship would have exercised.
FINAL
DESCENT OF MOSES FROM SINAI (vs. 27-35)
The
covenant having been renewed, Moses prepared to descend, having first
however
received a command to commit to writing the words of this second
covenant
(v. 27). He received back the tables from God, inscribed with the Ten
Commandments,
and after a stay in Sinai of equal duration with the former one
(v.28),
descended, having the tables in his hands. He was not aware that the skin
of his
face had become radiant (v.29), and first learnt the fact by the rulers being
afraid
to come near him (v.30). After
conversing with them and with the people he
resolved
to “put a
vail on his face” ordinarily, only taking it off when he “went in
before the Lord” into
the “tent
of meeting,” and when, having received a message
from
the Lord to the people, he came out to deliver it.
vs. 27-35 – “And the LORD said unto Moses,
Write thou these words: for after
the tenor of these words I have made a
covenant with thee” - That is, “the
covenant on my part is conditional on the
observance of ‘these words’ on
the
part of
And he was there with the LORD forty days
and forty nights” – As on the
former
occasion (ch. 24:18). The patience and faith of the people
was tested by this
second
long delay. Happily, they stood the test; and on Moses’ final descent from
Sinai
the Israelites were found expectant and obedient (vs. 30-32) – “he did
neither
eat bread, nor drink water.” – This was so
also on the former occasion
(Deuteronomy
9:9), though it is not mentioned in Exodus. The near presence of God
sustained
the vital powers and made food unnecessary. Moses, Elijah (I Kings 19:8),
and our
Lord (Matthew 4:1-2) have alone accomplished a fast of this duration.
“And He wrote upon the tables the words of the covenant, the ten
commandments.”
- It has been argued from this expression that Moses wrote
the words on the second tables;
and it
would be natural so to understand the passage, had nothing else been said on
the
subject.
But in v. 1 we are told that “God said, I will write upon these tables;” and the
same is
repeated in Deuteronomy 10:2. Moreover in v. 4 (ibid), it is distinctly
declared
“He” (i.e. God) “wrote on the tables according to the first writing.” We must
therefore
regard “He” in this passage as
meaning “the Lord,” which is quite
possible
according
to the Hebrew idiom. “And it came to pass, when Moses came down
from
mount Sinai with the two tables of
testimony in Moses’ hand, when he came down
from the mount, that Moses wist not that
the skin of his face shone while he talked
with Him.”
The glory of God, as revealed to Moses on this occasion,
caused his face to
become
henceforth radiant. Compare the effect
of the transfiguration (Matthew 17:2).
“And when Aaron and all the children of
face shone; and they were afraid to come
nigh him. And Moses called unto them” –
Moses bade them
approach — no doubt assured them that there was no cause for fear
(Luke
24:38-39) — and by his manner and familiar voice dispelled their fears and
reassured
them - “and Aaron and all the rulers of the congregation returned unto him: and
Moses talked with them. And
afterward all the children of
he gave them in commandment all that the LORD had
spoken with him in mount
Sinai.” “All,” i.e., “that the Lord had commanded
him to enjoin upon them” —
especially
the precepts in vs.10-26 — not all that he had heard from God in the space of
forty
days and forty
nights – “And till Moses had done
speaking with them, he put a
vail on his face. But when Moses went in before the LORD to
speak with Him, he
took the vail off, until he came out. And
he came out, and spake unto the children
of
of Moses, that the skin of Moses’ face
shone: and Moses put the vail upon his
face again, until he went in to speak with
Him.”
The
Shining of Moses’ Face
This
strange phenomenon, one of the distinctive marks which most closely assimilate
the Jewish
with the Christian lawgiver, is well worthy of our attentive consideration:
had not, on the former occasion,
left any such visible trace. It cannot,
therefore, be ascribed simply to
communion with God for a period of a
certain duration. We must endeavor
to see how the second sojourn in
Sinai was differentiated from the
first, if we would discover the real cause
of the wonder. Now the difference
was mainly this: that Moses in the
interval had been severely tried,
and had emerged from the trial better,
purer, fitter for close intercourse
with the Supreme. He had shown zeal,
fervor, promptness, in checking the
revolt against Jehovah; he had shown
a spirit of extraordinary
self-sacrifice in refusing to become the sole male
progenitor of a people whom God
would substitute for the existing
(ch. 32:10), and in offering himself
as an atonement for the people’s sins
(ib, 32); and he
had shown that persistent importunity in kindly intercession
for others (ch. 33:12-16) with which
God is especially pleased. Under these
circumstances — thus elevated above
his former self — he had been admitted,
not only to a second conference of forty
days’ duration, but also to a special
vision — never vouchsafed to any but
him — of the
Divine glory (ib,
8-23;
34:5-6). The radiance that rested on
his face is ascribed especially to his long
“talk”
with God (v.29); but we can scarcely doubt that a portion of it was due
to the transcendent vision which
passed before him prior to the forty days’
conference. The brightness then shed
upon his face increased from day to
day during the long and close
communion closer now than before, from his
greater fitness; and he, “with open face beholding the glory of the
Lord,
was
changed into the same image from glory to glory” (II
Corinthians
3:18), until his countenance was
such that it could not be steadfastly beheld
for long; and he, in mercy to his
people, veiled it.
ü Its
immediate effect was to alarm. “Aaron and the elders were afraid to
come nigh him.” The unknown
and unexpected is always fearful to man;
and this was a novelty
which might well startle. What did the sight
portend? Certainly, an
increase of supernatural power. Would this power
be used to punish and
avenge? Would the radiance burn like fire, or scathe
like the thunder-bolt?
They could not tell. Knowing their own sinfulness,
they
trembled, conscience making cowards of them, as it does of us all.
And they feared to
approach — nay, they drew back — perhaps fled.
ü Its after
effect was to increase Moses’ authority. The glow was a
perpetual credential of
his Divine mission. Like the moon, it witnessed,
whenever seen, to the
absent sun. Always beheld, whenever Moses had
any new orders to give,
it was a sanction to his entire legislation, and
caused the laws which
were least palatable to be accepted without
resistance. Though it did not prevent partial revolts, it
kept the bulk of
the nation faithful to
their leader for forty years. Even when they did not
see the brightness, the
veil that hid it showed that it was there. Its
presence could never be
forgotten. Moses was exalted by it into a
condition half-Divine, half-human;
and was felt to be marked out by
Heaven as the supreme
chief of the nation.
ü To
strengthen and support Moses in his difficult position as leader of a
wayward and “stiff-necked” people.
ü To impress
the people, and render them more submissive and obedient.
ü To symbolize
the great truth, that by drawing near to God, by
communion with Him, we
become like Him — like Him and ever more
like; changing “from glory to glory;” reflecting His
attributes, as snow-
summits reflect the
sunset; receiving from Him a real effluence, which
shows itself in our
lives, in our acts, in our very features. There is in the
countenances of God’s
most advanced servants a brightness, a gladness, a
beaming radiance, which
can come only of long communion with Him,
and which is a sensible
evidence, to those who “have eyes to
see,” that
they are indeed His
friends, His favored ones. The best artists —
Perugino, Francia, Rafaelle
sometimes, Fra Angelico, Fra Bartolomeo,
Bellini, Luini, Basaiti — express
this in their pictures. But it is not a
grace that has passed
away. The eye that has true
spiritual vision may
still see among those who walk the
earth faces with such unmistakable
glow of true piety upon
them as marks their owners for God’s friends,
Christ’s loved ones,
souls constant in their communion with Him who
is “the Light of the world,” and “in whose light
we shall see light.”
The
Symbolism of the Veil on Moses’ Face
The veil
upon Moses’ face shrouded the glory of his countenance from
at such
times as he spake to them the commands of God. So God Himself shrouds His glory
from us
ordinarily, and only at rare intervals, when He would impress us most deeply,
lifts
the veil
and lets the brightness flash forth. So Christ, when He came on earth, emptied
Himself of
the glory which He had with the Father, hid it away, and seldom let it be seen.
Tenderness
and compassion for man’s weakness is the cause of the concealment in such case.
Human
nature, while we are in the flesh, cannot bear the blinding light of Divine glory,
any more
than the eye can bear to gaze upon the noonday sun. The veil was thus,
primarily,
a token of Moses’
love for
WAS SHROUDED UNDER THE MOSAICAL
DISPENSATION. The
Trinity, the Incarnation, the
Atonement, Justification, Sanctification, even
Immortality — all the great
doctrines which constitute the heart and kernel
of true religion, though in a
certain sense contained in Mosaism, were
concealed, hidden away, wrapped in a
veil. Men “saw
through a glass darkly”
(I Corinthians 13:12) fewer or more
of these truths — had, that is, some dim
conception of them, but saw none of
them clearly till they were “brought to
light” by the Gospel.
(I Timothy 1:10) - “Lord, now lettest
thou thy servant
depart
in peace, according to thy word, for mine eyes have seen thy
salvation,” said Simeon,
(Luke 2:25-32) when he looked upon
the Lord,
then first having made plain to him
what had been darkness and cloud
previously. Much of the Divine
scheme of man’s salvation had been a
mystery even to angels until it was
revealed to them by and through the
Church (Ephesians 3:4-11). When
Christ came, and lived, and
preached,
“the
people which sat in darkness saw great light, and to them which sat
in
the region and shadow of death light sprang up”- (Matthew
4:16). A
solemn thought to Christians that
this is so; for responsibility is in
proportion
to the light vouchsafed. “He that despised Moses’ law died without
mercy
under
two or three witnesses. Of how much
sorer punishment shall he be
thought
worthy who hath trodden under foot the Son of God, and hath
counted
the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified, an
unholy
thing, and hath done despite unto the Spirit of grace?”
(Hebrews 10:28-29).
HEARTS AND MINDS OF THE JEWS. The veil of
obstinate unbelief has
so shrouded, and still so shrouds,
the intelligence of the race, that, though
Moses is read to them every Sabbath
day, and the words of the prophets
are continually sounded in their
ears, they cannot see or understand. Still
they remain “fools and slow of heart to believe all that
the prophets have
spoken”
(Luke 24:25). Like the Ethiopian eunuch, they “understand
not what they read” (Acts 8:30-31); but, unlike him,
they will not accept
guidance. “The veil is upon their heart” (IICorinthians
3:15). Christians
should ever pray that the time may
come, and come speedily, when “the
veil
shall be taken away” (ibid. v. 16), and so “all
(Romans 11:26). Hopeless as the task
seems, Christians should still labor for
the conversion of the eight millions
(who knows the number today as this
was written 200 years ago – CY –
2010) of Jews dispersed throughout the
world. Christians should beware lest
they themselves, by their sinful lives,
intensify and
prolong the blindness of
brows that
otherwise might have cast it off, and dimming the brightness of
the Gospel of
Christ that otherwise might have pierced through the veil’s
folds, and have
given sight to the shrouded eyes.
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