“Let the Glory of the Lord Shine!”

Scripture: Exodus 34:29-35

Moses had been called to go up the mountain to receive the Law of God for the people of Israel. We normally identify the law with the Ten Commandments, found in Exodus 20:1-17. But the entire word that was given to Moses covers 11 chapters - from 20 to 31! And, of course, we also remember Moses’ anger when he returned from the divine meeting, only to discover that the people had turned away from the Lord once more.
The golden calf had stolen the prominent place in Israel’s life, and their Jehovah God had been pushed aside. Moses, in his “burning anger” (Exodus 32:15-20), breaks the stone tablets into pieces, and then burns the calf and tramples it into dust. But the people are still in desperate need of the written law, so Moses makes the trek back up the mountain, where God writes the commandments again, and reminds him of the spoken commandments again. And Moses returns to the valley - again.

What might this God appointed leader have thought as he made his way back down toward the people? Was he concerned as to what he might find them doing this time? Was he ready to write them off – to call on the Lord to destroy these “stiff-necked” people once and for all? Or was he truly confident that the Lord had been guiding and re-shaping them while he was away?

As it happened, the fear of God was still with them, and he found them pretty much the way he had left them. The difference was in the way they would see Moses – he was in a completely new Light.

Read Exodus 34:29-32

What was this strange radiance that bathed Moses’ face? It was nothing less than the glory of God. We translate the Hebrew word for this radiance as “shekinah”, which means to rest, or settle, or to inhabit. Shekinah Glory is the glory of God that settled on Moses in such a visual way that day. It wasn’t a glow similar to the light that we know – it would have been dazzling, it was brilliant beyond words, it would have been a pure and unmistakable demonstration of God’s Presence.

Before this event had ever occurred, God had been glorified in the acts he made on behalf of Israel. He was glorified in a unique and obvious way in the parting of the Red Sea. He was glorified when he destroyed the Egyptian army with the release of the water. (Exodus 14:19-31) His glory had been at work high upon Mount Sinai that day, even though the people didn’t realize it or understand it at the time. But with this new vision of their leader, there was no way that they could ignore the visual change that had occurred.

The Light of God had filled him. The Divine glory had taken up a Presence in his very being. There could no longer be any question that God was living and working - in and through, within and beyond - this servant of the Most High God. Glory was no longer something to imagine – it was now a physical, visual, obviously present entity. Clouds can be an everyday occurrence. Swirling pillars of fire, while not especially common, can be seen in brush and forest fires. (Exodus 13:17-22) But this radiant face was something new – never before seen – never before explained or even proclaimed. God’s presence was now a certainty for Israel, and they were scared stiff!

Even Aaron and the elders were afraid to come near Moses while this “Shekinah” was on him. And why not? You simply didn’t approach God, for if you did, and God forbid that you should even touch the vessel he was residing in, death would be instantaneous. But Moses reassured them, and called them to come closer, and when the people saw that the elders weren’t destroyed, they, too, ventured closer to this incredible phenomenon. Moses had become the recognizable conduit of God’s presence.

And as Moses spoke the commandments that Adonai had given for the people, they would know for certain that this was the Lord’s truth for their lives.

Read Exodus 34: 33-35

While God’s visual presence can certainly be experienced as a blessing, it is more likely to be seen as a threat or judgment! And Israel was seeing it as the later. They knew that they were sinful, that they were unworthy to be in the Lord’s presence, and they were terrified. But as Moses spoke the Lord’s commands for the people’s lives, the glory stood before them, and it continued to do so until the word was complete. It was only then that the Radiance was covered and put out of sight.

The “veil” remained in place as long as Moses was among the people, but when he went into the Tent of Meeting, the covering was removed, and God would, once more, reveal his desires for his people. And as this servant of God relayed the holy words to Israel, the glory was allowed to be obvious again as a reminder as to Who was actually handing the commands down. And it wasn’t Moses!

His appearance had been transformed by the glory of Almighty God. It didn’t change his ministry and servanthood – it didn’t change his ability to converse with God or to carry out his will. His relationship with God was still just as important and vital as it always had been. It was only that the certainty of that relationship was now present for all who looked upon that glory.

Today is Transfiguration Sunday (Matthew 17:1-13; etal) – the day we celebrate the visual change that came over Jesus while he was up on that mountain. He, too, would shine with a transcendent glory, and it wasn’t just his face, but his entire presence that would become radiant. It would be a heavenly radiance, even though it was revealed to only three others, evidence that he truly was the Son of the Most High God.

Transfiguration is more than just a physical change. Another word might be “metamorphosis”. It wasn’t just an outward transformation – it was a complete change of his entire being. And as if that new presence wasn’t enough, he was joined by Moses and Elijah. Moses, the receiver of God’s Law, had also been bathed in glory. Elijah, the greatest of all the Hebrew prophets, had been taken directly into heaven, without the intervention of death (2 Kings 2:9-12). These two men had known the presence of God’s glory in their lives, and now they were being related and joined together with the Author and Source of Salvation. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus Himself proclaimed that he had not come to overturn either the law or the words of the prophets – that he had come to fulfill them both. (Matthew 5:17-20)

The visual proof and affirmation of God’s Presence had now settled on all three – the Law, the Prophecies, and the Salvation had become one. The Lord of Heaven and earth was now proclaiming for all to see and hear, that His will was now completely in force, and that it was to be enacted through obedience to his Son.

But the Law and the Prophets depart, leaving Jesus alone with his three closest friends. By this, we do not presume that the Law and the Prophecies are no longer needed. The only lesson for us here is that Jesus Christ the Savior is the only one of the three that is eternal life for us today. The others are confirmed through him, but he is our only hope for eternity.

Be transformed by the promise of glory by faith in Jesus Christ. The Father Himself has told us that Jesus is His Son – that he is loved and honored, and that we are to obey his every word. May those who have ears, hear, and may those who have faith SHINE!