May 13, 2019
Bow, Beam, and Behold
Exodus 34:11–35
Louie Garcia
Central Truth
We typically resemble what we revere most. Only when we are completely transfixed on the glory of God are we truly transformed.
Key Verse | Exodus 34:29-30
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. Aaron and all the people of Israel saw Moses, and behold, the skin of his face shone, and they were afraid to come near him.
Exodus 34:11–35
11 Observe what I command you this day. Behold, I will drive out before you the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. 12 Take care, lest you make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land to which you go, lest it become a snare in your midst. 13 You shall tear down their altars and break their pillars and cut down their Asherim 14 (for you shall worship no other god, for the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God), 15 lest you make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land, and when they whore after their gods and sacrifice to their gods and you are invited, you eat of his sacrifice, 16 and you take of their daughters for your sons, and their daughters whore after their gods and make your sons whore after their gods.
17 You shall not make for yourself any gods of cast metal.
18 You shall keep the Feast of Unleavened Bread. Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread, as I commanded you, at the time appointed in the month Abib, for in the month Abib you came out from Egypt. 19 All that open the womb are mine, all your male 1 34:19 Septuagint, Theodotion, Vulgate, Targum; the meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain livestock, the firstborn of cow and sheep. 20 The firstborn of a donkey you shall redeem with a lamb, or if you will not redeem it you shall break its neck. All the firstborn of your sons you shall redeem. And none shall appear before me empty-handed.
21 Six days you shall work, but on the seventh day you shall rest. In plowing time and in harvest you shall rest. 22 You shall observe the Feast of Weeks, the firstfruits of wheat harvest, and the Feast of Ingathering at the year's end. 23 Three times in the year shall all your males appear before the LORD God, the God of Israel. 24 For I will cast out nations before you and enlarge your borders; no one shall covet your land, when you go up to appear before the LORD your God three times in the year.
25 You shall not offer the blood of my sacrifice with anything leavened, or let the sacrifice of the Feast of the Passover remain until the morning. 26 The best of the firstfruits of your ground you shall bring to the house of the LORD your God. You shall not boil a young goat in its mother's milk.”
27 And the LORD said to Moses, “Write these words, for in accordance with these words I have made a covenant with you and with Israel.” 28 So he was there with the LORD forty days and forty nights. He neither ate bread nor drank water. And he wrote on the tablets the words of the covenant, the Ten Commandments. 2 34:28 Hebrew the ten words
The Shining Face of Moses
29 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. 3 34:29 Hebrew him 30 Aaron and all the people of Israel saw Moses, and behold, the skin of his face shone, and they were afraid to come near him. 31 But Moses called to them, and Aaron and all the leaders of the congregation returned to him, and Moses talked with them. 32 Afterward all the people of Israel came near, and he commanded them all that the LORD had spoken with him in Mount Sinai. 33 And when Moses had finished speaking with them, he put a veil over his face.
34 Whenever Moses went in before the LORD to speak with him, he would remove the veil, until he came out. And when he came out and told the people of Israel what he was commanded, 35 the people of Israel would see the face of Moses, that the skin of Moses' face was shining. And Moses would put the veil over his face again, until he went in to speak with him.
Dive Deeper | Exodus 34:11–35
A 40-day fast isn’t a surefire way to obtain a visible radiance. Yet upon Moses’ return from Mount Sinai, there was something different about his physical appearance.
God had just declared attributes that characterize Himself, and Moses immediately responded by dropping to the ground (Exodus 34:6-8). His natural reaction to being in the presence of God was to bow in worship. After this beautiful moment in Scripture, we see God restore His covenant (Exodus 34:8-16) and restate His commandments (Exodus 34:17-28). We also see that God is a jealous God—not in the sense that God is insecure or petty, but His exclusive call to worship reflects His love and the fact that He alone can save. Idols cannot save. This is especially true and fresh in light of the golden calf incident in Exodus 32. God is also a God of rest (Exodus 34:21), as well as a sovereign protector of His people (Exodus 34:23-24).
Moses spent 40 days and nights interceding for Israel and nourishing on the Word of God. He didn't know it at first, but his appearance was dramatically altered. His face was physically transformed by being transfixed on the glory of God. He bowed down in humble praise in Exodus 34:8, remained bowed, and humbly reflected the glow of his wonderful God. The radiance of Moses' face caused the Israelites to react in fear. Referencing this account, Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 3:7, "[T]he Israelites could not gaze at Moses' face because of its glory, which was being brought to an end."
The glory in Moses' face was fading. But in the face of Christ, the glory of God shines with radiance and effulgence (2 Corinthians 4:6; Hebrews 1:3). If you believe in Christ, you are part of a grander covenant of grace and transformed by beholding God's glory (Hebrews 8:6; 2 Corinthians 3:18). By the transforming life of the Spirit, all who bow at the glory of Christ beam with an unveiled face, beholding the glory of God!
Discussion Questions
1. What's your natural reaction to hearing that God's name is Jealous? Read Exodus 34:6-7 again. Would you say that His jealousy stems from insecurity, or is it the natural result of His infinite holiness? (See also Isaiah 42:8)
2. What do you spend most of your time looking at or meditating on? Do you radiate that thing? Would anyone wonder if you habitually spend time with God and behold His glory?
3. How can you keep a strong desire to know God more deeply?
4. As we saw, the glory of God is in the face of Jesus. Compare the different reactions to the Lord's face in Revelation 6:14-17 and Revelation 22:3-5. Would you hide from His face, or would He be your light?
5. No question here. Just meditate on this glorious truth in Revelation 21:22-23: "And I saw no temple in the city, for its temple is the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb. And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and its lamp is the Lamb."