Exodus 34:29-35

Moses no longer saw himself as separate and above Israel with any kind of self-righteousness at all, but by the end of the forty days it was totally within his heart that this truly was the work of God, and God alone, and that God uses and prepares whomever He will to assist in His plans and purpose. It was at this time that God shared His glory with Moses; again through His words, but this time with His spirit in Him, and Moses not only knew the words, but the plan and purpose behind them.

Brethren, that word translated as shone is the Hebrew word kaw-ran' and it means to radiate, to send out rays. It can even mean horns that grow from the inside out.

But the idea is that he was not merely reflecting the glory of God, he was radiating the glory of God from within Him.

This time, as Moses came down from Sinai, the Word of God was not merely in his hands, but in his heart and radiating out of him!

Exodus 34:29-35

It was at this time that God shared His glory with Moses. Again, through His words but this time with His Spirit in him. Moses not only knew the words but the plan and purpose behind them.

Brethren, that word translated as shone, in Hebrew, is the word kawran, and it means to radiate, to send out rays. It can even mean horns that grow from inside out. These were Jesus’ words to those who had been called to follow Him, as you can see in verse 1. Blessings poured out to those chosen to act on His words while being driven by the Holy Spirit dwelling within them and radiating in the glory of God, just like Moses, not only to the world, but more importantly to those within the Family of God.

Exodus 34:28-35

Three themes emerge here in Exodus. The first one is that during the 40 days that Moses had been with the being who we know later became Jesus Christ, Moses’ face came to reflect the glory of God (hold onto this concept of “reflect”). Secondly, that glory; that shining face, became a sign which was visible to all; a sign that he had spoken with and was in communication with God and that he was speaking for God whenever he spoke to the people. The people could see this very clearly. There was no question about it. Third, Moses was able to obscure, to cloud, to hide that glory with a veil. The veil allowed him to curtail or to arrest its shining forth.

Exodus 34:28-35

They recognize a great difference between them and God, whether He looks like them or not. He is so far above them in purity and righteousness, and it shames them. They feel they have no right to be in the presence of this Being.

What we can learn from these incidents is that holiness is not merely morality, but a combination of consistent and powerful qualities that express a dazzling purity that tends to make men shrink, as if to hide from fear of exposure.