Till We Have Faces | Exodus 34:29-35
Last week, voters in Ohio approved a constitutional amendment establishing the murder of unborn babies as a constitutional and legally protected right. Crowds of people gathered to celebrate what they consider to be a major victory. We live in a world that falls tragically short of the glory of God (Rom 3:23) and despises the image of God in human life.
But things won’t always be this way. Scripture promises a staggering, impossible-to-comprehend future state on earth: “For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD as the waters cover the sea” (Habakkuk 2:14). The knowledge of the glory of the Lord—that means the earth will be full of people who know the Lord.
But how does God intend to fill this earth with the knowledge of his glory? Given our state of affairs—the moral decline in our culture, rampant pride in sin, calling evil ‘good’ and good ‘evil’—how will that happen?
Or make it personal. In a world that despises the glory of God—in the midst of a crooked and depraved generation—how can you glorify God? You could pull your kids out of public school. You could go off-grid and start homesteading. Or move your family across the country to South Dakota, which is basically like homesteading. You could boycott the evil companies. You could get involved in local politics.
Whatever you do (or don’t do), if you want God to be glorified on earth, there is one thing that matters most.
Exodus 34:29–35
“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. 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.”
A Glimpse of God’s Purpose
Exodus 34:29–35 provides us with a veiled glimpse of God’s purpose to fill the earth with the knowledge of his glory.
In the very beginning, God made man in his own image (Gen 1:27). And in 1 Corinthians 11:7, Paul says that man is “the image and glory of God.” God made man to resemble and represent his glory on earth.
But due to man’s rebellion against God, the image of God in man is fallen and distorted, though not erased. Sin corrupts every part of man—our thoughts and desires and bodies and emotions.
But Moses was discernibly changed by his encounter with God on Sinai. What Israel saw in Moses was a glimpse of God’s purpose to fill this earth with the knowledge of his glory—with humans who know and treasure and reflect his glory. When Moses descended from Sinai with the tablets of God’s Law in his hands, he represented a partial fulfillment of that plan in a striking way.
Exodus 34 not only assures us that God will fulfill his original plan on earth, but it directs our attention forward to the way God is now fulfilling his plan through Jesus Christ. To see how God’s plan unfolds, let’s look first at glory in the face of Moses, followed by glory in the face of Christ, and finally glory in the face of the Christian.
Glory in the Face of Moses
The most dramatic, attention-grabbing phenomenon of this narrative is undoubtedly the radiating face of Moses. Three times the text says that “the skin of Moses’ face was shining” (vv. 29, 30, 35). What’s especially fascinating is that the Hebrew verb translated “shining” is related to a Hebrew noun that means “horn”—as in the horns of a ram or an ox.
There are other Hebrew verbs that could have been used to describe a shining face. There’s the word used in passages like Numbers 6:25: “The LORD make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you.” Or another one in Psalm 104:15, which acknowledges God as the giver of good gifts: “wine to gladden the heart of man, oil to make his face shine and bread to strengthen man’s heart.”
But this verb—related to the word for horns—communicates a stunning image. The sense is that Moses’ face was not just glowing, but emitting visible rays of light. The word for horns is used in connection with light in Habakkuk 3:3–4: “His splendor covered the heavens, and the earth was full of his praise. His brightness was like the light; rays flashed from his hand [lit. ‘he had “horns” from his hand’]” (Habakkuk 3:3–4).
While Moses’ shining face captures our attention and imagination—what did that look like?—the cause of his shining face is equally awe-inspiring. “The skin of his face shone because he had been talking with God.” (Exodus 34:29). The text mentions Moses talking with God four times (vv. 29, 32, 34, 35). The face of Moses emitted rays of light because Moses talked with God. The radiating light was the result of his contact with the glory of God.
When Scripture speaks of the glory of the Lord observably manifested to human senses, there is usually some mention of brilliant light. “The glory of the LORD dwelt on Mount Sinai …. Now the appearance of the glory of the LORD was like a devouring fire on the top of the mountain in the sight of the people of Israel” (Exodus 24:16–17).
Isaiah prophesied, “The sun shall be no more your light by day, nor for brightness shall the moon give you light; but the LORD will be your everlasting light, and your God will be your glory” (Isaiah 60:19).
And Ezekiel had prophetic visions of God’s glory: “As I looked, behold, a stormy wind came out of the north, and a great cloud, with brightness around it, and fire flashing forth continually, and in the midst of the fire, as it were gleaming metal” (Ezekiel 1:4).
In both Greek and Hebrew, the words for glory carry the idea of “brightness, splendor, radiance.”
So the radiating light from the face of Moses was a reflection of the glory of the Lord. It was proof that Moses met with God and spoke authoritatively on God’s behalf. “And he [Moses] commanded them all that the Lord had spoken with him in Mount Sinai” (v. 32). The text mentions Moses speaking with the people on behalf of God as many times as it speaks of Moses speaking with God.
The shining face of Moses substantiated and gave authority to the words he spoke. “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, the people of Israel would see the face of Moses, that the skin of Moses’ face was shining” (Exodus 34:34–35). While the luminous face of Moses is astonishing, that light indicated that God was present with his people through his Word.
So what effect did the shining face of Moses have on the people of Israel? Verse 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.”
Why might they have been afraid? Well, the last time Moses came down from the mountain, he caught them in their idolatrous revelries and mediated God’s judgment on the unrepentant.
Also, since we are prone to think lofty thoughts of ourselves and small thoughts of God, we tend to naively imagine what encountering God would be like. C. S. Lewis helps dispel such naivete when he writes, “Some people talk as if meeting the gaze of absolute goodness would be fun. They need to think again. They are still only playing with religion. Goodness is either the great safety or the great danger—according to the way you react to it. And we have reacted the wrong way.”
The glory of God is the brilliant display of the sum total of all that he is—his holiness, righteousness, truth, and goodness. To sinners who have violated his law and scorned his glory, that is terrifying.
Throughout Scripture, when humans encounter divine glory, the response is terror. We saw this after the Ten Commandments: “Now when all the people saw the thunder and the flashes of lightning and the sound of the trumpet and the mountain smoking, the people were afraid and trembled, and they stood far off and said to Moses, ‘You speak to us, and we will listen; but do not let God speak to us, lest we die’” (Ex 20:18–19).
This was Ezekiel’s response: “I looked, and behold, the glory of the LORD filled the temple of the LORD. And I fell on my face” (Ez 44:4).
And Daniel’s: “And when he came, I was frightened and fell on my face.” (Dan 8:17).
And John’s at the beginning of Revelation: “When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. But he laid his right hand on me, saying, ‘Fear not’” (Rev 1:17).
So it’s understandable that the people of Israel were afraid to come near Moses because of the glory emanating from his face (2 Cor 3:7).
But Moses did two things to reassure them. First, he called them to himself, they came, and he spoke to them (vv. 31–32). Second, he put a veil over his face, which brings to mind the curtain that separated the Most Holy Place from the Holy Place inside the tabernacle. Like all boundaries set by God, this was a merciful and gracious provision.
And the text indicates that this was not a one-time event. Moses’ face was radiant when he first came down from the mountain (v. 29). But according to verses 34–35, this was an ongoing phenomenon. Presumably this continued for another 40 years as Moses met with God in the Tent of Meeting and led the people of Israel in the wilderness. But the glory in the face of Moses would be eclipsed.
Glory in the Face of Christ
Matthew 17 recounts how Jesus once took three of disciples—Peter, James, and John—up a high mountain. It says, “And he was transfigured before them, and his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became white as light. And behold, there appeared to them Moses and Elijah, talking with him” (Matthew 17:2–3).
As surprising as it is to read that Moses and Elijah (representing the Law and the Prophets) appeared there with Jesus, it is even more significant that nothing is said about the face of Moses, while the face of Jesus “shone like the sun.”
A couple of verses later, Matthew writes, “Behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and a voice from the cloud said, ‘This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him’” (Matthew 17:5). Listen to him! Just like the shining face of Moses gave credence to the words he spoke, so the blazing face of Jesus underscores the authority of his words.
Jesus is greater than Moses. Like Moses, he mediates a covenant between God and his people. But the new covenant that he mediates eclipses the old in glory and splendor.
Paul makes this point when he comments on Exodus 34 in 2 Corinthians.
“For the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life. Now if the ministry of death, carved in letters on stone, came with such glory that the Israelites could not gaze at Moses’ face because of its glory, which was being brought to an end, will not the ministry of the Spirit have even more glory? For if there was glory in the ministry of condemnation, the ministry of righteousness must far exceed it in glory. Indeed, in this case, what once had glory has come to have no glory at all, because of the glory that surpasses it. For if what was being brought to an end came with glory, much more will what is permanent have glory.”
—2 Corinthians 3:6–11
His first point is that the new covenant in Christ is greater and more glorious than the old covenant given through Moses. But he makes his point, not by disparaging the old covenant or downplaying its glory. He acknowledges and affirms the extraordinary glory described in Exodus 34 in order to show that the new covenant in Christ is even more glorious.
The glory of the new covenant eclipses the old for several reasons. First, the old covenant was a “ministry of death” (v. 7) and a “ministry of condemnation” (v. 9). That is, the first covenant revealed the glory of God’s holiness, but left men condemned to death. The new covenant, on the other hand, is more glorious because it is a ministry of righteousness. Through the new covenant, sinners are united to Jesus Christ, so that his death satisfies the law’s demands against them, and his righteous life is credited to them. Through the new covenant, dead sinners are raised to life with Christ.
Second, the first covenant was carved on tablets of stone, whereas the new covenant is written on human hearts (vv. 3, 7). “For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the LORD: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts” (Jeremiah 31:33). The first covenant was external; the new covenant is internal.
Finally, the old covenant was temporary, like placeholder text, whereas the new covenant is permanent (v. 11).
Think about it like this. Imagine you walk into a luxury sports car dealership where nothing costs less than six figures. There is, in a sense, glory on display in that showroom: brand new Bugattis, Lamborghinis, and Aston Martins; the sheen of custom paint and chrome; pristine engines; that new car smell. The price of each car reflects its glory and reinforces how out of reach it is to you.
Now imagine another scenario. Imagine you get in an accident, and the other vehicle is one of those sports cars. The accident was your fault, and you totalled someone’s $250k Porsche. The Porsche was beautiful and it was worth $250k, but you relate to $250k as a debt. You owe $250k.
That’s the old covenant. God is glorious. His ways are righteous and good. His moral law is perfect. But under the old covenant, that glory left hard-hearted people condemned to death.
Now imagine you walk into your garage to find a brand new Porsche with a note that says, “Dear friend, I want you to have this. The keys are inside, the tank is full of gas, and your name is on the title.”
That’s the new covenant. All that glory is a gift credited to you and not a bill charged to you. That is what the glory of God in the face of Jesus means for you.
And now we can see how Exodus 34 gives us a partially veiled glimpse of the fulfillment of God’s purpose to fill the world with humans who bear his image and reflect his glory.
Glory in the Face of the Christian
Paul makes another point in 2 Corinthians 3: Unlike the veiled glory of the old covenant that was limited to Moses, the new covenant makes the glory of God accessible to all. “Since we have such a hope, we are very bold, not like Moses, who would put a veil over his face so that the Israelites might not gaze at the outcome of what was being brought to an end” (2 Corinthians 3:12–13).
Moses masked his face, but Paul (and all who proclaim the gospel) do so with boldness, with unveiled faces. Through the gospel of Jesus Christ, God is making his glory known on earth. The open proclamation of the gospel of Jesus Christ to the world is God’s plan for filling the earth with the knowledge of the glory of God (Hab 2:14).
Yes, the world is full of blind eyes and hard hearts and unbelief. As 2 Corinthians 3:14–15 says, “But their minds were hardened. For to this day, when they read the old covenant, that same veil remains unlifted …. Yes, to this day whenever Moses is read a veil lies over their hearts.”
But there is hope! Paul goes on, “Only through Christ is it [the veil] taken away. … But when one [anyone!] turns to the Lord, the veil is removed. … And we all [not just Moses, not just Paul, but 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” (2 Cor 3:14, 16, 18).
What happened to Moses on Sinai is now available to anyone who turns to and trusts in the Lord Jesus. That word turn is used in 1 Thessalonians 1:9 to describe the conversion of idol worshipers: “You turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God.” To turn to the Lord means to trust in him, to rely on him to satisfy and secure you, to cling to him and all that he promises to be for you.
This is how God is filling the earth with the knowledge of his glory. He is opening blind eyes to behold the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. He is turning rebellious sinners from death to life, from darkness to light. “For God, who said, ‘Let light shine out of darkness,’ has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ” (2 Cor 4:6).
In Exodus 34, Moses not only prefigures Christ; he also represents the transformational power of the glory of God in the life of every believer. What the Israelites witnessed in the face of Moses was the effect of the glory of God on a man who had been in the presence of God. Now, because Christ fulfilled the law and died for our sins, everyone who looks to Jesus, begins to reflect the glory of Jesus. “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” (2 Cor 3:18).
This is how God plans to fill the world with the knowledge of his glory. As someone has put it, beholding is becoming. As you behold the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ you become like him.
In a world that is blind to the glory of God—that despises the glory of God—the most significant thing you can do is behold the glory of the Lord with an unveiled face. If you want God to be glorified in the world, worship Jesus. As you do, you will be changed to be like him. And as you are changed from one degree of glory to the next—as your mind is renewed to think God’s thoughts, as your will is conformed to want what God wants, as your emotions come under Spirit-empowered self-control, as your behavior is aligned to the truth of the gospel—the glory of God is displayed on earth through you.
And this is only the beginning! This gradual, progressive work—“from one degree of glory to another”—will be finished when Jesus returns. “Beloved, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is” (1 John 3:2).