Hello siblings
Have you ever been in a conversation where everyone else was familiar with the background, or pretended to be, but you had no clue? What did you do? Sometimes, I pretended I was in the know, and remained confused, or got caught up after. But at other times, I interrupted the tale so that I immediately understood the context.
You will notice from my approach to these daily reflections, that my aim is for us to understand God’s story. So sometimes, I invite us to take a step back, to get a grasp of the context before assessing the implications for our lives. We will pause to get caught up with the backstory for our text as we consider Today’s Holy Nougat.
2 Corinthians 3:18 NIV
[18] And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.
With Unveiled Faces
If we only read this verse on its own, we may desire to interrupt the person making reference to it, as reference to veils and transformation may have caught our attention. As I promised to get into the backstory, you might have waited to see what I’ll say. But even then, I’m hoping that you will fact check my content, asking other questions so that God ministers directly to you through the Nougat, i.e., the verse and the reflection I offer.
In 2 Corinthians 3, our writer makes continued reference to a veil worn by Moses after spending some time with God. That actual event is recorded in Exodus 34:29, where we learn that Moses returned from the Mountain of the Lord, Mt Sinai, with the Ten Commandments to share to the Children of Israel. However, that special encounter between Moses and YHWH began in chapter 33. It differed from other encounters, for Moses asked for the revelation of YHWH’s glory. Having gotten only a glimpse of God’s glory, Moses’ face lit up brighter than spotlights.
The people were afraid to go near Moses, because his face was shining brightly with the glory of God (and they didn’t realise that it was actually Moses and not a ghost or angel). At that moment, the radiated glory was visible to all the people. Even Aaron avoided him. Unaware of the fact that he was radiating God’s glory, Moses’ face was unveiled.
Self-Check
If our faces revealed the extent of our exposure to God’s glory by lighting up, how bright would it be?
Application
In 2 Corinthians 3:12, Paul offers us an unexpected reason for Moses’ use of the veil. He proposed that Moses covered his face to hide the fact that God’s radiated glory was fading. My former theory that Moses was protecting the people because they were scared of God’s radiant glory is not wholly correct. Exodus 34:31-35 tells us that each time he returned from God’s presence and spoke to the entire assembly, it was with an uncovered face. Moses never went before God with the veil on. He allowed nothing to get between himselfand YHWH in the time they spent together.
Neither should we.
We recall that at the very moment Y’shua died, the veil in temple was torn, offering all who desired Him, direct access to God’s presence: the Holy of Holies. It wasn’t that Y’shua prevented access in His lifetime, but rather that His death signalled the new dispensation (era), where non-Jews could also have direct access to God through Christ Jesus.
Y’shua offers each of us access, and affords us the chance to receive God face to face through God’s Spirit. We do not need other gods to grant us access, nor are our minds and spirits veiled from God’s Word, for Christ has removed the veil. Hallelujah! Thank You Y’shua!
With this back story, we can more readily contemplate the remainder of the Nougat … tomorrow.
Point to Ponder
We now realise that we have direct access to God’s presence through Christ, who has removed the veil from our faces. What shall we do with that knowledge?
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May all we seek be found in Christ
