>> Jen: Good morning, faithful listeners, and welcome to the Bible Explained podcast. Today we're going to talk about why Moses veiled his face back in the book of Exodus, and also what this veil is that covers the minds of people who are not saved. So we'll be talking about all that today on the podcast. Well, guys, I hope you've had a good week so far. It has been bitter cold where I
am. It got into the negatives. I don't remember if I already told you guys this story, so I'm sorry if I'm repeating myself, but I bought this peach tree over the summer, and I was like, yeah, fresh peaches. That's gonna be great. And, uh, my husband's like, that's gonna die. And I'm like, no, no, it's not gonna die. It goes down to negative five is what it says online. It'll handle those temperatures. And my husband's like, no, it's gonna die. And, uh, throughout
the summer, I was. The peach tree was, like, on the verge of death the entire summer. It almost got completely destroyed by Japanese beetles. The leaves were, like, dropping like crazy. I ended up putting it in the garage to keep it away from the Japanese beetles. And it started kind of, like, thriving in the garage, shockingly enough, even though there's not, like, a ton of sun in there. And. And every single time I put it, like, outside of the garage, it would start to
die. So finally, towards the fall, I was like, okay, I'm gonna take this peach tree out of the garage and just leave it out all winter. It should be fine. And it got down to negative eight, and I wake up and I'm like, that peach tree is gonna die. So I ended up putting it back into my garage, where it now probably remains permanently. Cause it's the only place, apparently that, uh, the peach tree can thrive is inside my garage.
And I know my husband is quite irritated with me for buying an expensive peach tree that is just going to die, but I won't admit that he's right. Just. I'm not going to do that. Let's read 2 Corinthians 3, 12 - 18. Grab your cup of coffee or your cup of tea this morning, faithful listeners. And I'm going to go ahead and read this out, uh, of the web version. But of course, feel free to grab the version
of the Bible that you prefer. And also make sure you do grab your Bible today, because we're going to be talking about that as well, about how we should be reading what we are hearing. Once Again, this is 2nd Corinthians 3:12 through the end of the chapter. Having therefore such a hope, we use great boldness of speech. And not as Moses, who put a veil on his face, that the children of Israel wouldn't look steadfastly on the end of that which was passing away. But their
minds were hardened. For until this very day, at the reading of the Old Covenant, the same veil remains, because in Christ, it passes away. But to this day, when Moses is read, a, uh, veil lies on their heart. But whenever someone turns to the LORD, the veil is taken away. Now, the LORD is the Spirit. And where the Spirit of the LORD is,
there is liberty. But we all, with unveiled faces, seeing the glory of the LORD as in a mirror, are transformed into the same image, from glory to glory, even as from the LORD the Spirit. So in order to get into this episode, we have to also read Exodus 34, verses 29 through 35. And we read this also on Tuesday. But I'm going to recap you guys and reread it for you again. But this is the story of Moses coming down from Mount Sinai, and his face was actually glowing from God's
glory. So this is Exodus 34, 29 - uh, 35. And this is when Moses came down from Mount Sinai the second time with the Ten Commandments. When Moses came down from Mount Sinai with the two tablets of the Covenant Law in his hands, he was not aware that his face was radiant because he had spoken with the LORD. When Aaron and all the Israelites saw Moses that his face was radiant, they were afraid to come near him. But Moses called to them. So Aaron and all the leaders of the community came back
to him, and he spoke with them. Afterward, all the Israelites came near to him, and he gave them all the commands that the LORD had given him on Mount Sinai. When Moses finished speaking to them, he put a veil over his face. But whenever he entered into the Lord's presence to speak with him, he removed the veil until he came back out. And when he came out and told the Israelites what had been commanded, they saw that his face was
radiant. Then Moses would put the veil back over his face until he went in to speak with the LORD. So there's two thought processes with why Moses might have covered his face. The most obvious thought process is that Moses covered his face because the Israelites were terrified and he didn't want to overwhelm them with God's glory. Because the Israelites, throughout their time in the wilderness, they very much did not really want God's
presence near them. They would get terrified anytime God would, like, show himself, basically. And the people would be like, no, no, we can't handle this. Please no more. And so possibly Moses covered his face because the Israelites were so terrified. Well, then you might ask, well, why then didn't Moses wait to cover his face? Why did he, you know, call the congregation of Israel together and deliver God's message to the people before he covered his
face? And it actually says he did this multiple times. Because anytime Moses went into God's presence, apparently his face would be glowing and he would have to put a veil over it afterward. But before he put the veil over it, he would relay what God had to say to the Israelites before putting the veil over his face. So you might be like, well, why did Moses wait? You know, if the people were so terrified of seeing Moses with his glowy face,
why did he wait? Well, it could be that, you know, the wilderness is very hot, and it would be very difficult to speak to a congregation through a veil. And so Moses would wait to put the veil on just for, you know, logical projection, uh, of the voice before there were, you know, loudspeakers and things like that.
Or it could be that Moses waited to put the veil on because he wanted the people to see his glowy face so that they actually knew that God truly was speaking to him and that these words were not just something Moses made up, but that God had actually communicated with Moses. And so Moses would show. He would take the veil off. He would show the people, like, look, I was in the presence of
God, and this is what happened. And then the people would know for sure that the words coming out of Moses lips were straight from God Himself. Then Moses would cover himself with the veil so that he could live a normal life. And the people weren't overwhelmed with terror or anything like that. When Moses was just out and about in the camp until the glowy effect from God's glory faded away. So that's the first thought process, is that Moses put the veil on because the people
were terrified. But there's a different thought process, actually, that a lot of people believe because of what we read today in Second Corinthians, chapter three, our portion for today in verse 12 and 13, Paul says something kind of interesting. He says, having therefore such a hope, we use great boldness of speech, not as Moses, who put a veil on his face, that the children of Israel wouldn't look steadfastly on the end of that which was passing away.
So because of that verse, some people actually think and this is a very, um, popular belief among, you know, um, commentary writers and scholars and theologians. They actually believe that Moses put the veil over his face because he didn't actually want the Israelite people to know that God's glory was
fading from his face. And so whenever he, like, went back into God's presence, he'd take the veil off and get his face, like, all charged again with light, and then come back out and show the people, like, hey, look, you know, my face is still glowy. And because of what Paul says here, Moses put this veil on the face that the children of Israel wouldn't look steadfastly on the end of that which was passing away. And other versions might say
something slightly different. But because of this verse, a lot of people think that this was almost like a pride issue that Moses had, where he didn't want the people to know that, you know, he was just ordinary like them, and eventually this glory would pass away on his face. Or Moses didn't want the people to know that the Old Testament law was, in a sense, passing away. Because we talked about all of that on Tuesday. We talked about how the Old Testament law actually
brings death. And I'm not going to go back into that right now. But basically, the Old Testament law is passing away because we now live under the new covenant. So the Old Testament law still has its place, and it's still going to be around until Jesus comes back for the second time. But Paul argues the Old Testament law is passing away. The glory of it
is fading. And so Moses was also aware that the Old Testament law was fading, and so he would put this veil over his face is what a lot of people believe. Now, if I could throw my two cents in there, I think that the first thought process as to why Moses covered his face is a lot more logical. That he covered his face because the people were scared you might be like, well, how does that. How do you
remedy that? With 2 Corinthians 3, verse 13, where Paul says that Moses put the veil on his face so that the Israelites couldn't see the end of that which was passing away. Well, it doesn't mention in 2nd Corinthians 3:13 any motive for why Moses was covering his face. It says he did it so that the Israelites wouldn't look steadfastly on the end of that which was passing away. In fact, the NLT version rewords this verse a little bit, and I think it's a really good description of this
verse. So 2 Corinthians 3:13 out of the NLT says, We are not like Moses, who put a veil over his face so the people of Israel would not see the glory, even though it was destined to fade away. And that describes a lot more clearly what Moses might have been doing. He did it because the people couldn't see the glory. They just couldn't handle it. And that is very accurate with how the Israelites in the wilderness acted anytime God showed his presence at all.
But moving forward in second Corinthians 3, you know, the Israelites, they couldn't look at that glory. Their minds were hardened. For until this very day, at the reading of the Old Covenant, the same veil remains, because in Christ, it passes away. So doesn't that make a lot of sense why Moses had to cover his face? Because the minds of the people in the wilderness were actually hardened. They didn't want to see God's glory.
They were terrified by it. They literally would push themselves away from God at every chance that they could get. And so that's why Moses had to cover his face, because the minds of the Israelites were hardened. And Paul says, even to this day, the same veil remains because the people's minds are still hardened. So the Israelites of Paul's day were going to the temple, they were listening to the Old Covenant being read, and they had this
veil over their minds. They weren't placing their trust and their hope in Yahweh, but they are placing their trust and their hope in works, in what they could do. They'd sit there listening to the law, and they'd be like, oh, yeah, you know, I follow all of that to a T. And so I must be saved because I am doing these particular things. But that means that their hearts and minds are actually hardened because they believe that their good works is what is going to get them into heaven.
They don't understand that the entire purpose of the law was to point out people's sin, to point out that people need a Savior and they need a relationship with God who can truly save them. Their works can't save them. They can never be perfect. Because even if they're in the outward doing the right thing, their hearts are corrupt, their minds are corrupt. That's what Jesus would say about the Pharisees all the time. He'd be like,
woe to you, Pharisees. Because on the outside, you're like whitewashed tombs. You're so pretty, you know, you're polished all up. You look like you're doing the right things to all the people. But yet on the Inside, you are filled with dead man's bones. And Second Corinthians 3 pretty much argues the same thing. And even to this day, there are so many people, so many people who believe, oh, I'm a good person. I'm definitely going to get into heaven because I do good things.
I'm a good person. And even Jewish people to this day actually believe that they're going to get to heaven because they are the children of Abraham. And that gives them, like, an automatic ticket into heaven is what they believe. So this veil still remains. And there's only one way to remove this veil. Verse 16. Whenever somebody turns to the LORD, the veil is taken away. Now, the LORD is Spirit, and where the Spirit of the LORD is, there is freedom.
Web says liberty. But I've memorized that verse in, um, I don't know which translation, but, um, most of the other translations say there is freedom where the Spirit of the LORD is. There's so many things I could say about that verse, but the summary is that the Holy Spirit is who gives freedom because he takes that veil away from people's minds. You know, if somebody's mind is darkened by a veil, that means that
they're not going to be able to see clearly. They're not going to really be able to know the truth. And the Holy Spirit comes and takes that veil away. When somebody turns to Christ, that veil is taken away and instead is replaced with, uh, freedom. Because the Holy Spirit gives truth. And when somebody is living in truth, they are living in freedom. I've actually had something suggested to
me in the past. You know, you need to listen to differing viewpoints on the Bible in order to really understand what the truth of the Bible is. And I thought about that. And the more I thought about it, the more I disliked it. Because I don't need to listen to lies about the Bible in order to understand what the truth is. The Holy Spirit is who gives truth. The Holy Spirit is who gives understanding about Scripture. God Himself says, if you need knowledge, ask
me. I'm not going to be upset for you asking. And I've been ragging on this a lot recently, and I know I have. But there's this premise that some pastors push on people and they'll say, you can't really understand the Bible without me teaching you about it. You can't really understand the Bible on your own. You have to have somebody to teach it to you. That is so untrue. If you have Christ and that veil has been taken away from you, you can read this Scripture
and understand it. Anybody who's had that veil taken away will understand it, because the Holy Spirit is the true counselor. He's the true guidance toward life. And I'm not saying you never listen to anybody, you know, uh, that's not what I'm getting at. You can listen to certain people. You can read commentaries if you want to, but there are commentaries that I read, and this happens to me quite often where I'm just like, that does not seem right.
You know, even though this commentary I'm reading is by, you know, this really famous theologian, I just don't think that that particular thing that they believe is right. For example, the story of Abraham and Sarah in the Old Testament. There are so many commentaries that will say, Sarah was in the wrong. Sarah did this, Sarah did that. Sarah was the problem in Abraham's and Sarah's relationship. But if you read the Bible, you'll see that Abraham did a lot of really terrible
things in his marriage. And also God told Abraham, listen to your wife Sarah. And yet somehow that part about listen to your wife Sarah just gets taken out. And a lot of these commentaries will blame Sarah and be like, yeah, she was the problem in the marriage. So you got to be careful what you are reading and what you are consuming. And that is why on this podcast, I always say, pick up your Bible and read it. Don't just take my word for it. Pick up your Bible and read
it. Because I'm not going to have all the answers. You know, even though the Spirit gives wisdom and spirit gives truth, I am still a sinful human being. I am still going to get things wrong and teach things wrong. And I have in the past before, and
your pastor will, too. Because if you're a sinful human being, which we all are, and we're, you know, sometimes not following what the Holy Spirit tells us to do, or we're not in line with the Holy Spirit, we could potentially teach something that is wrong or that is not in line with Scripture. And that is why God says He tells the teachers, like, hey, you're going to be judged more harshly for teaching because you are guiding the people. So you better be in line with what the Spirit
is telling you to do. But, you know, human nature often gets in the way. The sinful flesh gets in the way. And I know in the past, like I said, I have taught certain things wrong before, and I had to go back and be like, hey, yeah, so I was wrong about this particular subject. It's really amazing, though, how often God will point out a Problem in my podcast before I air it. For example. You know, I almost never listened to my podcasts, like totally through
before I air them for you guys. But not too long ago, I decided to do it for one of my episodes and I made a huge mistake, a huge mistake in that episode. And I was like, oh my goodness, thank God. I actually sat down and listened to this entire podcast episode start to finish, before I aired it because I missed that while editing the episode. The Holy Spirit guided me to do that. The Holy Spirit guided me to truth so that I could take that part out and not air it for you guys. And that
happens to me, actually quite a bit. But what I'm getting at really is the Holy Spirit is who truly guides you to understanding. He is the one that gives you freedom. He is the one that gives you truth. So question what you are hearing from other people. Even if it's your pastor, even if it's somebody that you really trust on the Bible, always question, always make sure that you are going back to scripture and reading. In fact, there's a story in Acts where Paul
himself went to go visit this town. I forget the name of the town. He went to go visit the town. And the people didn't trust a single word that Paul said. Instead, they combed through the Old Testament laws to make sure that what Paul was saying was really the truth. That is how each of us should be handling scripture. We should be combing through
it. Whenever we hear anybody talking about the Bible, we should be combing through scripture to understand the context, to read it for ourselves, to make sure that the speaker is really teaching something that is in the Bible and not just going off his or her own little teaching or whatever. The Holy Spirit is who is going to give you wisdom. Verse 18. But we all, with unveiled faces, seeing the glory of the LORD as in a mirror, are
transformed into the same image. From glory to glory, even as from the LORD the Spirit. So God is slowly transforming each of us into something more Christlike every single day. When you finally make that commitment to believe in Jesus, to believe in the sacrifice that he made for you, when you make that commitment, God is going to work on your heart and reveal more and more truth to you. And you're going to be transformed at that point into somebody who is just more and more
like Christ. Paul says, from glory to glory, even as from the LORD the Spirit, you might be like, what does that mean, from glory to glory? Well, that means that the beginning is glorious and the end is glorious. So from the time you accept, uh, Jesus, You've already experienced some of God's glory, so it starts out glorious, and then once you're in eternity, it continues to remain glorious. Faithful listeners, I hope the Holy Spirit revealed something new to you today, and if he did,
tell me about it. I would love to hear about some of the new truths that the Holy Spirit has been talking to you about. So you'll find my contact information listed in the description of this episode. And of course, if you also have a prayer request, I would love to hear from you for that as well. And I'll write you down in my little prayer journal and pray for you throughout the week. Faithful listeners, I hope you have a fantastic and wonderful
rest of your Thursday. If you want to become a member and tune in to tomorrow's episodes, because the Friday episodes are for members only. We're going through the Book of Psalms and tomorrow we're going to be in Psalm chapter 21. If you'd like to gain access to that, then you'll find a link for Kofi listed in the description of this episode. Faithful listeners, I'll see you guys all on Monday. Have a wonderful weekend. Happy listening, and God bless.