Exodus 34:31, commentary and pictures

Coming down from Sinai with a shining face, Moses called to the fearful people, and Aaron and the rulers returned to him so he could talk with them and give them the directions and truth he had received from God. They had shrunk away afraid to come near or look steadily at the brightness, because in conscious guilt they could not endure the heavenly light that obedient souls would have received with joy. Compassionating their fear, Moses put a veil over his face so as not to terrify them, and continued to veil himself when he came from communion with God to speak the word of the Lord. What shone upon him was the reflected glory of the divine presence, the light of the glory of the gospel of Christ and His righteousness embodied in the law, which the transgressors could not bear to look upon. That shining is the pattern for the living saints, the 144,000, whose faces will be lighted up with the same glory as Moses when God pours upon them the Holy Ghost and delivers the everlasting covenant.

Words and Immediate Setting

After coming down from Sinai with a shining face, Moses called to the fearful people, and Aaron and all the rulers of the congregation returned to him and he talked with them. That return and conversation marked the beginning of his communication of what God had told him on the mount. In that speaking he brought to them directions and truth from God. The same descent with radiant face is recalled alongside the shining of the saints as they hear God proclaim the everlasting covenant and bless those who kept the Sabbath holy.

Aaron, the rulers, and the people shrank away and were afraid to come near him or to look steadily at the brightness. They thought that coming near might kill them and asked that the brightness be covered. In conscious guilt and feeling themselves still under divine displeasure they could not endure the heavenly light. That light would have filled them with joy had they been obedient.

At first Moses was ignorant of the cause of their confusion and terror. He called and urged them to come near, with nothing in his voice but love and entreaty. In doing so he held out to them the pledge of God's reconciliation and assured them of restored favor. At last one ventured to approach, and too awed to speak silently pointed to the countenance of Moses and then toward heaven, which Moses understood.

Because he compassionated their fear and had much to communicate to them, Moses put a veil upon his face so as not to terrify them. He covered his face rather than demand that they endure the painful brightness. They could not stand before him to hear the word of the Lord from his mouth until he covered his face with the veil. Thereafter he continued to do so whenever he returned to the camp from communion with God.

The meeting followed forty days and nights of direct communion in the mount. There God covered Moses so he could see God and live and behold heavenly things as God's ideal for the sanctuary. Standing alone in the presence of the Eternal One without fear because his soul was in harmony with the will of his Maker, Moses bowed his head toward the earth and worshiped when God proclaimed His name as merciful and gracious, long-suffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and by no means clearing the guilty. He entreated God to pardon the iniquity of the people and take them for His inheritance, and his prayer was granted with gracious promise to renew favor to Israel and in their behalf to do marvels such as had not been done in all the earth nor in any nation, with assurance that God had heard his prayer and would be present with him. His calling of Aaron and the rulers and talking with them was to give directions that every bell, pomegranate, tassel, fringe, curtain, and vessel of the sanctuary must be made exactly according to the pattern shown him in the mount, with nothing made after his own zeal or ideas.

Meaning of the Glory

Moses' face reflected with dazzling holy light the glory of the divine presence and shekinah from intimate communion with God, a light unknown to himself after being sustained by God and enveloped in divine glory. What shone in his countenance was the light of the glory of the gospel of Christ, who is the foundation of the sacrificial system. Moses had been shown Christ's work and mission to take humanity, to become teacher and guide, and to give Himself a ransom for sins, opening the new and living way of salvation through His blood and bringing the end of typical offerings, and he was captivated and entranced with praise to God.

The glory on his face reflected Christ's righteousness embodied in the law. The law has no power to save, but Christ revealed through its types and shadows makes it glorious. Even that glorious coming brought no truth greater or more precious than the doctrine of the cross and the imputed righteousness of Christ, which comes not in word only but in the power of God to everyone who believes. The brightness was painful because the people in their transgressions were unable to look upon it. Had Israel discerned by faith the gospel light opened to Moses and looked steadfastly to the end of that which was to be abolished, they could have endured the light reflected from his countenance.

Guilty Israel's inability to endure that reflected glory without fear proves how much more terrifying it will be for those who disregard God's law, transgress it, and reject Christ's atonement to face Christ in divine glory at His return and judgment. He will then appear in the glory of His Father surrounded by all the heavenly host to execute judgment upon them. There is fear in guilt, while the soul that is free from sin will not wish to hide from heaven's light. To the transgressor it is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. If iniquity is regarded in the heart the Lord will not hear, but the secret of the Lord is with them that fear Him and He will show them His covenant.

End-Time Shining of Saints

The shining of Moses' face after Sinai is the pattern for what will appear on the 144,000 living saints, the Israel of God, the commandment-keepers, when God speaks the day and hour of Jesus' coming from heaven and from the Holy City, pours upon them the Holy Ghost and the latter rain, and delivers the everlasting covenant to His people. Their faces will then begin to light up and shine with God's glory just as Moses' did, in likeness to his radiant face after coming down from the mount. That glory will rest on God's people as they listen to His voice, connecting the call of Aaron and the rulers back to Moses with the saints' lighting up after receiving the Spirit.

As God speaks one sentence at a time and pauses while the words roll through the earth like peals of loudest thunder from one clear place of settled glory, the people stand with eyes fixed upward listening in awful solemnity and shout Glory, Hallelujah at the end of every sentence. When the never-ending blessing is pronounced on those who honored God by keeping His Sabbath holy there is a mighty shout of victory over the beast and his image. When the voice from heaven declares the day and hour and delivers the everlasting covenant to those who kept His law, their countenances are lighted up with His glory.

Their countenances shine with the same glory that shone on Moses, beaming upon those around them and reflecting Jesus. The glory upon them is so bright the wicked cannot look upon them for the glory. As at Sinai others could not look upon Moses for the glory, so the Israel of God will be lit up with that same light in deliverance in the time of trouble.

The same cause will have the same effect as on Sinai: when God speaks from the Holy City to all His people as He did to Moses, all will be delivered from every outward foe and be filled with the Holy Ghost with light and glory poured on them as it was poured on Moses. Those who honored the law will be glorified while the despisers of the law bow and grovel at the saints' feet in fear of God's voice. Their countenances will then be lighted up with glory and beam upon those around them.

This outpouring of glory attends the closing work as the third message swells to a loud cry with great power, and it is the latter rain reviving and strengthening the faithful to pass through the time of trouble. Having grown up into Christ and partaken largely of His Spirit, the faithful grown up for the last conflict, the time of Jacob's trouble, are strengthened beforehand as Jesus was strengthened by being glorified before His betrayal and crucifixion. Their faces will shine with the glory of the light attending the third angel, like Moses' face shining after meeting with God when speaking with Aaron and the rulers.

It must take place before the second advent in the present mortal state to prepare them to gaze on Jesus and to stand before the Son of God when He comes with all the holy angels. None could otherwise stand a moment before the brightness of that coming which destroys the man of sin, as the Roman guard fell like dead men before the glory of one angel at the resurrection of Christ. This shining comes when the signs are acted over again, the day and hour are made known, the sea boils like a pot, and Christ appears in the east with His sword girded to give perfect and entire deliverance as God's people are caught up on the white cloud.

When God speaks from His holy habitation shaking the heavens and the earth to make the covenant of peace with them, their faces beam. At Christ's appearing in splendor and glory they will be translated to heaven without seeing death, rising with songs of triumph to enter through the gates into the city, into the land of Eden.

Echoes in Other Witnesses

The same holy light that shone from Moses' face after meeting with God also shone on Stephen's face as he stood before the council. It was the same kind of radiance, recalling the shekinah and the divine glory associated with Moses. The rulers who honored and exalted Moses could therefore have recognized in Stephen a similar sign of God's presence and a likeness to Moses. That light did not overcome their stubborn unbelief and prejudice.

Time spent communing with God made Enoch's face reflect a holy light as a parallel to Moses returning to speak with Aaron and the rulers of the congregation after being in God's presence. Even ungodly people saw heaven's impress upon him.

When a person has been with God the face is lighted with the glory of heaven and shines with heavenly light. That shining countenance reflects the presence and power of God after an experience of His power. The body may fall helpless under the power of God. When cold formalism is broken and people put on Christ in contrite humility, God gives such revealings of His glory that their very faces shine.

Lessons for Leaders and Believers

Moses talked face to face with God in close intercourse, for God condescends to talk with feeble mortals and listens to the appeals of self-denying workers who labor to advance His cause. The glorious manifestation granted to him made his face shine so brightly with heavenly luster that Israel could not look upon him, and he appeared like a bright angel from heaven. That personal experience of the knowledge of God was of more value to him as a leader bearing responsibilities than all his former education in the learning of the Egyptians.

Those in responsible positions and those who devise and execute plans must first have power with God in order to have power with the people. They must connect with heaven for wisdom, foresight, discernment, and keen perception. The most brilliant intellect, the most earnest study, and the highest eloquence can never be substituted for the wisdom and power of God, the grace of Christ, and the knowledge of God's will in those bearing responsibilities connected with His cause.

Moses stands as God's human servant following the direction of One mightier than himself, calling Aaron and the rulers of the congregation back to him and speaking with them only after his face had reflected the glory God imparted to him. He addresses Israel after encounter with God, with the brightness of God's glory reflected in his face so great that the people could not look upon him. Leaders therefore speak to the people only after meeting with God.

When a person has been with God the face is lighted with the glory of heaven and shines with heavenly light, and the body may even fall helpless under the power of God. Such a shining countenance is evidence that the work is of the Lord and breaks stubborn unbelief. Those who feared and opposed return, confess their error and coldness of heart with tears, ask forgiveness, and give help and sustaining sympathy instead of cruel opposition, so that cold formality melts and unity and peace dwell among the people.