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Lord's Prayer

Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come; Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.

For Thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever and ever.

Prayer for the Morning

Oh Lord, most heavenly Father, Almighty and everlasting God, who has safely brought me to the beginning of this day; I give you thanks for my creation, preservation, and all the blessings of my life. Grant that this day I fall into no sin, neither run into any kind of danger; but that all my doings, being governed by your will, may be righteous in your sight. Through Christ our Lord, I pray.

Prayer to Live Christ's Word

Gracious God, Jesus is calling me to a new beginning; to a fresh call to discipleship. You are asking me to deny myself, take up my cross and follow you. It was at my baptism that you claimed me as your child.

Today, I affirm that I have been crucified with Christ, and it is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. I surrender my will, my desires and my life to you, O God. I commit myself to your call to discipleship: to pray, study your Word, worship you, invite other people to a life of discipleship, encourage Christians in their life of faith, serve those in need, and give joyfully of the gifts that You first gave me.
This I pray in Jesus' name.

Benediction

God our Father, and our Lord Jesus Christ, and Spirit of God amidst us, direct our way unto you. Make us to increase and abound in love one toward another, and toward all men, even as we do toward you; to the end we may stablish our hearts unblameable in holiness before you, even our Father, at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with all his saints.

Think of the day ahead in terms of God with you, and visualize health, strength, guidance, purity, calm confidence, and victory as the gifts of His presence.

Michelangelo's famous statue of Moses, ca. 1515. Like the top painting, Moses is shown with a “horned face” instead of a “radiant face” due to a mistranslation of the Hebrew.

Jesus Among Us

Exodus 34:10-35 (ESV)

The Covenant is Renewed

Then the Lord said: “I am making a covenant with you. Before all your people I will do wonders never before done in any nation in all the world. . . .”

[Verses 11-28, which we studied extensively in the Ten Commandments discussion last month ago (starting with the Devotion for April 29), are omitted here. See Exodus 34.]

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, his face was radiant, and 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 to them. Afterward all the Israelites came near him, and he gave them all the words 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 the Lord’s presence to speak with him, he removed the veil until he came out. And when he came out and told the Israelites what he 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.

Notes on the Scripture

The complex symbolism of God's face is continued by having Moses' actual face become the visible symbol of his unique importance; Moses is the messenger of God. He carries the Word of God to the Hebrews, both physically, on two stone tablets, and mentally: in his memory and from his continuing conversations with Yahweh in the tent of meeting.

Moses face has become “radiant” in the literal sense of the word: His face gives off rays. It shines with more than simply reflected light. Seeing such a person would be terrifying, and the Hebrews (including even Aaron) are so stricken with fear that they cannot bear to look at him. So, only when he is speaking with God or relaying God's words to the people does Moses show them his face; at other times, he covers it with a veil. This indicates that he is “just plain Moses” instead of a person possessed by a supernatural gift.

Just as Moses cannot gaze upon the face of God, the people cannot gaze upon the face of Moses when it reflects God. The phenomenon is a diminished representation of the relationship of God to Moses.

One might imagine that Moses' credibility as God's messenger becomes unquestionable, which is, no doubt, part of God's purpose in creating this frightful radiance in Moses' face.

Our study of Exodus is nearly done. The bumpy road to the covenant between the Jews and Yahweh has reached its milepost, for the covenant has been made. Keeping it will prove to be another matter, and the Hebrews' successes and failures will fill the rest of the Old Testament. But here, the covenant has been finalized at last; the rest of the Book of Exodus will consist of Moses, with his shining face, executing the detailed construction and organization needed for worship.

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