Exodus 34:29-35 (NRSV)
Read Exodus 34:29-35 on biblegateway.com
Verse 29Moses came down from Mount Sinai. As he came down from the mountain with the two tablets of the covenant in his hand, Moses did not know that the skin of his face shone because he had been talking with God. Verse 30When Aaron and all the Israelites saw Moses, the skin of his face was shining, and they were afraid to come near him. Verse 31But Moses called to them; and Aaron and all the leaders of the congregation returned to him, and Moses spoke with them. Verse 32Afterward all the Israelites came near, and he gave them in commandment all that the Lord had spoken with him on Mount Sinai. Verse 33When Moses had finished speaking with them, he put a veil on his face; Verse 34but whenever Moses went in before the Lord to speak with him, he would take the veil off, until he came out; and when he came out, and told the Israelites what he had been commanded, Verse 35the Israelites would see the face of Moses, that the skin of his face was shining; and Moses would put the veil on his face again, until he went in to speak with him.
Devotion
What would it be like to be in the very presence of God? One can only imagine! That only happens in the stories of heroic leaders like Moses. We read that when he returned from his visits with God on Mt. Sinai his face was so glowingly radiant he had to put a covering over his face. Perhaps we too want to imagine just for a moment what it would be like to have the glow of being in God’s presence.
And yet that's exactly what God promises. It's there in our hands all along. When Moses returns from the mountain, he brings with him God's word—the commandments—to be a sign of God's love and care for all God's people. The commandments are for us the daily mark of God's gift of life. As Moses says to the people of Israel elsewhere, just imagine, what people has a God who dwells so near that this God gives them these commandments to live by, and promises to listen whenever they call on that God in prayer? (Deuteronomy 4:7-8)
Prayer
O God of Promise, you dwell so very near to us and yet it so easy to take the gift of your presence for granted. Help us to know more fully your presence in the words of your commandments that guide our daily life. Amen.