Exodus 34

21 See Exodus 20:8–11; 31:12–17 and comments.

22–24 See Exodus 23:16–17 and comment.

25–26 See Exodus 23:18–19 and comment.

27–28 Once more Moses was told to write down these supplemental laws (Exodus 24:4). But God Himself¹²⁷ inscribed the Ten Commandments—the words of the covenant, the main covenant obligations—on the two new tablets that Moses had prepared (verse 28).

A second time, Moses remained on the mountain for forty days and nights without eating bread or water (verse 28). No one can survive that long without water. God clearly gave Moses divine sustenance during that period (Deuteronomy 9:9,18; Matthew 4:2).

The Radiant Face of Moses (34:29–35)

29–32 When Moses came down from Mount Sinai carrying the two tablets of the Testimony in his hands (see Exodus 25:10–16; 31:18 and comments), his face was radiant (verse 29). The radiance resulted from Moses having been with God; it was God’s radiance that had been passed on to Moses. This no doubt was the reason the Israelites were afraid to come near him (verse 30); they felt as if they were coming near God Himself. But after Moses reassured them that he was the same person as before, they came near and heard from Moses all the commands that God had given (verse 32).

33–35 When Moses finished speaking to the Israelites, he put a veil over his face. No reason for the veil is given in this passage, but the Apostle Paul has written that the veil was to keep the Israelites from seeing the radiance (or glory) fade from Moses’ face (2 Corinthians 3:13).

The veil had an additional spiritual significance: it kept the Israelites from seeing that the glory of the covenant given at Sinai was not permanent, that one day it would indeed fade away in the greater glory of the new covenant established through Jesus Christ (2 Corinthians 3:7–11).

From then on, whenever Moses spoke with God, he took the veil off and kept it off until he had finished telling the people what God had said. In this way, the Israelites could always tell when Moses had been with God (verses 34–35).

Moses was undoubtedly the greatest figure in the Old Testament; he wielded more influence and more power than any other person. What was the secret of Moses’ greatness? The secret was the time he spent with the Lord. It was the Lord’s radiance that shone on Moses’ face; it was the Lord’s power that was displayed when Moses raised his staff; it was the Lord’s commands that were proclaimed when Moses opened his mouth to speak.

And the same is true for us. If we would wield power and influence for Christ’s sake, we must spend time with Him; we must walk with Him, learn from Him, obey Him. Then our “faces” too will be radiant with Christ’s glory, and people will say of us that we have been with Jesus (Acts 4:13; 2 Corinthians 3:18).