Exodus 34:29 And it came to pass, when Moses came down from mount Sinai with the two tables of testimony in Moses’ hand, when he came down from the mount, that Moses wist not that the skin of his face shone while he talked with him.
30 And when Aaron and all the children of Israel saw Moses, behold, the skin of his face shone; and they were afraid to come nigh him.
31 And Moses called unto them; and Aaron and all the rulers of the congregation returned unto him: and Moses talked with them.
32 And afterward all the children of Israel came nigh: and he gave them in commandment all that the LORD had spoken with him in mount Sinai.
33 And till Moses had done speaking with them, he put a vail on his face.
34 But when Moses went in before the LORD to speak with him, he took the vail off, until he came out. And he came out, and spake unto the children of Israel that which he was commanded.
35 And the children of Israel saw the face of Moses, that the skin of Moses’ face shone: and Moses put the vail upon his face again, until he went in to speak with him.
Yesterday the Liberal party presented their future plans to bankrupt this country. They have had ten years to prove they know how to govern, but in those ten years they have done more damage to this country than any government in the past. They like to call themselves “liberals” but they are enslavers. Those who are saved need to continue to pray for our governments. We need to pray for the salvation of the P.M. and the Premiers. We should pray for the person who is supposed to be our local representative.
The purpose of government is not to push ungodly ideas. The problem this country has faced for decades is that those who profess to be Christians lack discernment when it comes to many things including government. Too often I have heard the phrase, ‘we need to hold our noses and pick the best of the worst’. We need government. The Bible tells us that. We need pulpits that are much stronger on the essential importance of the fear of God. We can thank God that we still have the freedoms we have in this country. The governments have been working hard to remove freedom, but by God’s grace and mercy, they have not succeeded in their wicked plans.
We can look at countries like Nigeria where professing Christians are being murdered almost every day by Muslims. Yes, we need to identify evil and we, those who are saved, need to be much more vocal about what truth is and why it is so necessary to believe the truth.
The U.S. held “elections” for some governors and mayors, etc. New York city now has a Muslim, communist mayor. Those two terms fit together. Hitler was supported by Muslims and Catholics in his agenda. He tried to wipe out the Jews and he tried to take over the world so that he could force his wicked ideas across the globe. Catholics and Muslims both want to rule the world and they are both willing to use force to implement their wickedness. True Christianity does not use force to bring people into their faith. True Christians accept God as their God and Saviour and submit to His rule and they seek to help others to see the blessing of walking humbly with the Lord.
God did not allow Hitler to implement his wicked plan completely; however, his philosophy of life is still having an impact across the world. It is having a massive impact in our country.
God is showing us the impact of rejecting Him. We see that in the Bible and we see it lived out in real time now in our country and in the world.
God gave the nation of Israel His law. Moses was chosen by God to implement God’s law. Moses did not come up with the law. He was simply to receive it and then teach it and uphold it. God gave him seventy elders to help him in his task. God also gave him priests who were to conduct the sacrifices and also teach the law.
Moses had great responsibility, but not more than he could handle if he would walk humbly with the Lord. The same is true today. God chooses leaders. He equips His leaders for the task at hand. The key is to be a submissive leader who will walk in the fear of God, not the fear of man.
Aaron, who was supposed to be the high priest of the nation, was not fit to be in the presence of Moses. Aaron chose to defile himself and he also chose to lead the nation of Israel in defiling itself.
We have already seen that when he was confronted with the sin he led the nation of Israel in, he did not take responsibility. He accused the people and he suggested that the golden calf miraculously popped out of the fire and was just there. That is not the way a godly man operates.
Thus when Moses appeared to them, they were afraid to come near him. Moses was still a man. However, he took a much purer approach to God than the rest of the nation. They did not know how to receive him. The real problem was that the people were not willing to draw nigh to God themselves. Thus they decided to separate from Him.
In verse 31 we see that Moses was not a puffed up man. He did not perceive the difference between himself and the people. He was just doing what God wanted all people to do. The people took comfort in the fact that Moses was still willing to speak to them but they needed him to be vailed in order to do so.
We read that Moses needed to reassure the leadership first of all and then the children of Israel drew nigh to Moses. They were curious. They had some interest in what Moses had done and what he had to say. Moses was faithful and he gave them the commandments that God had given him.
We read in verse 33 that Moses needed to vail his face while he spoke with the people. God’s man needs to be holy. However, God does not limit holiness to one or to few. He wants all His children to be holy. It is sad that so few are interested in God’s holiness.
When Moses went to speak with God he did not need a vail over his face. God would not let Moses see His face because He is holy. Moses could have confidence in the presence of the LORD. It would have been good if the people would have seen the value of drawing nigh to God.
Moses was a faithful servant of God. He told them all that the LORD had given him. He was not careless. He knew every Word of God was important. He did not want to miss anything that God had given him.
Moses demonstrated the change that the LORD makes in a humble, obedient servant. Moses was not ashamed of his spirituality. The people were ashamed of their lack of spirituality. Sadly, they did not take the right steps to be purified by the Lord.
There was no benefit for Moses to reject what God wanted of him. He could not help the people if he would stoop to their sinful ways. Today, we find many religious leaders who want to fit in with the world. The dress standards and the music standards in most churches looks more like the world than that of people of God. The people like the careless nature in most churches today. We need to remember that the people liked the golden calf that Aaron made. They liked the wild music and the nakedness.
We need to understand that we do not determine truth by how well it is received. God’s Word is truth and those who are saved need to humbly accept the truth and then proclaim that truth to others.
Jude 1:3 Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints.
It is not some new or modernized faith we need to contend for. It is the faith which was once delivered unto the saints. Let us be content to submit to God’s Word and will. Let us, those who are saved, live in the parameters of God’s love. It is the place of blessing.
Pastor Bartel
