READ: Ex. 34:29–35: … “Now it was so, when Moses went in before the LORD to speak with Him, that he would take the veil off until he came out; and he would come out and speak to the children of Israel whatever he had been commanded. And whenever the children of Israel saw the face of Moses, that the skin of Moses’ face shone, then Moses would put the veil on his face again, until he went in to speak with Him.”
When Moses descends from the mountain, his face radiates. This radiance is the result of his encounter with the LORD, who had spoken with him directly.
Moreover, he holds in his hand the two tablets of the Testimony written by God Himself. Moses himself is not aware of this (v.29), and Joshua is not present to draw his attention to the radiance.
The radiance inspires awe and fear in Aaron and the Israelites who come to meet him. Therefore, they do not dare to approach Moses. Moses, however, reassures them and tells—indeed commands—everything that the LORD has spoken.. When he finishes speaking, he places a cloth or veil over his face.
From then on, he removes the veil only when he enters the tent where he meets the LORD and puts it back on when he leaves the tent. In this way God’s words are conveyed by Moses to the people, while the glory of the LORD is reflected from Moses’ skin.
Paul uses this event in 2 Cor. 3 to illustrate the superiority of the new covenant in Christ over the old covenant. The veil was necessary because the Israelites could not endure the radiance of the old covenant; moreover, it prevented them from seeing this radiance, as the glory of the old covenant, was fading away from Moses (2 Cor. 3:7, 13).
In the new covenant, however, there is an even greater glory, indeed a surpassing glory, which does not fade (2 Cor. 3:9–11). The Israelites could not keep the old covenant without the Spirit, but the new covenant continues to shine through the work of the Spirit (2 Cor. 3:17–18).
Have there been people who returned from heaven?
Sing: Ps. 80:3,8