Exodus 34:29 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.
This morning’s verses have me thinking about Isaiah 55:8, “My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts,” says the LORD. “And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine.” When Moses came down and saw the golden calf and was so angry that he smashed the first two stone tablets, that felt like utter catastrophe.
Exodus 34:30 When Aaron and all the Israelites saw Moses, his face was radiant, and they were afraid to come near him.
It wasn’t ideal, for sure, but, after his second foray up the mountain, now with the two new tablets in hand, Moses has had an experience so holy that “his face was radiant because he had spoken with the Lord,” and he was completely unaware of it. This experience would never have happened if he hadn’t had to go back up the mountain.
Exodus 34:31 But Moses called to them; so Aaron and all the leaders of the community came back to him, and he spoke to them.
Precious Savior, Now “we see things imperfectly, like puzzling reflections in a mirror” (1 Cor 13:12), but you see with divine, sovereign clarity. Thank You that Your ways “are far beyond anything” we could imagine. Help us to trust You, even when we don’t understand. Help us, Jesus. Amen.
Exodus 34:32 Afterward all the Israelites came near him, and he gave them all the commands the Lord had given him on Mount Sinai.
Have a blessed day.