The story of Moses wearing a veil is found in Exodus 34 in the Old Testament. After spending 40 days and nights on Mount Sinai receiving the Ten Commandments from God, Moses returned to the Israelites with his face radiant. However, Moses did not realize that his face was radiant because he had been speaking with the Lord (Exodus 34:29).
When Aaron and all the people of Israel saw Moses, they were afraid to come near him because of the radiance of his face. So Moses called to them, and Aaron and all the leaders of the congregation returned to him, and Moses talked with them (Exodus 34:30). Afterward, all the Israelites came near, and Moses gave them all the commands the Lord had given him on Mount Sinai (Exodus 34:32).
When Moses had finished speaking with them, he put a veil over his face. But whenever Moses went in before the Lord to speak with Him, he would remove the veil until he came out. When he came out and told the Israelites what he had been commanded, the Israelites would see that the skin of Moses’ face was radiant. Then Moses would put the veil over his face again until he went in to speak with the Lord (Exodus 34:33-35).
Why did Moses wear a veil over his radiant face? There are a few key reasons:
1. The radiance frightened the Israelites
When the Israelites first saw Moses’ face shining, they were afraid to approach him. The radiance was a visible sign of Moses’ encounter with the glory of God, and this terrified the Israelites (Exodus 34:30). Putting a veil over his face enabled Moses to communicate with the people without frightening them.
2. It was a temporary glory
Moses’ radiant face was the after-effect of being in God’s presence and a reflection of His glory. However, it was only a temporary glory that would fade over time. By wearing a veil, Moses was able to cover the fading glory after being in God’s presence (2 Corinthians 3:13). This pointed ahead to the permanent glory that came through Jesus Christ.
3. It distinguished Moses’ unique relationship with God
Moses had a special relationship with God that was unique among the Israelites. He spoke to God face-to-face, as to a friend (Exodus 33:11). The radiant glow on Moses’ face reflected the intimacy of his walk with God. By covering his face with a veil, Moses could illustrate to the people when he had met with God and when the glory was fading. This veil was a visible reminder of Moses’ special relationship with the Lord.
4. It expressed reverence in God’s presence
In many ancient Near Eastern cultures, veils were used as a sign of respect and reverence before rulers and deities. By wearing a veil after being in God’s presence, Moses may have been showing honor and deference to the Lord in an outward cultural custom. His veiled face before the people was a sign of reverence for God’s glory.
5. It was a separation between God’s glory and the people
The radiant glory on Moses’ face was a holy, divine glow that came from being in the presence of the Lord. By wearing a veil, Moses created separation between God’s glory revealed to him privately, and his ordinary appearance before the people. The veil was a tool Moses could use to transition between the holy presence of God and interaction with the Israelites.
6. It foreshadowed the glory of the new covenant
Paul explained in 2 Corinthians 3 that the veil over Moses’ face kept the Israelites from seeing the fading glory clearly. This pointed ahead to the new covenant that came through Christ, where believers can behold the glory of the Lord with unveiled faces (2 Corinthians 3:12-18). The veil was part of the old covenant administration that prepared the way for the permanent glory of the new covenant in Christ.
In summary, Moses wore a veil over his radiant face for several important theological reasons: to alleviate the people’s fear, to indicate the temporary nature of the glory, to show his unique relationship with God, to display reverence, to separate the holy presence of God from daily life, and to foreshadow the unveiled glory of the new covenant that was to come through Jesus Christ.
The account of Moses and his shining face teaches us important truths about the character of God, the call to pursue intimacy with Him, the centrality of Christ in God’s plan, and the impact of being in God’s presence. Though the radiant glory on Moses’ face was only temporary, all believers in Christ have the opportunity to behold the Lord’s glory and be transformed into His image with ever-increasing glory (2 Corinthians 3:18).
Moses was a key leader chosen by God to play a special part in His plan of redemption. The glory that shone from Moses’ face was a powerful reminder to the Israelites of God’s holy presence in their midst. But that fading glory ultimately pointed ahead to the surpassing glory that shines from the face of Jesus Christ – the permanent radiance of God’s glory embodied in human form (2 Corinthians 4:6).
When we come to God through faith in Christ, the veil is removed and we can encounter His glory in an intimate way (Hebrews 4:16). As we grow in relationship with Christ, His glory begins to shine more brightly in and through us, transforming our lives and empowering us to carry His light to the world (Matthew 5:16). So the story of Moses’ face reminds us to pursue unhindered intimacy with God, so we can reflect His beautiful glory.
7. It protected the Israelites from prolonged exposure to God’s glory
According to Exodus 33:20, no one can see God’s face and live. The unmatched brilliance of His full glory is more than any human can handle. When Moses spent time in the Lord’s presence, he reflected just a portion of that glory from his own face. But even a small part of God’s radiance was difficult for the Israelites to tolerate for long.
By veiling his face, Moses shielded the people from prolonged exposure to even the reflected rays of God’s awe-inspiring glory. The people were not spiritually prepared or equipped to handle the full weight of God’s majesty unfiltered. So out of mercy, Moses used the veil to temper and regulate how much divine glory the people witnessed.
Moses uncovered his radiant face when speaking directly with God, but veiled it when addressing the Israelites. In this way, the veil protected the people by limiting their experience of the divine while Moses carried the full burden and blessing of beholding God’s glory up close.
8. It displayed both the privilege and responsibility of leadership
As Israel’s leader, Moses experienced incredible privileges, including speaking with God face-to-face. But leadership also came with sobering responsibilities. Moses had to return from the holy mountaintop and help the everyday Israelites relate to God in ways they could understand.
His shining face reflected his leadership role as go-between. The veil enabled Moses to move between encountering God’s raw glory and transmitting what he learned to the people in ways they could grasp. Leadership involves balancing high-level access to God with street-level communication skills.
The veil was a tangible reminder that leadership is both a privilege and responsibility. Like Moses, leaders must learn from private moments with God then clearly teach others through words and deeds they can understand.
9. It represented the partial revelation of God under the old covenant
Moses ministered under the old covenant, before the full revelation of grace and truth through Christ (John 1:17). Under the old covenant, the knowledge of God was incomplete, shadowy, and veiled in mystery.
Moses’ face veil symbolized the partial glimpse of God’s glory available under the old covenant. The people could only handle limited rays of reflected glory filtered through the veil. But Christ tore that veil and opened the way for God’s full glory to be revealed through the new covenant (Hebrews 10:20).
The veil pointed ahead to a time when access to God’s presence would no longer be restricted for all who believe. In Christ, the veil is lifted so we can all behold God’s glory with unveiled faces (2 Corinthians 3:16-18).
10. It signified the transience of the old covenant system
Moses’ need to wear a veil hinted that the old covenant arrangement was imperfect and temporary. The glory reflected on his face would inevitably fade. So too the old covenant was never meant to be God’s final word or permanent administration.
The veil and the fading glory foreshadowed the coming of a new and better covenant through Christ. As Hebrews 8:13 says, “By calling this covenant ‘new,’ he has made the first one obsolete.” The veil prefigured the transient nature of old covenant and its replacement with a new and lasting covenant.
In Christ, all barriers and veils separating us from God’s presence are decisively torn away. We have confidence to enter God’s presence through faith in Christ’s finished work (Hebrews 4:16). And we can enjoy new covenant access to beholding and being transformed by God’s glory.
11. It highlighted the inadequacy of the law to save
In 2 Corinthians 3, Paul explained that the glory on Moses’ face came from his special encounter with God, not from the giving of the law. The law itself had no glory and was powerless to transform hearts.
The fact that Moses had to veil his face showed the inadequacy of the law to save. If following the law could impart life and righteousness, Moses would not have covered his glorified face. But no one could fulfill the righteous requirements of the law – it could only condemn (Romans 3:20).
The veil pointed to the inability of the law to make anyone righteous before God. True righteousness and glory could only come through faith in Christ and the life-giving Spirit (2 Corinthians 3:6-8).
12. It illustrated the spiritual blindness of unbelievers
Paul taught that a spiritual veil covers the hearts of unbelievers, blinding them to the glory of Christ and the truth of the gospel (2 Corinthians 3:14-16). Just as Moses wore a physical veil, spiritual blindness veils the minds of those without the Spirit.
The story reminds us that people need the Holy Spirit to enlighten the eyes of their hearts to behold the glory of God in Christ (Ephesians 1:18). We should pray for God to remove spiritual blindness and shine the light of Christ into darkened hearts.
Moses’ face veil illustrates that unbelievers cannot grasp the glory and truth of Christ apart from the Spirit’s illumination. Thankfully, the Spirit is able to penetrate through any hardness of heart when people turn to Christ in faith.
13. It highlights the surpassing glory of the new covenant
The reason Moses wore a veil was to cover the fading glory on his face after being in God’s presence. This temporal glory was fleeting and incomplete.
In contrast, the glory of the new covenant in Christ is lasting, unfading, and complete. The fullness of God’s glory radiates undiminished from Jesus Christ – the perfect image and full revelation of God (Hebrews 1:3, Colossians 1:19).
Believers in Christ have the privilege of beholding and being transformed by Christ’s glory without any veil. The story reminds us that the glory of Christ and the new covenant far surpasses the partial, transient glory experienced under the old covenant.
In Christ, the veil has been eternally torn away so we can gaze on the surpassing glory of the Lord with faces unveiled (2 Corinthians 3:18). The glory that shone temporarily from Moses’ face finds its fulfillment in the permanent glory embodied in our Savior Jesus Christ.
In conclusion, Moses wore a veil over his face for important theological reasons. The veil pointed ahead to the coming of Christ, who would tear away all barriers to fellowship with God. It represented temporary glory versus eternal glory, partial revelation versus full revelation, and the inadequacy of the law versus the completeness of grace.
Most importantly, the veil foreshadowed the lifting of spiritual blindness through faith in Christ, so that all could behold the glory of God. The account reminds us to celebrate Christ as the perfect and permanent revelation of God’s glory and to share the gospel so others can have their spiritual veils torn away as well.