“Moses did not know that the skin of his face shone because of his speaking with Him. So when Aaron and all the sons of Israel saw Moses, behold, the skin of his face shone, and they were afraid to come near him.” Exodus 34:29
There is simply no substitute for spending time in The Presence of Holy God. Hard work glistens the brow with honorable beads of sweat, but nothing pours the oil of The Spirit upon the countenance of a believer like spending prolonged periods of time in The Presence of The Father.
“Moses did not know that the skin on his face shone because of his speaking with Him.”
Moses was clueless because he was selfless. He wasn’t looking for an ancient version of a quick celebrity “Selfie” with God so he could post it in front of his envious friends. His time with God was about God, not about Moses. This was the key for this man of God to be under the anointing of God. It still is.
The daily drain on his spiritual resources by the obstinate people God called him to lead left Moses drained and thirsting to be in The Presence of God. He wasn’t looking for a brief break from his burden or a quick sip from the well of God’s wisdom. He longed to be saturated by God. He wasn’t interested in just knowing what God knew. He wanted to know God. There is a big difference between education and saturation.
The self-focused person who has to squeeze into every conversation a not so subtle reminder of how much time they spend with God is missing the point. Scripture indicates the evidence should already be on their face before it comes out of their mouth. The words of the simple children’s song should be their anthem.
“If you’re happy and you know it, then your face will surely show it.”
It was simply impossible for Moses to hide the power of God’s Presence from his face. Diligence will lead a person to schedule a disciplined, daily Quiet Time. Intelligence is fed by increasing a person’s knowledge about God. Sadly, it is still possible for both the diligent and the intelligent to miss God.
Moses didn’t’ spend time with God to express his diligence or to improve his intelligence. With personal transparency, he embraced God’s transcendence. Speaking with God for prolonged periods of time left an indelible mark on the soul of Moses. These private conversations were revealed in public by the radiance of God’s Presence on his face.
God’s Presence is released through and revealed upon the faces of the transparent, not the diligent and the intelligent. People praise the diligent, and honor the intelligent, but God anoints the transparent. Be transparent.
Moses did not know The Evidence was on his face, but those who saw his face, sensed The Presence of God. The Evidence was The Presence. It always is.
Moses didn’t walk away from The Presence of God with a new version of God. He remained true to God’s Word and challenged those who heard his voice and saw his face to obey God, not his own personal version of God.
“He commanded them to do everything that the Lord had spoken to him on Mount Sinai. 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 take off the veil until he came out;” V. 32
NOTE TO SELF: Get this right. Moses removed The Veil when he entered into The Presence of God. He pulled The Veil over his face when he was in the presence of the people.
“The sons of Israel would see the face of Moses, that the skin of Moses shone. So Moses would replace the veil over his face until he went in to speak with Him.” V. 35
When you come into The Presence of God, be honest to God. You don’t get any closer to God than your lowest level of transparency. Be diligent. Be intelligent, but most of all, be transparent. Rushing to tell people all you know about God can become a substitute for spending time with God. You may not be able to tell the difference, but those around you can. Don’t confuse eloquence with transparency.
TALK LESS! PRAY MORE!