2 Corinthians 3:5-9 5Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think any thing as of ourselves; but our sufficiency is of God; 6Who also hath made us able ministers of the new testament; not of the letter, but of the spirit: for the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life. 7But if the ministration of death, written and engraven in stones, was glorious, so that the children of Israel could not stedfastly behold the face of Moses for the glory of his countenance; which glory was to be done away: 8How shall not the ministration of the spirit be rather glorious? (2 Cor. 3:5-8 KJV)
The Apostle Paul alluded to Exodus 34:29-35 in verse 7 when Moses came down from the Mount Sinai a second time with the tablets of the Ten Commandments written by God following Israel’s rebellion in the worship of the golden calf. Moses’ face glow as a result of His communion with God. To the Israelites who despise the worship of God in their waywardness, the law of God was a rebuke to them – ministration of death. It showed them their sin. Yet, there is a right relationship that brings God’s law to the seeking heart.
Indeed, the greatest privilege of mortal man is the blessed time of communion with God. In that communion, he finds himself immersed in the reality of God’s presence. What does it mean to meet with God and to behold His glory? We are brought face to face with such an encounter in this text as we capture that scene in our mind’s eye through Scripture when Moses descended from Mount Sinai after fasting for 40 days. Verse 30 tells us, “behold, the skin of his face shone”. There was a radiant glow on Moses’ face, unbeknown to the man himself.
In that communion, God imparts to His servant an unmistakable fullness, as evident in the glow on Moses’ face – “… Moses wist not that the skin of his face shown while He talked with him…” There is an intensity, an infinite value, transmitted from those spoken words of God that Moses heard and recorded. And there is an effect upon the man, a supernatural radiance that affirms that encounter was described for our learning.Although Moses was with the LORD forty days and forty nights, the duration of which he “did neither eat bread nor drink water” (v28), his countenance did not reflect it. As Spurgeon rightly observed, he did not look “starved, wrinkled, old, haggard” but “the LORD whom he served made his face brilliant with unusual lustre.” This is the ministration of the spirit in the life of His dear saint.
Indeed, the glory of the light of God upon his countenance may have been the reason why he remained so hale in after years of old age. This man of eighty spent forty years more in guiding Israel, and in the end his eye had not dimmed, nor his natural force abated. [Spurgeon]
Deuteronomy 34:7 And Moses was an hundred and twenty years old when he died: his eye was not dim, nor his natural force abated.
This is the blessing of service and communion with God. There is a lasting richness imparted to that life that lasts. Thank God for the privilege of drawing nigh to Him through the meditation of His Word. May His presence shine forth that we can be a good witness for Him. Amen.
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