Monday Devotional: February 17, 2025

Bible Reading: Exodus 34:29-35 (NRSVUE)

²⁹ Moses came down from Mount Sinai. As he came down from the mountain with the two tablets of the covenant in his hand, Moses did not know that the skin of his face shone because he had been talking with God. ³⁰ When Aaron and all the Israelites saw Moses, the skin of his face was shining, and they were afraid to come near him. ³¹ But Moses called to them, and Aaron and all the leaders of the congregation returned to him, and Moses spoke with them. ³² Afterward all the Israelites came near, and he gave them in commandment all that the Lord had spoken with him on Mount Sinai. ³³ When Moses had finished speaking with them, he put a veil on his face, ³⁴ but whenever Moses went in before the Lord to speak with him, he would take the veil off until he came out, and when he came out and told the Israelites what he had been commanded, ³⁵ the Israelites would see the face of Moses, that the skin of his face was shining, and Moses would put the veil on his face again until he went in to speak with him.

When I was in seminary, one of my roommates fell in love with the woman he would eventually marry. I never had to ask if he had seen her on a particular day because I could see on his face the glow of having spent time with his beloved. He looked different.

Today’s passage tells us that Moses actually looks different when he returns from God’s presence. God’s glory radiates from his skin. His face shines so brightly that everyone fears him. He finally decides to wear a veil in order to relieve their anxiety; yet in God’s presence, he removes the veil to bask fully in the divine brilliancy.

God may not call us away onto a holy mountain to meet, but as Christians, we can commune with the Almighty anywhere. We can pray and talk with God in the privacy of our bedroom, in the car while driving our kids to school, at work, at our child’s soccer practice, wherever.

When we meet with God in these places, how does that affect us? Do we look different? I’m not talking about physical appearance, as if following God means we have to smile all the time. (We don’t. Just read the Psalms.) I’m talking about our entire being. Do our meetings with the Almighty through reflection, Bible study, prayer—even reading this devotional—change us in some visible way? When friends or colleagues need and search for hope, can they look at us and see the reflection of God’s glory in our lives?

Prayer

Dear Lord, may my meetings with you change me so that I will draw other people to you. Amen.

By David L Eastman, The Upper Room Disciplines 2016, page 51.