Please note that the underlined words are links to scriptures. Be sure to click on them for additional context.
In the previous episode, I expounded on what I have coined as the curse and the wrath of the cruel. This term denotes the conflation of Moses’ violent past with impulsive decision-making in misguided efforts to hasten the fulfillment of God’s promises. Regrettably, such actions resulted in an eighty-year delay of God’s will. Additionally, I discussed Moses’ enigmatic encounters with the divine, which influenced his decision-making and interpretation of patterns given to him on the mount, and the ensuing erratic implementation of such patterns. Readers are advised to peruse the preceding episode for necessary contextual information.
The present episode examines how Moses’ efforts to project holiness inadvertently deceived the Jewish nation. There is parallels between Moses’ transgression and those of Eve, insofar as he believed that his actions would elevate him to the status of a deity. Further, upon analyzing the New Testament as a whole, I discern a repudiation of the Law of Moses. Indeed, biblical texts such as Romans, Galatians, and particularly Hebrews, prominently feature Moses’ erratic work, and mostly refute his interpretation of the Law.
The language in this episode may be perceived as particularly assertive towards Moses. However, I do not harbor animosity towards Moses. Rather, I aim to highlight the carnality that he demonstrated in his leadership. Notably, the scriptures themselves provide ample censure for Moses, and I urge readers to peruse them — the underlined words link to scriptural passages.
Let’s explore the events that led to Moses damning the Israelites.
The Error in fading glories
Moses’ impulsiveness doesn’t end at hastening the promises of God. For context, he admonishes God, imputing iniquity onto God by blithely calling Him sinful because He broached the prospect of punishing the Israelites for the sin of the golden calf, but turns around and exacts considerable wrath on the Israelites for the same sin, including slaughtering three thousand Israelites. You would imagine that having challenged God, he would be consistent in his actions toward the Israelites by exercising mercy. Au contraire, he was anything but.
Hypocrites don’t come in better stripes than Moses — no really, they can’t. This further manifests itself when he departs the presence of the Lord to interact with the Israelites. Let’s explore how a seemingly innocuous action catapulted Moses into error:
And it came to pass, when Moses came down from mount Sinai with the two tables of testimony in Moses’ hand, when he came down from the mount, that Moses wist not that the skin of his face shone while he talked with him. And when Aaron and all the children of Israel saw Moses, behold, the skin of his face shone; and they were afraid to come nigh him.
Exodus 34:29–31
There is a way that seems right to man but the end thereof is death. Having spent a considerable amount of time in the presence of the Lord, his face reflected the glory of the presence — note that this is different from the glory of God — the glory he reflected was the glory of the ministration of death. I personally believe that this incident happened during the forty days and forty nights when Moses spent considerable time receiving the commandments. It was not something that happened every time he went into the presence of the Lord, since the latter incidents do not mention his face shining.
It is worth noting that Moses remained oblivious to the state of his glowing countenance. Curiously, the radiance was not a charming feature; it exuded the terror and fury of the covenant whose tablets he bore.
And afterward all the children of Israel came nigh: and he gave them in commandment all that the Lord had spoken with him in mount Sinai. And till Moses had done speaking with them, he put a vail on his face. But when Moses went in before the Lord to speak with him, he took the vail off, until he came out. And he came out, and spake unto the children of Israel that which he was commanded. And the children of Israel saw the face of Moses, that the skin of Moses’ face shone: and Moses put the vail upon his face again, until he went in to speak with him.
Exodus 34:31–25
You could conclude that the act of vailing his face was noble, but you would be woefully wrong. Recall that Moses was none the wiser to the fact that his face was shining when he descended the mountain — what probably gave it away was the terror on the faces of the Israelites, and the reverence with which they approached him. There is a parallel here to how they responded when God came down and spoke to them at the mount. They extended away from Him, and acknowledged that they were terrified. Whatever it was about the first covenant and those who represented it, it had all the hallmarks of fear, terror, darkness, fire and smoke — the proverbial mirrors were added by Moses.
The Error in the Vail
Some have postulated that he vailed his face so as not to terrify the Israelites, which is partially true in the initial encounters. However, the reason why he continually vailed his face was because he realized that the glory on his face was diminishing the longer he stayed away from the presence. Given the prestige it bestowed upon him, he was not willing to countenance a scenario where the Israelites saw the glory on his face completely gone. And therein lies the problem, since God manifestly intended for the Israelites to know that the glory of the first covenant was transitory.
But 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.
2 Corinthians 3:7
Moses was acutely aware that the covenant he received and its glory were temporal, and would be abolished since it was a shadow of the true covenant that God would later reveal in Christ. He was meant to establish beyond reasonable doubt that whatever he represented was temporal, and show with abundant clarity, in no uncertain terms, without mysteries and shadows, that what he was giving the Israelites was a temporary covenant til the fulness of time when God would make us His own righteousness:
How shall not the ministration of the spirit be rather glorious? For if the ministration of condemnation be glory, much more doth the ministration of righteousness exceed in glory.
2 Corinthians 3:8-9
His first error was to not establish that plainly — au contraire, he commands them to write the precepts on walls, something that has not aged well. He proceeds to shroud the covenant in elaborate mysteries and ceremonies that could not make the Israelites perfect. Secondly, he tried to cover the fact that what he represented was fading away. In true fashion, the cover up is worse than the crime:
Seeing then that we have such hope, we use great plainness of speech: And not as Moses, which put a veil over his face, that the children of Israel could not stedfastly look to the end of that which is abolished.
2 Corinthians 3:12–13
The stark contrast between the temporary nature of the old covenant represented by Moses and the eternal hope we have in Christ is striking. Unlike Moses, who obscured the truth with shadows and riddles, we have the privilege of speaking plainly and clearly about the hope we have in Jesus. Moses’ misguided act of vailing his face to conceal the fading glory of the covenant had far-reaching consequences, condemning not only the recipients of the Law, but their seed and the generations to this day to a lifetime of spiritual blindness and bondage. This selfish act that is borderline narcissistic ultimately inhibited them from perceiving Jesus when He came to them. It’s a sobering reminder of the power of our actions, and the need to always be mindful of how they may impact others.
If you have ever wondered why legalists are often hypocritical, then look no farther than their hero Moses. The impoverished sleight of hand that he used to dupe the Israelites into a temporary covenant flung them into perpetual bondage. The trick itself was not very ingenious; it simply involved veiling the fading glory of the covenant to maintain his own prestige and authority. However, its effects reverberate into the modern world: the legacy of legalism continues to ensnare people in spiritual bondage and hinder them from experiencing the freedom and grace found in Christ:
But their minds were blinded: for until this day remaineth the same vail untaken away in the reading of the old testament; which vail is done away in Christ.
2 Corinthians 3:14
Moses’ act of veiling his face to conceal the fading glory of an inferior covenant has had far-reaching consequences, condemning the Israelites to a lifetime of spiritual blindness and bondage. The vail still exists today in some form of weird Stockholm syndrome, where the Israelites are enamored with Moses despite the harm he continually inflicts upon them. In short, Moses damned them, and this should be a shocking realization for any child of God.
The Error as the Law
How then does Moses become a Law?
With them incapable of perceiving the temporary nature of the first covenant, Moses becomes the essence of a faulty covenant. By inserting himself into the dialogue, and adding onto what was given, he adds fault to the covenant and obscures Jesus, a fault that is highlighted in scripture:
For if that first covenant had been faultless, then should no place have been sought for the second.
Hebrews 8:7
And because it was faulty and encased in a liturgy or rules that were not of God, it becomes Moses’. By adding onto the Law and beguiling the Israelites with a sleight of hand, he becomes the testator of the covenant.
2 Corinthians 3:15 is troubling for anyone married to the Law as it reveals the implications that the Law of Moses had on the initial recipients of the Law, and the subsequent effects that reverberate in our world today — which is that it blinds at the heart level:
But even unto this day, when Moses is read, the vail is upon their heart.
2 Corinthians 3:15
This is one of those scriptures that is easy to gloss over when you are reading the Bible as part your bedtime routine. I have heard multiple preachers torture this scripture to make the inference that it is speaking about the Law in general. Through feigned words and speech, they apologize for Moses, often quoting the burden he had in leading Israelites out of Egypt. It was certainly a task, however, it was only made harder by Moses himself.
Moses was never meant to become the Law, or to even become the central part of it. But that is essentially what happened, to the extent that Jesus and Paul consistently refer to the Law simply as Moses. Throughout the Gospels, there are many references to Moses’ Law. In most of Jesus’ interactions with the teachers of the Law, scribes and the pharisees, they usually quoted the scripture by saying Moses commanded us or Moses wrote unto us. In the story of Lazarus and the rich man, Abraham responds to the rich man — who is in agony — by reminding him that if they hear not Moses and the prophets.
Jesus, when teaching about the last days refers to the written word as the book of Moses. Probably the most interesting one is when Jesus pointedly tells his scoffers that Moses — not God — gave them the Law. I could go on, but you get the picture. If you are inclined for more evidence, please read through the Gospels and see for yourself how much of the Law there is as opposed to the Law of Moses or Moses.
What then
According to research, human decision making follows two patterns: the logic of consequences: which course of action will produce the best result? Or it’s alternative: the logic of appropriateness — what does a person in a given situation do? The latter hinges on identity, and how that impacts decision making, basing the decision on who you are or what you want to be.
For the believer, the logic of appropriateness is the only appropriate pattern. Rather than looking outward in an attempt to predict the outcome, you turn inward to your identity — as a child of God. You ought to see what Christ has done by removing the Law, and envision it before making a decision. And here is why:
Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross.
Colossians 2:14
Thank Jesus for removing the Law that was contrary to us, not because God is contrary to us but because what Moses gave is contrary to what God intended in Christ and thus contrary to believers. He removed the bloat so that you and I cannot be blinded by Moses’ vail, like the Israelites. The way to show gratitude to Father is to not touch the Law with a 20 foot pole.
In the next episode, we shall explore how Moses reinterpreted God’s instructions and ultimately caused the Israelites to spend forty more years in the desert.