And it came to pass, when Moses came down from mount Sinai -- and the two tables of testimony were in Moses' hand, when he came down from the mountain -- that Moses knew not that the skin of his face shone through his talking with him.
Moses comes down Sinai a second time with the two stone tablets in his hand, and his face is shining. He cannot see it himself, the sight frightens everyone else, and the scene raises one question: where did that light come from?
One writer traces the light to something Moses had just discovered about God's character.
Why was his face shining? He had received a sense of what mercy was. It came from his discovery of God's own blessed absolute goodness. That goodness was now taking the shape of mercy toward a people who were hopelessly lost.
The text is careful: it is the skin of his face that shines. One writer weighs that word, and sets it beside the transfiguration, the moment when Jesus' face shone like the sun.
This was a reflection of the glory of the Lord, not a full display of God's glory, which is seen only in the Lord Jesus. In Matthew 17:2 we read of the transfiguration of the Lord Jesus, and that "His face shone like the sun." Only the skin of Moses' face shone. This was a reflection from outside Moses himself. But the face of the Lord Jesus shines with a brightness that comes from within, not a reflection, for He is God.
Everyone in the camp saw the light except the man wearing it. One writer makes that gap the point: Moses was looking at God, not at himself.
The more I know of God, the more I will show what He is. The more I look at Him, the more I will be like Him. What made Moses' face shine? Was it looking at himself? No. It was being with the Lord and looking at His glory. Moses did not know that his face was shining until he was asked to veil it. He was not occupied with himself: the object before him was God.
Another writer answers the reader who looks for a change in himself and finds nothing.
Many people think, "If that is true, I do not know what to make of myself. I do not see this likeness in myself!" No, and you ought not to see it. Moses did not see his own face shine. Moses saw God's face shine, and others saw Moses' face shine.
The people's reaction is not admiration but retreat. One writer ties their fear to the timing of the light and to the covenant Israel had just entered.
Notice that the face of Moses did not shine when he first came down from Sinai. It shone only after he came back from successfully pleading with God for the people because of their sin. Why, then, were they afraid to come near him? Because the very glory that shone on his face searched their hearts and consciences. They were sinners. By themselves they could not meet even the smallest requirement of the covenant that had just been set up.
Another writer looks at what God had just shown Moses. He then names the only two responses a sinner is left with.
No one can stand a revelation of God, however partial, if it comes with the law. In such circumstances, as it has been said, "You will either seek to hide from God, as Adam did in the garden of Eden, or you will seek to hide God from you, as Israel did when they asked that Moses would put a veil on his face."
One writer sets Moses' privilege on Sinai beside what every Christian now has.
Only one man — Moses — had the wonderful privilege of that meeting on Sinai's mountain. Now every Christian has a privilege more wonderful than even Moses had. Scripture says: "We all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit."
And that transformation is not produced by watching yourself for signs of it.
Here we get the secret — occupation not with ourselves, not with our blessings, not with our service, but occupation with Himself — not by way of introspection and effort to shape ourselves into what we would like to be, but by gazing on the Lord in glory.
- Mercy lit it. The face did not shine the first time down the mountain. It shone after Moses pleaded for a guilty people and discovered how good God is.
- Borrowed, not owned. Only the skin of Moses shone, catching light from outside him. Christ's face shone from within, because He is God.
- Unseen by its owner. Moses had God before his eyes, not himself. A shining face never sees itself.
- Feared, then veiled. Glory that comes with the law's demand exposes people. They then hide from God, or hide God from themselves.
- Now unveiled. Moses had that glory for a moment, then covered it. Every believer now sees it with no veil, and is changed by looking at Christ, not at himself.
And Aaron and all the children of Israel saw Moses, and behold, the skin of his face shone; and they were afraid to come near him.
Moses comes down the mountain with the rewritten tables of stone, and his face is shining with a light he cannot see. The people who made the golden calf back away from him — why would light from God frighten anyone?
The shining was borrowed. Moses had stood in God's presence, and his face caught some of the light he saw there. One writer sets that beside what happened to Jesus on a mountain with His disciples.
The contrast with our Lord on the mountain of transfiguration cannot be missed. "He was transfigured before them, and His face shone like the sun, and His clothes became white as light" (Matthew 17:2). But this was the shining out of His own glory — a glory that filled and lit up His whole body before the eyes of the disciples, so that He appeared to them as a Being of light. The glory that shone from the face of Moses was only external, the reflection of the glory of Jehovah, the effect of his communion with God.
Aaron and the people were not simply startled by a strange sight. One writer points to what Moses was holding in his hands.
They could not bear even the faint reflection of a partial showing of that glory. The reason is not hard to find: what was that in his hands? The two tables of stone, rewritten by the finger of God — the "ministry of condemnation." The nearer that light of glory came while it was still tied to God's righteous claim on them, the more unbearable it was.
Commentators differ on what frightened them most. Another writer puts the weight on the shining face, not the stone.
The people fear the glory in the face of Moses more than the two tables in his hands. Such is man! He is quite ready to promise obedience to the law for his whole life. But the nearer God comes to man in grace, the further man draws back. Distance from God is man's natural element.
One writer traces the light back to something Moses had just discovered about God.
Why was his face shining? He had gained a sense of what mercy was. It was the result of his discovery of God's own absolute goodness revealed, now taking the shape of mercy toward a people who were hopelessly lost.
So what did that light do for the people who saw it?
Because grace and mercy were mixed in with the second giving of the law, glory was seen on the face of Moses. It was a brightness that dazzled and repelled, but had no power to attract, or to bring light, warmth and joy to the hearts of the people.
The veil marks the difference between what Moses had and what we have.
The glory that shone in the face of Moses was tied to the law's demands, so it brought fear to Aaron and the people of Israel. That glory belonged to a ministry of death and condemnation. So Moses had to put a veil on his face in front of the people, though before the Lord he did not need it. By contrast, we know the glory of God — and not merely a reflection of it — in the face of Jesus Christ. No veil is needed, for that glory speaks to us of life and liberty, not of condemnation and death.
Read as a picture, the veil covers more than one man's face.
Moses veiled represents Israel as they are now, in the flesh, under law, and blind in heart as a result. Moses unveiled represents Israel as they will be later, in the Spirit under Christ, in the light and liberty of the new covenant. When Moses was in the mountain, he turned to the Lord and took his veil off. Israel will one day turn to the Lord in the same way, and walk unveiled in the light and joy of the same face.
Everyone in the camp saw the light except Moses himself.
On one hand, his own heart had learned the blessing of the grace he had been in communion with. On the other, he had no idea of the visible result of that time together. We may be sure that we will never be used in God's service until we have come to count ourselves as nothing. When God makes our face shine for others, we ought to be the very last to know it.
So where should our own attention rest?
He was not occupied with his shining face, but with the glory of God. The glory is in Christ, and only as we are occupied with Him will we reflect a little of His glory.
- Source. The light on Moses' face was not his own. He caught it from God's presence and reflected it back.
- Cause. He shone only after the second climb, when God had revealed Himself as merciful to a ruined people.
- Fear. The glory came with the tables of stone. It condemned instead of attracting, and the people backed away.
- Veil. Moses hid his face from the people, but not from the Lord — a picture of hearts that stay veiled until they turn to Him.
- Result. Time with God changes a face, and the one it changes is always the last to notice.
And Moses called to them; and they turned to him, -- Aaron and all the principal men of the assembly; and Moses talked with them.
Moses had once come down this mountain in anger. Now he comes down shining, and the people run from him. Verse 31 is the turn: the man they fled from calls them back, and the leaders are the first to come near.
Moses came down expecting welcome. He carried the news of God's goodness and mercy, and he carried the two stone tablets.
He came down from God. With joyful steps he approached the camp, the tablets containing the ten commandments in his hands — but both Aaron and the people fled from him! ... Now the light of divine glory beamed from his face and Moses was a puzzle. Neither Aaron nor Israel could read the brightness of the glory of his face. They did not know what it meant, and "they were afraid to come near him." They fled from the light of divine goodness and mercy, from the reflection of the divine glory of mingled grace and judgment.
The problem was not the brightness alone, but what the shining man was holding while he shone.
Moses could not be in the presence of even the back of the LORD's glory without carrying away a reflection of it. So when he came down from the mountain the skin of his face shone. Aaron and the people could not bear even that faint reflection. The reason is not hard to find: what was that in his hands? The two tablets of stone, rewritten by the finger of God — the "ministry of condemnation." The nearer that light came while it was still tied to God's righteous claim on them, the more unbearable it was. So "when Moses had finished speaking with them, he put a veil over his face."
Their fear also had a cause inside them.
Why, then, were they afraid to come near him? Because the very glory that shone on his face searched their hearts and consciences. They were sinners, and by themselves they could not meet even the smallest requirement of the covenant God had now set up.
They would not approach the light, so the light spoke. What brought Aaron and the leaders back was not a change in Moses' face. It was a human voice — the voice of the man who had already pleaded for them.
Then Moses called them. He was still a man, though filled with divine understanding. He was the mediator who had fought for them. He had been willing — if such an atonement for them could have worked — to be blotted out of the book of life for their sake. He was the living witness to the divine glory in its relation to man. At the sound of his voice Aaron and the leaders returned to him, and "Moses talked with them." Then the people of Israel came near to him.
His face had not always looked like this.
When Moses came down from the mountain the first time and broke the tablets of stone, his face must have flashed with righteous anger. ... Why was his face shining the second time? He had gained a sense of what mercy was. It came from his discovery of God's own blessed absolute goodness, now taking the shape of mercy toward a people who were hopelessly lost.
Moses called them without knowing why they had run from him.
The glory that shone from the face of Moses was only outward — the reflection of the LORD's glory, the effect of his communion with God. Moses was absorbed in what God was telling him, and in thinking about the One whose words he heard. He did not know that his face had become filled with light. No; the believer never knows the outward effect of having been alone with God. Others may see — they cannot fail to see. But he himself will be unaware that he is reflecting the light of the One in whose presence he has been.
Moses covers that shining face once he has spoken with them. Why did the glory have to be hidden, and why is it not hidden now?
There is no veil now on the glory of Christ, and no veil on our hearts when we believe. ... If the law looks for righteousness in man, man does not have it, and so he is afraid of the glory. The moment the least glory shines out, man shrinks from it. But now God shows His glory in the face of Jesus Christ. Where does that glory come from? It is the result of His having glorified God, and so God has glorified Him, and every ray of that glory is the proof that my sins are gone.
- Fled — Glory shone from Moses' face while the stone tablets were still in his hands, so Aaron and the people ran from the man who brought them good news.
- Called — The light never dimmed. They came back because the mediator who had pleaded for them called out to them.
- Returned — Aaron and the leaders came first, then all the people. The way back ran through the mediator, not through anything they could bring.
- Unaware — Moses shone because he had learned what mercy was, and he never knew he shone. Time alone with God shows on a face its owner cannot see.
- Unveiled — Moses veiled the glory; believers look straight at it, because every ray of glory in the face of Jesus proves their sins are gone.
And afterwards, all the children of Israel came near; and he gave them in commandment all that Jehovah had spoken with him on mount Sinai.
Moses has come down the mountain a second time. He carries new stone tables, and his face is shining. The people run from him. This verse is the moment the gap closes: first Aaron and the rulers, then everyone. And what Moses gives them is a command.
The people did not recover their courage on their own. The man they had fled from called them back.
Then Moses called them. He was still a man, though filled with divine understanding. He was the mediator who had struggled for them. He had been willing to be blotted out of the book of life on their account — if such an atonement for them could have worked. He was the living witness to the divine glory in its relation to man. At the sound of his voice, Aaron and the rulers returned to him, and "Moses talked with them." Then the people of Israel came near to him.
The brightness alone does not explain their terror. Look at what Moses was carrying while he shone.
Moses could not be in the presence of even the back parts of the Lord's glory without carrying away a reflection of it. So when he came down from the mountain, the skin of his face shone. "Aaron and all the people of Israel saw Moses… and they were afraid to come near him." They could not bear even the faint reflection of that partial display. The reason is not hard to find: what was that in his hands? The two tables of stone, rewritten by the finger of God — the "ministry of condemnation." That light still carried God's righteous claim on them. So the nearer it came, the less they could bear it.
Glory shining out of a human face ought to draw people. Here it did the opposite, and that reaction repeats an earlier one at the same mountain.
The trial of man in the flesh only displayed his complete ruin. Man had fallen short of the glory of God. And there was more: the reflection of that glory in the face of the mediator carried a claim for righteousness from man. So it repelled him instead of attracting him. The glory of God in the face of Moses had the same effect as "the sound of the trumpet and the voice of words" at Mount Sinai. In the first case Israel demanded that Moses hide his face. In the other, they begged that God would not speak the word to them any more.
Moses passed on all that the LORD had spoken with him. One writer sets out what that placed Israel under.
They were put back in principle under law. Moses could not make real atonement. But Israel was never under the covenant of the law directly and strictly. They were under it through a mediator, in the covenant of chapter 34:5-10. The commandments were, of course, still before them as their rule.
So why did glory appear at this second giving of the law?
Because grace and mercy were mingled with the second giving of the law (Exodus 34:1-7), glory was seen on the face of Moses. They could not look at that glory, and Moses, the Mediator, had to cover his face with a veil. It was a brightness that dazzled and repelled. It had no power to attract, or to bring light, warmth and joy to the hearts of the people.
This scene has three figures: a frightened crowd, a veiled speaker, and the same man unveiled before God. One writer points to the third as the believer's picture.
After talking with God, the face of Moses shines for the first time… and the people of Israel could not bear it. The glory of God, or at least the effect of seeing His goodness, had come too near to them. He had to put a veil on his face… The true image of our position is Moses — not when he speaks to the people, but when he goes up into God's presence. In him unveiled there we have our figure — not in Moses veiled, and still less in Israel.
- Near. The people who had fled came near only because the mediator called them.
- Nearer. God's glory came closer, but it still carried His claim for righteousness. So they could bear it even less. The tables in Moses' hands were a ministry of condemnation.
- Repelled. That glory drove them off instead of drawing them, just as the trumpet at Sinai had. Both times Israel asked for less of God, not more.
- Mediated. Moses commanded them law with mercy mixed into it. Israel stood under the covenant of chapter 34, given through a mediator, not under bare law.
- Unveiled. The believer's picture is not the frightened crowd or the veiled speaker. It is Moses with the veil off, in God's presence.
And Moses ended speaking with them; and he had put on his face a veil.
Moses came down the mountain a second time with the law rewritten, and his face shone from being with God. He covered that shine before the people — so why did the glory have to hide, and what did the veil keep Israel from seeing?
The first descent from Sinai produced no radiance. The difference lies in what the covenant carried the second time.
When Moses first went up the mountain to receive the first tablets of stone, no glory shone on his face. That was because the covenant was altogether legal, and not a ray of glory can come from that. The second time, the covenant carried grace and mercy with it, and so glory shines from the mediator's face. But the people could not look at that glory. He had to cover his face with a veil. So the law covers grace and glory. But in Christ the veil is taken away. In Him, grace and glory shine out in perfect splendor — and it is a glory that does not fade, but grows.
The problem was not the brightness alone. It was what Moses carried in his hands while his face shone.
Moses could not stand in the presence of even the back parts of the Lord's glory without carrying away a reflection of it. So when he came down from the mountain, the skin of his face shone… The people could not bear even that faint reflection of a partial showing of the glory. The reason is not far to seek: what was that in his hands? The two tablets of stone, rewritten by the finger of God — the "ministry of condemnation." The light of the glory was still tied to God's righteous claim on them. The nearer it came, the more unbearable it was.
The veil went on and off by a rule. Which way Moses was facing decided it.
Why did Moses cover his face? He didn't cover it when he came into the presence of God, but when he came into the presence of the people. The people found the glory too overwhelming. But Paul turns it round. He says we do not cover our faces when we come into God's presence, because we can look on the glory of God with unveiled face. The people did not want to see the glory of God reflected in the face of Moses, and that refusal judged them.
Commentators dwell on one word, which older translations render "end." Does it mark where the law stops, or what the law was for?
Moses had to put a veil on his face when he had come down from the mountain, to hide the glory from the children of Israel. What God has set aside had an "end" they did not see. "End" means not the finish of the law, but God's purpose in the law — and that purpose was Christ… The glory that shone in the face of Moses was a faint reflection of Christ. But Israel could not see it. If they had seen it, they would have condemned themselves. They would have waited eagerly for the coming of Christ, the Deliverer.
Translations differ over the timing. Did Moses speak to the people with the veil on, or put it on only after he finished?
The older English version is in substance right, and the newer revision wrong… The meaning is that Moses finished speaking with them, and — or when — he had put a veil over his face. While he was passing on the Lord's words to Israel, he kept the veil on until he went in to speak with the Lord.
Some read the veil going on and off as the whole story of Israel with God in miniature.
These chapters close with the mystery of Moses' veil. It is the summary of the whole matter, showing, as in a dim mirror, the whole path between the Lord and His Israel. Moses veiled pictures Israel as they now are (as we learn from 2 Corinthians 3): in the flesh, under law, and blind of heart. Moses unveiled pictures Israel as they will be later: in the Spirit under Christ, in the light and liberty of the new covenant. On the mountain Moses turned to the Lord, and then took his veil off. Israel will turn to the Lord in the same way one day, and walk unveiled in the light and joy of the same face.
- Veil begins. The first trip down the mountain left no shine. Glory rested on Moses only when the renewed covenant carried mercy with it.
- Veil needed. The tablets in his hands made the light unbearable. Glory tied to God's righteous claim can only condemn those who cannot meet it.
- Veil hides. The covering kept Israel from God's purpose in the law, and that purpose was Christ.
- Veil moves. On before the people, off before the Lord. Paul reverses it: believers face God with nothing covering them.
- Veil lifts. As Moses uncovered his face when he turned to the Lord, so Israel's covering goes when their heart turns to Him.
And when Moses went in before Jehovah to speak with him, he took the veil off, until he came out; and he came out, and spoke to the children of Israel what he was commanded.
Exodus 34 closes with Moses moving between two worlds: unveiled in God's presence, veiled before the people. The New Testament picks up that rhythm to explain Israel's blindness and the freedom believers have now.
Moses took the veil off to go in, and put it on again to come out. That order matters.
He unveils his face to speak to the Lord, while he covers his face to speak to the people. In this respect he becomes a type of the present position of the believer. God brought Moses into His very presence without a veil, and God sets the believer in the light as He is in the light. There is still one difference. However close the access Moses enjoyed, God spoke with him as Jehovah. The believer stands before God according to all that God is — according to the full and perfect revelation of Himself which He has made in Christ as our God and Father.
The veil stayed in place for the whole time he spoke to the people:
While Moses passed Jehovah's words on to Israel, he kept the veil over his face until he went in to speak with Jehovah.
The problem was not the brightness itself, but what it exposed in the people who saw it.
The very glory that shone on his face searched their hearts and consciences. They were sinners, unable in themselves to meet even the smallest requirement of the covenant that had just been set up. So it had to be a ministry of condemnation and death, because it demanded from them a righteousness they could not produce.
What the veil covered was grace, and the good news now leaves it uncovered.
As long as the veil stayed on the face of Moses, grace had to be hidden. But now, says the apostle Paul, no darkness is left. This ministry is the good news of the grace of God. It is the good news of the "glory of Christ, who is the image of God." It is the good news of the blessed God. It reveals in full the glory of this grace whose rays lit up the face of Moses, and the tablets of the law in his hand could not dim it.
The scene is a picture of Israel's whole story, past and future.
Moses veiled pictures Israel as they are now: in the flesh, under law, and blind in heart as a result. Moses unveiled pictures Israel as they will be later: in the Spirit under Christ, in the light and liberty of the new covenant. On the mountain Moses turned to the Lord, and then took his veil off. In the same way Israel will one day turn to the Lord and walk unveiled in the light and joy of the same face.
The veil did not disappear. It moved — and what lifts it is the same for Israel and for us.
The veil that was on the face of Moses is now on the hearts of Israel. When at last Israel turns to the Lord, the veil will come off. So with ourselves: only as we turn to the Lord will the blindness and darkness of our hearts pass away.
This change has one source, and it is not our own effort.
There is a transforming power in beholding the Lord in glory. This power is available for all believers — the youngest as well as the oldest. This change does not come by our own efforts, or by wearing ourselves out in the attempt to be like the Lord. Nor does it come by trying to imitate some devoted saint. It comes by beholding the glory of the Lord. There is no veil on His face. As we behold Him, every veil of darkness will pass from our hearts, and morally we shall become increasingly like Him, changing from glory to glory.
Moses did not know his face was lit up. That, too, was the fruit of his time with God.
Forty days of close fellowship with God had a wonderful effect on Moses. In his own heart he learned the blessing of the grace he had communed with. Yet he had no idea of the visible result of it. Blessed are we if we know the secret of communion with divine grace. It refreshes the heart, and it keeps the believer in a humble path, wondering that anyone should look at him. When God makes our face to shine for others we ought to be the very last to know it.
- In — Moses went in unveiled. The believer's settled place is before God with no covering, knowing Him in Christ as Father.
- Veiled — the glory of the law condemned. It demanded a righteousness Israel could not produce, so the veil hid grace itself.
- Turned — the veil now lies on the heart. Only turning to the Lord takes it off — for Israel in a coming day, for us now.
- Changed — beholding the glory of the Lord transforms us. Not effort, not imitation — looking.
- Unaware — the shining face is the one face that cannot see itself. A person full of God is not busy with his own reflection.
And the children of Israel saw the face of Moses, that the skin of Moses' face shone; and Moses put the veil on his face again, until he went in to speak with him.
The people look at Moses and see the light still on his face, and then the veil goes back on. Why cover a glory that God Himself gave?
The shine was real, but it was not his own. One writer sets Moses' face beside the face of the Lord Jesus.
Only the skin of Moses' face shone, for this was a reflection outside of Moses himself. But the face of the Lord Jesus shines with a brightness that comes from within, not a reflection (2 Cor. 4:6), for He is God.
He brought two things down at once, and they do not usually sit together.
When he came down this time among the people, he carried the law in his arms and the grace in his face. (Compare 2 Cor. 4:6.) But that grace was a flash of glory they were not ready for, because men in the flesh are more at ease under law than under grace.
Fear is a strange response to glory. Look at what Moses was holding.
They could not bear even the faint reflection of the partial display of it. The reason is not far to seek: what was that in his hands? The two tablets of stone, rewritten by the finger of God — the "ministry of condemnation." That light still came with God's righteous claim on them attached. The nearer it came, the more unbearable it was.
There are only two ways to escape when God reveals Himself alongside law. Israel took the second.
No one can stand a revelation of God, however partial, if it comes with the law. In such a case, as it has been said, "You will either seek to hide from God, as Adam did in the garden of Eden. Or you will seek to hide God from you, as Israel did when they asked Moses to put a veil on his face" (J. N. D.).
A shine that fades says something about the system it belongs to.
There was a glory connected with the law. But that glory was going to pass away, for before long it faded from the face of Moses... The glory of the law began, but soon it was quenched in the ministry of death to all who came under it. When the ministry of the life-giving Spirit comes in, it stays in glory.
The veil met God's purpose as well as Israel's weakness.
The veil was necessary not only on their side, since they could not bear the glory of the mediator, but on God's side too, so that they would not fix their eyes on the end of what is set aside in Christ.
Not everyone reads verse 33 the same way. Some translations have Moses veiling himself only after he finished speaking. One writer rejects that reading.
Following the Septuagint here contradicts the plain force of the context, and especially verse 35. No one should ever have questioned the meaning: while Moses talked to the people outside, he covered his face, but he removed the veil when he went in to speak with the Lord. Verse 30 is clear that the people were afraid to come near because his face shone. So he put on the veil, and he took it off when he went in before the Lord, until he came out. The Vulgate, like the Septuagint, sacrifices the sense to the letter, and the two have misled many.
Moses veiled his face outside and unveiled it inside. That order matters for believers today.
He unveils his face to speak to the Lord, while he covers his face to speak to the people. In this way he becomes a picture of the present position of the believer... God brought Moses into His very presence without a veil, just as He sets the believer in the light as He is in the light.
The veil in this scene points beyond Moses.
A moment is coming when the veil will be removed. This is a kind of picture of what will happen with Israel. When at last they turn to the Lord in sincerity and repentance, the veil will be lifted from their minds. Then the glory of the Christ they once crucified will burst upon them.
- Reflected — Moses' face only caught light from outside. Christ's face shines from within, because He is God.
- Mixed — he carried the law in his arms and grace in his face, and people at ease under law could not take the grace.
- Hidden — glory tied to God's righteous claim is unbearable. So Israel chose to hide God from themselves.
- Fading — the veil covered a brightness already going. The ministry of the Spirit, by contrast, stays in glory.
- Lifted — off before the Lord, on before the people; and one day lifted from Israel's mind when they turn to Him.