Why did Moses have to wear a veil?

"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. And Moses called unto them; and Aaron and all the rulers of the congregation returned unto him: and Moses talked with them. 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 veil on his face. But when Moses went in before the Lord, to speak with Him, he took the veil 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 veil upon his face again, until he went in to speak with Him." (vv. 29-35.)

There are three things in this description to be considered. First, the fact that the skin of the face of Moses shone as the consequence of being in the mount with God. brought, into the immediate presence of the glory of Jehovah, his face caught, and retained, some of the beams of that glory — though he "wist not that the skin of his face shone while he talked with Him." The contrast with our Lord on the mount of transfiguration cannot fail to be noted. He "was transfigured before them; and His face did shine as the sun, and His raiment was white as the light." (Matt. 17:2.) But this was the outshining of His own glory — a glory which transfused and irradiated 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 but external, the reflection of that of Jehovah, the effect of his communion with God. Moses, absorbed in the communications he was receiving, and in contemplation of the One whose words he heard, knew not that his face had become irradiated with light. No; the believer never knows the outward effect of his being alone with God. Others may see — they cannot fail to see;. but he himself will be unconscious that he is reflecting the light of Him in whose presence he has been. For indeed it is ever true - "The more Thy glory strikes mine eye, The humbler I shall lie."

But Aaron and all the children of Israel beheld the glory shining from the face of Moses; and this brings us to the second point; viz., the effect it produced on them. They were afraid to come nigh him; and hence, while Moses was talking with them, giving them in commandment all that the Lord had spoken with him in mount Sinai, he put a veil upon his face. It is this incident which the apostle Paul adduces to show the contrast between "the ministration of death," and "the ministration of the Spirit;" or "the ministration of condemnation," and "the ministration of righteousness;" i.e. between the dispensation of law, and the dispensation of grace. The face of Moses, it should be remarked, did not shine when he came down from Sinai the first time; not until his return from his successful mediation on behalf of the people on account 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 — being what they were, sinners, and unable of themselves to meet even the smallest requirement of the covenant which had now been inaugurated. It was of necessity a "ministration" of condemnation and death, for it required a righteousness from them which they could not render, and, inasmuch as they must fail in rendering it, would pronounce their condemnation, and bring them under the penalty of transgression, which was death. The glory which they thus beheld upon the face of Moses was the expression to them of the holiness of God — that holiness which sought from them conformity to its own standards — and which would vindicate the breaches of that covenant which had now been established. They were therefore afraid, because they knew in their inmost souls that they could not stand before Him from whose presence Moses had come. But in the "ministration" of righteousness and of the Spirit all is changed. This requires no righteousness from man, but reveals God's righteousness as a divine gift in Christ to every believer, and seals its bestowal by the gift of the Holy Spirit. Instead therefore of fearing, we rejoice as we behold the glory in the face of Jesus Christ at the right hand of God; for every ray of that glory speaks of accomplished atonement, and of the complete putting away of our sins if we are believers. For He who was delivered for our offences has been raised again for our justification; He who Himself bare our sins in His own body on the tree, has been raised by God Himself, and exalted at His own right hand. God has glorified Him in Himself. That is, He has come in, and raised up the One that bore our sins, went down into death under them, and in token of His satisfaction with His work, He has put Him in the glory, so that the glory of God now shines forth in the face of Jesus Christ. It is this fact that gives confidence to our souls, enables us to draw near in peace, because the very glory that we behold is the evidence to us that all that was against us is cleared away. Hence, instead of putting a veil on His face, as Moses did, because the children of Israel were afraid to draw nigh, He is at God's right hand with unveiled face, and we delightedly contemplate the glory that is there displayed, and as we gaze we are changed into the same image from glory to glory, as by the Spirit of the Lord. (2 Cor. 3, 4) The effect therefore on the children of Israel of the glory in the face of Moses forms a perfect contrast to that produced upon the believer as he beholds the glory of the Lord. It is quite true that Israel was no longer under pure law, that goodness and grace had now been mingled with it; but this very fact would make their sin the more heinous if they broke the covenant a second time. In that case, it would not only be sin against righteousness, but also against the goodness and grace which had spared them, and restored them to relationship with God. This enhances, instead of diminishing the contrast, and should lead out our hearts in adoring gratitude in that we are brought into such a place — a place where we behold, with unveiled face, the glory of the Lord — knowing by the very fact of the glory we behold that our sins are gone from the sight of God for ever.

The last action must also be noted. When Moses went in before the Lord to speak with Him he took the veil off, until he came out. (v. 34.) He unveils his face to speak to the Lord, while he covers his face to speak to the people. In this respect he becomes rather a type of the present position of the believer, to which reference has already been made. Moses was brought into the very presence of God without a veil, even as the believer is set down in the light as He is in the light. There is still the difference already noted. However intimate the access Moses enjoyed, it was as Jehovah that God spake with him; but the believer is before God according to all that God is, according to that full and perfect revelation of Himself which He has made in Christ as our God and Father. While, moreover, Moses was permitted thus to come before Jehovah to commune with Him, the believer is brought into God's presence as his abiding position. He is ever before God in Christ.

But Moses could not be in presence of even the back parts of Jehovah's glory without bearing away a reflection of it; and so when he came down from the Mount the skin of his face shone. "And when Aaron and all the children of Israel saw Moses … they were afraid to come nigh him." They could not bear even the feeble reflection of the partial manifestation of it. The reason is not far to seek: what was that in his hands? The two tables of stone, rewritten by the finger of God — the "ministration of condemnation." The nearer the light of the glory came while it was still connected with the righteous claim of God upon them, the more intolerable it was. So "till Moses had done speaking with them he put a veil on his face." (Ex. 34:29-35)

Still the glory that shone in the face of Moses was connected with the law's demands, and therefore it bought fear to Aaron and the children of Israel. The significance of this episode is expounded to us in 2 Corinthians 3:6-18. The glory in the face of Moses was connected with a ministration of death and of condemnation, and hence he had to place a veil on his face, when in the presence of the people, though before the Lord he did not need it. In contrast to this, we know the glory of God — and not merely a reflection of it — in the face of Jesus Christ, and no veil is needed, for that glory speaks to us of life and liberty and not of condemnation and death.

The glory in the face of Moses was not something inherent in himself; indeed he was unconscious of it at first. Moreover presently it faded - it was "done away" (2 Cor. 3:11). Here again we see the contrast, for the glory in the face of Jesus abides for ever. And further, it has a transforming effect on those who by faith behold it, whereas the glory in the face of Moses only produced fear.

The law set up again, Moses comes down from the mount with his face shining (himself unconscious of all this shining), and the people, when they see it, afraid to come nigh, are obliged to ask him to put a veil over his face. The sight of the glory brought a sense of condemnation, and they prayed that it might be taken from them. This it is that the apostle refers to (v. 7, 13).

When Israel had failed through their idolatry, and the sacrifice that Moses offered had been refused, he came back with the glory shining in his face. He had asked God to show him His glory, but this was denied him; for Moses desired to see the face of God, but he was told that no one could see the face of God and live. He was, however, put in a cleft of the rock, and God passed by proclaiming His name, and speaking of mercy, goodness and forgiveness; and this glory Moses saw when God had passed by, and the light of it rested in his face. But Israel was still in the state to which judgment applied, and the glory in the face of the mediator only gave emphasis to the demand of God upon them, to which they had so signally failed to answer. Hence they were terrified, and could not bear to look at the face of Moses.

When Moses came down from the mount the first time, the people were found worshipping a golden calf. The law was already broken, and in his anger he cast the tables of stone out of his hands and broke them in pieces. The people had utterly failed, brought themselves under the curse, and Moses could make no atonement. He went back again to God with a desire in his heart to give himself for the people, and asks God to blot him out of His book; but that sacrifice was refused, and Moses has to return to the people with their sin unatoned for, and death, condemnation, and the curse still resting upon them. They needed righteousness, but Moses could not stand for them. He could do little else than present the claims of God, and if they did not answer to these claims they must bear the consequences. Hence the glory of the lawgiver, which rested in his face, was a terror to them, and he was compelled to put a veil upon his face when speaking to them.

That was exactly my thought. We find here that a certain glory was ascribed to the law system. It was from the beginning meant to have an end yet we have to do with something which is eternal. The logical consequence is, if the ending thing began with glory and had a certain glory, how much more this eternal thing with which we are connected. But this glory is not yet visible. We possess it only in faith and therefore hope is introduced here. “Having therefore such hope, we use much boldness: and not according as Moses … ” 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 now Paul turns it round and says we do not cover our faces when we enter into the presence of God because we can look on the glory of God with unveiled face. The fact that the people did not want to see the glory of God reflected in the face of Moses was something which judged themselves. That is why God said as it were, “Now I will judge you and will take from you the possibility of seeing any of the glory because you did not want to see it.” Israel did not want to see the glory in the Old Covenant and that is why God says, “You cannot see it in the New Covenant.”

That was exactly my thought. We find here that a certain glory was ascribed to the law system. It was from the beginning meant to have an end yet we have to do with something which is eternal. The logical consequence is, if the ending thing began with glory and had a certain glory, how much more this eternal thing with which we are connected. But this glory is not yet visible. We possess it only in faith and therefore hope is introduced here. "Having therefore such hope, we use much boldness: and not according as Moses..." 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 now Paul turns it round and says we do not cover our faces when we enter into the presence of God because we can look on the glory of God with unveiled face. The fact that the people did not want to see the glory of God reflected in the face of Moses was something which judged themselves. That is why God said as it were, "Now I will judge you and will take from you the possibility of seeing any of the glory because you did not want to see it." Israel did not want to see the glory in the Old Covenant and that is why God says, "You cannot see it in the New Covenant."

Moses had to put a veil on his face when he had come down from the mount, to hide the glory from the children of Israel. That which has been annulled had an "end" which they did not see. "End" signifies not the finish or termination of the law, but the purpose of God in the law; which was Christ, as Romans 10:4 tells us. The law provided man with a very thorny road for his feet, but it led to Christ; just as every other road laid down by God leads to Christ. The glory that shone in the face of Moses was really a faint reflection of Christ. But Israel could not see it. Had they seen it they would have condemned themselves and waited with eager expectancy for the advent of Christ, the Deliverer.

Alas, their minds were blinded. They used the law as though it were a kind of feather stuck in their cap, to give them a pre-eminent place among the nations; and it is as though the veil that once was upon the face of Moses had been transferred to their minds and hearts. There is of course an election of grace today from amongst Israel, nevertheless it is still true of them as a nation that they read the Old Testament with the veil on their hearts.

We have here what constitutes the ministry of the new covenant as contrasted with the old. The latter, it is admitted, "began with glory" (see new translation), for it began when Moses' face shone so brightly that the children of Israel could not bear to look upon it. But this was after he had smashed the first tables in holy (may we not say judicial?) indignation, and formed the second in his character as mediator, receiving these written upon with the finger of God on the ground of redemption foreseen. Thus, 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 the latter was a flash of glory they were unprepared for, for men in the flesh are more at ease under law than under grace. But the veil was not only necessary on their part, seeing they could not bear the glory of the mediator, but on God's part, so that they "should not fix their eyes on the end of that" which in Christ is annulled. (See verses 13, 14.) The apostle then is speaking in contrast. He does not here say that the old covenant was glorious, but that the glory it was introduced with was merely temporary; and even that was too much for Israel; moreover the flash of glory it began with did not alter the fact that it was a ministry of death. The ministry of the new was that of a life-giving Spirit, and it subsists in glory, having a glory that shall never be done away. Another contrast is between the ministry of condemnation, which had a measure of glory, as we have seen, and the ministry of righteousness which abounds in glory. Thus the former covenant ministered condemnation and death, but God glorified it in grace (on account of mediatorship, and in connection with the person of the mediator) with a measure of temporary glory accompanied with a veil. But for us the new covenant is a ministration of the Spirit. (His person, His gifts, His operations) and of righteousness; is crowned with immeasurable or surpassing glory; and is without a veil either upon our hearts or upon the face of the Christ who is our Mediator, and the true Moses gone into the presence of the Lord. For, be it remarked, when Moses "went in before the Lord to speak with Him, he took the veil off until he came out." (Ex. 34:34.) Typical there of Christ surely, but also of our own blessed place and portion now in Him; for there is no veil upon our hearts (alas! there is upon Israel's), and there is no veil upon our faces either, any more than there is upon Christ's, when we go in before the Lord. So, also, when Israel shall turn to the Lord, there will be no longer any veil - they will find it is taken away.