THE SHINING OF THE FACE OF MOSES – Charles Spurgeon

The Shining of the Face of Moses

Scripture Reference:
“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 knew 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 near 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 near: 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 spoke 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.” —Exodus 34:29-36

A fast of 40 days does not improve the appearance of a man’s countenance—he looks starved, wrinkled, old, and haggard. Moses had fasted 40 days twice, at least, and, according to many competent authorities, the 10th chapter of Deuteronomy seems to imply that he fasted 40 days three times in quick succession. I will not assert or deny the third 40 days, but it is certain that, with a very slight interval, Moses fasted 40 days and then 40 days more—and it is probable that to these must be added a third forty. Small attractiveness would naturally remain in a face which had endured so stern an ordeal, but the Lord whom he served made his face brilliant with an unusual luster! The glory of the Light of God upon his countenance may have been the reason why he remained so free from infirmity in the later years of old age. This man of 80 spent 40 more years in guiding Israel and in the end, his eyes had not dimmed nor his natural force abated! He that could fast 40 days would be a hard morsel for death. Those eyes which had looked upon the Glory of God were not likely to wax dim amid earthly scenes—and that natural force which had endured the vision of the Supernatural could well support the fatigues of the wilderness. God so sustained His servant that his long and repeated fasts, during which he did not even drink water, did no harm to his physical constitution! The abstinence, even from water, renders the fast the more remarkable and lifts it out of similarity to modern feats of fasting.

Moses did not know, at the time, that his face was shining—but he did know it afterward—and he has here recorded it. He gives in detail the fact of the brightness of his own face, how others were struck with it and what he had to do in order to associate with them. We are sure that this record was not made by reason of vanity, for Moses writes about himself in great lowliness of spirit—it was written under Divine direction—with a worthy object. The man Moses was very meek, and his meekness entered into his authorship as into all the other acts of his life—we are therefore sure that this record is for our profit. I am afraid, Brothers and Sisters, that God could not afford to make our faces shine—we would grow too proud. It needs a very meek and lowly spirit to bear the brightness of God! We only read of two men whose faces shone—and both were very meek. The one is Moses in the Old Testament—the other is Stephen, in the New—whose last words proved his meekness for, when the Jews were stoning him, he prayed, “Lord, lay not this sin to their charge.” Gentleness of nature and lowliness of mind are a fine background on which God may lay the brightness of His Glory! Where these things abound, it may be safe for the Lord not only to put His beauty upon a man but also to make a record of the fact. Moses wrote this record with a reluctant pen. Since he did not write it out of vanity, let us not read it out of curiosity. He wrote it for our learning. Let us learn by it and may God the Holy Spirit cause our faces to shine today, as we read of the shining face of Moses!

It would appear, so far as we can make out the narrative, that his face continued to shine long afterward. After Moses had come down from the mountain, the brightness began to diminish. Paul tells us that it was a “glory to be done away”—but when he went into the holy place to commune with God, the brightness was revived and he came out again and spoke to the people with that same glowing Heaven upon his brow. When he addressed the people in the name of God, he took off the veil and let them see the brightness of God in His ambassador. But as soon as he had done speaking and fell back into his own private character, he drew a veil over his face that none might be kept at a distance thereby. The man Moses was as meek with the glory on his countenance as before it gathered there. God put great honor upon him, but Moses did not desire to make a display of that honor, nor childishly wish that it should be seen of men. For the people’s sakes and for typical purposes, he veiled his face while in ordinary conversation with the people and only unveiled it when he spoke in the name of the Lord.

Brethren, if God honors you as preachers or teachers, accept the honor but do not attribute it to your own worthiness, or even to your own personality—ascribe it to the office to which the Lord has called you. “I magnify my office,” said Paul—but you never find Paul magnifying himself! He wears the glory as an ambassador of God, not as a private individual. The dignity that God gives to His servants is bestowed upon their office, not upon themselves apart from it. They must never run away with it into daily life and think that they themselves are “reverend,” because their Lord is so—nor may they claim for their own thoughts the serious attention which they rightly demand for the Word of the Lord. Ministers do not pretend to be a class of sacred beings like the Brahmins of India—the only vantage-ground they occupy is that the Lord speaks through them according to the gift of His Holy Spirit. Unveiled are our faces when we speak to God and for God—and among our Brethren, we would hide anything from which we might claim superiority for ourselves.

I. How Did the Glory Come Upon Moses’ Face?
Here is Moses with a strange glory upon his countenance. We will first answer the question, HOW CAME THIS GLORY TO LIE THERE? The skin of Moses’ face shone—why? The answer is, first, it was a reflection of the Glory which he had seen when he was with God in the holy mount. It was the result of that partly-answered prayer, “I beseech You, show me Your Glory.” God could not, at that time, grant the prayer in its fullness for Moses was not capable of the vision—and the Lord told him, “You can not see My face and live.” I look upon that prayer, however, as a very wonderful one for this reason, that it was answered to the full, 1,400 years after it was presented! The glory of God is only to be seen in the face of Christ Jesus—and on the top of Tabor, Moses saw the Son of God transfigured—and his prayer was then and there answered to its utmost bounds! In the Transfiguration, God showed to Moses His full Glory, for he was then made able to behold it. But though on the top of Mount Sinai he could not see the full Glory of Jehovah, yet he had seen enough to make an impression upon him of such a kind that the skin of his face shone. God is Light and they that look upon Him are enlightened and reflect Light around them! Moses spoke with God face to face as a man speaks with his friend and this made his countenance glow. As the sun shining upon a reflector has its light thrown back again, often in a most brilliant fashion, so that the reflector looks like a minor sun, so was it with the face of Moses when it reflected the Glory of the Lord. The face of Moses was to God what the moon is to the sun. A saint shines on men when God has shone on him. We are changed into the same image, from glory to glory, as by the Presence of the Lord.

Would you shine in the valley?—first go up the mountain and commune with God! Would you shine, my Brothers and Sisters, with superior radiance? Then be this your fervent prayer, “Make Your face to shine upon Your servant.” If the Lord lifts upon you the Light of His Countenance there will be no lack of Light in your countenance! In God’s Light you shall give Light. The Light on the face of Moses was the result of fellowship with God. That fellowship was of no common order. It was special and distinguished. I do not doubt that Moses walked with God after the fashion of believing men in the pursuit of his daily calling—but he spent two periods of 40 days each in solitary fellowship with God. Everybody was away—Aaron, Joshua and all the rest were far down below and Moses was alone with God. His communion with God was intense, close, and familiar—and that not for one day but for 80 days at least! Protracted fellowship brings a nearness which brief communion cannot attain. Each morning’s sun found him still in the Light of God. Each evening’s dew found his soul still saturated with the Divine influence. What must be the effect of such whole-hearted, undisturbed fellowship with God? He heard no hum of the camp below—not even the lowing of cattle, or bleating of sheep came up from the foot of the mountain. Moses had forgotten the world, save only as he pleaded for the people in an agony of prayer. No interests, either personal or family, disturbed his communion. He was oblivious of everything but Jehovah, the Glorious One, who completely overshadowed him. Oh, for the enjoyment of such heavenly communion! My Brothers and Sisters, have we not lost a great deal by so seldom dwelling apart—so little seeking continuous absorbing fellowship with the Most High? I am sure we have. We snatch a hasty minute of prayer. We afford a hurried quarter of an hour for Bible reading and we think we have done well. Very far am I from saying that it is not well. But if for minutes we had hours, the gain might increase in proportion! Oh, for nights of prayer! Oh, for the close shutting of the closet door and a believing drawing near to God! There is no limit to the power we might obtain if such were the case. Though our faces might not be lit up with splendor, our lives would shine, our characters would become more pure and transparent—and our whole spirit would be so heavenly that men would regard with wonder the brightness of our being! Thus, you see, the face of Moses shone because he had long looked upon the face of God.

[Due to the length, I cannot display the entire text here. However, the above is the corrected and titled version of the first parts of the document. Let me know if you’d like the rest or if you’d like any further revisions.]