After Moses had been speaking with the Lord, his face would shine. Then he’d convey all that the Lord had said to the people. He would cover his face with a veil because the people were afraid to come near him. They had been warned to stay away from the mountain where God was going to meet with Moses, or they would die. They knew that even the priests would die if they didn’t come into God’s presence at the right time and in the right way.

Moses’ shining face was a mark of God’s presence. It scared them.

To them, God’s presence was a scary thing. To Moses it meant life. To them it meant death. Without a relationship with God, He is death. He demands holiness. The wages of sin is death. With a relationship with God, He is life.

He offers for everyone to come freely. The veil has come down. His presence is not blocked off. Christ reconciled us to God. We were enemies with God until we found forgiveness and faith and came to know Him in a new, intimate way. Then we became friends with God and can now talk with Him face to face.

The veil hid Moses away with the light of Christ while keeping others from it. It was their choice to have Christ’s light hidden from them.

When people don’t want to see your faith in action, when they don’t want to hear your good news of God’s goodness, when they don’t want to see your righteous life, when they don’t want to hear your testimony of God as your good father, they are being like the Israelites.

They are fearing God in the wrong way. They don’t want to be reminded of the holy God that demands blood for their sin. The Israelites should have been drawn to the light. Instead, they wanted it hidden.

We are told to let our lights shine before men. They will sometimes want to put a bushel over it. They aren’t against us. They are against God. Satan’s not out to get you. He’s out to get the light of Christ in you. He wants the light hidden. He wants the lights turned off.

Take off the veil and let the world see what’s in you. If you take off the veil, will you shine?