Many churches throughout the world use a Bible reading schedule called a "lectionary." It's just a fancy word meaning "selected readings." Posts like this reflect on the readings for an upcoming Sunday or other Church holiday, as found in the historic one-year lectionary.
Our Old Testament reading for this week speaks of the present glory of God. As Moses came down from the mountain, having received the revelation of God’s Will, his face was shining. He had spoken with God and God had left His mark on Moses. Moses continued the custom of speaking God’s Word to people without a veil, but at other times he spoke from under a veil.
When God speaks to us directly, He is not masked. The face of His servant is not covered. God is speaking His words of revelation, of command, of blessing. To have a show of God’s power and majesty is a terribly frightening thing, but one which God needs us to have. We dare not take God’s Word lightly or casually. This is why, when we hear God’s Word spoken, read, and proclaimed exactly as God gave it to us, we pay close attention and receive it with great reverence. It is God’s special word.
What about the rest of the time? Moses is not speaking in the context of God’s great authority when he speaks with his family, when he hears about the troubles of God’s people, when he speaks to daily, mundane, arrangements. God’s power and will are there, but they are veiled. Likewise, when pastors and church leaders deal with the more routine affairs of life, even when they are giving counsel and preaching, the power of God’s command is normally absent. A sermon illustration is the pastor’s attempt to help us understand and apply God’s Word. It is not, in itself, God’s Word. It bears the authority of the wisdom of the pastor, hopefully under the guidance of the Holy Spirit. But it is not the very majestic revelation of God which we receive from Scripture.
In all, we pray that God would shine through His Word and would also use His servants effectively as they help us interpret what the Lord would say. May the Lord be glorified in our hearts and minds, as He was in Moses’ heart and mind.
If this brief meditation was helpful to you, I hope you will check out the other materials on our website at www.WittenbergCoMo.com and consider supporting us.