Reflections on 2 Corinthians 3 - Part 3

Old Glory

We can be fully assured that the Apostle Paul was thoroughly conversant with the events which accompanied the giving of the Law to Moses on Mount Sinai. We can be equally sure that, as an appointed Apostle, writing Scripture under the direct inspiration of the Holy Spirit, he knew and was thoroughly convinced of the difference the new covenant makes. Thus we must pay careful attention, not only to what he tells us about those earlier events, but also to what he says it means for us who are in Christ.

Two Tablets of Stone - Given Twice!

Reading the Mosaic account in the book of Exodus shows how, whilst Moses is high up on the mountain receiving the two slabs upon which God engraves the Ten Commandments, the people he God has used him to rescue are abandoning themselves to idolatry and immorality at its foot. Moses had said to them:

"Do not be afraid. God has come to test you, so that the fear of God will be with you to keep you from sinning." (Exodus 20 vs 20)

And the presence of God was attended with glory:

"When Moses went up on the mountain, the cloud covered it, and the glory of the Lord settled on Mount Sinai. For six days the cloud covered the mountain, and on the seventh day the Lord called to Moses from within the cloud. To the Israelites the glory of the Lord looked like a consuming fire on top of the mountain. Then Moses entered the cloud as he went on up the mountain. And he stayed on the mountain forty days and forty nights." (Exodus 24 vs 15 - 18)

Moses alone enters that thick cloud. Moses receives not only the Ten Commandments, but instructions regarding the Aaronic priesthood, along with many other commandments and instructions, including how to construct the tent of meeting. Of this last, God says:

"For the generations to come this burnt offering is to be made regularly at the entrance to the tent of meeting, before the Lord. There I will meet you and speak to you; there also I will meet with the Israelites, and the place will be consecrated by my glory." (Exodus 29 vs 42,43)

But the people tire of waiting, a golden calf is cast from Egyptian gold, and they bow down to it. The consequence is that when Moses descends from his encounter with God, there is righteous anger, judgement - and the stone tablets are shattered. It is only the mediatorial intercession of Moses that stays Gods hand from destroying them. But Moses pleads for more than mercy and forgiveness. He petitions that, despite their great sin, God would nevertheless go with His people into the land of promise. And this God agrees. Yet, Moses is not done. His next request of this great God, whom he has come to know so well, should stagger us. For Moses asks:

“Now show me your glory.” (Exodus 33 vs 18)

And this, God arranges:

"I will cause all my goodness to pass in front of you, and I will proclaim my name, the Lord, in your presence."

Again, God reiterates the Ten Commandments, but this time, it is Moses, not God, who engraves them on the stone tablets (Exodus 34 vs 27,28). The first two tablets had been inscribed by the finger of God. But the second two were written by the hand of man. And - note this - that in the old covenant ministry of faithful Moses, the glory of God is displayed in His goodness and in the proclamation of His name, Yahweh.

Moses' Radiant Face

I have taken some time to go through all this. More detail is given in the text - I have just given summary. But it is this second occasion to which Paul alludes in 2 Cor 3. Exodus, again:

"When Moses came down from Mount Sinai with the two tablets of the covenant law in his hands, he was not aware that his face was radiant because he had spoken with the Lord. When Aaron and all the Israelites saw Moses, his face was radiant, and they were afraid to come near him. But Moses called to them; so Aaron and all the leaders of the community came back to him, and he spoke to them. Afterward all the Israelites came near him, and he gave them all the commands the Lord had given him on Mount Sinai.

When Moses finished speaking to them, he put a veil over his face. But whenever he entered the Lord’s presence to speak with him, he removed the veil until he came out. And when he came out and told the Israelites what he had been commanded, they saw that his face was radiant. Then Moses would put the veil back over his face until he went in to speak with the Lord." (ch 34 vs 29 - 35)

 Note that the appearance of Moses' radiant face occurs after his seeing the glory of God in this 'close-up-and-personal', intimate manner. It is not mentioned when he comes back to the people with the first two stone tablets, which are then destroyed. Therefore, I conclude, along with Paul, that this phenomena is not so much attendant to the giving of Law itself (it didn't happen the first time) as it is to the ministry of Moses. 2 Corinthians 3 vs 7 refers:

"Now if the ministry that brought death, which was engraved in letters on stone, came with glory ..."

The stone tablets did not shine! It was the living face of the mediator which retained the light of the glory of God.

Second, it seems reasonable to think that this retained splendour was as a result of the more intensive revelation of God's glory. There is a Jewish tradition that this radiance did not fade - at least, not until he died. We shall see that this inference is not what 2 Corinthians 3 is saying.

The reason for emphasising this is that Covenant Theology wants to assert that there is continuity between the glory of the old covenant and that, although far greater, of the new. And that therefore this 'underlining' of the Law carries its authority through. But Paul is clear in his statement that the ministry which included the Law was what 'came with' glory. The glory was attendant to the ministry.  Spurgeon says:

"I would have you notice that this communion with God included intense intercession for the people. God will not have fellowship with our selfishness. Moses came out of himself, and became an intense pleader for the people; and so he became like the Son of God, and the glory descended on him. How he pleaded! With what sighs and cries he besought Jehovah not to destroy the men who had vexed his Holy Spirit!"

 We see, then, that this ministry goes far beyond the giving of the Law, and all the other commandments too.

Third, we need to note that there were three 'phases' here, not two. Here are the verses again from Exodus 34:

" 33 When Moses finished speaking to them, he put a veil over his face. 34 But whenever he entered the Lord’s presence to speak with him, he removed the veil until he came out. And when he came out and told the Israelites what he had been commanded, 35 they saw that his face was radiant. Then Moses would put the veil back over his face until he went in to speak with the Lord."

So, we have:

1. Moses in the Lord's presence - unveiled
2. Moses communicating to Israel what God had said - unveiled and radiant
3. Moses after he had finished conveying God's commands - veiled until he again goes in to speak with the Lord. 

We see, then, even from Exodus, that although the initial reaction to the splendour emanating from the face of their leader was great fear, such that they ran from him, Moses brings them back. And after this, they regularly observe this shining, when he emerges from the Tent of Meeting to speak with them. Thus, as Paul notes, to avoid their being afraid is not the explanation for Moses' veiling of his face. We shall see what that is in due course.

The Shekinah Glory

'Shekinah' is not a Bible word. But the Jews used it to describe the visible glory exhibited by the personal presence of God. Exodus 40 vs 34 - 38 tells us that God's glory so filled the newly-erected tabernacle that even Moses could not enter:

"Then the cloud covered the tent of meeting, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. Moses could not enter the tent of meeting because the cloud had settled on it, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle.

In all the travels of the Israelites, whenever the cloud lifted from above the tabernacle, they would set out; but if the cloud did not lift, they did not set out—until the day it lifted. So the cloud of the Lord was over the tabernacle by day, and fire was in the cloud by night, in the sight of all the Israelites during all their travels."

Similarly at the dedication of Solomon's newly-built temple:

"When Solomon finished praying, fire came down from heaven and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices, and the glory of the Lord filled the temple. The priests could not enter the temple of the Lord because the glory of the Lord filled it. When all the Israelites saw the fire coming down and the glory of the Lord above the temple, they knelt on the pavement with their faces to the ground, and they worshipped and gave thanks to the Lord, saying,
“He is good; his love endures forever.”" (2 Chronicles 3 vs 1 - 3)

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Thus we observe that the glory of God is not to be thought as attaching to the Law of Moses, but rather to the whole of the covenant between God and Israel. It demonstrates the very presence of the Lord Himself within the 'ministry' of covenant. In the next and final part of these 'reflections', I will consider what Paul is actually saying in 2 Corinthians 3.