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Text from Exodus 34
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Text from Exodus 34
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In Exodus chapter 34, Moses is commanded by God to chisel out two stone tablets, like the first ones, so that God can write on them the words that were on the first tablets that were broken. Moses goes up Mount Sinai, carrying the stone tablets, and God comes down in a cloud to stand with Moses. God proclaims His name and declares His character, being compassionate, gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, forgiving, but also just. Moses worships and asks for God's favor and forgiveness for the people. God agrees to make a covenant with Moses and the people, promising to do wonders and drive out their enemies. God gives instructions on not making treaties with other nations and warns against idol worship. He also commands the celebration of feasts and the offering of firstborn males. Moses spends 40 days and nights with God, writing down the words of the covenant. When he comes down from the mountain, his face is radiant because he series here and we're in Exodus chapter 34 and we'll be looking at the entire chapter so it's a little bit longer of a text today but we've been in this text this past couple of weeks and seeing how this story has all come about and so this is this is good word for us today for us to study and to apply to our lives so Exodus chapter 34 is our text this morning and we'll start with verse 1 and we'll read through verse 35 this is God's Word the Lord said to Moses chisel out two stone tablets like the first ones and I will write on them the words that were on the first tablets which you broke be ready in the morning and then come up on Mount Sinai present yourself to me there on top of the mountain no one to come with you or be seen anywhere on the mountain not even the flocks and herds may graze in front of the mountain so Moses chiseled out two stone tablets like the first ones and went up Mount Sinai early in the morning as the Lord had commanded him and he carried the tombstone tablets in his hands then the Lord came down in the cloud and stood there with him and proclaimed his name the Lord and he passed in front of Moses proclaiming the Lord the Lord the compassionate and gracious God slow to anger abounding in love and faithfulness maintaining love to thousands and forgiving wickedness rebellion and sin yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished he punishes the children and their children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation Moses bowed to the ground at once and worshiped Oh Lord if I have found favor in your eyes he said then let the Lord go with us although this is a stiff-necked people forgive our wickedness and our sin and take us as your inheritance and the Lord said I am making a covenant with you before all your people I will do wonders never before done in any nation in all the world the people who live among you will see how awesome is the work that I the Lord will do for you obey what I command you today I will drive out before you the Amorites Canaanites Hittites Perizzites Hittites and Jebusites be careful not to make a treaty with those who live in the land where you are going or they will be a snare among you break down their altars smash their sacred stones and cut down their Asherah poles do not worship any other God for the Lord whose name is jealous is a jealous God be careful not to make a treaty with those who live in the land for when they prostitute themselves to their gods and sacrifice to them they will invite you and you will eat their sacrifices and when you choose some of their daughters as wives for your sons and those daughters prostitute themselves to their gods they will lead your sons to do the same do not make cast idols celebrate the feast of unleavened bread for seven days eat bread made without yeast as I commanded you do this at the appointed time in the month of a beam for in that month you came out of Egypt the first offering of every womb belongs to me including all the firstborn males of your livestock whether from herd or flock redeem the firstborn donkey with a lamb but if you do not redeem its break its neck redeem all your firstborn sons no one is to appear before me empty-handed six days shall you labor but on the seventh day shall rest even during the plowing season and harvest you must rest celebrate the feast of weeks with the first fruits of the wheat harvest and the feast of in gathering at the turn of the year three times a year all your men are to appear before the sovereign Lord the God of Israel I will drive out nations before you and enlarge your territory and no one will cover your land when you go up three times each year to appear before the Lord your God do not offer the blood of a sacrifice to me along with anything containing yeast and do not let any of the sacrifice of the Passover feast remain until morning bring the best of the first fruits of your soil to the house of the Lord your God do not cook a young goat in its mother's milk then the Lord said to Moses write down these words for in accordance with these words I have made a covenant with you and with Israel Moses was there with the Lord 40 days and 40 nights without eating bread or drinking water and he wrote on the tablets the words of the covenants the Ten Commandments when Moses came down from Mount Sinai with the two tablets of the testimony 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 a Mount Sinai when Moses finished speaking to them he put a veil over his face 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 the Word of the Lord thanks be to God please be seated so our series continues the series entitled yes we'll gather at the river and today the text the story tells us of the glory of God unveiled and here's how we'll study this text today as we dive into God's Word verses 1 through 4 we'll read of the broken covenant renewed verses 5 through 8 we read where God stands with Moses and then verses 9 through 28 it's the renewed covenant declared and then verses 29 to 35 Moses stands with the people and then at the end as we do we'll take a few minutes to see Jesus in the wilderness Moses has asked God for a divine yet visible revelation and Moses request was this now show me your glory and as we saw in the previous chapter with which we studied last Sunday God agreed to honor Moses requests but Moses first has some work to do notice verse 1 the Lord said to Moses chisel out two stone tablets like the first ones and I will write on them the words that were on the first tablets which you broke yes it was Moses who threw down the two tablets of stone on which God himself had written the Ten Commandments so technically it was Moses who broke the commandments but at least some of the people as we know from the text including some of the Israelites violated the commandment against idol worship that's what happened in Exodus chapter 32 as we recall at least some of the people of God including some of the Israelites violated the commandment against idol worship so it was truly the people who broke them God's people broke the covenants when they broke the second commandment and now on behalf of the people Moses will recreate the two tablets of stone just like the first ones and following God's instructions Moses will proceed alone up on the mountain early in the morning carrying the two stone tablets in his hand and we notice something perhaps unexpected in the text notice the second half of verse two God says to Moses present yourself to me there on top of the mountain the word here we have rendered as present means to stand up or to stand upright or to take one's stand so as we find in verse four Moses does as the Lord has commanded him Moses is not maintaining a posture of homage Moses is not bowing before God he is not kneeling in worship God has said stand before me Moses and Moses does so Moses obeys he stands before God and here Moses asked to see God's glory and God is answering how think about this for a minute Moses asks to see God's glory and God answers by showing Moses his mercy Moses asked to see God's glory and God is answering by showing Moses his mercy Moses asked to see God's glory and God is answering in this way though they've already been violated God is graciously renewing the Ten Commandments on the tablets the commandments are still the law the commandments are still in force and because of this the covenant promise of God is still in force yes the people have aired and they will do so again and again and again this is not the first time as we all know this is not the first time that someone will break one of the Ten Commandments we know this personally do we not this was the first violation this will not be the last violation God knows this and yet in his mercy God gives them a new copy of the Ten Commandments and a new reminder that God will never cut them off he will never cast them aside God's reminder is that of mercy and grace to his people he forgives his sinful people so here we see the broken covenant renewed here God extends mercy to his people kind of throws the argument out the window that the Old Testament God is the mean God of judgment he is the God of judgment but he is also the God of mercy is he not we come to verse 5 through 8 and God comes to Moses and proclaims his name as he promised to Moses that he would and did you notice how long his name is I mean how would you just how would you say this without saying all of it and so in verses 6 and 7 God declares his name before Moses because he promised he said I will proclaim my name the Lord in your presence and so this proclamation is a renewed declaration of his character description of his power it's a description of his authority and his love and compassion for his people notice verses 6 and 7 here's the name of God given to Moses he passes in front of Moses proclaiming the Lord the Lord the passionate and gracious God slow to anger abounding in love and faithfulness maintaining love to thousands and forgiving wickedness rebellion and sin yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished he punishes the children and their children for the sin of the fathers to the third and the fourth generation that's a long name but it's all the stuff we think of when we see God and we think about God especially the way he is presented himself to the people of Israel here in Exodus and this all seems right to us now that we think about it because is there just some one-word phrase that would that would in English adequately capture everything we know and understand about God how would God declare himself to us in some one-word little statement that would encapsulate it all in a manner that seems fit with our language we have a trouble with our language being able to get our hands around a full understanding of who God is and so here God describes himself in this way what's God's name here's God's name and it really all makes sense does it not did you notice something that we read here before we skipped over it's again in verse 5 and this is an important aspect of the text look what it says in verse 5 it says then the Lord came down in the cloud and stood there with him and proclaimed his name the important image here that of God condescending to man God condescending to man the Lord came down in the cloud God moves from his holy position his place and he moves down to where man is located yes Moses is all alone and yes Moses on a lofty mountain and nevertheless Moses is still on earth he remains God here comes and remains with man God comes to man to Moses hide this in your heart my dear friends treasure this scene because is there not going to come a day when an even more glorious visit is made known when God comes down to man we read earlier that God told Moses to present himself to stand up and stand before God on the mountain now the text says this this is amazing I don't understand it I really can't relate to it it says the text is the Lord stood there with Moses the scripture described this moment for us God stands with Moses we would generally hold that this describes God's readiness to renew the covenants as well as God's confidence in Moses to continue to serve as the leader of the people God stands with Moses now we don't need way to make any more sense of this you and I see what what is described here in the text we can't really comprehend it beyond that except to say that this moment didn't last long because notice verse 8 verse 8 clarifies Moses attitude and his response because the text says upon this Moses bowed to the ground at once and worshiped of course he did he's standing in front of the Holy God who has just come to stand with him we come to verse 9 and here Moses is ready to continue to seek mercy for God's people he says although this is a stiff-necked people forgive our wickedness and our sin and take us as your inheritance and in verse 10 God having addressed the people sin here renews his plans for people notice here the text renewed renewed covenant declared God says this I am making a covenant with you before all your people I will do wonders never before done in any nation in all the world the people of among you will see how awesome is the work that I the Lord will do for you this covenant is now declared again God is renewing this covenant with Moses and with his people now from here verses 11 through 28 God offers to Moses a reiteration of the law it's not rewriting the law it's not a change to the law it's a restatement we're renewing this covenant let's remember what the covenant says Moses and God takes a few minutes to just highlight some of the matters of the covenant it's not all of it this is not an exhaustive list but 11 through 28 gives us a restatement God's reminding Moses ok especially with this thing about false idols let's just keep that in mind Moses and let's make sure that the people whom you lead keep this in mind as well obey what I command you today verse 11 that's the classic line here that leads off this text obey what I will command you today an aspect of Moses work a task assigned to him for the rest of his life will then be the recitation of the law of God Moses is the lawgiver Moses is not the law writer but Moses is the lawgiver and one of the jobs for the rest of his life will be guys let's remember the law folks let's look again at the Ten Commandments folks let's pull that out of your pocket let's look at it again pull that up on your phone and let's remember what the law says let's just remember that God is God will use Moses for the rest of Moses life to be a reminder of what God has calling the people to do and to be verses 27 and 28 the Lord said to Moses write down these words for in accordance with these words I've made a covenant with you and with Israel Moses was there with the Lord 40 days and 49 without any bread or drinking water and he wrote on the tablets the words of the covenants the Ten Commandments the promise of God given to the people of God and God is renewed this covenants before Moses to be given to the people now we come to verses 29 to 35 up to the end of the chapter when we read this part of the story we generally focus of course on Moses appearance and on the Israelites reaction notice verses 29 and 30 when Moses came down from Mount Sinai with the two tablets of the testimony his hands he was not aware that his face was radiant because he has spoken with the Lord when Aaron and all the Israelites saw Moses his face was radiant and they were afraid to come near him they saw something of God they saw the reflection of God on the face of Moses and just by seeing that reflection they were afraid to come near the images of the day articulated by the language of our day strange to describe this accurately but what exactly did the people see he saw the glory of God reflecting off the face of Moses never much like the disciples saw the glory of Christ reflecting on the face of Moses and Elijah on the Mount of Transfiguration we've talked about that before and this is very similar to that scene and from this moment forward Moses would have to wear a veil over his face so great was the reflection of God's glory from his face and he would wear this veil until the light of the glory on his face would eventually fade away couldn't wear sunglasses no one's got a pair of Ray-Bans they can put on what are we going to do we're going to put a veil on Moses face in order to to kind of filter out some of that some of this light that's reflecting off of the face of the servant of God here we do see that the people of Israel the people of Israel are getting a clearer picture of the character and the practice of God especially concerning the sin of the people so as they get to know God more there on this wilderness journey there are several months in a 40-year journey and now they're beginning to get to know this God and what he expects of them and what he's going to do in in them and with them and through them as he prepares them to occupy the promised land and he's especially going to deal with the sin of the people that is now becoming more and more clear to this people the people are still uncertain about approaching that which is holy but they also know that God is not giving up on them concerning them and concerning his expectations of them so when they broke the commandments for example think about this for a minute when they broke the commandments when the second commandment was violated and the commandments were broken God did not say well maybe the first set was a little too tough maybe we should water it down and try again God didn't do that when he repeated the ten commandments when he reissued them he issued the same commandments he issued the first time God doesn't water anything down he doesn't water down his truth he doesn't water down his holiness he doesn't water down his expectations of us God doesn't change and so there's not a been a there hasn't been a change in our watering down of the text God is commanding the same covenant stipulations as he had before God is not giving up on them he's not giving up on them concerning them concerning his expectations of them he is going to get them ready to occupy the promised land and God's the one who sets the standard and God's going to accomplish this with his people God has laid his commands before his people he has called them to follow him and yet he has also demonstrated to them that he will be gracious and merciful to them and he will forgive their sin God's not going to just wipe them out the first mistake they made we already see this is the truth he will instead demonstrate his compassion toward them so as we said the people of Israel are but a few minutes a few months into their wilderness journey and they are now realizing they have much to learn concerning this God this God wants to purify them this God wants to make them holy this God wants to make them ready to to be his representatives and to occupy the land he's going to give them this God is going to continue to work with his people this people have much to learn from God and here they also learned that Moses Moses has a special relationship with God Moses leaves the people for a while but then he returns and when he returns there's no more thinking about G Moses has been gone 40 days maybe he's dead maybe we should worship something else instead no he goes but then he returns and he shares with him what God has told him and then Moses stands with the people so we saw before where God stood with Moses and now Moses stands with the people and the people are beginning to learn that Moses is working for them as well as working for God Moses is the man of God and he's working as a mediator between God and the people and he's working as an intercessor for the people before God so now we have enjoyed an overview of themes in the book of Exodus this middle section the second half of Exodus beginning with God's people receiving the Ten Commandments which was chapter 20 then we consider chapter 24 where God and the people ratified and affirmed the covenant that God established with his people and remember that scene where Moses sprinkles the blood of the sacrifice over the altar and then Moses sprinkles the blood over the people and the people of God affirmed the covenant recall what they said when they declared everything the Lord has said we will do we will do everything Lord has said we will obey and then we did course study chapter 32 we read the story of the golden calf it may very well have been non-israelites to initiated the worship of the Egyptian sacred bull God but then we saw that at least some of the Israelites joined in on this pagan idol worship and we saw in the text that the revelry soon devolved into an abhorrent display of sexual deviance that's what's going on in front of the altar and in front of the golden calf consideration of golden calf as we can see now in the text morphs into a consideration of the status of God's people and the impact of that this event would have on the relationship between God and his children this is a big story as it turns out for us for you and for me we realize that the story of the golden calf is perhaps a much bigger story than we previously thought a couple weeks ago I described the story of the learning of the story the golden calf in the manner that I would have first learned it as a five-year-old in children's Sunday school class with the characters on the felt board well it's obvious that we're now well beyond the felt board we can't picture these things on a felt board especially in a five-year-old Sunday school class but the story we see now has major theological and practical implications for the people of God and for the worship of God the story of the golden calf is indeed a big big story and we found that God is serious when it comes to people's worship of him he demands worship he demands worship in a certain way but what's wrong with a little syncretism syncretism is defined of course among other things as the amalgamation of different religions or belief systems or worship practices so we can imagine that the non-israelites that are here with the Israelites so we'll allow a little Egyptian sacred bull deity worship along with our practice that God himself has declared and ordained sure the worshipers of Apis tend to get a little out of control shall we say but we shouldn't be so dogmatic about these things what could possibly go wrong we've got the worship of the God of Israel here you've got the bull of the Egyptian God Apis you're worshiping there what could go wrong with that well here's what goes wrong not only do we see people devolve into an important practice during that worship but God is also preparing his people to enter another land to enter the promised land and so there's an increasing inclusion of pagan worship practices as as God's people make their way through wilderness and into the promised land and remember what's waiting for them in the promised land the Canaanites and the Canaanites and their practice their abhorrent worship practices which even included the sacrificing of children to the God Moloch in fact the Bible calls him the detestable God Moloch God knows this is coming God knows this is going to be before the people and God knows he's bringing them to a land and they will occupy a land where this very practice is taking place so this must be resolved now before we get to Canaan before you get a deal with the sacrifice of children sacrifice to the God of Moloch we got to solve our worship problems now and you must worship me and worship me alone here in the text there remains a very obvious lesson for God's people God is God and as we know from the text and from scripture God is a jealous God he is declared in his word he will require what is due him and God alone is worthy of worship we know this to be true and God declares what we know is the second commandment listen to the second commandment again Exodus chapter 20 verses 4 through 6 the text reminds us it says you shall not make yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below you shall not bow down to them or worship them for I the Lord your God am a jealous God punishing the children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments interesting is it not God's use of the word jealous here God is not saying that he is insecure or selfish or covetous of others God is not jealous of course the way people are jealous if we think of insecurity or selfishness or covetousness that's the way people are jealous that's not what God means when God says he is jealous rather it's this that God loves his people God wants his people to worship him alone because he is this true source for all that is holy and righteous and good and beneficial so divine jealousy is just and it is proper because it derives from divine motivations which are always right motivations there's a difference between the jealousy of God and the jealousy of man and we know that we are wired to worship we've talked about this before everyone was made to worship now because of sin we will find our own object of worship this is what we do we derive our own object of worship we will make our own object of worship now that after worship might be a golden calf or some sort of talisman or amulet or good luck charm or an image but we know that the object of worship can also be one good goods looks or wealth or academic record or business achievement or fame or celebrity status or societal category or cultural self-identifier and then tragically one's object of worship could also be an ongoing sinful behavior attitude or practice scripture declares the truth concerning all the idols of man this is clear in the Bible Isaiah chapter 44 verses 9 and 10 the word says all who make idols are nothing and the things they treasure are worthless those who would speak up for them are blind they are ignorant to their own shame who shapes the God and cast an idol which can profit him nothing so the question as we read this text question we must face we must ask ourselves concerning our relationship to the gods that we worship what occupies the space on your altar what occupies the space on my altar what's the line that we've drawn in the sand what's the hill on which you're willing to die are you continuing to carry around your own golden calf am I continuing to carry around my own golden calf children of God let us today renew our commitment to God and to a vibrant observance of the second commandment let us commit to that today let us as believers commit again that we will put away the idols of this world we will destroy the idols that we have created and instead embrace God as the psalmist would encourage us psalm 95 come let us bow down in worship let us kneel before the Lord our maker for he is our God and we are the people of his pasture and the flock under his care now let's take these final minutes to consider how this text points us over to Christ this text that we have been looking at let's consider Jesus in the wilderness and we're going to do that today by answering this question how does the Bible here make the connection between the story of the golden calf and then the story of the veil of Moses face think about that but that's what we've done here in chapters 32 33 and 34 we've taken the story of the golden calf and has morphed into the story of the veil on Moses face now why are those two stories together and what what does this say about the connection about those two stories and what does it say for us today we know that we are people who are made for worship and we know that we are people who are called to worship and as we do we are called to worship rightly are we not recall what David wrote Psalm 29 David says ascribe to the Lord Almighty ones ascribe to the Lord glory and strength ascribe to the Lord the glory do his name worship the Lord in the splendor of his holiness it's a command for us to worship God and we recall also the words of John's Gospel chapter 4 the words of Jesus remember this is when Jesus was speaking to the Samaritan woman at the well and Jesus says this to her he says yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshippers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth for they are the kind of worshippers the Father seeks God is spirit and the worshippers must worship in spirit and in truth so we know that command is before the believers to always be people who worship rightly with right motivations and right attitudes and using right practices the worship practices that are consistent with God's Word with which purely and properly glorify God so for example as we announced today during announcements next Sunday we will observe the Lord's Supper and we encourage you to prepare your hearts to come to the table to receive the elements the sacrament of the Lord's Supper it's a time for us to prepare and be ready to receive that it's not just a routine that we go through it's not just a ceremony that we follow it's something that God has instituted in His Word Christ has called us to do it and we know that we gain and we benefit from it and we commune with God with it through it we know that true worship can never be routine it can never be just going through the motions it can't be ceremony for the sake of ceremony it can't be tradition for the sake of tradition true worship must be a true reflection of what we know to be true about God and who he is and what he has done and what he does and what he will do and how we will engage with him and how we will respond with him that's true worship and that's what God calls us to be about but we know that we have a problem do we not because of our sinful nature we have a tendency to worship anything as we've talked about the way we construct idols of our own we are as the old hymn says prone to wander we are willing to see anything as an idol we are inclined to invest the motivations of our hearts in that which is not good and not right and not holy and we know this about ourselves so you and I and everyone need to be need to change and we need to be changed on the inside our hearts need to be changed our affections need to be reoriented something has to happen on the inside so that the outer reflection is also good and right and holy and we know that we can't make that change we can't possibly make that change on our own nothing just spontaneously combusts the Big Bang didn't just go bang one day and you and I will not change our heart attitudes on our own we won't do it but we were changed you and I there was a day when we were changed everyone was placed faith and trust in Christ for salvation has been changed we have been reborn we have been made new this is the promise of the gospel according to the Word of God and this is the evidence of the gospel present within the lives of the followers of Christ you have been made new in Christ to be pleased to second Corinthians chapter 3 starting with verse 6 we're going to read through verse 18 and this will be the last part of the text look at today so you don't have to keep your finger on Exodus if you want to have your scriptures currently the second Corinthians chapter 3 starting with verse 6 in the New Testament of course after Matthew Mark Luke and John it's Acts Romans 1st Corinthians 2nd Corinthians so let's go there because we want to see this text 2nd Corinthians chapter 6 I'm sorry chapter 3 verse 6 I apologize there has a chance been a change that has taken place something has gone on on the inside of each one of us and our affections have been rearranged and renewed have they not so look with me at Paul's words 2nd Corinthians chapter 3 verses 6 through 18 and we're going to see in the text here that Paul is using the themes of the story of Exodus the story of the of the calf of the story of the veil and we're just bringing them all together so starting with verse 6 God has made us competent as ministers of a new covenant so let's stop right there for a second you see what God has done God has done this work if you're a believer in Christ you're a child of God you're a follower of Jesus God has done this work in you and through you God has made us competent as ministers of new covenant not of the letter but of the Spirit for the letter kills but the Spirit gives life now if the ministry that brought death which was engaged in letters on stone the Ten Commandments come with glory so the Israelites could not look steadily at the face of Moses because of its glory fading though it was will not the ministry of the Spirit be even more glorious if the ministry that condemns man is glorious how much more glorious is the ministry that brings righteousness for what was glorious has no glory now in comparison with the surpassing glory and what if what was fading away came with glory how much greater is the glory of that which lasts so yes we are those who continue to live our lives in the wilderness on this journey traveling in the midst of sin and the darkness of this world but we are those who belong to Christ we are those who have been made new in Christ and by Christ and through Christ we have been reborn and because of this we now must be confident to go forward to live as those who delight in Christ to those those who would celebrate Christ listen to verse 12 therefore since we have such a hope we are very bold we approach the throne with boldness because we know who we belong to and we know that we've been made new we belong to Christ we delight in Christ we celebrate Christ we rest in Christ our hope is in Christ and here the Apostle Paul offers three truths concerning what has now been revealed made known to those who are in Christ looking back at our text in 2nd Corinthians chapter 3 verse 13 we are not like Moses who would put a veil over his face to keep the Israelites from gazing at it while the radiance was fading away we would never we never want to long for a time with signs and wonders as in the time of Moses or throughout the Old Testament that time was of God and from God it was reflected of God's glory to be sure but that time was temporary and those scenes of glory particularly the glory reflected from the face of Moses was temporary and it was fading and glory which has now been revealed in Christ Paul says far surpasses the glory of those days now let's continue verses 14 through 16 speaking of Israelites it says their minds were dull for this to this day the same veil remains when the Old Covenant is read now when we say that the Old Covenant is read we mean when the only when the Old Covenant is read when only the law is read when only the understanding is of the law and your adherence to the law now there's Israelites who adhered to the law but there also would be legalists who still say today it can't be by grace God would never do that God would never forgive me it's got to be by the law listen my friends no when the Old Covenant is read when only the law is read there's still a veil that remains the laws of God the law is good but my friends the law is not all there is so the same veil look at the text the same veil remains when the Old Covenant is read it has not been removed because only in Christ is it taken away and even to this day when Moses is read or when only the law is read a veil covers their hearts not just a veil over a face the veil covers their hearts like a veil to shield Israelites from the glory of God there's a spiritual blindness that shields those who would not look forward to see Christ verse 16 but whenever anyone turns to the Lord the veil is taken away believer in Jesus the veil has been removed and in the full expression of the glory of God Christ stands before you and Christ draws you unto himself the glory of God unveiled so let's conclude today with verses 17 and 18 listen to this promise the promise of the Word of God the promise for you and for me and for all who would believe listen to the text verse 17 now the Lord is the Spirit and where the Spirit of the Lord is there is freedom no more veil no more blindness no more viewing from a distance no more seeing as in a mirror dimly where is freedom and we verse 18 and we who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord's glory are being transformed to his likeness with ever-increasing glory which comes from the Lord who is the Spirit child of God believer in Jesus follower of Christ God is not finished with you I don't care if you're 4 or 40 or 80 I don't care God is not finished with you been a Christian for weeks or 50 years God is not finished with you you continue to be transformed and you are being transformed into the very likeness of Christ if you belong to Christ then this is the work that Christ is doing within you and as the Apostle John affirms here's the promise 1st John chapter 3 dear friends now we are children of God and what we will be has not yet been made known but we know that when he appears we shall be like him for we shall see him as he is spour heads and pray shall we Lord Jesus we are so thankful for this story father we grieve over the truth of understanding that the people of God were veiled from seeing your glory but this was done so that we might understand that through Christ the veil has been taken away and that we would see you we would stand with you and stand before you and worship you in spirit and in truth father we thank you that the story reminds us of your call to worship you in truth father it's our desire to do that may we be a people who would always worship truthfully and rightly father we thank you that though we fail and fall short of your word your commands your plan is a plan of redemption of grace and mercy through Christ father for this we praise you and we thank you so father continue to work in us just like the people of Israel who had to get used to what it was like to follow you so we are desirous father to grow in our knowledge of you grow in our obedience of you to grow in the grace and knowledge of you as we seek to see you one day face to face thank you for this promise a promise which has been guaranteed for us through your son the Lord Jesus Christ and it's in his name we pray, amen.
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