pastor’s Message
Veils
by Pastor LeeThe Bible says in Exodus 34:33, “When Moses finished speaking to them, he put a veil over his face.” This incident is based on the time when Moses came down from Mount Sinai receiving the Ten Commandments again from God. Moses, who was so angry because of the incident with the golden calf that he broke the stone tablets of the Ten Commandments, resolved the issue through intercessory prayer and went up Mount Sinai again to receive the Ten Commandments. “Moses was there with the Lord forty days and forty nights without eating bread or drinking water. And he wrote on the tablets the words of the covenant – the Ten Commandments. (Exodus 34:28)”
Moses came down with the stone tablets of the Ten Commandments. At that time, his face shone with the glory of God. When the people saw this, they were afraid to come near Moses, so Moses covered his face with a veil. This refers to the turban, one of the five garments worn in Biblical times. The five are undergarment, outer garment, belt, turban, and sandals. In the Middle East, where the sunlight is strong, turbans were worn on the head to protect the head from the sun and sand.
Men wore a hair band to tighten the turban, but hair bands symbolized masculinity and were not worn by women. Moses seems to have untied his turban, which was fastened with a hair band, and covered his face because of the radiance from his face. Paul uses the story of Moses covering his face with a turban to compare the new covenant with the old covenant. With the coming of the new covenant, the old covenant will gradually disappear and be covered by the new covenant.
2 Corinthians 3:13-14 says, “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. But their minds were made dull, for to this day the same veil remains when the old covenant is read. It has not been removed because only in Christ is it taken away.” Here, the radiance of Moses' face means the glory of the law because Moses symbolizes the law.
Since then, the Israel people put on a veil whenever they read the old covenant. Such a behavior became a habit and a tradition, and it came down from Moses' times. They should uncover their veils. However, the veil was not taken away. They did not know how to uncover it.
Therefore, the radiance of Moses' face was already fading away because it happened in the past. Jesus Christ is the radiance of God's glory itself, and the saints in Him are those who receive that light directly, like Moses.
If men wear turbans, women wear veils. In Biblical times, women would cover their faces with this veil when they went out. These turbans for men and veils for women appear frequently in the Bible. Genesis 24:65 says, “And asked the servant, “Who is that man in the field coming to meet us?” So, she took her veil and covered herself. This story is about the scene when Isaac, who was living after losing his mother, met Rebekah, who would become Isaac's wife. When the servant and Rebekah approached Isaac, Rebekah asked Abraham's servant who Isaac was. Also, the priests who served in the tabernacle wore special turbans made of fine linen on their heads. Shalom!
by Pastor LeeThe Bible says in Exodus 34:33, “When Moses finished speaking to them, he put a veil over his face.” This incident is based on the time when Moses came down from Mount Sinai receiving the Ten Commandments again from God. Moses, who was so angry because of the incident with the golden calf that he broke the stone tablets of the Ten Commandments, resolved the issue through intercessory prayer and went up Mount Sinai again to receive the Ten Commandments. “Moses was there with the Lord forty days and forty nights without eating bread or drinking water. And he wrote on the tablets the words of the covenant – the Ten Commandments. (Exodus 34:28)”
Moses came down with the stone tablets of the Ten Commandments. At that time, his face shone with the glory of God. When the people saw this, they were afraid to come near Moses, so Moses covered his face with a veil. This refers to the turban, one of the five garments worn in Biblical times. The five are undergarment, outer garment, belt, turban, and sandals. In the Middle East, where the sunlight is strong, turbans were worn on the head to protect the head from the sun and sand.
Men wore a hair band to tighten the turban, but hair bands symbolized masculinity and were not worn by women. Moses seems to have untied his turban, which was fastened with a hair band, and covered his face because of the radiance from his face. Paul uses the story of Moses covering his face with a turban to compare the new covenant with the old covenant. With the coming of the new covenant, the old covenant will gradually disappear and be covered by the new covenant.
2 Corinthians 3:13-14 says, “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. But their minds were made dull, for to this day the same veil remains when the old covenant is read. It has not been removed because only in Christ is it taken away.” Here, the radiance of Moses' face means the glory of the law because Moses symbolizes the law.
Since then, the Israel people put on a veil whenever they read the old covenant. Such a behavior became a habit and a tradition, and it came down from Moses' times. They should uncover their veils. However, the veil was not taken away. They did not know how to uncover it.
Therefore, the radiance of Moses' face was already fading away because it happened in the past. Jesus Christ is the radiance of God's glory itself, and the saints in Him are those who receive that light directly, like Moses.
If men wear turbans, women wear veils. In Biblical times, women would cover their faces with this veil when they went out. These turbans for men and veils for women appear frequently in the Bible. Genesis 24:65 says, “And asked the servant, “Who is that man in the field coming to meet us?” So, she took her veil and covered herself. This story is about the scene when Isaac, who was living after losing his mother, met Rebekah, who would become Isaac's wife. When the servant and Rebekah approached Isaac, Rebekah asked Abraham's servant who Isaac was. Also, the priests who served in the tabernacle wore special turbans made of fine linen on their heads. Shalom!