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Exodus 34:27-35 – The Radiant Face of Moses – Transformation Collect In groups of 6-8 spend 5 minutes talking in your groups with the aim of trying to find 5 things that you all have in common (apart from church!). The first group is crowned the winner! Celebrate with panache. Context Chapter 34 contains an amazing renewal of the covenant God made with his people. Moses is called by the Lord to return to the mountain to remake the stone tablets that were destroyed after God’s people rebelled. From that place of encounter with God on the mountain top, God speaks immense words over his people. The Lord speaks words that reveal who he is to his people, his character. We hear of the Lord who is slow to anger, abounding in love (v 6), forgiving (v 7) but also who takes sin seriously and will judge (v7b). Moses acknowledges that his people are stiff-necked, meaning ‘stubborn’ or ‘not easily led’, yet he petitions the Lord for forgiveness knowing the Lord’s merciful nature. The Lord then declares the future of God’s people. The Lord will bring them into their own land and enlarge their territories, but he also gives them warnings. These warnings are intended to keep them from anything that would distract them from him. There are also instructions about celebration, they are to remember all that the Lord has done for them and celebrate his goodness to them. Also, as we end the series on Exodus, note the motif that we see throughout the bible of Presence - Absence - Presence. The Presence of God, humans go astray and so they encounter the absence of God. Then in reparation of that, God sacrifices to bring about His presence again. In groups consider:

• the Garden of Eden; human broken choice followed by the work of Jesus, then the image of the church in Revelation. • The Prodigal Son story; the son chooses absence of his Father, then returns and his

father makes a sacrifice of ownership (symbolised in the giving of a ring and robe and sacrifice of an animal), then restored relationship.

Where else can we see this narrative in the Bible?

Read Exodus 34: Read in a circle (5 verses each, continue to the end).

Content As we read this passage we see the radical difference that being in the presence of God makes. Moses has spent time in God’s presence and upon his return from the place of encounter, God’s people were afraid to come near him. Notice how there is a direct correlation to the earlier descent in Exodus after Moses’ is given the Ten commandments. There, Moses returned to confusion and chaos, here, Moses comes down to awe and acceptance. What had changed in the people of Israel since the last time Moses had gone up the mountain and returned in Exodus 20-22? Why do you think they were more accepting of Moses?

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During the time Moses has been speaking with the Lord, his countenance has changed. Here is one of the strongest symbols of God’s ability to reestablish relationships and reinstate roles. The symbol of God’s reestablishment of Moses as his messenger is his shining face. It’s interesting that Moses does not realise that his face is radiant. Also theologians have struggled with what the original Hebrew word for ‘shining’ actually means. It is not quite ‘shining’ like a light, and it does not quite match ‘shining’ like something that stands out. And yet, it seems the writer of Exodus wants us to know there is a definite change to Moses after spending time in God’s presence, but this is somewhat undefinable. How have you encountered God, leaving you changed in a somehow undefinable sense? When someone first becomes a Christian, it is common that friends say ‘something about them has changed’. Have you encountered this? This story tells us that Moses wore a veil after this and commentators have suggested this could be for two reasons. 1) to protect God’s people from being afraid, demonstrating a pastoral heart that Moses has developed 2) to mark where God’s communication with the people of Israel ends and Moses’ human instruction begins, demonstrating a real gift of discernment. Pastoral gifting (a high concern for people and emotion) and discernment (a strong sense of what God is saying, what is right and what is not), are essential qualities for any community. How in your Connect Group are these gifts shown? What are the strengths and weaknesses of both? As we spend time in God’s presence, we too may not necessarily know that we are being transformed, but the reality is that we are being changed from glory to glory. The presence of God also gives Moses great authority. Upon his return he gave the commands to the people with authority. Notice it’s not his own wisdom or strength with which he speaks, but the authority that comes from the presence of God. In small groups discuss; how have these distinctive features of Moses’s leadership in these latter years of his life inspired you to think about living life differently? Is spending time in God’s presence a priority for you? Challenge Make a plan for how you can spend time in God’s presence daily. If daily is a challenge, start with a weekly withdrawal; a way you can meet with God in a quiet space to give you all you need for the week ahead. Connect Where are the times where Jesus withdrew to spend time in God’s presence in a more intentional way? What happens in the chapters immediately afterwards? Spend time as a group, play some music and read a psalm slowly before a time of silence. Then in pairs, pray for one another, asking God to inspire us to pursue His presence more.