Was Moses Being Deceptive?

Mike Leake 1 Comment

I grew up in the faith reading my NIV Study Bible, so this was my reading of 2 Corinthians 3:13:

We are not like Moses, who would put a veil over his face to prevent the Israelites from seeing the end of what was passing away. (NIV)

I always read this as if Moses was being a bit deceptive. He knew that the glory of God shining on his face was fading away and so in order to hide this he put a veil over his face so they couldn’t see as the glory diminished. The NIV isn’t alone in translating the passage this way.

Furthermore, I thought Paul was comparing the “cunning practice” of the false teachers with the deceptive actions of Moses. Just like Moses they weren’t able to be bold, they had to hide the fact that they didn’t have all the answers. The new covenant minister, however, is able to be bold. The text at least seems to be reading that way.

Recently I preached through this passage. In order to really understand the text I spent some time in Exodus 32-34. I was quite surprised that in Exodus 34:29-35 there was no mention of Moses being deceptive. For some that might not be a problem. I suppose one could say that Paul was inspired by the Holy Spirit and he was drawing things out of the text that weren’t there. As for me, I’m not comfortable with that. I think such a position doesn’t do justice to a faithful biblical hermeneutic.

When preaching through a passage I always try to wrestle with the text a bit before consulting commentaries. But I’m somewhat limited because my handling of the original languages is relatively limited. I’m a pastor…a nerdy pastor…but still a pastor. I’m not able to devote the time I’d perhaps like to devote to deeper scholarship. In other words I’m not able to do lengthy word studies on katargoumenen. So I was thankful for the work Scott Hafemann has done.

Hafemann notes that Paul’s use of this term is “consistently eschatological” and it’s best translated with its rare use in the ancient world as “to render something inoperative, ineffective, powerless”. In other words what Paul is saying isn’t that Moses was being deceptive but that he was actually protecting the Israelites.

Our experience with the glory of God (or the glorious presence of God) ought to be transformative. But when Israel had sinned their experience with God’s glory changed. It’s not a perfect illustration but it’s the difference between daddy coming home when the kids have been good and when they’ve been a terror. Their experience of his presence is different pending on their obedience. If the sinful and rebellious Israelites would have had an unveiled access to the glory of God they would have been consumed. Therefore, Moses put a veil over his face. Yet this was also acting as a sign of judgment against them, because they ought to have a different experience with God’s glory. Hafemann summarizes well:

Moses’s veiled mediation of God’s glory permits his presence to remain in Israel’s midst without destroying her. In this regard, Moses’ veiling himself is an act of mercy. At the same time, the very fact that Moses must veil his face is an act of judgment because of the hardness of Israel’s heart. This veil not only preserves Israel from being destroyed, it also keeps her from being transformed. For as Exodus 20:20 makes clear, the fear of God in response to the revelation of his glory was intended to purify the nation and to keep her from sinning. (Hafemann, 144)

So, Moses veil wasn’t an act of deception. It was an act of mercy, and also an act of judgment against them.

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Photo source: here

Read This! 03.22.18

Mike Leake

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How The Internet Can Help Us Model 2 Corinthians 1:3-4

Mike Leake

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, 4 who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. 2 Corinthians 1:3-4

I’ve written in the past about the negative impact of social media on our culture. And, yes, I realize the irony of blogging about the dangers of blogging. Part of the reason I keep blogging and continue engaging on social media is because there are a few good and redeeming qualities. One of them is it gives us the ability to spread the comfort we’ve received to others.

I witnessed this a few weeks ago when a fellow blogging friend, Eric Schumacher, posted a tremendous article on the experience of father’s during a miscarriage. Eric was vulnerable. He shared his pain. He also shared how God has comforted him. And let’s be honest, this is one of those areas where guys don’t really talk about. But they carry around this hurt.

So, it was encouraging to see all those who were helped by Eric’s vulnerability, by his comforting those who had been comforted. And I thought about how much good the internet could do, if we used our platform more for things like this than for sniping others and arguing.

As I preached through 2 Corinthians a few weeks ago I made the point that it is non-redemptive to not share in our suffering. That cuts both ways. It not only means we need to be there for folks a they are suffering, but we also need to share our stories. Consider all of those grieving fathers who wouldn’t have been helped had Eric decided his story was too personal, too gritty, to share. Consider all the ways God has comforted you. How might He use your story to comfort others? It’s wrong for us to withhold this opportunity to give comfort from others.

This is not to say that everyone needs to make public everything they are going through. You don’t need to be a blogger to obey 2 Corinthians 1. But you do need to be active in a local church. Paul’s call in 2 Corinthians is for the local church specifically. We need to have those in our lives who are not only helping us carry our burdens, but also those who we are actively and redemptively sharing our struggles with.

Nothing can replace the local church and this is Paul’s major concern. But I also believe one of the good things we can use the internet for is modeling 2 Corinthians 1:3-4. We can tell our stories of the comfort that God has given us…and in doing this, I’m confident that others will be comforted.

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Photo source: here

Read This! 03.20.18

Mike Leake 1 Comment

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