"The Veil"

 

Exodus 34:29-35   II Corinthians 3:12-4:2

 

    When I read about the veil that covered the face of Moses my first thought was of a wedding and the veil that brides have worn.  I realized that I had no idea how that tradition got started.  So I googled "wedding veil origin" and this is what I found.  Some say it was introduced in Rome.  People believed that evil spirits would be attracted to the bride, so they covered her face with a veil in order to conceal her features or confuse them.  In medieval times the veil a sign of purity, chastity and modesty that protected the bride from the "evil eye."  My favorite had to do with the arranged marriage.  Men bargained with an eligible young lady's father for their hand in marriage.  The veil was not lifted until after the ceremony to keep the groom from backing out of the deal in case he didn't like what he saw.  That reminded me of an episode of Everybody Loves Raymond when Deborah said to Raymond, "I love you despite what you look like."

     

     According to Exodus, when Moses came down the mountain after receiving the Ten Commandments the second time, his face shone because he had been talking with God.  When the people saw this they were afraid to come near him.  After Moses finished talking with them he put a veil or mask over his face and he wore it until he went to speak with God again and then he took it off.  He would then tell the people what God had told him and they would see his face shining again and then he would put the veil or mask back on until he spoke with God again.  Some believe that Moses did this not only because the people were afraid but because they would be more apt to follow the teachings if they did not see the glory fading away. 

 

      After Paul became a Christian he wrote to the church at Corinth.  He was writing to a people who were concerned why more of the Jews were not becoming believers in Jesus Christ.  To answer them Paul expounded on Exodus 34.  He attempted to shed some new light on the veil and what it meant.  This is not mentioned in the Old Testament text but Paul said the reason Moses put the veil on was to keep the people from seeing that the splendor of God was fading.  Over a period of time, after Moses finished speaking with God, the glory faded.  Moses face shone less and less.  That is similar to the story of the Transfiguration.  It appears that Jesus face shone only for a short time and then the glory faded.

 

       Paul interpreted that to mean that when the veil was lifted, people could see the glory of God but when it was not, they could not.  What they did not see was that the old covenant was passing away.  For the people of Paul's day, the veil remains unlifted.  The veil keeps them from understanding God's word and seeing Jesus in it and the only one who can lift the veil is Jesus. 

 

      The veil served as a protector from evil spirits for the bride.  Moses saw the veil as something that protected the people from the brightness of God's glory.  Paul interpreted the veil not as a protector but as something that blocked people from understanding God's word. 

 

       A good example would be some verses from Isaiah 53.  "Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted.  But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that made us whole, and with his stripes we are healed."

 

       When we read those verses we immediately think of Jesus, we believe those verses point to him.  But people who are still covered by the veil will not see Jesus in those verses.

 

       Remember that in Paul's day the only scripture was what we now know as the Old Testament.  The veil was keeping the people from understanding the Old Testament.  They were not able to see Jesus in it and that is why they did not accept Jesus as Savior.  They were keeping the old covenant law too much at the center and they were missing God's grace in Jesus.  Becoming a Christian is like having the veil removed.

 

       According to John Calvin the veil was a sign of blindness.  It not only kept the people from seeing Jesus, it kept them from correctly interpreting the law.  The law is full of light but they could not see that light.  Even though the scripture was read in the synagogue the veil kept them from understanding what was read.  The Torah was read but the truth did not penetrate to their minds and their hearts.

     

       What these stories of Moses and the transfiguration are finally about are trying to explain how God is present among us.  They are letting us know that the glory of God comes down and dwells among us.  The glory is God's entry into human life.  God's presence is made available to us.  Even though the Israelites were a stiff-necked people, the glory was not withheld.  Even though the Corinthians were a stiff-necked people, the glory of God was not withheld from them.  Even though we are a stiff-necked people God's glory is not withheld from us. 

 

      In the wedding ceremony, when the bride removes the veil, nothing really changes.  You end up with the same woman.  Paul is saying that when God removes the veil, people have the opportunity to change.  Somehow God's presence makes us different.  Even when we cannot see the light, we believe in it.  We are people of hope because we recognize that the light of God might break through at any moment. 

 

     May we always be open to the glory of God entering our lives.