A ‘SON’ Tan
God desires His people to live in constant fellowship with Him, so their lives radiate His glory.
Exodus(83) (Part of the Rescued(84) series)
by Marc Webb(122) on August 3, 2025 (Sunday Morning(396))
Concern(2), Giving(7), God's glory(13), Salvation(88)
A “Son” Tan
According to www.tuasaude.com here are ten tips for getting a fast and long-lasting tan: One, a diet rich in beta-carotenes which helps produce melanin. Two, exfoliate your skin which prepares your skin for a more even and long-lasting tan. There, use sunscreen which protects from the sun’s harmful rays and prolongs tanning. Four, moisturize and nourish your skin which prevents skin dehydration and flaking. Five, avoid prolonged exposure because after two to three hours your skin stops producing melanin. Six, change positions every thirty minutes to help you tan evenly. Seven, take breaks to avoid overexposure. Eight, stay hydrated which promotes a more even tan. Nine, tan near a body of water because the reflection of UV rays intensifies exposure. Ten, use a self-tanner which keeps skin golden and hydrated. These are the ten tips for a fast and long-lasting suntan.
In our scripture this morning, Exodus 34:29-35, we will see what happens when Moses, after spending a second period of forty days and nights on the mountain with God, appears before the Israelites. The last time Moses came down they worship the golden calf that Aaron had made, and he smashed the Ten Commandments on the ground. There is hope that this time is different. For sure we will see that Moses is different this time as he has spent the last forty days and nights exposed to the glory of God. He is different because he asked to see God’s glory and what he received was way better. God revealed himself to Moses by speaking His Name, His character and His attributes to him. What the Lord spoke to Moses showed him more of God’s glory than merely getting a glimpse of His goodness. After being exposed to the glory of God for forty days and forty nights, Moses will come down the mountain with a “Son” tan, an S-O-N tan. This morning, we will learn what we need to do to get a “Son” tan as well. That brings us to our big idea this morning that God desires His people to live in constant fellowship with Him, so their lives radiate His glory.
Let’s pray: Lord God, we thank you for this opportunity to gather and worship you. Open our hearts and minds to receive your Word today. May your Spirit guide us as we listen, learn, and grow in faith. Help us to apply what you teach us in the coming weeks. In Jesus' name, Amen.
Our first point this morning is, Moses Shines, found in Exodus 34:29-31. Follow along as I read these verses. This is what God’s Word says, “When Moses came down from Mount Sinai with the two tablets of the covenant law 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 them; so Aaron and all the leaders of the community came back to him, and he spoke to them.
Moses has been on the mountain with God for forty days and forty nights with no food or water. He has written down all the laws and commandments of the covenant given by God to the Israelites. And God has written the Ten Commandments on the second set of stone tablets. Moses is now ready to come down and impart God’s laws and commands to the people, give them the new set of stone tablets that will go into the Ark of the Covenant, and finally give the people God’s instructions for constructing the tabernacle and all its furnishings. Because the covenant between God and the Israelites has now been established, the Tabernacle can now be built, and the Presence of the Lord can dwell among them.
Moses comes down from Mt. Sinai for the last time. He will no longer go up to meet with the Lord because God’s plan is to now dwell among His chosen people. As Moses comes down the mountain, we notice that he has the two tablets of the covenant law in his hands. We may not take a second glance at this, but the author has been very deliberate about telling us these two tablets were in his hands. They were in his hands as he went up the mountain in verse 4 and they are again in his hands as he comes down. The tablets are important because they are the visual words of God on display, so the people would know what the Lord expected of them. How important is God’s Words to us? Do we have the same care for His Word that God does? When the Bible speaks about the Word of God, Garrett says, “we are to be aware of, to tend to, to safeguard, and to hold in the highest of esteem.” God’s Word is the very words of life.
Moses’ face is radiant because he has spent the last forty days and nights in God’s Presence, speaking with Him. The word for “radiant” literally means ‘the skin of his face sent out horns.” The word “horns” was a mistranslation in the Latin used to refer to rays of sun that came from Moses’ face due to the prolonged exposure to the light of the Lord’s Presence. Interestingly, because of this mistranslation Moses is often depicted with horns in medieval art. Moses was literally “marked” with the glory of God from being in His Presence and hearing His words. Moses was also unconscious of the glory of God radiating from his face, showing his meekness and humility. Moses did not seek the Lord so he would have a radiant face, he sought the Lord because he wanted to know His ways. Moses was so enraptured with communing and fellowshipping with the Lord that he didn’t notice the rays of God’s glory radiating from his face.
We learn three things from these verses. One, exposure to the Lord results in our countenance being transformed. The more time we spend with the Lord focusing on Him, our relationship with Him grows and the more we will radiate to others the fact that we are His and follow Him. Psalms 34:4-5 says, “I sought the Lord, and he answered me; he delivered me from all my fears. Those who look to him are radiant; their faces are never covered with shame.” Two, when we allow the Lord to transform us, we are usually the last to realize it. Transformation in the Lord is marked by humility before the Lord, not pride before people. We see this with John the Baptist. He was asked by the priests and Levites if he was the Messiah. There was something about John that radiated the glory of God and others took notice. Of course, John showed great humility in telling them he wasn’t the Messiah or even Elijah or the Prophet. And the third thing we learn is, God’s law, His Word, is glorious.
When Moses came down and approached Aaron and all the Israelites, they were afraid to come near him. They were afraid because of the glory of God radiating from his face. Even though Moses had no idea, others took notice of this unmistakable glory. We see how this event contrasts with the previous time Moses came down the mountain. The first time the people disregarded and disrespected him and had turned to committing idolatry. This time they were afraid of him because they knew he had been with God. Their disrespect has turned into respect and honor. God acknowledged and vindicated Moses as His chosen mediator, and the Israelites are finally understanding this. God knows how to vindicate His servants. We see this with Jesus in Philippians 2:9-11: “Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” And 1 Samuel 2:30 says that God will honor those to whom honor is due.
The people were afraid because they were intimidated and convicted by the uncomfortable glory of God and His Word. They knew by Moses’ countenance that he had been in the Presence of God and had received the Word of God, and they were convicted of their sin. The Word of God convicts us of our sin. In 2 Chronicles 34, when King Josiah was read the newly discovered Word of God, both he and his people were convicted of their sin in not keeping God’s law and a great revival took place. In John 16:8 we see these words of Jesus, “When he (the HS) comes, he will prove the world to be in the wrong about sin and righteousness and judgment.” The Holy Spirit convicts, but his primary tool is the Word of God. Not only had Moses been in the Presence of God but the radiance was an indication that God was actually present with them now. If you remember back in Exodus 20, when God spoke the Ten Commandments to the people, they were afraid to be in His presence and said to Moses, “Speak to us yourself and we will listen. But do not have God speak to us or we will die.” They had realized then that they couldn’t live up to the law handed down by God and were afraid of His wrath. Now after they had sinned with the golden calf, they believed that they were again in the same precarious position.
Moses then calls Aaron and the leaders of the Israelites to come back to him. When Moses saw that they were convicted by the glory of God, he could have become judgmental and lorded it over them for how they treated him earlier. But that was not the way that Moses lived. He was a meek person who loved God’s people. He would mediate and intercede for them whether they acknowledged him or not. Moses’ glory was an unusual glory because he turned the convicting radiance of his face into a comforting radiance toward Aaron and the leaders. He was then able to speak to them about what God had commanded on the mountain. Jesus did this with the Samaritan woman at the well. He knew all about her and she was convicted by what Jesus had said but He was also comforting in that He didn’t judge her. Because of this blend of conviction and comfort, she invited her town to come see and hear from the man who told me everything she ever did.
We must do the same as Moses and Jesus. As we dwell in the Presence of the Lord and live a life of holiness, it will be convicting to some around us, those in our neighborhood or at our work. We must not be prideful and believe we are better than they are. Once convicted, they may be more open to hearing about their need for a Savior, and we can comfort them with God’s Word and the Good News of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The question for us today is, are we dedicated to a life of holiness? Do we yearn to dwell in the presence of the Lord constantly? If so, others are going to notice that our lives communicate that we are different from the world around us. Our witness must show that the difference is the glory of God shining from us because we have spent time in His presence (Big Idea). This will give us the credibility to share the Good News that will both convict and comfort those who are still far away from Jesus.
That brings us to our second point, Moses Commands, found in Exodus 34:32-33. This is what God’s Word says, “Afterward all the Israelites came near him, and he gave them all the commands the Lord had given him on Mount Sinai. When Moses finished speaking to them, he put a veil over his face.”
Once Moses shared the Words of God with Aaron and the leaders, the rest of the Israelites came near him. Moses then commanded them everything he was told by God in the last forty days and nights. This would have included a reminder of the terms of the covenant and everything about the tabernacle and its furnishings and how to construct it all to God’s perfect specifications. Moses as the covenant mediator authoritatively relayed the requirements of the covenant as a royal decree from their covenant king. Moses is unapologetically unveiled as he is telling the Israelites all that God commanded. He would not veil the glory of God that shone from his face just to make them feel comfortable. Moses knew whom he was representing and wanted the Israelites to take the words and commands of God seriously. The reason he could speak boldly was because the glory that came from him was an authentic glory that can only come from being in constant fellowship with the Lord. The people knew he had come from the presence of God and were now willing to listen and take to heart what God had to say to them through their covenant mediator.
The same is true for us today. We must spend a quantity and quality of time with the Lord if we are to speak boldly and be given the privilege of sharing the Good News with those who do not know Jesus. They will know if the glory that shines from us is authentic or not. But once we get the opportunity, we can’t sugarcoat the gospel. We must also be unveiled and unapologetic, helping them to realize they are sinners just like we are, but that we also have the solution to sin and that is the sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross and His resurrection. That is the Good News of the Gospel: Jesus came to save them from their sins and now wants to be a relationship with them. We must live authentic lives if we ever want to have the opportunity and privilege to share this gospel with others. That brings us to our first next step which it to Live an authentic life, unveiled and unapologetic, as I share the Good News with others.
Once Moses had finished speaking on behalf of the Lord and as the covenant mediator, he put a veil over his face. Now there have been many reasons set forth as to why Moses did this. One, he may have been showing his humility. He wanted them to be in awe of the Lord and not himself. Two, he didn’t want them to continue to be afraid. Three, when he was done speaking on the Lord’s behalf Moses would need to be in their midst as their leader to perform his role as judge, etc. But it seems as though Moses didn’t want them to focus on what they could see, which was the radiance of his face. He wanted them to look beyond him, beyond the law he had just passed to them, to the coming of the one who would fulfill the law, the Messiah. Moses didn’t want the people to put their trust in the law for their salvation but in the coming Messiah whose glory would never fade. Paul in 2 Corinthians 3 unpacks this event for us. Paul said that if the law which brought death, the law that was engraved in stone, meaning the Ten Commandments, came with so much glory that the Israelites couldn’t stand to look upon it, imagine the glory of Jesus to come and his righteousness. Paul said that the glory of the law was temporary, it was passing away, but the glory of Jesus would last forever.
Paul goes on to explain that Moses veiled himself because the glory of the law was unsustainable and was fading and he didn’t want the Israelites to see that happening. 2 Corinthians 3:13 says, “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.” Moses didn’t want the people to see the glory fading and lose heart or become discouraged. Because they were people who would rather walk by sight and not by faith, seeing the fading glory of Moses could cause them to be disheartened. By covering his face with a veil, Moses was aiding their faith. He didn’t want them to be discouraged by his glory that was temporary, and he didn’t want them to settle for less, by failing to realize that it was temporary glory in the first place. Paul then said that Moses putting on the veil was what the Jews of his time had done when Jesus and His glory came to earth. They had veiled themselves to the truth of the gospel. They were trusting in the law and trying to work for their salvation, which was never the law’s purpose. They were veiled to the Messiah when he came to the earth and did not accept him as the Son of God. Moses veiling himself became a prophecy fulfilled in Paul’s time and the only way the Jews could remove the veil would be through putting their faith in Jesus Christ.
Paul also applied Moses’ experience to Christians who by faith see the glory of Jesus in God’s Word and experience a spiritual transformation. 2 Corinthians 3:18 says, “And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.” Wiersbe states, “This is why Christians read the Bible and meditate on it, because when the child of God looks into the Word of God and sees the Son of God he or she is transformed by the Spirit of God into the image of God for the glory of God.” As growing Christians, we need to be transformed by the Spirit of God and the Word of God. But don’t we do the same thing today as the Jews in Paul’s day? We allow Satan to veil our eyes and to believe that if we go to church or give enough money or help others that we will be good enough to get to heaven. We want to follow what can be seen instead of having faith in Jesus Christ and what he came to earth to do for us. That brings us to our second next step which is to Place my complete trust in Jesus for my salvation and stop trusting in my good works to save me.
That brings us our third point, Moses Recharged, found in Exodus 34:34-35. This is what God’s Word says, “But 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 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.”
We notice that there is a cycle happening here that seems to have continued until Moses’ death. Every time after speaking to the Lord and giving the Israelites His commands, Moses would veil his face. In his role as covenant mediator, Moses would regularly go before the Lord to commune with Him and intercede for the people. And when he did this, he would remove the veil, and his face would again become radiant from being in the Lord’s Presence. In this way, Moses’ face would be recharged with the glory of God. He would remain unveiled until he told the Israelites what the Lord had commanded and then he would put the veil back on until he went in to speak to the Lord again. The laws and commands of God were communicated by Moses who alone radiated the glory of the Lord, and his words would be authenticated as the Lord’s Words by the shining of his face. This cycle showed that the law was temporary and passing away and it pointed toward the coming of the Messiah.
What the Lord is telling us through Paul’s words in 2 Corinthians 3 is that now we have a perfect mediator in Jesus Christ whose glory will never fade. Duncan says, “Jesus is our Mediator. His glory is inherent; it is not derived; and therefore, it is permanent; it doesn’t fade away. In fact, Jesus’ glory becomes increasingly glorious. Moses’ glory was only skin deep, but Jesus’ glory came from within. His glory never fades and so our salvation and our future glory is secure. Now what was once the exclusive privilege of Moses is now the privilege of every believer in Jesus Christ. When God calls us to himself for salvation it is not to keep the good news to ourselves. He calls us to know him and to make himself known in the world. We are to grow in God’s grace and glory so that others will come to know the grace and glory of Jesus. This is the great Commission that God has given us: to pursue, grow and multiply disciples. Ryken says, “Our glory does not fade but is growing brighter by degrees. Everything else in this world seems to grow dim, but the believer in Christ shines ever brighter. God is constantly turning up the wattage, so that we can display his glory with greater radiance.” As Christ followers we must allow God to continually reveal His glory to us so that we can grow in knowledge of His glory, glorifying Him before others who will then be saved for His glory.
The only way this happens is if we stay connected to Jesus and constantly abide in Him. If we don’t, his glory within us will grow dim. We must continually be recharged by reading and studying God’s Word, meeting with God through prayer, and by spending time in corporate worship and in communion. So, are you shining bright for Jesus, today? Are you radiating his love, compassion and grace? It is in being with the Lord that we become like Him, and the more we are with Him the more like him we become. God desires us to live in constant fellowship with Himself, so that our lives will radiate His glory to the world. That brings us to our last next step which is to Live in constant fellowship with the Lord, so my life will radiate His glory to those around me.
In the introduction I mentioned ten tips for getting a fast and long-lasting suntan. Well, there is only one way to get a long-lasting “Son” tan and that is to live in constant fellowship with the Lord. And the more quantity and quality of time we spend in our relationship with Jesus the more we will radiate His glory to those around us.
As Gene & Roxey come to lead us in a final hymn and the ushers prepare to collect the tithes and offerings, let’s pray: Heavenly Father, we thank you for your Word. May we be doers of your Word, and not just hearers. Help us to apply your Words in our everyday life, everywhere we live, work, play and learn. Help us to have complete trust in your son, Jesus, for our salvation and to not trust in our good works to save us. Help us by your Spirit to live an authentic life, unveiled and unapologetic, as we share the Good News with those around us. And as we live in constant fellowship with you, allow your glory to radiate from us. We ask this in Jesus' name. Amen."
