Shining Faces
Exodus 34: He didn’t know that the skin of his face glowed because he had been speaking with God.
Coming into the physical presence of God impacts Moses in a physical way. His face glows. I haven’t a clue as to how this works, but, apparently, it’s intentional on God’s part. Even though I can’t explain the “how” I think I may know the “why” of the shining face. When Moses comes down from the mountain the previous time, he finds that the people have cast off their faith. This time, God wants there to be something about Moses that grabs their attention; something that these who are at the kindergarten level of understanding God can grasp. Therefore, Moses’ face reflects the transcendent holiness of God. Even that’s a bit too much for them, so they ask that Moses wear a veil as he reports what God is saying to him on the mountain. Of course, preachers like me have been drawing from this story to remind people to “let their face show it” across the years and I do think God intends this. God’s people should have a “look” of inner peace, joy, hope, and, yes, holiness. Like Moses, we spend time in the presence of the Almighty and everything about us reflects that.
Take Away: “If you’re happy and you know it then your face will surely show it.” – Children’s Sunday School song
Tag: witness
Devotional on Ruth
People are watching
Ruth 3: Everybody in town knows what a courageous woman you are.
There’s a lot of cultural stuff in this story that seems odd to me. Apparently, even though Ruth is a widow, she’s still considered to be “married” to her husband’s family. If she marries again, it needs to be “in the family.” Naomi tells Ruth it’s time to act. Boaz is eligible to marry Ruth and he’s shown kindness to her. Maybe even more than kindness is in the air! Ruth makes herself as beautiful as possible and attends his harvest party. As the festivities wind down, Boaz finds a place to sleep and that’s when Ruth makes her move. She quietly lies down at his feet. Again, there’s some cultural stuff happening here that feels strange, but apparently this is a way for Ruth to let Boaz know she’s interested in him. When Boaz sees her there he’s quite pleased and promises to pursue the legal side of marrying her. I find his comment that “everyone knows what a courageous woman you are” to be interesting. Apparently, from the time Ruth arrived with Naomi people have been watching her. She’s not an Israelite; in fact, her people have been sometimes enemies of Israel; so they’ve kept an eye on her. At first, she was possibly even unwelcome but little by little her faithfulness to Naomi, her solid work ethic, and her courage have won them over. People may not be interested in hearing me tell them about Jesus. They may think I’m strange and not worthy of their trust. However, they are watching. As I go about living for the Lord in good days and in bad and as I concentrate on doing the right thing whether or not it’s convenient doors will open for me that were closed in the beginning.
Take Away: A life lived for Jesus will open doors for spiritual conversations with people who have been watching.