EXODUS – GOD’s MIRACULOUS DELIVERANCE of ISRAEL FROM EGYPT – Chapter THIRTY THREE & THIRTY FOUR

Contributing commentaries by pastors Sonny Islas, Albert Lopez and James Fire

Complete Study of Exodus by pastor Chuck Smith 

EXODUS 33 & 34: “GOD’s GLORY IN THE ROCK” – by James Fire, Facebook video.
INTRODUCTION: While the people of Israel committed idolatry, bowing down to the molten golden calf images of Apis, the Egyptian god, and corrupted themselves, Moses was on the mountain of Sinai communing with GOD.

He told Moses He was going to wipe them out because of their rebellious idolatry and start the nation over again through Moses and his descendants. Moses intercedes and GOD spares the people – which on the surface makes it seem that Moses is more merciful than GOD, when in reality, GOD in His mercy, anticipating Moses’ intercession, displayed the mercy He intended all along. We know that GOD will only answer those prayers that are in accordance with His will – so He hears the plea of Moses and answers it.
Yet Moses’ own anger rises up when he sees for himself the rebellion and idolatry of the people; he commands those who were on the LORD’s side to strap on their swords and slay the idolators – these were the sons of Levi that carried out this judgment and 3,000 were slain that day.

Moses goes up to the LORD in the mount the next day and intercedes for the people Israel:

EXODUS 32:31-32
Then Moses returned to the LORD and said, "Oh, these people have committed a great sin, and have made for themselves a god of gold! 32 "Yet now, if You will forgive their sin - but if not, I pray, blot me out of Your book which You have written.

Here again Moses is a type of Christ, interceding for the people (HEB 7:25), and willing to be blotted out of GOD’s Book, along with Israel, if He would not forgive their sin! Though GOD did show mercy on Israel, He did bring affliction upon them with a plague (EXOD 32:35). And this brings us to Chapter 33:

EXODUS 33

EXODUS 33:1-3
Then the LORD said to Moses, "Depart and go up from here, you and the people whom you have brought out of the land of Egypt, to the land of which I swore to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, saying, 'To your descendants I will give it.' 2 "And I will send My Angel before you, and I will drive out the Canaanite and the Amorite and the Hittite and the Perizzite and the Hivite and the Jebusite. 3 "Go up to a land flowing with milk and honey; for I will not go up in your midst, lest I consume you on the way, for you are a stiff-necked people."

Think of this – these people swore that they would hear the Word of the LORD at the mouth of Moses and obey every word (EXOD 19:8; 24:3) – and then after this long period of 40 days, Moses is up in Sinai, the people give up on this prophet and decide to create an idol to which they credited with their deliverance from Egypt!

It’s a serious transgression to take the work of GOD and attribute it to someone else. GOD will not bless anyone who has seen His work through their ministry, if they fail to give GOD the glory due to His name! Consider the severe judgment upon the Pharisees and scribes when they attributed the Messianic miracles performed by the LORD Jesus as a testament to Who He is to the work of Satan (MATT 12:23-33)! It was at this point that the LORD began to speak in parables to hide the truth these religious leaders rejected, from them so that they could not perceive (MATT 13:10-17).

The reason the LORD uses us is so that His Name will be glorified, not our name!
Three thousand paid the price of this grave sin with their lives; the rest of the nation was plagued by GOD, chastening them for their obstinance. Yet even so, the LORD here instructs Moses to gather the people together and journey to the land of Canaan which the LORD promised to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob! That is grace!

To slay them all would have been justice; but GOD spared the nation – which was mercy; He then leads them on and finally brings Israel to the promised land – which is grace!
Likewise we as Christians are promised heaven, not because of our own righteousness, but because GOD’s promises to us who believe on the LORD Jesus Christ, Who Himself is our righteousness. This promise is steadfast and secure.

The LORD said that He would send His Angel before them – and that He will not proceed with them to the land because they “are a stiff-necked people”. This sounds like GOD is holding a grudge doesn’t it? Because of their behavior in creating that golden calf, it seems that GOD is saying, “I’m fed up with you, I’ve had it – I’m not even going to escort you to the promised land. I’ll send my Angel with you instead!”

Yet it is the LORD’s mercies that we are not consumed:

LAMENTATIONS 3:22-23
22 Through the LORD'S mercies we are not consumed, Because His compassions fail not. 23 They are new every morning; Great is Your faithfulness.

We’ve seen this Angel before in EXOD 3:2, and as I said, I believe this is an Old Testament appearance of Christ – and He has shown us the Father through Himself, but no one has seen GOD (the Father) and lived. So just as the LORD Jesus is the Way that leads us to Heaven, it would seem that He is the One to lead these Hebrews into the promised land.

EXODUS 33:4-6
4 And when the people heard this bad news, they mourned, and no one put on his ornaments. 5 For the LORD had said to Moses, "Say to the children of Israel, 'You are a stiff-necked people. I could come up into your midst in one moment and consume you. Now therefore, take off your ornaments, that I may know what to do to you.'" 6 So the children of Israel stripped themselves of their ornaments by Mount Horeb.

GOD says that He could come into their midst and consume them “in one moment” – but He doesn’t. He is merciful and faithful to the promises He made with Abraham (GEN 12:2), Isaac (GEN 26:3,24), Jacob (GEN 28:12-14) and the 12 sons and patriarchs of Jacob or Israel (GEN 35:12).

On a side note: GOD gave Abraham both a promise and an oath (HEB 6:13-18) which He will certainly fulfill according to His Word – and that includes Israel.
People deny that Israel is no longer GOD’s people; they say, “Look at Israel today! They are in gross sin! They don’t even believe in GOD, much less the Bible!”
To such people I would say, “So it was with you also: you were in gross sin, you didn’t truly believe in GOD at one time, nor believe His Word. Yet GOD in His grace, delivered you and saved you, despite your rebellion and sin.

The WORD of GOD clearly states that He would gather His people Israel the second time into the land (ISAIAH 11:11); that He would restore His people physically and nationally (EZEK 36:24) and that He would give them a new heart and spirit, as He would put His Spirit within them (EZEK 36:24,27), not because they deserve it, any more than we deserve it, but by the grace of GOD and His unalterable promise that He made to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob as well as Gentiles to which He promised to be the Light for them!

These ornaments that the children of Israel wore, these were fineries in garments and decoration; it was some of these that they previously stripped off, their golden earrings to make the golden calf.
These are symbolic of people’s own style of worship, their own brand of religion and self-righteousness which is what the Hebrews were guilty of when they had their golden earrings melted down to form and worship this molten image.

GOD calls us to strip these things of self-righteousness and man-centered religion off from ourselves; also that we’re honest and upright before Him, confessing our sin, and offering no excuses, no justification for ourselves.

It says that the people mourned when they heard these words from GOD. It’s important to recognize what kind of sorrow we express when GOD confronts us in our sin. Is it godly or ungodly sorrow (2 COR 7:9-10)? Are we truly sorry that we offended our Holy GOD and Father? Or are we sorry just because we got caught? Or sorry because we have to pay the consequences in receiving the fruit of our sin: broken fellowship with GOD and a bruised conscience, and chastening from GOD?

We are at the mercies of the LORD – and in recognition and confession of our sin, we stand naked before our GOD as He decides what to do with us. . . I can see the Hebrew people holding their breath, a deep sense of anxiousness in their hearts, wondering,

“Did we trespass one time too many? Is GOD finally washing His Holy Hands of us?”

EXODUS 33:7-10
7 Moses took his tent and pitched it outside the camp, far from the camp, and called it the tabernacle of meeting. And it came to pass that everyone who sought the LORD went out to the tabernacle of meeting which was outside the camp. 8 So it was, whenever Moses went out to the tabernacle, that all the people rose, and each man stood at his tent door and watched Moses until he had gone into the tabernacle. 9 And it came to pass, when Moses entered the tabernacle, that the pillar of cloud descended and stood at the door of the tabernacle, and the LORD talked with Moses. 10 All the people saw the pillar of cloud standing at the tabernacle door, and all the people rose and worshiped, each man in his tent door.

Moses the Intercessor is going into the tabernacle of meeting, and as he would typically make his way there, the whole camp of Israel would stand at attention at the door of their own tents – and as they would witness the pillar of cloud descend and stand at the door of the tabernacle, all of Israel worshiped – if worship of GOD is to be done anywhere, it’s in our homes first, then in the church body (or building), and then everywhere else in the world.

Yet if we worship GOD everywhere else, except in our homes – is that not hypocrisy? Isn’t this one of the major causes of the young generation leaving the LORD, because they see the hypocrisy of their parents who play the Christian game at church but act very differently in the home?

If our children don’t see the reality of Christianity, of the Bible, of the LORD in our lives and in our homes, they will undoubtedly believe none of it is real!

On another side note: it’s important not only to teach our children what we believe according to the Bible, but also teach them why we believe the Bible! To show them the evidence that GOD is indeed the author of this Book!

For an awesome website, check out Always Be Ready with Charlie Cambell, and this article EVIDENCE FOR THE BIBLE.

Notice where Moses pitched his tent: “outside the camp”. And it says that “everyone who sought the LORD went out to the tabernacle of meeting” outside of the camp where Moses was.
This is a picture of sanctification, because it was only those “who sought the LORD” that went outside of the camp with Moses; the suggestion is that the rest of the Hebrews stayed in the camp. As we know, sanctification is to be “set apart”.

The world can be divided between two camps: the sinner and the saint. Even the word ‘saint’ is based on the same Greek word (hagios) that’s used for sanctification. The church which is the body of Christ is the ekklesia, which is the Greek word meaning, “a called out assembly” – separated from the world.

1 CORINTHIANS 1:2
Unto the church of God which is at Corinth, to them that are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, with all that in every place call upon the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, both theirs and ours:

EXODUS 33:11-17
11 So the LORD spoke to Moses face to face, as a man speaks to his friend. And he would return to the camp, but his servant Joshua the son of Nun, a young man, did not depart from the tabernacle. 12 Then Moses said to the LORD, "See, You say to me, 'Bring up this people.' But You have not let me know whom You will send with me. Yet You have said, 'I know you by name, and you have also found grace in My sight.' 13 "Now therefore, I pray, if I have found grace in Your sight, show me now Your way, that I may know You and that I may find grace in Your sight. And consider that this nation is Your people." 14 And He said, "My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest." 15 Then he said to Him, "If Your Presence does not go with us, do not bring us up from here. 16 "For how then will it be known that Your people and I have found grace in Your sight, except You go with us? So we shall be separate, Your people and I, from all the people who are upon the face of the earth." 17 So the LORD said to Moses, "I will also do this thing that you have spoken; for you have found grace in My sight, and I know you by name."

The LORD speaking to Moses face to face isn’t saying that Moses saw the face of GOD, but this describes the manner of conversation between GOD and His Holy man, Moses: “…as a man speaks to his friend”.

DEUTERONOMY 34:10
And there arose not a prophet since in Israel like unto Moses, whom the LORD knew face to Face,

GOD spoke to no one in the exact same way that He spoke with Moses; the friendship and intimacy between them is awesome; not even Abraham enjoyed GOD’s friendship to this degree, though he is even called “the friend of GOD” (JAMES 2:23). This speaks of progressive revelation, meaning that as we proceed in the Bible, GOD reveals Himself in deeper and greater ways; so Moses had greater revelation than Abraham – though both had awesome relationships with the LORD!

GOD says that He knows Moses by name; does this mean He didn’t know everyone by name? Is there a person anywhere in the world that GOD would say, “What’s your name? Who are you?”

Of course not; so what is GOD saying here?
Remember that names are important in the Bible – they represent who the person is, their character, their manner of life, their heart.

We learned from pastor Sonny this last Sunday [The Insignificant Twelve (JAMES THE SON OF ALPHAEUS & THADDAEUS THE BIG HEART)] that one of the 12, whose name was Thaddeus means “courageous heart", or "big-hearted”. An awesome name that no doubt reflected this apostles character and nature!

So when GOD tells Moses that He knows him by name, He is saying that He recognizes Moses’ character, his heart – that he is (aside from Jesus) the meekest man in all the earth; that he has a heart and a hunger and a love for GOD; we see the same thing with Joshua in vs. 11, don’t we? He didn’t depart from the tabernacle of meeting, such was his love for GOD; Joshua wants to linger in the presence of the LORD. Can we blame him? Scripture tells us we will find GOD when we search with all our hearts (JER 29:13).

With such hearts, we can find grace in GOD’s sight, just as Moses found. Notice this man’s prayer:
“if I have found grace in Your sight, show me now Your way, that I may know You and that I may find grace in Your sight.”

The apostle Paul echoes this longing in knowing Christ, found in PHIL 3:10.
Moses found grace in GOD’s sight, which leads him to pray, ‘Show me now Your way’. In being shown GOD’s Way, this prophet finds even greater grace! And we know the Way to GOD; the LORD Jesus Christ declared it:

JOHN 14:6 

Jesus said to him, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.

And in JOHN 17:3, the LORD declares:

And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.

When it comes to GOD’s grace, He put all His eggs into one basket! Every grace afforded to man can be found in Christ!

Moses, having found grace in GOD’s sight, draws the people of Israel into the conversation: “…And consider that this nation is Your people… For how then will it be known that Your people and I have found grace in Your sight”.

It seems that, like our LORD Jesus, Moses ever lives to make intercession (HEB 7:25) for GOD’s people, desiring to see them blessed of GOD as Jesus has blessed us!

EXODUS 33:18-23
18 And he said, "Please, show me Your glory." 19 Then He said, "I will make all My goodness pass before you, and I will proclaim the name of the LORD before you. I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion." 20 But He said, "You cannot see My face; for no man shall see Me, and live." 21 And the LORD said, "Here is a place by Me, and you shall stand on the rock. 22 "So it shall be, while My glory passes by, that I will put you in the cleft of the rock and will cover you with My hand while I pass by. 23 "Then I will take away My hand, and you shall see My back; but My face shall not be seen."

I hear the heart throb in Moses’s plea here, this holy craving to know the glory of GOD. But such is the enormity and the grandeur and majesty of the LORD, glorious in holiness, that if anyone would see Him while living in this sinful flesh, it would destroy them.

Yet GOD is intent on honoring Moses prayer – so He will hide him in the cleft of this rock that was nearby and as GOD passes by, He would cover Moses with His hand and allow the prophet to see Him from behind.

Put yourself in Moses place:
You’re standing there, waiting to see GOD’s glory, and you’re brought to this cleft in the rock, and as you look up from that place, you’re covered in shadow by the very hand of GOD!!
The shadow lifts and you rise up from that cleft, and what you behold, just blows you away! GOD’s glory is revealed from the place of this Rock! Just so, the ROCK of our salvation was cleft – “Rock of ages cleft for me, let me hide myself in Thee”. “He was wounded for our transgressions...” and in His bleeding side, He has hidden His church, and from that place, we behold the glory of GOD the SON:

JOHN 1:14
And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.

CHAPTER 34

EXODUS 34:1-5
1 And the LORD said to Moses, "Cut two tablets of stone like the first ones, and I will write on these tablets the words that were on the first tablets which you broke. 2 "So be ready in the morning, and come up in the morning to Mount Sinai, and present yourself to Me there on the top of the mountain. 3 "And no man shall come up with you, and let no man be seen throughout all the mountain; let neither flocks nor herds feed before that mountain." 4 So he cut two tablets of stone like the first ones. Then Moses rose early in the morning and went up Mount Sinai, as the LORD had commanded him; and he took in his hand the two tablets of stone. 5 Now the LORD descended in the cloud and stood with him there and proclaimed the name of the LORD.

So the Ten Commandments were once again carved in stone; and not a word, not a letter was changed. The Scriptures declare that the truth of GOD endures to all generations (PSALM 100:5). His Word of Truth is as constant and unalterable as is the very nature of GOD Himself.
The LAW of GOD is. . .

Righteous – DEUT 4:8; Holy and just – ROM 7:12; Truth – PSALM 119:142; convicts of sin – ROM 7:7; and is an accurate mirror to judge ourselves by – JAMES 1:23-25. The glory of GOD is manifest in the revelation of His holiness and justice as prescribed in the Law, carved in rock!

PSALM 19:7-10

7 The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul: the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple. 8 The statutes of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart: the commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes. 9 The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring for ever: the judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether. 10 More to be desired are they than gold, yea, than much fine gold: sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb.

EXODUS 34:6-7
6 And the LORD passed before him and proclaimed, "The LORD, the LORD God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abounding in goodness and truth, 7 "keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, by no means clearing the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children and the children's children to the third and the fourth generation."

And here we have the LORD bringing even more revelation to His servant Moses, as He passes by the prophet and this man gets to see the glory of GOD from behind! As He passes by, He declares that He is:

The LORD: He is the Supreme Sovereign, the Creator and therefore the Owner of all things; therefore He can do whatever He wants with His own: the physical universe is His, the planet Earth is His, every soul, living or dead is His (EZEK 18:4); all the angels are His as is the spiritual realm of heaven.

No one can say, “What gives you the right, GOD?!” because He is “the LORD God”
Since He is GOD, He is Creator all things, and because He is LORD – He is the Sovereign and makes all the rules which reflect His holiness and therefore He is the only One qualified to be the Holy Judge, and it’s as the Holy Judge He must condemn sinners to hell, but His heart is to redeem mankind, so He is also Redeemer [The Four Primary Offices of GOD]!

GOD at heart, is merciful and gracious – and long suffering. Think about all the ways we have offended GOD in this nation (not even counting the rest of the world): GOD hates the killing of the innocent and yet we have murdered upwards of 70 million since Roe vs. Wade. GOD hates sexual perversion and yet pre-marital sex, homosexuality, and the entire LGBQT movement along with pedophilia is promoted left and right. The porn industry rakes in billions of dollars each year and is the #1 for the kind of sites people visit, bar none (#2 is about extraterrestrials and UFOs).

Our government is among the most corrupt in the world, abusing power, oppressing the people in ways that they’re not even aware of. There are many that believe those in Federal positions of power are working hand in hand with others involved with child trafficking! Islam is promoted as a religion of peace, while Hinduism sneaks through the back door and is taught as a science to children in public school, inviting demonic spirits into their lives. There are more witches today in the USA than there are Presbyterians!

Yet you can still drive to the gas station and fill up; you visit the grocery stores and they’re packed to overflowing with food. Nations in the past that GOD wiped out of existence in His holy wrath committed sins comparable to America’s transgressions, and yet we’re still here.
You want to talk about a GOD that’s eager to destroy and ruin? That isn’t the GOD of the Bible! He is far, far, far more gracious, and merciful and longsuffering than I would be if I was in His place!

He abounds in goodness and truth – He is good even to the most vile, providing them life and breath and everything else in this world. For example, look at the natural skills and talent He has given to film actors, pop star musicians, national athletes – and yet so, so many of them blaspheme the name of GOD!

And yet the question must be asked, IS IT TOO LATE FOR AMERICA? Is Judgment at this point inevitable? I believe this is the case!

He is generous with His Truth, offering it to anyone who wants it – 40,000 different apps on our smart phones will provide His Truth, free! The Word of GOD contains the only truth of GOD that there is; if GOD were to offer it only to those who earned it by winning a dozen triathlons or climbing Mt. Everest three times or helping a million old ladies across the street for an entire year, it would be more than worth it to acquire the most precious commodity on Earth, far exceeding the net value of gold contained on this planet!

“keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin” “Thousands” there is more like thousands x thousands!"

“by no means clearing the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children and the children's children to the third and the fourth generation."

GOD will judge all murderers, rapists, liars, cheaters, everyone from Hitler and Stalin to the corner crook – all injustices and crimes will be dealt with. His mercy demands it as much as His justice. Think of all those murdered, and oppressed, and cheated, etc. GOD’s Judgment will stop all evil one Day! That’s the best news for the world’s future victims!
He will repeat His judgment upon the generations that follow in their father’s footsteps – to the third and fourth generations!

EXODUS 34:8-9
8 So Moses made haste and bowed his head toward the earth and worshiped. 9 Then he said, "If now I have found grace in Your sight, O Lord, let my Lord, I pray, go among us, even though we are a stiff-necked people; and pardon our iniquity and our sin, and take us as Your inheritance."

Now that Moses has seen an up-close-and-personal view of the LORD GOD, He is even more encouraged to petition on behalf of Israel. Essentially he is saying,
“LORD even we are stiff-necked people prone to sin and iniquity, I see Your heart, so please forgive us, and make us Your inheritance!

And look at what the LORD says in response:

EXODUS 34:10-17
10 And He said: "Behold, I make a covenant. Before all your people I will do marvels such as have not been done in all the earth, nor in any nation; and all the people among whom you are shall see the work of the LORD. For it is an awesome thing that I will do with you. 11 "Observe what I command you this day. Behold, I am driving out from before you the Amorite and the Canaanite and the Hittite and the Perizzite and the Hivite and the Jebusite. 12 "Take heed to yourself, lest you make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land where you are going, lest it be a snare in your midst. 13 "But you shall destroy their altars, break their sacred pillars, and cut down their wooden images, 14 '(for you shall worship no other god, for the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God), 15 "lest you make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land, and they play the harlot with their gods and make sacrifice to their gods, and one of them invites you and you eat of his sacrifice, 16 "and you take of his daughters for your sons, and his daughters play the harlot with their gods and make your sons play the harlot with their gods. 17 "You shall make no molded gods for yourselves.

Israel was privileged above all nations because GOD would do for them, what He’s never done, before or since, for any other nation. This includes His plans that are yet future! But, with privilege comes responsibility!

When GOD gives warning, take heed, even if He warns you about something you don’t currently have a problem with; if GOD, Who sees your future is warning you, pay attention! He sees around the bend and knows every bump on the road – or cliff at the end of the road – long before we even get behind the wheel!

These children of Israel already had a weakness for worshiping gods of gold calves – so they really needed to pay attention, and sadly, we know how the story goes – Israel does fall into severe idolatry that brings the nation under terrible judgment in the days of Daniel, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel.

Here the LORD brings up some reminders for the people of Israel to keep in mind in the following verses, from vs.18 to 26.

EXODUS 34:18
18 "The Feast of Unleavened Bread you shall keep. Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread, as I commanded you, in the appointed time of the month of Abib; for in the month of Abib you came out from Egypt.

EXODUS 34:19-20
19 "All that open the womb are Mine, and every male firstborn among your livestock, whether ox or sheep. 20 "But the firstborn of a donkey you shall redeem with a lamb. And if you will not redeem him, then you shall break his neck. All the firstborn of your sons you shall redeem. And none shall appear before Me empty-handed.

EXODUS 34:21-22
21 "Six days you shall work, but on the seventh day you shall rest; in plowing time and in harvest you shall rest. 22 "And you shall observe the Feast of Weeks, of the firstfruits of wheat harvest, and the Feast of Ingathering at the year's end.

EXODUS 34:23-24
"Three times in the year all your men shall appear before the Lord, the LORD God of Israel. 24 "For I will cast out the nations before you and enlarge your borders; neither will any man covet your land when you go up to appear before the LORD your God three times in the year.

EXODUS 34:25-26
25 "You shall not offer the blood of My sacrifice with leaven, nor shall the sacrifice of the Feast of the Passover be left until morning. 26 "The first of the firstfruits of your land you shall bring to the house of the LORD your God. You shall not boil a young goat in its mother's milk."

EXODUS 34:27-35
27 Then the LORD said to Moses, "Write these words, for according to the tenor of these words I have made a covenant with you and with Israel." 28 So he was there with the LORD forty days and forty nights; he neither ate bread nor drank water. And He wrote on the tablets the words of the covenant, the Ten Commandments. 29 Now it was so, when Moses came down from Mount Sinai (and the two tablets of the Testimony were in Moses' hand when he came down from the mountain), that Moses did not know that the skin of his face shone while he talked with Him. 30 So when Aaron and all the children of Israel saw Moses, behold, the skin of his face shone, and they were afraid to come near him. 31 Then Moses called to them, and Aaron and all the rulers of the congregation returned to him; and Moses talked with them. 32 Afterward all the children of Israel came near, and he gave them as commandments all that the LORD had spoken with him on Mount Sinai. 33 And when Moses had finished speaking with them, he put a veil on his face. 34 But whenever Moses went in before the LORD to speak with Him, he would take the veil off until he came out; and he would come out and speak to the children of Israel whatever he had been commanded. 35 And whenever the children of Israel saw the face of Moses, that the skin of Moses' face shone, then Moses would put the veil on his face again, until he went in to speak with Him.

The human body can go without food for about a total of 40 days; after that the body will begin to break down needed nutrients from its own tissues until one starves to death. A person can go without water however, for only a few days. So is Moses going without food and water for forty days merely poetic language as some have suggested?

I believe the LORD sustained him miraculously; it's His way of saying, He is our Provider, and if there are no natural means to do so, He will do so supernaturally! We need to remember this in the days ahead here in America; I think it's a spiritual truth we will need to cling to, saints!

As the light shined from Moses's face because of time spent with GOD, so too the light of the LORD shines forth from our lives - when? It's when we spend time in His presence in prayer, meditating on His Word, communing with the Almighty!