Exodus 24:12-18 “And the Lord said unto Moses, Come up to me into the mount, and be there: and I will give thee tables of stone, and a law, and commandments which I have written; that thou mayest teach them. And Moses rose up, and his minister Joshua: and Moses went up into the mount of God. And he said unto the elders, Tarry ye here for us, until we come again unto you: and, behold, Aaron and Hur are with you: if any man have any matters to do, let him come unto them. And Moses went up into the mount, and a cloud covered the mount. And the glory of the Lord abode upon mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it six days: and the seventh day he called unto Moses out of the midst of the cloud. And the sight of the glory of the Lord was like devouring fire on the top of the mount in the eyes of the children of Israel. And Moses went into the midst of the cloud, and gat him up into the mount: and Moses was in the mount forty days and forty nights.”
Text Exodus 34:29 “And it came to pass, when Moses came down from mount Sinai with the two tables of testimony in Moses’ hand, when he came down from the mount, that Moses wist not that the skin of his face shone while he talked with him.”
When Moses returned from his time on the mountain, he would be of great worth to man and the Master alike! He would have a word for man, “and he gave them in commandment all that the Lord had spoken with him in mount Sinai” (Exodus 34:32) and he would be a witness for the Master, “And the children of Israel saw the face of Moses, that the skin of Moses’ face shone” (Exodus 34:35). The need of the hour is someone with the Word of God upon their lips and the witness of God upon their life! God said, “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge” (Hosea 4:6). While there is a need; few if any will pay the price to be that person! Moses’ worth was determined by three things; all of which are found in Exodus 34:28! There was a secular fast; “And he was there . . . forty days and forty nights; he did neither eat bread, nor drink water.” It was not just a separation from substance as it was society; “come out from among them, and be ye separate” (II Corinthians 6:17). The person that is of any worth to man and the Master must submit to the work of the cross; death to self must occur!
There was a spiritual feast; “And he wrote upon the tables the words of the covenant, the ten commandments.” The secular fast gave way to a spiritual feast of the Word of God. For forty days there is the communication of truth; emptied of self, filled with the scriptures. Moses gave the people what he had received. The psalmist said in Psalm 119, “I will delight myself in thy statutes” (vs.16), “Thy word is very pure: therefore thy servant loveth it” (vs.140), and “I rejoice at thy word, as one that findeth great spoil” (vs.162). You can’t be filled with truth and trash at the same time!
Moses positioned himself before the Sovereign’s face; “And he was there with the Lord.” Moses’ positioning paid great dividends in yielding a likeness to the Master; “Moses wist not that the skin of his face shone” (Exodus 34:29). It was said of Moses, “And the Lord spake unto Moses face to face, as a man speaketh unto his friend” (Exodus 33:11). You can’t be friends with the world and still be a friend of God; “whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God” (James 4:4). Who’s your friend and who do you favor?
The need of the hour is great and the price is high! Will you be one of worth to man and the Master? Will you return from the mount with a relevant word for man and a radiant witness for the Master; if you do you will discover at the judgment that it is worth the climb!