FollowWhy Did Moses’s Skin Glow?
© 2026 by C. O. Bishop
Exodus 34:29-35 (Read it!) Compare 2nd Corinthians 3:7-18
“7 But if the ministration of death, written and engraven in stones, was glorious, so that the children of Israel could not stedfastly behold the face of Moses for the glory of his 8 How shall not the ministration of the spirit be rather glorious?
9 For if the ministration of condemnation be glory, much more doth the ministration of righteousness exceed in glory.
10 For even that which was made glorious had no glory in this respect, by reason of the glory that excelleth. 11 For if that which is done away was glorious, much more that which remaineth is glorious.
12 Seeing then that we have such hope, we use great plainness of speech: 13 And not as Moses, which put a veil over his face, that the children of Israel could not stedfastly look to the end of that which is abolished:
14 But their minds were blinded: for until this day remaineth the same vail untaken away in the reading of the old testament; which vail is done away in Christ. 15 But even unto this day, when Moses is read, the vail is upon their heart. 16 Nevertheless when it (their heart) shall turn to the Lord, the vail shall be taken away.
17 Now the Lord is that Spirit: and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.
18 But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.”
Introduction:
There are some strange things in the Bible…mysterious at first glance, and sometimes still mysterious, no matter how we study, trying to understand.
For instance, it is difficult when we try to understand the triune nature of God. The Bible teaches that He eternally exists in three separate persons. Each of the three is individually (and co-equally with the other two), God. And yet, together, they are literally One God…not three. We hear Jesus say that the Father is greater than all. 1st Corinthians 15:24-28 says , after the Great White Throne Judgment, Jesus will hand over to His Father the Eternal Kingdom. But…Isaiah 9:6 says that one of the Son‘s names is “the Everlasting Father!“
Sorry! That one remains mysterious!
Others turn out to be pretty simple. We easily discovered the reason David took precisely five stones from the brook when he went to face Goliath. The Giant had four brothers! That is still mind-boggling! To David, (if God is on your side) in order to fight five Giants, you only need five rocks!
But, Why did Moses’s Face Glow, or Shine?
So, why did Moses’s face shine or glow, when he returned from talking with God in Person? Is this an exaggeration? We sometimes say that certain people seem to “glow with good health, or with happiness.” That is not the same.
Moses was shining in a way that terrified the people, so that they were afraid to be near him. So, was he radioactive, or, in some way exuding dangerous radiation? If that were it, then veiling his face would not diminish the danger, but only mask it. All we know is that Moses was physically glowing and he did not know it. And, once he knew the problem, he understood why the people feared his presence. He hung a cloth over his face to hide the glow.
What was the source of the Light? Did he develop some sort of bioluminescence? Like a glow-worm, or a firefly? No! It was not a natural phenomenon at all! The simple and mysterious truth? He had been with Jesus.
The Apostles Glowed in a Different Way
In Acts 4:13, 14, we see a hint of how that works today. “13 Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were unlearned and ignorant men, they marvelled; and they took knowledge of them, that they had been with Jesus.”
Philippians 2:15, 16 says that we are to shine as lights in a dark world, and offer the Word of Life. That is what the Apostles were doing. They were shining, and offering the Word of Life!
They had “been with Jesus” before the Holy Spirit came. Exactly the same amount of time as in Acts chapter 4. But they had not been shining…they were hiding! If we are not walking with Jesus: If we are not allowing the Holy Spirit to shine through us, then we are not shining, either.
We look like pretty dim bulbs, because we are afraid to cheerfully shine the Glory of God in our lives and words. Or, perhaps we have become discouraged, and don’t feel that we can shine.
But Jesus commanded us to allow our light to shine in such a way that other people see the change in our lives, and can glorify God because of what they see.
Matthew 5:14-16
14 Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid. 15 Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house. 16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.
In John 8:12, speaking of Himself, He said, “I am the light of the World: He that followeth Me shall not walk in darkness but shall have the light of life.” Why did Jesus say that we are the light of the world?
I hope you are starting to see a possible answer.
Where Does the Light Originate?
If we go all the way back to Genesis 1:3, we see that God Himself was the original source of light. John 1:4 tells a similar story, saying “In Him (the Word…Jesus) was life and the life was the light of Men.”
If we see God as the ultimate source of light in the world (all light, physical and spiritual: moral and intellectual) then the whole question begins to become clear.
Moses had been in the immediate physical presence of the ultimate source of light. God had temporarily “charged” Moses with, or filled him with, that light. He continued to radiate it after he had left the immediate presence of God.
The Apostles had been in the physical and relational presence of the Living Word, Jesus, the True Light of the World, for more than three years. The moral and intellectual light of His Person shone through them. It astonished the adversaries, and shut their mouths. All they could do is recognize that the Apostles “had been with Jesus.”
What is the Result of the Light?
Jesus told His disciples, in the Sermon on the Mount, that they were the light of the world. Like a city set upon a hill, they were not to be a hidden value. The light should be visible. And the light that came from God through them would be a witness to the world around them: It would shine and bring glory to God, regardless of people’s individual responses to the Light.
Remember the story about the lantern in the barn: J. Vernon McGee told how as a child, he carried a lantern into the dark barn, as he went to feed the livestock. When he entered the door, two things happened: The rats, scavenging for food on the barn floor, scattered, hiding from the light. The birds, roosting in the rafters mistook the light for sunrise and they began to sing. The same light brought two utterly different responses. Both responses testify to the light!
What About Israel?
Paul says they saw the light and they hid from it. Moses had to put on a veil, so that they would not see the glory of God, even though it was fading. And Paul goes on to say that the same veil is there today, when they read the Old Testament. They are judicially blind to the light of God. Remember that the veil in the temple was torn in two and it opens the way for us all. They have not taken advantage of that open door, as a nation and as a people. Romans 11:25 confirms this, saying that blindness has come upon Israel in part, until the fulness of the Gentiles has come in.
2nd Corinthians 3:14-17 says, 14 But their minds were blinded: for until this day remaineth the same vail untaken away in the reading of the old testament; which vail is done away in Christ. 15 But even unto this day, when Moses is read, the vail is upon their heart. 16 Nevertheless when it (their heart) shall turn to the Lord, the vail shall be taken away. 17 Now the Lord is that Spirit: and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.
So, when the nation of Israel turns its collective heart back to God, the veil will be taken away, and they will be free at last.
What About Us?
How do we fit into this picture? To begin with, we also seek to be the disciples of Jesus. So, his teaching regarding how the disciples were to live would be applicable to us as well. Philippians 2:15, 16 confirms that connection. (Not everything directed to the original disciples is directed to us…Passages like Philippians help us to see which ones are directed to us, and not just to the original disciples.)
He definitely calls us to shine in the World. And we can see that the source of the light has to be Jesus, the Living Word of God. We can also see that the people in the Bible whom everyone saw as “having been with Jesus” were those who had “been with Jesus.”
Moses had been with Jesus! The Apostles had been with Jesus. Stephen, being stoned to death, was shining, and everyone could see it: He not only had been walking with Jesus and speaking for Jesus…He could see Jesus standing to receive him! And they killed him!
But, What about Us?
If we are not deliberately seeking the Presence of the Living God in the Person of the Risen Christ, and meditating on the Written Word as we seek to know the Living Word, then we cannot expect to see His Light Permeating our lives.
Years ago, we talked about how, in the wintertime, the headlamps on our vehicles often become spattered with road grime until their light is very dim. We have a difficult time seeing the road. Others may find it difficult to clearly see us, at night. Why is this happening? The electric “fire” inside those lamps has not failed. But, through neglect, or by simple rough use, and severe conditions, the lenses have become so muddy that the light cannot shine through.
Why might we fail to shine?
Our lives are similar in some respects. We need to consistently be watchful, and aware of when we fail to follow, and fail to shine. God calls us to confess our sins, so that He can cleanse us and we can once again shine for Jesus.
The Holy Spirit; God indwelling us, has not changed. His Holiness and Love and Light are still shining, eternally unchanged. But we have allowed the World and our own fleshly fears and follies to dirty, darken, discourage, and dim us until that light is hard to see. We can hardly see it ourselves, let alone others seeing Him in us.
So, here is our hope: 1st John 3:2
“2 Beloved, now are we the sons (“Children:” Greek word is “tekna,” meaning “offspring”) of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.”
Folks…I truly want to be like Jesus, but until I see Him face to face, it isn’t going to fully happen. All I can do in this life is to keep focused on the little that I do see of Him, shining through His Word, and in the lives of Godly people around me. The more consistently I seek His face, the more consistently others will have to conclude, “He has been with Jesus!”
Lord Jesus, please grip our hearts with the urgency of Your call to Discipleship. Help us to daily seek Your Face, and be transformed into Your likeness, Shining with Your Light.