Whispers of Grace
Walking with God is filled with mountaintops and valleys. Join passionate yet flawed Jesus-lover and mother of four Julie Colbeth as she delves into the Scriptures with a refreshingly honest perspective that will bring hope and encouragement to your day.
Whispers of Grace
Beholding, we Become
The Life of Moses- Episode #31 🌟 Have you ever noticed how something truly changes when it's been in the presence of light? Growing up in the 80s and 90s, I was fascinated by those glow-in-the-dark stars that would shine brightly after being "supercharged" against a light bulb. This childhood memory perfectly captures what happens when we spend time in God's presence—we begin to radiate with His light, often without even realizing it.
In this deeply reflective exploration of Exodus 34, we witness Moses descending from Mount Sinai after 40 days and nights in God's presence. His face literally emitted beams of light so bright that the Israelites were afraid to approach him—yet remarkably, Moses himself was completely unaware of his transformation. This powerful image reveals the authentic nature of spiritual growth: those most transformed by God are often the least conscious of their own glow because they remain utterly focused on Him rather than themselves.
Moses' supernatural fast during these 40 days demonstrates how God's presence can sustain us beyond natural human limitations. When we silence the loudest voices in our lives—our physical cravings, our anxieties, our self-consciousness—we create space to hear God's voice and receive His transforming power. As 2 Corinthians 3:18 reminds us, "as we behold Him, we become like Him." True spiritual transformation isn't about self-improvement techniques or proving our spirituality to others; it's the natural result of extended, intimate communion with our Creator.
If you're feeling insufficient today, remember that your sufficiency comes not from yourself but from God who makes you enough. Press into His presence, supercharge your spirit through His Word, and watch as His light begins to shine through you—perhaps in ways you don't even notice yourself. Subscribe to Whispers of Grace for more encouragement as we continue our journey through the life of Moses and discover transformative truths for our own spiritual walks.
Kia ora and welcome to Whispers of Grace, a place for women to be encouraged by God's Holy Word. I'm your host, julie Colbeth, and I am overjoyed to dig into the Bible with you today. Hiya friends, kia ora and welcome to Whispers of Grace podcast. If you are new to this podcast, we are studying through the life of Moses and all the past episodes are available if you'd like to start from the beginning and catch up where we are now in Exodus 34. It has been an incredible ride looking at God through the lens of Moses's life, which was so filled with powerful experiences with God. I've just enjoyed it so much. In the last episode, we looked at the connection between the God that we see in the Hebrew scriptures the Old Testament and Jesus in the New Testament. We tackled the common struggle of reconciling the seemingly harsh God of the old with the compassionate Savior of the new. We uncovered a God whose core is merciful and gracious and longs for intimate connection with his children. We watched God reveal his glory and share his character with Moses, who is hidden in the cleft of the rock. If you missed those episodes, I would encourage you to turn back to them, because we just got into some really good, deep theology, really encouraging God stuff. I really loved making those episodes for you, so if you missed them, you can listen to them. But today we are going to focus on the aftermath of Moses's amazing encounter with the living God.
Julie:When I was a kid, growing up in the 80s and 90s, everyone was into things that glowed in the dark. Every toy that was marketed was made so much cooler by being glow-in-the-dark. My brother had a glowworm stuffed animal that was his favorite thing on this earth for a while, and we had those plastic greenish stars that we stuck to our ceiling that glowed. I had a watch that glowed in the dark and my favorite was glow-in-the-dark puffy paint. We would decorate t-shirts and hats with it. I just thought it was the coolest thing in the world to have these little secret lights that were shining in my room at night. But these things, they weren't battery powered. The only thing they could do was hold on to the light that they were exposed to. And I was on the top bunk when I was a kid and I remember supercharging my plastic stars by peeling them off the ceiling and holding them up against the light in my bedroom for just a few seconds and then turning the light off. Man. They would glow so bright after they were up against that light bulb for a little while and it became a little tradition of mine to supercharge all of my stars on the light bulb before I went to bed, because I just wasn't happy with the dull glow that came from them when they weren't supercharged. And as I was studying for this podcast and reading over the back half of Exodus 34, I thought of those little glowing stars and how radiant and special they were when they soaked up the light.
Julie:Similarly, today we're going to look at the radiant glow of Moses' face as he descended Mount Sinai. He was supercharged after being held up to the pure light of God. As he was beholding God, he became changed. So let's dive right. In Exodus 34, 28 to 35 tells us this Moses remained there on the mountain with the Lord 40 days and 40 nights. In all that time he ate no bread and drank no water, for the Lord wrote the terms of the covenant, the Ten Commandments, on the stone tablets. When Moses came down Mount Sinai carrying the two tablets inscribed with the terms of the covenant, he wasn't aware that his face had become radiant because he had spoken to the Lord. So when Aaron and the people of Israel saw the radiance of Moses' face, they were afraid to come near him. But Moses called out to them and asked Aaron and all the leaders of the community to come over and he talked with them. Then all the people of Israel approached him and Moses gave them all the instructions the Lord had given him on Mount Sinai. When Moses was finished speaking with them, he covered his face with a veil. But whenever he went into the tent of meeting to speak with the Lord, he would remove the veil until he came out again and then he would give the people whatever instructions the Lord had given him, and the people of Israel would see the radiant glow of his face. So he would put the veil over his face until he returned to speak with the Lord.
Julie:Starting out in verse 28, moses is abiding and God is working, and we see one of the earliest examples of fasting. In the Bible it says that Moses didn't eat or drink for 40 days 40 sunrises, 40 sunsets Now, that's longer than any of our calendar months. He went without any physical sustenance for a very long time. Interestingly, that number 40 holds biblical significance as the number of testing or trial. If you remember, it rained on Noah and his family for 40 days and 40 nights. Moses, and then later Jesus, fasted for 40 days in the wilderness. Israel wandered the desert for 40 years. The prophet Jonah told Nineveh that God had given them 40 days to repent before their judgment would fall.
Julie:The season of Lent is a 40-day period meant to deny something in the flesh, to focus on the coming of Resurrection. Sunday, moses himself lived in obscurity in the desert for 40 years before God called him from the burning bush and there are more uses of the number 40 in scripture him from the burning bush, and there are more uses of the number 40 in scripture. Suffice it to say Moses was setting an example of steadfastness, faithfulness and endurance, remaining on the mountain with God for 40 days. And if you're thinking that going without food and water for more than a month is impossible, you are right. Scientists tell us that a human body can only live for a few days without water. We can go significantly longer without food, but water is essential for all of our basic functions and without it we just die.
Julie:So what is special and amazing about this fast is that it highlights the sustaining power of God, because the only explanation for this event is divine intervention. God sustained Moses by his very presence alone and superseded all of his physical needs for a period of time. Think of it the intense and pure company of God is what sustained his body. What a dream. Now I know that this isn't a normal event, so please don't take this as a personal challenge to your spirituality or something, because this was a miracle extended to Moses, not based on his merit or accomplishment. It was a gift from God to Moses. But the symbolism here is rich. It's a beautiful portrait of our deepest human need finding its fulfillment in God.
Julie:Sometimes, the things that we are convinced that we need the most are simply the loudest voices in our head. But the loudest voices or the most visceral desires aren't always the most important endeavors for us. In fact, our desires and longings aren't supposed to be in the driver's seat of our lives at all. In Matthew 16, when Jesus tells his disciples and to us to deny ourselves pick up our cross and follow Jesus. That is an all-encompassing command. We are to master our cravings and our wants and seek the will of the Lord in all things, but we often get complacent and are led around by what our body or our mind thinks that we need.
Julie:How often do we think about food or feeding people? If you're a mom or a foodie like me, we think about food a lot, like multiple times a day. I'm thinking about meals. What can I make for dinner? How many more eggs do we have in the house? What kind of baking should go in the lunch boxes this week? What is growing in my veggie garden that I can put into our dinner? Do I have time to make banana bread from the rotting black bananas on my counter? A lot of my responsibilities revolve around food, but do we live like? The words of God are more important than the basic life essential of eating.
Julie:When I fast, my body screams feed me, but what my spirit really needs is the presence and touch of Jesus. The loudest voices in our heads or in our bodies aren't always the most important ones. If I can tell my body to hush and wait in the background, then denying my flesh can help to train my spirit to be more attentive to what is most important. Denying something in the flesh can allow us to focus on what's most important in the spirit, and fasting is a good way to hone this skill.
Julie:Jesus, he fasted in the wilderness for 40 days and, if you remember, at the end of this time, it tells us that Satan came to tempt him when he was weak and starving. And it was at this moment that Jesus quoted Moses's own words of wisdom that were birthed in his wilderness experience with Israel. I'll read it to you Deuteronomy 8, 2 through 3 says this Remember how the Lord, your God, led you through the wilderness these 40 years, humbling you and testing you to prove your character and to find out whether or not you would obey his commands. And to find out whether or not you would obey his commands. Yes, he humbled you by letting you go hungry and then feeding you with manna, a food previously unknown to you and your ancestors. He did it to teach you that people do not live by bread alone. Rather, we live by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord. This section tells us that God allowed the Israelites to go hungry so that they would turn to God and ask for divine intervention, and then he met their need in a truly miraculous way by providing manna that only lasted for one day, every single day. They needed to have faith that God would provide just what they needed for the next 24 hours. God wanted them to feed on his faithfulness, to build trust and restore the created order of sovereign God and obedient children. The practical provision of food was just the vehicle for this deep lesson. Moses gives his own insight into this experience when he tells us in verse 3, that God did this to tangibly show that we don't live simply through eating, but we actually live moment by moment by the wisdom and instruction that flows from God.
Julie:Now, moses had a tough job, literally millions of people looking to him for leadership and direction. He knew how needy and weak he was and he ran to God over and over. He knew through and through, from experience, that sitting in the presence of God was more important than eating. He knew his spirit needed to be sustained by God himself. Moses sought God out. He pitched his tent in the presence of God. He fell on his face before the Lord. When he was outmatched, he ran to the presence of God. He fell on his face before the Lord. When he was outmatched, he ran to the presence of God to sustain him, to guide him, to correct him and to comfort him.
Julie:That last verse that I read Deuteronomy 8.3, says man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God. That is exactly the piece of scripture that Jesus, our Messiah, used to rebuke the devil. Jesus knew that the purpose of his hunger in that moment was to test him, to prove his character and to focus on spiritual things, which is why Satan was tempting him to abandon this fast and to focus only on the needs of his body. He set this time apart to have deep fellowship with the Lord before a massive season of pouring out. Right after this is when Jesus launched his earthly ministry. He chose the disciples and started making himself known. This is similar to what is happening with Moses self-known. This is similar to what is happening with Moses. God is testing him, but also strengthening him with profound fellowship to prepare him for 40 years of wandering with Israel in the wilderness. Moses and Jesus they knew that intentional fellowship with God was essential for them to walk the paths that were set before them, and they knew that denying their flesh would help to strengthen and focus their spirit. Can you imagine being Moses finding out that Jesus Christ, the Son of God, quoted you? I just can't even imagine that. That must have been really something All right.
Julie:So next in this section we see the result of the single minded pursuit. Exodus 34, 29 through 32 tells us when Moses came down Mount Sinai carrying the two tablets inscribed with the terms of the covenant, he wasn't aware that his face had become radiant because he had spoken to the Lord. So when Aaron and the people of Israel saw the radiance of Moses' face, they were afraid to come anywhere near him. But Moses called to them. So Aaron and all the leaders of the community came back to him and he spoke to them. Afterward all the Israelites came near him and he gave them all the commands that the lord had given him on mount sinai.
Julie:So after 40 days of fasting you would expect to see a gaunt, exhausted skeleton of a man stumbling his way back down the mountain. But that was not the case. Moses climbed down the mountain and was shining from his experience. The Hebrew word translated here as radiant, or some other translations say that his face shone literally means to emit beams of light, like headlights on a car, or to shoot out rays. Or sometimes it's literally translated as to have horns like horns of light, which is why sometimes the old artistic masters like Michelangelo, portrayed Moses with horns on his head, but there was a radiance about Moses. He glowed and there were beams of light coming out of his face. Even his own brother, aaron, was afraid to come anywhere near him.
Julie:All of Israel feared this otherworldly phenomenon because it was just so odd. The very skin of Moses' face reflected the fact that he had been basking in the glory of God, like a snake curled up on a rock laying in the sun. And scripture tells us that Moses was completely unaware of it. His physical body had been changed by his experience with God and he didn't even know it. I think Moses didn't notice the beams of light coming from his face because he was utterly consumed by the experience of seeing God's glory and sitting in it for over a month. He wasn't thinking about himself at all. He wasn't aware of his own state because his focus was elsewhere.
Julie:It reminds me of the love-struck teenager that walks into a tree or doesn't hear their name called repeatedly. Sometimes they are oblivious to the things happening around them because they are so enraptured with another person. In my mind, in this biblical scene, moses is like the love-struck teenager, glowing and smiling and celebrating life because of the nearness of his beloved. Moses was so content in the Lord, he had little concern for his own appearance. It also seems that he had little concern for his reputation or status.
Julie:We can also observe all the things that Moses didn't do with this gift of revelation. He didn't come down the mountain to flaunt his incredible understanding of God or to boast in himself, or to demand respect, or to set himself up as some great man of spirituality. Moses didn't leverage his experience to benefit himself at all. Beware those that would leverage their spiritual experiences to benefit or to glorify themselves.
Julie:In thinking about this, I wanted to take a look at something that Jeremiah the prophet wrote. It's in Jeremiah 9, 23 through 24. This is another man who saw God and had amazing things revealed to him. This is the advice that he gives us that is straight from the Lord. Thus, says the Lord let not the wise man glory in his wisdom. Let not the mighty man glory in his might, nor let the rich man glory in his riches, but let him who glories glory in this, that he understands and knows me. I am the Lord exercising loving, kindness, judgment and righteousness in the earth, for in these I delight, says the Lord.
Julie:Moses was given the gift of intimacy with his maker, and out of this blessed closeness he was inspired to obey and to walk in his calling. He came down from the mountain in obedience to God and got right to work. After he convinced his people to approach him, he handed down all of the commandments and statutes and plans that God had given him. He was a man on a mission. He was solely concerned with properly carrying out his calling. So it causes us to think where is our focus, friends? Do we notice every slight change in our face and our body? Do we hyper-focus on the status of our homes or our vehicle, or our reputation, our likes and our follows, or are we steadily looking at Christ and walking in obedience? Are we trying to prove our spirituality or earn our position among self-proclaimed spiritual people? Are we more concerned with what others are saying or thinking about us, or are we so busy looking to Jesus that all else dims in comparison?
Julie:2 Corinthians 3.18 tells us the Lord, who is the Spirit, makes us more and more like Him as we are changed into His glorious image. As we behold Him, we become like him. So how content are you with your glow? How close have you been to the source of all goodness and light. Maybe you've been stuck on the ceiling for far too long, like my little glow in the dark stars, and you need to be unstuck from your situation and pressed up against the true light of the world again. Maybe you've been obeying your flesh too much and not considering that there is a much more essential voice that you need to be listening for. Those that truly glow have no need to prove themselves to anyone. Moses submitted his flesh to the trials of Mount Sinai and he was changed. And that is just what our good God does. He transforms us and as we behold him, we become like him.
Julie:And before we wrap up, I want to leave you with some verses that have encouraged me time and time again, when I get self-conscious about my worth or I judge myself too harshly or get into a legalistic mindset that keeps me checking boxes to feel better about myself instead of simply abiding in Christ. The verse is 2 Corinthians 3, 4-6. And we have such trust, through Christ, toward God. Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think of anything as being from ourselves, but our sufficiency is from God, who has made us sufficient as ministers of the new covenant, not of the letter but of the spirit, for the letter kills, but the spirit gives life. Now, this verse has encouraged me through so many seasons of life, because I don't often feel ready, I don't feel like my glow is enough, I don't ever feel like I've spent enough time in the presence of God. I'm someone who constantly sees my flaws and I nitpick at everything about myself.
Julie:That's just the way that I am, and this scripture consistently grounds me in Jesus, because it tells me that my sufficiency, your sufficiency, friends, is not found in yourself.
Julie:We aren't sufficient, we are broken, we are cracked, we are covered in selfish ambition and sin and so many other things in our life that we don't even see. But this verse in Corinthians reminds us that the sufficiency isn't with us, it's in God, but through that it says that he has made us sufficient. Do you hear that you are sufficient? And not only sufficient, but it says you're sufficient, or you're enough to be a minister of the new covenant, to be a minister of the gospel, and it's not about the letter of the law, but it's through the spirit. Take courage, my friends. If you feel like you're not enough, you need to just sit in the glow of Jesus. Get in your Bible, read it. He wants to speak to you. And as you sit with him, as you behold him, as you look deeply into his face and his words, as we trust him and walk in him, that is when we're changed, we're conformed into his image. As we behold him, we become like him.
