Transfiguration

Posted On February 26, 2023

“When Moses came down from Mount Sinai with the two tablets of the covenant law in his hands, he was not aware that his face was radiant because he had spoken with the Lord.” 

Exodus 34:29 NIV

Have you ever felt worn out by everything you feel called to do? Have you ever struggled to persevere when you don’t really feel your faith? If so, then you’re not alone. We all go through this. And don’t despair, because God gives us strategies in His Word to help us carry on.

Our plan for 2023 is to journey through The NeverEnding Story of the Bible and discover how we fit into it along the way. Our plan for this year is loosely based on The Story, an abridged chronological version of the Bible, and the accompanying study guide The Heart of the Story by Randy Frazee.

Here is where we are in The Story:

MOVEMENT TWO: The Story of Israel (Genesis 12-Malachi)

Chapter 5 – New Commands and a New Covenant

This chapter in The Story includes Exodus 19-20, 24-25, 32-34, 40. This week we find the nation of Israel, three months after their miraculous escape from Egypt, camping in the desert near Mount Sinai. Here are the major events in this part of the story: God calls Moses to come up the mountain to receive His laws and to confirm His covenant with the Israelites. God also gives elaborate instructions for the building of the tabernacle, a portable tent in which God would come down and dwell with His people. The Israelites, impatient for Moses to return from the mountaintop, turn to idolatry. God punishes them for their sin, and many of them die. But God agrees, after Moses intercedes on their behalf, not to destroy them completely.

Then God calls Moses back to the mountain:

“Moses was there with the Lord forty days and forty nights without eating bread or drinking water. And he wrote on the tablets the words of the covenant—the Ten Commandments.

When Moses came down from Mount Sinai with the two tablets of the covenant law in his hands, he was not aware that his face was radiant because he had spoken with the Lord. When Aaron and all the Israelites saw Moses, his face was radiant, and they were afraid to come 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 the Lord had given him on Mount Sinai.

When Moses 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. 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.”

Exodus 34: 28-35 NIV

Moses drew so near to God that his face actually glowed after speaking with Him. He literally reflected God’s glory to such a great extent that he had to cover his face with a veil. He experienced a transfiguration, which the Oxford Languages Dictionary defines as “a complete change of form or appearance into a more beautiful or spiritual state.”

And much later, as we find out in the New Testament, Moses experienced an even greater one: the Transfiguration of Christ Himself.

“After six days Jesus took Peter, James and John with him and led them up a high mountain, where they were all alone. There he was transfigured before them. His clothes became dazzling white, whiter than anyone in the world could bleach them. And there appeared before them Elijah and Moses, who were talking with Jesus…. Then a cloud appeared and covered them, and a voice came from the cloud: ‘This is my Son, whom I love. Listen to him!'”

Mark 9:2-4, 7 NIV

When I was trying to prepare this week’s post, I had no ideas about which way to go with it. In fact, the “struggle to persevere” I mentioned above hit me pretty hard, and I started second-guessing myself about a lot of things. Feeling a little overwhelmed, I entertained the idea of just letting go of this crazy writing dream. After all, I’m a math teacher, not a preacher. What do I know? When I started this blog, I felt God’s presence guiding me and encouraging me. I felt Him speaking to me, telling me to do this. But this week, not so much. What if I was wrong?

Usually when I am dealing with doubts like this, I turn to my journaling to help me get out of my funk. But I wasn’t sure I even had enough energy to do that. I was tired of thinking about everything, and all I felt like doing was finding something to binge watch on TV. However, I still had something on my mind that I just couldn’t ignore. It was my father’s sermon from last Sunday. Based on the Transfiguration of Jesus in Mark 9, the message was all about perseverance: We should focus on the memories of our “mountaintop experiences” with God, and let them carry us through the dark valleys we will inevitably encounter. So, even though I didn’t feel like it, that’s what I was determined to do. I opened up my journal, which is basically a place for me to talk to God and record what I think He’s saying to me, and I wrote out everything that was on my mind. Then I turned to my daily devotionals for guidance.

Here’s a summary of what they said: Step out in faith, and obey what God has told you to do. Keep talking about Jesus! Focus on Christ and run with endurance the race that is before you. God will lead you, but you have to make the decision to follow Him. This last reading was based on the last few chapters of Deuteronomy, including the death of Moses, and talks about not giving in to fear or discouragement. Then, at the end, it offered a little bit of hope in the form of another story involving Moses: the story of the Transfiguration of Jesus.

Okay, I thought, message received! I felt encouraged, and I quickly let go of my doubts about continuing my writing, but I still needed an idea for this week’s post. So I turned to another one of my devotional books, God of Wonders by Faith Blatchford, and started flipping pages, looking for a reference to Moses or Exodus. What caught my eye on one of the pages was the word “cloud.” I looked closer and saw the phrase “encounter the God of the cloud.” That looks promising! I assumed it was referring to the “pillar of cloud” in which God appeared to Moses and the Israelites, so I turned back a page to the beginning of the devotional to see if it was based on a Scripture passage from Exodus. It was not. It was based on Luke 9:28-36… the story of the Transfiguration of Jesus.

Alrighty then! Apparently, the Transfiguration of Jesus is supposed to be our focus for this week. But how does this tie in to this week’s chapter in The Story? The more I thought about it, the more I realized it actually fits perfectly, because it’s all about seeing the glory of the Lord.

When Moses encountered God on Mount Sinai, he was radiant because of the experience. That glow continued even when he came back down from the mountain. Moses still had many hardships ahead of him to endure as he led God’s people into the promised land. But I can imagine the memory of his amazing mountaintop experience spurred him on when he wanted to quit, because he knew the power and glory of the God he served. And even in the wilderness, God was with them:

“Then the cloud covered the tent of meeting, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. Moses could not enter the tent of meeting because the cloud had settled on it, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle.

In all the travels of the Israelites, whenever the cloud lifted from above the tabernacle, they would set out; but if the cloud did not lift, they did not set out—until the day it lifted. So the cloud of the Lord was over the tabernacle by day, and fire was in the cloud by night, in the sight of all the Israelites during all their travels.”

Exodus 40:34-38 NIV

The glory of the Lord was so powerful that even Moses couldn’t experience it directly. Although he longed to see God’s glory, he wasn’t allowed to see God’s face. (See Exodus 33:18-23.) And after years of faithfully leading God’s people as they journeyed toward the promised land, I’m sure he longed to enter it with them. But, as we’ll find out later, Moses would not be allowed to do so — another profound longing left unfulfilled.

But God still had plans for Moses! Years after his death, in a surprising twist he could not possibly have predicted, Moses stood with Christ Himself up on a high mountain. Where was that mountain? It is believed to be Mount Tabor in northern Israel. That’s in the promised land! Moses not only made it there, but He finally got to speak face-to-face with the Lord in all His glory! God of wonders, indeed!

“When God shows up, everything comes into proper order. We all end up facedown on the ground. Every encounter with God brings more revelation about the nature of God, but also about ourselves. We no longer view God as our buddy. Although we can be intimate with Him, He is still God and we are not. Familiarity with God evaporates as we encounter the God of the cloud.”

Faith Blatchford, God of Wonders

“Now Faith, in the sense in which I am here using the word, is the art of holding on to things your reason has once accepted, in spite of your changing moods. For moods will change, whatever view your reason takes…. Consequently one must train the habit of Faith…. We have to be continually reminded of what we believe. Neither this belief nor any other will automatically remain alive in the mind. It must be fed.”

C. S. Lewis, Mere Christianity

So what can we learn from all of this? For me, there are a few lessons. First of all, behold the glory of the Lord! There are times when God just blows our mind, and we realize how truly amazing He is. In those moments, let’s fall facedown on the ground, figuratively or literally, and remember our place. He is God, and we are not. He is more powerful, wise, and loving than we can ever imagine, so let’s leave the big stuff to Him. He’s got this! Our job is just to trust Him. Sometimes we tend to forget that, so it’s good to remind ourselves once in a while. Remembering how it feels to “encounter the God of the cloud” provides powerful motivation to keep moving forward when we face those inevitable dark days.

Second, don’t give up. Ever. We fight a spiritual battle every day against an enemy who would like nothing more than to see us quit. His weapons of choice are temptation and doubt. We must be aware of this, and we must fight back. Our feelings can’t always be trusted, so we must make it a point to exercise faith whether we feel it or not. Sometimes, this is really hard. But that’s what it takes. Even if we can’t muster the energy to do anything else but take one hesitant step toward God, we must do it! Even in our wilderness moments, God is with us. He will help us and He will guide us, but we’ve got to keep moving.

Finally, let your light shine! As Christians, we have the privilege of seeing Christ face to face every day, so let’s embrace it. We don’t have to climb a mountain to get to Him. He will meet us right where we are, and He’s waiting to transfigure us into radiant images of Him. So let’s give Him the opportunity. This world finds plenty of ways to bring us down, but we can find the love and joy we seek in Jesus’ presence. Then, as we glow with His light, we can share the love and joy of Christ with everyone we encounter, no veil necessary!

“We are invited to rejoice in every moment of life because every moment of life is a gift. Every once in a while the veil is lifted, and we see this.”

John Ortberg, The Life You’ve Always Wanted

This week’s Scripture passages remind us that we have seen God’s Son, who is the radiance of God’s glory, and we can behold His glory with unveiled faces. As the glory of the Lord shines upon us, the Holy Spirit transforms us into His glorious image. So let’s never give up seeking His face. As followers of Christ, we are children of light, and we are called to shine!

“For once you were full of darkness, but now you have light from the Lord.
So live as people of light!”

Ephesians 5:8 NLT

References:

• Blatchford, Faith. God of Wonders: 40 Days of Awe in the Presence of God. Chosen, 2021.
• Frazee, Randy.  The Heart of the Story: Discover Your Life Within the Grand Epic of God’s Story. Zondervan, 2017.
• Lewis, C. S. “Mere Christianity.” The Complete C. S. Lewis Signature Classics, Harper San Francisco, 2002, pp. 1-177.
• Ortberg, John. The Life You’ve Always Wanted: Spiritual Disciplines for Ordinary People. Zondervan, 2002.
• The Story: Read the Bible as One Seamless Story from Beginning to End. Rev. ed., Zondervan, 2008.

Images:

• Sun and Gold Clouds featured image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay
• Glowing Sky image by Manjunath B: https://www.pexels.com/photo/blue-and-white-sky-close-up-photography-2689377/ (edited)
• Mountain image by RÜŞTÜ BOZKUŞ from Pixabay
• Light Rays and Dark Clouds image by Adam Kontor: https://www.pexels.com/photo/low-angle-photography-gray-sky-325117/
• Light Rays and Gold Clouds image by Michelle Raponi from Pixabay