Moses Wore a Mask

There is a spiritual lesson in the wearing of a face mask in 2020 that comes from Moses and the Apostle Paul.

We are more than halfway through the year 2020. The world has spent most of the year locked in their homes under self-quarantine in an attempt to stop the spread of the virus known as Covid-19. We have worked from home, done school from home, made purchases online, and streamed church services over the internet. As the world has begun to reopen, we are now experiencing the second wave of the virus, spreading and infecting thousands.

In an attempt to slow the second wave and still keep the world's economy going, many businesses, cities, and states are requiring people to wear face masks in public areas. Mask-wearing is mandatory in airports and on airplanes, and even at the grocery store. All the talk of wearing masks reminded me of the story of Moses in the Old Testament and how he wore a veil to cover his face.

In the book of Exodus, Moses came down from Mount Sinai, carrying the two tablets that were carved with the Ten Commandments. His face was shining because he had been talking to God (Exo 34:29) and the people were afraid to come near him. He chose to put on a veil to cover his face (vs 33). The Bible says, "Whenever Moses went in before the Lord to speak with Him, he would remove the veil until he came out. And when he came out and told the people of Israel what he was commanded, the people of Israel would see the face of Moses, that the skin of Moses' face was shining. And Moses would put the veil over his face again until he went in to speak with him." (Exo 34:34-35 ESV).

What makes this Old Testament story more interesting is what the Apostle Paul says about it thousands of years later.

Paul writes, "not like Moses, who would put a veil over his face so that the Israelites might not gaze at the outcome of what was being brought to an end" (2 Cor 3:13). Paul is actually giving us insight into why Moses wore the veil. Remember that Moses' face would shine after he went into the presence of God and when he was carrying the Old Testament law in his hands. In 2 Corinthians, Paul is saying that the reason Moses wore the veil was that the shining of his face was fading, it was "being brought to an end". The Old Covenant, the law, was only temporary because it could not take away our sins.

Paul continues in this passage and says, "But their minds were hardened. For to this day, when they read the old covenant, that same veil remains unlifted, because only through Christ is it taken away. Yes, to this day whenever Moses is read a veil lies over their hearts. But when one turns to the Lord, the veil is removed" (2 Cor 3:14-16 ESV). Christ is the end of the law to the person who believes in Him. We are made right with God not by our good works, but by faith alone in Christ alone. There is no longer the need for the veil that Moses wore because the glory is no longer fading and each person is able to see God in his holiness in the person of Jesus Christ. Jesus said, "Whoever has seen me has seen the Father." (John 14:9 ESV).

Now back to the present day. We are being urged and even mandated by governors and business policies to wear face masks to protect others from getting sick. We are trying everything we know in an attempt to stop a virus and prolong life. Today, the majority of conversations end with the phrase "Stay safe."

All the time, energy, effort, and money being spent to stop Covid-19 and death declares that life has value!

Have we ever stopped and asked ourselves why life has value? If evolution is true, and we are just here by chance and evolved animals, then there is no logical reason why we should give one ounce of concern about life or death. The Bible teaches that the reason human life has value is that we were made in the image of God. It is written, "So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them" (Gen 1:27 ESV). The explanation that God gave us for why it is wrong to murder is that we are made in the image of God (Gen 9:6).

Sin has marred that image of God within us, which is why we live in a world full of hatred, murder, sickness, and death. The Bible says that we have all sinned and come short of the glory of God (Rom 3:23). It is because of sin that we all die. When our first parents sinned against God, it brought death to all of humanity. The Apostle Paul said, "For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive." ( 1 Cor 15:22 ESV). The cause of death on our death certificates, if they were honest, would simply read "sin."

Because of sin, we are already dead before we die. Some people have a misunderstanding of the Gospel. Their understanding is that Jesus came to forgive us of our sins by dying on the cross. But that's not the whole story. What mankind needed was life, because we were dead, being descendants of Adam. The Old Covenant, the law, was unable to bring us life which is why Moses covered his face, that glory was coming to an end. Paul puts it this way, "Is the law then contrary to the promises of God? Certainly not! For if a law had been given that could give life, then righteousness would indeed be by the law" (Gal 3:21 ESV).

When you grasp this truth you are able to understand what Jesus was teaching about himself.

• Whoever seeks to preserve his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life will keep it. (Luk 17:33 ESV).

• In him was life, and the life was the light of men. (Jhn 1:4 ESV).

• that whoever believes in him may have eternal life. (Jhn 3:15 ESV).

• Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life. (Jhn 5:24).

• I am the bread of life. (Jhn 6:48 ESV).

• The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly. (Jhn 10:10 ESV).

• Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, (Jhn 11:25 ESV).

The Gospel message is that we all are dead in our sins. Jesus died on the cross to take away our sins because sin brought death. Sin had to be dealt with because it would have been useless to give us life and not deal with sin, we would just die again. Jesus died on the cross once and for all and dealt with sin forever. He was raised from the dead in order to give us life. Jesus did not come to set a good moral example for us, he came to shine a light on our situation of death caused by sin and give us life.

No amount of good works or religion can give us life. The law was good and perfect, but it was weak in the flesh. The reason it is weak is that in our sin we are already dead. It is impossible to get dead men to follow the law. That's why the law had to fade into the background and a new covenant was given in the finished work of the cross. A New Covenant that gives us life.

Moses wore a veil to cover the fading glory of the law.

Today we wear face masks, either by mandate or choice, in hopes of postponing the reality that the life we now live in the flesh is fading and that we are all just one breath away from standing before the creator of the universe.

The brother of our Lord, James, writes, "yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes" (James 4:14 ESV).