Scripture Text (NRSV)
2 Corinthians 3:12-4:2
3:12 Since, then, we have such a hope, we act with great boldness,
3:13 not like Moses, who put a veil over his face to keep the
people of Israel from gazing at the end of the glory that was being
set aside.
3:14 But their minds were hardened. Indeed, to this very day, when
they hear the reading of the old covenant, that same veil is still
there, since only in Christ is it set aside.
3:15 Indeed, to this very day whenever Moses is read, a veil lies
over their minds;
3:16 but when one turns to the Lord, the veil is removed.
3:17 Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord
is, there is freedom.
3:18 And all of us, with unveiled faces, seeing the glory of the
Lord as though reflected in a mirror, are being transformed into the
same image from one degree of glory to another; for this comes from
the Lord, the Spirit.
4:1 Therefore, since it is by God's mercy that we are engaged in
this ministry, we do not lose heart.
4:2 We have renounced the shameful things that one hides; we refuse
to practice cunning or to falsify God's word; but by the open
statement of the truth we commend ourselves to the conscience of
everyone in the sight of God.
Comments:
Just a thought, Paul was pretty bold to suggested that "Moses put a
veil over his face to keep the people of Israel from seeing the glory
was fading". The ancient text of Exodus 34 did not suggest anything
like that within the text (about Moses intention, if anything it was
because people was affraid). How could Paul be so bold? He even pushed
"to this very day whenever Moses is read, a veil lies over their
minds!"
Wow, no wonder why they hated him.
But I cannot help thinking about modern application for us. We have
always been taught to revere the text. And Paul left me one bad
example here. If Paul was exegeting Exodus 34 carefully, would he be
able to come up with any substantial textual evidences for his claim?
After some studying, the only other line of reasoning is that Paul
came up with that based on the cultural exegesis and not just
scriptural exegesis alone. Ralph Martin backed that notion up as he
noted in WBC: "Paul finds the condemnation of Israel, both ancient and
modern, in the place accorded to the veil. Moses' act in putting it on
was for reverential reasons, as well as prudential. But he also took
it off (Exod 34:34; the verb is middle: "he took it off himself" in
LXX); and Israel in the nation's unbelief maintained the place of the
veil as a sign of Moses' authority. But, says Paul in his rejoinder,
this is exactly the mistake they have made and still make."
So, Paul did not mis-interpreted the text to push his point, but his
contemporaries mis-interpreted the text first, and he was arguing
their points. Paul's interpretation of Exodus 34 is not based on
exegesis of the ancient text, but based on his exegesis of the current
culture interpretation of the text.
Today, there may be a similar cultural mis-interpretation at work
also. Most of the young people I know will have a completely different
view of what it meant by "where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is
freedom". They might be overboarded on grace, and deemed all other
spiritual disciplines as legalistic.
And if we do our cultural exegesis well, can we dare push the textual
exegesis a bit to address our culture like what Paul did here? May be
Paul didn't push the envelope that far, and that his audiences
understood his intention very clearly, (For we couldn't find any trace
of counter-argument nitpicking Paul's textual exegesis here.)
God, please give us wisdom to understand our hearers' culture and your
Word, and the courage to bring the two together.
Coho, thinking outloud from Midway City.
I was wrong. As I read Exodus 34:33-35 again today, I saw Moses action
more clearly, he put the veil on AFTER speaking to the people. So,
Paul had reasons to interpret that to be preventing people from seeing
the fading glory.
Aah, how ignorant was I.
Coho, Midway City
In his debates with the Corinthians, Paul contrasts the glory of Moses
with the glory of Christ. The Israelites could not see Moses' face
because of the veil. But in Christ we see the unveiled glory of God
and are transformed into his likeness.
In this passage, Paul contrasts the glory of Moses with the glory of
Christ. In Christ, we see the full glory of God, unveiled, and Paul
argues that because of Christ, glory is ours too. The light that
offers hope is in the lives of those who have been transformed into
Christ's likeness.
v. 18 - ...as though reflected in a mirror ...
I had an eye exam a year or so ago and unlike other eye exams, this
room was a regular size. I remember eye exam rooms being very long so
the screen that you read is far away. Either that, or it's all done on
a machine. Rather, this one had mirrors that projected images back and
forth to the right size.
Also it's interesting to think that we see the glory of the Lord as
though reflected in a mirror. Does that mean it's backwards? :o)
Sally
Hmmm... this is part of the biblical interpretation of women wearing
veils - veiling their minds, not speaking in church, and waiting for
their husbands' reflection of the Lord - now there's some mirrors
projecting little letters back and forth.
Sally
veiling = ignorance in the law.
I recall a former boyfriend who was an MP saying, "Ignorance of the
law is no excuse."
I wonder about ignorance IN the Law?
There are little lollipop signs popping up on peoples' front yards
(well, really, I think the people are putting them there - I don't
really think they sprout on their own ;o)) that have the ten
commandments listed on them. It's a reaction to the courthouse battles
in the South, and especially this most recent one in Alabama, where
the judge had it removed and another had it placed in a different
area.
I happen to dislike them because they're reactionary, but also because
it seems to be only a fragment of the larger issue. On the other hand,
God bless people for speaking their convictions. It's the highlighting
of the fragment of the larger issue that makes me wonder if these
signs are sprouting out of ignorance or conviction. The judgmental
side of me thinks that it's ignorance but that may be my own ignorance
speaking.
Sally
The idea of mis-interpretation is interesting. The sculpture of Moses
by Michelangelo (do a Google image search) shows Moses with horns. The
story I heard was it was because of a mis-translation of the word for
shining from Hebrew to Greek or Latin. When the artist asked the
preists what the Bible had to say about Moses' appearance, they said
his face was horned. I wonder how much cross culture misunderstanding
lies between our Christian life and society's interpretation of it;
and if we are reading it right to those who seek to see.
I'm thinking of comparing the Moses example of covert contact with
culture and Paul's charge to go out shining into the world. Possible
title,"Got your veil on?" tom in TN(USA)
