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2 Corinthians 3:13

King James Version (KJV)

“In our prayers we talk to God, in our Bible study God talks to us, and we had better let God do most of the talking.”
— D.L. Moody

Scripture focus

And not as Moses, [which] put a vail over his face, that the children of Israel could not stedfastly look to the end of that which is abolished:

2 Corinthians 3:13 — KJV

Commentary

Commentary on 2 Corinthians 3:13

Theological / Devotional

Not as Moses. See Ex. 34:29–35. Paul uses the incident of the veil to illustrate Israel’s spiritual blindness (2 Cor. 3:14–16). According to Paul the fading glory represented the types and ceremonies that were to end with the coming of the great Anti-type, the Lord Jesus Christ. Because of the “vail,” Paul says, the Israelites were unable to see the fading away of that transitory glory or to understand its meaning. They fondly believed that the types and ceremonies were to be permanent. They looked upon them as an end in themselves. They did not see that the typical system was temporary and provisional in nature, and foreshadowed the glory of Christ, who was to come.

To be sure, Moses did not deliberately conceal the truth and seek to deceive the Israelites. He prophesied concerning the Messiah and looked forward to the glorious period of His coming (see Deut. 18:15). The veil symbolized the unbelief of the Jews (see Heb. 3:18, 19 ; 4:1, 2) and their refusal to perceive Christ in the sacrificial ministration.

By SdaBc