Veiiled - 2 Corinthians 3:13-17

There is a need for both the letter of the law and the spirit of the law, with the spirit building on the foundation established by the letter. But this begs the question, if both are necessary, then why is Paul having to teach the people at Corinth the importance of having the spirit of the law? Honestly, if you can only grow spiritually with both aspects of the gospel, then shouldn’t the people have been doing that this whole time? What had the people been doing instead and what were the consequences?

 

We’ve been told in numerous instances, from Jesus Christ to now Paul, that the Israelite people were obsessing over obedience to the law of Moses which dealt with their physical behaviors. What the people failed to recognize is that obedience to the physical laws was just preparing them to obey the spiritual laws that Christ would teach when he came to them. Why did they fail to recognize this? I think it’s like anything else, human nature is such that people want money and power and will use whatever vehicle that is familiar to the people they are trying to usurp. The Jewish leadership at the time had corrupted their positions as spiritual leaders because they valued power positions, the wealth that that afforded them, and the influence that they were able to garner. They loved having people recognize them as leaders, they loved the fear that their presence would cause people, and they loved feeling all powerful whenever they granted mercy. They had the law of the living God at the time and weren’t able to live by it. That speaks to their character more than it does to the organization that they were representing. If they had been born Romans or tribesmen, they would have done the same thing using that vehicle.

 

Unfortunately for these guys, the God of the universe was the master of the Judaism and they offended him personally by making a mockery of his gospel. They were eventually dealt with in the timing of the Lord, but the fall out required quite a bit of attention. This isn’t to say that all of the Israelites were like this, because clearly they weren’t. Peter, James, John, and Andrew recognized Jesus as the man they should follow when he came to them, that obviously required spiritual preparation. Paul understood the spirit of the law sufficiently to respond to Jesus’ personal appearance to him. From what I understand, a good number of the Jewish people recognized something worthy following in Jesus, that’s why his trial and crucifixion had to be held at night, because they feared the people. So there were many who were spiritually sensitive to the parts of the law that went beyond the “letter,” but those who used it as a club to beat people over the heads were not, and often, those are the type of people who seek leadership positions.

 

Paul explains the plight of the people by likening their ignorance with the “veil (Moses put) over his face.” This has reference to when Moses descended from Mount Sinai with the stone tablets of commandments. The first set he brought down, he destroyed because the people were not ready, but when he brought down the second set, “he did not realize ‘that the skin of his face shone while (The Lord) talked with him. The rulers of Israel were afraid to approach Moses because of his appearance. He therefore ‘put a vail on his face’ until he had finished speaking with them.” This is according to the article written on this chapter from gospeldoctrine.com, which to me means that Moses had to shield them from the glory of God because they were not willing to receive it. Paul is comparing people’s unwillingness to receive the gospel to Moses’ vail, both shield people from the glory of God who are not ready to receive it.

 

Paul notes that even at that point in time, “when Moses is read, the veil is upon their heart.” The people will not receive the gospel because their heart is covered. Did God cause their heart to be closed to the gospel? Of course not, it is probably a combination of tradition and apathy. And to be honest, so many of us are in the same boat I like to think that I love the scriptures and studying them, but honestly there are a lot of times that I talk myself out of doing a post because “I’m too busy at work” or “I’m tired and can’t focus” or something like that. I am just as guilty of apathy as everyone else. We are all on our own paths and at our own points in our own journeys. So when Paul says, “Nevertheless when it shall turn to the Lord, the veil shall be taken away,” he’s telling us how to move past the obstacle of veiled hearts.

 

When I first read this verse, I thought about Judaism as a whole, like “when the Jews accept Christ as their Savior, then their hearts can be unveiled.” But the more that I thought about it, the more I realized that it is just as applicable to us as individuals, if mot more so. It’s like we learned yesterday, Paul and Isaiah and other difficult to understand scriptures can be understood with the spirit of prophecy. If we are struggling with some scriptures, or a concept, or anything really, if we turn to the Lord for answers and guidance, then we are not blocked by our own issues anymore and can have access to Him. How do we turn to the Lord? To me, it’s praying, thinking about my question, doing my best to keep the commandments, and keeping an open mind. If I keep a space around myself that allows for the Spirit, then answers can come when it is time for them to come.