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 Corinthians 3:15-16

Scripture reading: 2 Corinthians 3:7-18 

The Bible has played an important role in the mission of the Church. When Paul began his missionary work, the Greek translation of the Old Testament, known as the Septuagint, had been in existence for at least two hundred years. It was used in the synagogues of the Jews in the Dispersion. In Palestine, the Hebrew text was employed, while the preaching was done in Aramaic, the language of the Jews, after their return from the Babylonian Captivity.

Paul’s preached to the Jews that the promises of God in the Old Testament, about the Messiah, had been fulfilled in the life, death, resurrection and ascension of Jesus Christ of Nazareth. Some believed Paul’s preaching and became the nucleus of the Church in the Mediterranean world. Others refused to receive the Good News and became persecutors of Christians.

In Paul’s Second Letter to the Corinthian Church, he wrote about the veil that lay over the hearts of the Jews who had refused the offer of salvation. He mentioned this principle, “When one turns to the Lord, the veil is removed.” God in His mercy ordained the exposition of the Gospel as a means for lifting that veil. Even though Jews looked at the cross as a stumbling block and the Gentiles, as nonsense, yet, as Paul wrote in his First Letter:

“For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the folly of what we preach, to save those who believe.”

Suggestions for prayer

Plead with the Lord of the Harvest to lift the veil over the hearts of people everywhere through the proclamation of the Good News of Jesus Christ.

This daily devotional is available in a print edition you can buy at Nearer to God Devotional. Rev. Bassam Michael Madany has served as a missionary in Syria, and in 1958 he began a 36-year radio and literature ministry to the Arab world. After retirement Bassam & his wife Shirley began an Internet ministry, Middle East Resources, to provide a “Christian Response to the Global Challenge of Islam.”