Exodus 34 reinforces the notion that God wants His people to be different from all those around them. Different! Not the same! This is an important word to our age when there is a growing distance between how the Bible calls us to act and what our culture teaches is appropriate. Sometimes there may pressure applied on the people of God to become just like everybody else, but this pressure does not come from the Bible.
God tells His people that they are not to make any covenants with the nations around them - lest they become a snare! (vs. 12) He wants them to dismantle all the religious items of the other nations. If pagan worship practices such as temple prostitution and human sacrifices are allowed to continue, God knows that they will eventually become intermingled with the Israelites' worship, and He does not want that to happen. As it turns out, God was right to be concerned about this happening.
God also wants His people to be distinct in the keeping of their festivals so that they remember who they are, and that they are different from all the other people around them. He also insists that they maintain the practice of the sabbath, even at the busy times of plowing and harvest (vs. 21). This helps the Israelites be set apart both in practice and morality.
In a physical way, God's presence with Moses changes him noticeably. He is glowing! From his time spent with the Lord on the mountain, Moses is emitting light and it is enough to scare the people (vs. 30). With such a radioactive demeanor, Moses begins wearing a veil to let the people be more comfortable around him.
I believe that God still has in mind a distinction between His people and the world. Consider the words of Paul, who wrote in Philippians 2: "Do all things without murmuring or arguing, so that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, in which you shine like stars in the world" (vs. 14-15).
God's people are called to glow in the dark!
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