Exodus 33:1-6
How could there be joy if the Lord was not in it? How could the land flowing with milk and honey be a blessing if God did not lead them? The Lord was good for the promise but because of their rebellious nature, the Lord said He would not go with them. This brought great morning to the people. They stripped off their jewelry and ornaments, a sign of mourning.
Exodus 33:7-11
The tent of meeting was just a plain tent pitched outside the camp as a place to meet God prior to the building of the tabernacle. It was where Moses met the Lord, also anyone else inquiring of the Lord would go there. When Moses entered, the Lord met him, there was no waiting and no formula to create a meeting. While they met, the pillar of cloud stood by the entrance, as though standing guard. It was almost like a 'meeting in progress' sign.
It was dishonorable in that culture to look a superior in the eye. Yet, the Lord, far superior, spoke to Moses as though he had full access and with a familial intimacy.
Exodus 33:12-14
Moses came to know that the Lord knew him and had said he had favor with the Lord. However, he still wanted the Lord to teach him about God's ways. He wanted to understand who the Lord was, His power and nature so he could better know how to speak to Him and continue in favor.
Moses reminds God of the people. The changes His mind as it were from Exodus 32:10.
Exodus 33:15-17
Even though the Lord said His presence would go with them, Moses presses further. He doesn't see any sense in making journey without God. If God doesn't go, they are no different than any other people. It is God that sets them apart. The Lord again states He would go with them, but only because He is pleased with Moses. He is bound to the people only through the intercessory work of Moses. This became possible when Moses linked his fate to their fate. God knew him by name which was the expression of His character. This expression looked like Christ.
Exodus 33:18-20
Moses notes in verses 12 & 13 that the Lord knew his name and thereby his character. Moses wanted to know the Lord like he was known. Moses wanted to experience all of God. Yet, he didn't completely understand what he was asking. The Lord clearly states that He couldn't withstand seeing His face. The Lord would pass His goodness; His mercy and grace before Moses.
In exploring love, Paul notes something very similar:
12 For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then I shall know just as I also am known. (1 Cor 13:12)
Paul quotes the last half of verse 19 in Romans 9:15 as he speaks of God's righteous and sovereign actions. It is similar to saying, "I AM that I AM". God is self-existent, like no other, relying on no person or thing.
Exodus 33:21-23
The Lord established a scenario where Moses could see the glory of God. The Lord placed him in the cleft of a rock, to protect him and limit his view. The Lord shaded his eyes as He passed by and let Moses experience the afterglow of God's presence. This scenario is played out in the next chapter. The reference to God's 'hand' is anthropomorphic language to aid us in understanding or being able to picture what would happen.
Is it safe to say that to get even a glimpse of God's glory, you must stand on the rock? This is certainly true if Jesus is the rock.
Exodus 34:1-3
I wonder how big these stone tablets were. Moses had to carry these things down the first time. Now he had only a day to cut and prepare two new stones and carry them up the mountain so God could write on them. Moses was to come by himself and present himself to God. This is preparation for God's display of His glory to Moses. Extra precaution must be used so no one is exposed to the power of God. This isn't an issue with sin because even the animals can't see Him. This just reveals the severity of His sanctity.
Exodus 34:4-7
The descended in a cloud, the same cloud that has led them and that stood before the door of the tent of meeting. Yahweh stood with Moses. That's pretty incredible. What a moment for Moses. This is what it means to 'call upon the name of the Lord'. God proclaimed His name and then made a proclamation of His nature and attributes.
- Yahweh, the compassionate and gracious God!
- Slow to anger
- Abounding in love
- Forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin
- Punishes the guilty
The idea that God punishes sin to the 3rd and 4th generation troubles many. It doesn't seem fair to us, but who are we to argue what fair is to the epitome of righteousness and love. While God is forgiving, He doesn't remove the consequence of sin from a family. A father who took part in the golden calf fiasco may have had children and grandchildren present. The consequence of this and other sins effected Israel for years. The sins of a father ought to be lessons to our kids and grandkids that get passed on. Is this not what we see in many of Solomon's proverbs? His idol worship and failures with wives cost Israel dearly for generations. His wisdom is pass along so they may learn from his sin.
Exodus 34:8-9
This is the first time that Moses is show worshiping the Lord. If had done so previously, it is not recorded. The Lord already declared that Moses had His favor in 33:12. Moses wanted reassurance and requested the Lord go with them. He wanted to be sure the Lord had not changed His mind or was sending His angel. What was Israel's status after the golden calf incident? Yes, they were stiff-necked, but would God take them as His inheritance?
Exodus 34:10-14
God renews His covenant and it sounds a little different after the golden calf incident. They had seen miracle after miracle and many wonders, yet it was nothing to what they would see as His children. The Lord would drive all the pagan nations from the promise land. They were not to make treaties with them or compromise with these nations or people. This would become a problem. There would be lots of idols, similar to the golden calf, things that seemed okay, maybe even fun or pleasing. The altars were to be broken down, the sacred stones smashed and the Asherah poles cut down. The names associated with Asherah are:
- Bride of the king of heaven
- Creator of the gods
- Queen of heaven
There have been archeological discoveries of inscriptions saying 'Yahweh and His Asherah' proving the Israelites failed to be obedient. He is a jealous God, not willing to share His glory with another.
Exodus 34:15-17
The opportunities to compromise will come at them from many directions. They will seem innocent enough, harmless enough. The Lord doesn't even use the word 'if' when speaking of these things. It is 'when' you compromise, 'then' this will happen. When they entertain situations where other gods are brought into their life, it will corrupt their relationship with the Lord. It will lead them astray.
The Lord is point blank clear in verse 17. There could not be any questions after that. Yet, stay tuned. They'll fall for this again.
Exodus 34:18-20
The Feast of Unleavened Bread was celebrated in conjunction with the Passover. It was seven days of bread without yeast. This reminds them of the journey out of Egypt when they left in haste and their bread was without yeast. Aviv became Nissan. It was on the 14 day that Passover was celebrated.
With the Exodus came God's consecration of the firstborn after the 10th plague on Egypt and the firstborn of Israel were protected behind the blood of the Passover lamb. The redemption of the firstborn became a precept of the Lord to remember this claim.
Deuteronomy repeats this warning as it pertains to coming to these 3 feasts. The warning is not to come to the feasts with no offering. Everyone is to give as he is able, according to how God had blessed them. The giving acknowledges that it is all his.
Exodus 34:21-24
The Sabbath instruction is renewed once again. Even when it is plowing season, even when it would be easy to justify working on the Sabbath, don't!
The Festival of Weeks is also called the Feast of Firstfruits. It celebrates the spring harvest. The firstfruits were the best and offered as representative of the entire harvest. This offering acknowledges that it all belongs to the Lord.
The Festival of Ingathering is late in the year. It is also called the Feast of Booths. This celebrates God's provision both past and current.
These three feasts were the 3 times a year the males were to come together and appear before God. God promised no one would covet their land when they went up. It's not hard to imagine the concern of all the males going to Jerusalem and leaving behind families, lands, animals, orchards, crops and more. Won't the thieves come and steal and destroy? God said that He won't let that happen.
Exodus 34:25-26
We see leaven as a type of sin throughout the bible. The grain offering often accompanied a blood sacrifice. It was to always be unleavened offering. This may pertain to the Passover here, but it would apply to all sacrifices.
There were no leftovers from the Passover meal. It was to be eaten completely.
When bringing the firstfruits, bring the best. There would always be a human temptation to keep the best for ourselves. Give the best to God.
Boiling a young goat in its mothers' milk was a pagan practice. As with most of this chapter, it is a repeat. This showed up in 23:19. This practice may have been something brought with them from Egypt that some were mixing with their feasts. Moses specifically forbids this. The shows up in two other places and became the basis for the Kosher separation of meat and dairy.
Exodus 34:27-28
Moses is to write these things down. These are the words of God's covenant. This is a covenant to Moses and Israel. Though the people at the mountain had separated themselves from God by worshiping an idol and may not necessarily be included in this designation (see chapters 32-33).
Forty days and forty nights Moses was there with God. He ate and drank nothing – totally relying on the supernatural sustenance of the Lord.
Exodus 34:29-35
A distinctive radiance was associated with divinity in the ancient near east. This radiance could be shared with others selected by the divine, particularly royalty We see this in many paintings across the ages; particularly of Jesus with an aura around his head.
The Hebrew word for radiance means shiny but is derived from a word meaning horns. There were other words for radiance, however, this may have been wordplay in connection with the golden calf incident.
The face of Moses was radiant after the time spent before God. This is something to ponder. Would anyone ever look at us and know we had spent time before God? The one who spends time with God will reflect His glory. The glory of God served as a way of authenticating Moses' message (and the messenger). This authentication struck fear in the people, even Moses' own brother. The authentication can be frightening to the spiritually immature and weak.
Moses was unveiled when he spoke to God with nothing to interfere with Moses standing in the radiance of God. Likewise, when Moses spoke God's word to the people, he would not be veiled. All the other times, he was veiled.
Exodus 35:1-3
We get a sense of the importance of the Sabbath by the penalty of breaking it as well as the sheer number of times it is commanded. Keep the Sabbath was for man's rest in the Lord and the time to recognize it is by the Lord's hand, care and provision that life comes. Work is the opportunity to produce for Him, not the source of hope and blessing. This belongs to God alone.
Exodus 35:4-9
Moses begins to gather materials for the building project of the tabernacle as the Lord instructed him on the mountain. The basis of the tabernacle was a willingness to give of their own possession to build this place of worship. It would not be built by taxes or confiscation of property but by the freewill offerings of the people.
These are all the materials for the tabernacle and its furnishings. It's a tremendous amount of gold, silver, bronze, fabrics and other materials. It gives us a sense of just how much God had provided to them as they left Egypt. The Egyptians seemingly gave them anything and everything to just be rid of them, the source of the plagues.
Exodus 35:10-19
This holy project is a massive undertaking in any setting. Imagine such a project in the middle of the desert, with 2 million stiff necked volunteers. This took a lot of coordination to manage this project, to delegate tasks, to maintain the standards and patterns as laid out by God. There would be no change orders and no redesign. God was the chief engineer and He had given the pattern. The plans were complete.
Exodus 35:20-29
Moses conveyed the words of the Lord. Who would be willing? Everyone withdrew, as if to distance themselves from Moses to search their heart. Only the willing would return, those who were moved by God. Everyone who came, came not because everyone was doing it, but because God moved them specifically to give and serve. So many hide in the crowd and if the crowd all moves, they move with the crowd. They miss out on the blessing of being moved solely by the Lord, stepping in faith to what He's called them to do.
Exodus 35:30-35
We shouldn't under-estimate the scope and difficulty of this project. Yet, here in the wilderness, they are brought all the materials needed, in the quantities required. God had provided for them on their way out of Egypt. They may have wondered why they needed all the gold that was given to them. If we look back, remember the Egyptians were predisposed to be generous toward the departing Israelites.
In addition to the materials, God provided two men with all the skills required. To do any of these skills well, it might take a lifetime to become a master. To do all of them well, and to work at the level of craftsmanship fit for service to the Lord is a work of God. The Lord filled them with His Spirit. One of the most important gifts was not spoken of previous, that is the gift of being able to teach others.
Exodus 36:1-7
The first order of business for the craftsman was QC. They were to build it as the Master Builder designed it, just as the Lord commanded. Bezalel and Oholiab were the leaders of the skilled craftsmen and began to make all the furniture, fabric and pieces to assemble the tabernacle in the way instructed. Morning after morning, the offerings kept coming. When the Lord is in it, He will provide abundantly. They had to tell the people to stop bringing offerings. This is unheard of!! Anyone who ever started a building program or church project could learn from this.
Exodus 36:8-38
There is very little difference in the directions given in Ex 25 & 26. The primary difference is God's pattern given to Moses starts with the Ark and works its way out. The point of reference was from the Most holy to the least. In these passages, the tabernacle itself is the point of reference. From there, the narrative moves to the Ark and then the other interior furnishings. Then, we are shown the altar, basin and courtyard. Those worshiping would come to the altar before the tabernacle. The inside was known, but only seen by priests. The Holy of Holies was only entered once a year on the Day of Atonement.
The fact that many of these details are repeated shows they were done with great care to follow the directions given.
©2021 Doug Ford
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