Exodus 33

Go up to the Land and I will send my angel 1
The pillar of cloud; the Lord spoke to Moses 7
The Lord's promise to be with them 12
The Lord shows His glory 18
Text
Comments
.1 ¶ And the LORD said unto Moses, Depart, and go up hence, thou and the people which thou hast brought up out of the land of Egypt, unto the land which I sware unto Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, saying, Unto thy seed will I give it:
.2  And I will send an angel before thee; and I will drive out the Canaanite, the Amorite, and the Hittite, and the Perizzite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite:
 3  Unto a land flowing with milk and honey: for I will not go up in the midst of thee; for thou art a stiffnecked people: lest I consume thee in the way.
 4  And when the people heard these evil tidings, they mourned: and no man did put on him his ornaments.
.5  For the LORD had said unto Moses, Say unto the children of Israel, Ye are a stiffnecked people: I will come up into the midst of thee in a moment, and consume thee: therefore now put off thy ornaments from thee, that I may know what to do unto thee.
 6  And the children of Israel stripped themselves of their ornaments by the mount Horeb.
  1 - Land which I sware Confirmation of His promise to the patriarchs ge1207, ge2603, ge2813.
  2 - An angel See on jg0201. It would have taken only one angel if they had put their trust in the Lord. Their rebellion changed the plan.
  3 - Unto a land The Lord had told Moses to lead the people to the land. See the end of the previous chapter ex3234.
  5 - Consume thee ... ornaments Their repentance was not complete ho0604, ho0708, ho0714. God's delay would develop a longing in them jo0212, ho1012.
  6 - Stripped ... by the mount Horeb Literally "from Mt. Horeb." The people kept their jewelry off for a time, at least. Horeb was another name for Sinai. "A mountain, or mountain range, in Arabia Petraea, in the peninsula formed by the two arms of the Red Sea, and rendered memorable as the spot where the law was given to Israel through Moses, Ex 19:1 - Nu 10:33." ATS Dictionary.
.7 ¶ And Moses took the tabernacle, and pitched it without the camp, afar off from the camp, and called it the Tabernacle of the congregation. And it came to pass, that every one which sought the LORD went out unto the tabernacle of the congregation, which was without the camp.
.8  And it came to pass, when Moses went out unto the tabernacle, that all the people rose up, and stood every man at his tent door, and looked after Moses, until he was gone into the tabernacle.
.9  And it came to pass, as Moses entered into the tabernacle, the cloudy pillar descended, and stood at the door of the tabernacle, and the LORD talked with Moses.
 10  And all the people saw the cloudy pillar stand at the tabernacle door: and all the people rose up and worshipped, every man in his tent door.
.11  And the LORD spake unto Moses face to face, as a man speaketh unto his friend. And he turned again into the camp: but his servant Joshua, the son of Nun, a young man, departed not out of the tabernacle.
  7 - Tabernacle ... afar off This must have made an impression on the people. It was a special place for Moses to meet with God. This tabernacle may have been a temporary one since serious work on the tabernacle we usually think of began later as noted in chapter 35. ex3510.
  10 - Notice how they worshipped.
.12 ¶ And Moses said unto the LORD, See, thou sayest unto me, Bring up this people: and thou hast not let me know whom thou wilt send with me. Yet thou hast said, I know thee by name, and thou hast also found grace in my sight.
.13  Now therefore, I pray thee, if I have found grace in thy sight, shew me now thy way, that I may know thee, that I may find grace in thy sight: and consider that this nation is thy people.
.14  And he said, My presence shall go with thee, and I will give thee rest.
 15  And he said unto him, If thy presence go not with me, carry us not up hence.
 16  For wherein shall it be known here that I and thy people have found grace in thy sight? is it not in that thou goest with us? so shall we be separated, I and thy people, from all the people that are upon the face of the earth.
 17  And the LORD said unto Moses, I will do this thing also that thou hast spoken: for thou hast found grace in my sight, and I know thee by name.
  12 - Moses said unto the Lord We see the intimate way Moses communicated with the Lord as before nu1208. It gives us boldness to approach him he0415, 1jo0418.
.18  And he said, I beseech thee, shew me thy glory.
 19  And he said, I will make all my goodness pass before thee, and I will proclaim the name of the LORD before thee; and will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will shew mercy on whom I will shew mercy.
.20  And he said, Thou canst not see my face: for there shall no man see me, and live.
 21  And the LORD said, Behold, there is a place by me, and thou shalt stand upon a rock:
.22  And it shall come to pass, while my glory passeth by, that I will put thee in a clift of the rock, and will cover thee with my hand while I pass by:
 23  And I will take away mine hand, and thou shalt see my back parts: but my face shall not be seen.
   18 - Your glory We see that God's glory is His character. It is also He name — who He is.
   20 - You cannot see my face 1ti0616 Christ withheld His glorious appearance so sinful humans could see Him.
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