Day #41

Sermon - Audio
Ex 33-35 - Audio
Ex 33-35 - Daily Reading

Daily Insights - Please Comment

Ex 33

This chapter begins after some very difficult events take place (calf, killings, "blotting out."). Moses is immediately told to depart to "the land of which I swore to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, saying, To your offspring I will give it." - God's people are continuously reminded of the Covenant with God.

God's people are given a double judgement:
1. Leave Siani where the Lord was in their presence.
2. Make their way without His presence.

v 2-3 - A Possible Explanation from the WBC - "They are to go up, guided by his messenger, to the place he had chosen and in which he had intended to live in their midst, but without him. In the place of his Presence, there was to be only Absence. It is a punishment, announced at this point in the sequence of the Book of Exodus, that negates every announcement, every expectation, every instruction except those now being given. There will be no special treasure, no kingdom of priests, no holy nation, no Yahweh being their God, no covenant, no Ark, no Tabernacle, no Altar, no cloud of Glory. The messenger promised in 23:20–24 was, as is so often the case in the OT, a close equivalent, at the very least, of Yahweh’s Presence (see esp. 23:21, “my Presence is with him”

I think that would explain why this was such a "disastrous word" and "they mourned." A feeling of despair and hopelessness had gripped then. Once again we had chosen against God with huge implications.

Q - What are the implications of us continually choosing our story over Gods?

v4 - oranaments = "Festive Dress" After taking these off, God seems to require this to be more of a permanent thing in v6.

v5 - "stiff-necked" used in the Bible = ex 32:9, 33:3, 33:5, 34:9, 2 Chron 30:8, Acts 7:51. The term "stiff-necked" discusses the unwillingness of Israel to bend to God's will, instead they choose their own.

v7-11 - The presence of the Lord would now reside outside of the camp within the "Tent of Meeting" or "The Tent of Appointed Meeting." The presence of God was to be sought and found there. The absence from the presence of God was now felt by the Israelites. The people knew that when Moses would go to the tent, and the cloud would come down, God's presence was there with Moses. Joshua is more than likely the guard to this tent as being Moses' right-hand man.

v11 - As the second of these narratives makes clear, “face to face” is here to be understood as an idiom of intimacy, not as a reference to theophany (actual appearance of God)." Later in Ex 33:20-23 it will state that no one has seen his face.

v12-13 - Moses cries out for the LORD's plans and direction.

v16 - Moses' plea with God is granted for the presence of the LORD to be with him since Moses has found favor in God's sight. God would now be with them again. God did not "change his mind," but wanted Moses' to recognize that they could not be a people of God without His presence. Moses pleads with God because he understands this, and has seen how God has walked every step of the way with him.

Q. Is your life so wrapped up in God's story, that if He left would you be in utter confusion and cease to exist?

v17-18 - The request of Moses to see the glory of Yahweh is effectively a request that Yahweh demonstrate the reality of his promise to be present, indeed that he prove his Presence once again, as he did before the solemnization of the covenant that has since been shattered -WBC

v19 - NT Alert = Sighting of this verse in Romans 9:15 by Paul. Paul is stating this in the context of God will show mercy on whom he chooses. We are not the deciding factor on who does or does not deserve mercy.
v20-23 = We can't be sure what Moses actually "saw," but it's clear that it was a "description" or "small" glimpse of His glory. The word glory is, "kabod"; properly, weight, but only figuratively in a good sense, splendor or copiousness. Moses does seem to see the "back," but there is no certainty over what the "back" was. Either way, the point is that God showed His glory to Moses.

Ex 34

34:1–35 = Covenant Renewal: New Tablets. The Lord calls Moses back up to Mount Sinai and proclaims further his covenant name and character (vv. 1–10) before reaffirming some of the stipulations related to worship and renewing the covenant with Moses and Israel (vv. 11–28). When Moses comes down to speak the words of the covenant to the people, he does not know that his role as the one through whom the Lord will speak is also reaffirmed through his shining face (vv. 29–35). -ESVSB-

6-7 = Yahweh's Proclamation of His Nature: It will later be sighted (Psalms (86:15; 103:8; 145:8) and one each in Num 14:18; Joel 2:13; Nah 1:3; Net 9:17; and Jonah 4:2. ) The emphasis is on the provision and forgiveness of God, but He will not compromise Himself.

11-17 - God gives Moses clear instructions for the people, specifically focusing on keeping the covenant with God by making sure the people aren't exchanging Yahweh for other gods in the lands that are to be taken over. This is especially a focus since the people just got done with the whole "calf incident" in 32. God is once again giving His people another chance.

18-26 - God seemingly parallels a lot of the things in Ex 23:12-19 and 13:11-16. These are the things that set Israel apart as God's people.

28 - Ten Commandments again, hopefully these won't get destroyed, since it took 40 days of no eating and drinking to get them.

29-35 - The shining of Moses face shows his reaffirmation of authority that God has given Him. The people seem to respond to this right away with reverance.

Ex 35

In this chapter we see the beginning of the tabernacle. Moses calls the people of Israel to bring specific items for the tabernacle. This is to be the people's items that are freely given up for the tabernacle.


A Picture of It :) If you have the ESV Study Bible, you will see this picture and the description. All the items gathered were to be used in the construction of this. Open up your Bible for the list of materials in v4-9.













v20-29 = The people seemingly respond in a great manner by bringing everything they have. This shows that at least their initial response is one of obedience and recognition of the need for God's presence to be with them.

v30-35 = We see the idea of "God's Spirit coming upon" Bezalel to accomplish the task of creating beautiful designs on the tabernacle. We also see this for Oholiab and Bezalel for teaching as well. God's Spirit is seen throughout the Old Testament as coming upon people to carry out specific missions/tasks for God's purpose. This idea will be approached more in depth as it reappears and comes to a climax at Pentecost and throughout the book of Acts.