Exodus 32:34

34 Now go and lead the people to the place I described to you. My messenger here will go in front of you. When the day of reckoning comes, I'll count their sin against them."

Exodus 32:34 Meaning and Commentary

Exodus 32:34

Therefore now go, lead the people [unto the] place of
which I have spoken unto thee
That is, to the land of Canaan, which he had promised to their fathers and to them, and had directed Moses to bring them to:

behold, mine angel shall go before thee:
and not I, as Jarchi interprets it; not the Angel of the covenant, and of his presence, as in ( Exodus 23:20 ) but a created angel, which, though a favour, was a lessening of the mercy before promised and granted; and which gave the people a great deal of concern, though Moses by his supplications got the former blessing restored, ( Exodus 33:2 Exodus 33:4 Exodus 33:14 Exodus 33:17 ) :

nevertheless, in the day when I visit, I will visit their sin upon
them;
that is, when he should visit them in a way of correction for other sins, he would visit them in like manner for this sin, the worship of the golden calf; and so Jarchi well explains it,

``when I visit upon them their iniquities, I will visit upon them a little of this iniquity, with the rest of iniquities; and there is no punishment (adds he) comes upon Israel, in which there is not something of the punishment of the sin of the calf;''

and the Jews have a saying F20, that

``there is not a generation in which there is not an ounce of the sin of the calf.''


FOOTNOTES:

F20 T. Hieros. Taanith, fol. 68. 3.

Exodus 32:34 In-Context

32 But now, please forgive their sin! And if not, then wipe me out of your scroll that you've written."
33 But the LORD said to Moses, "The ones I'll wipe out of my scroll are those who sinned against me.
34 Now go and lead the people to the place I described to you. My messenger here will go in front of you. When the day of reckoning comes, I'll count their sin against them."
35 Then the LORD sent a plague on the people because of what they did with the bull calf that Aaron made.
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