Exodus 34

1 And the Lorde sayde vnto Moses: hew the .ij. tables of stone like vnto the first that I maye write in the the wordes which were in the fyrst .ij. tables, which thou brakest.

2 And be redye agaynst the mornige that thou mayst come vpp early vnto the mount of Sinai and stode me there apo the toppe of the mount.

3 But let no man come vp with the, nether let any man be sene thorow out all the mount, nether let shepe nor oxen fede before the hyll.

4 And Moses hewed .ij. tables of stone like vnto the first ad rose vp early in the morninge ad went vp vnto the mout of Sinai as the Lorde comaunded him: ad toke in his hade the .ij tables of stone.

5 And the Lorde desceded in the cloude, ad stode with him there: ad he called apo the name of the Lorde.

6 And whe the Lorde walked before him, he cryed: Lorde Lorde God full of compassion ad mercy, which art not lightly angrye but abundat in mercy ad trueth,

7 ad kepest mercy in store for thousandes, ad forgeuest wikednesse, trespace ad synne (for there is no man ynnocet before the) and visetest the wikydnesse of the fathers vpo the childern ad apon childerns childern, euen vnto the thryd ad fourth generatio.

8 And Moses bowed hymself to the erth quykly, ad worshipped

9 ad sayde: yf I haue foude grace in thi sighte o Lorde, than let my Lorde goo with us (for it is a stuburne people) and haue mercy apo oure wikednesse ad oure synne, and let us be thyne enheritaunce.

10 And he sayde: beholde, I make an appoyntment before all this people, that I will do maruells: soch as haue not bene done i all the worlde, nether amoge any nacyon. And all the people amonge which thou art, shall se the worke of the Lorde: for it is a terryble thinge that I will doo with the:

11 kepe all that I commaunde the this daye, and beholde: I will cast out before the: the Amorites, Canaanites, Hethites, Pherezites, Heuites and Iebusites.

12 Take hede to thi selfe, that thou make no compacte with the inhabiters of the lode whether thou goest lest it be cause of ruyne amonge you.

13 But ouerthrowe their alters and breke their pilers, and cutt doune their grooues,

14 for thou shalt worshippe no straunge God For the Lorde is called gelous, because he is a gelous God:

15 lest yf thou make any agreament with the inhabiters of the lande, when they go a whoorynge after their goddes ad do sacrifyce vnto their goddes, they call the and thou eate of their sacrifyce:

16 ad thou take of their doughters vnto thi sonnes, and when their doughters goo a whoorynge after their goddes,

17 they make thi sonnes goo a whoorynge after their goddes also.Thou shalt make the no goddes of metall

18 The fest of swete bred shalt thou kepe, ad .vij. dayes thou shalt eate vnleuended bred (as I commaunded the) in the tyme apoynted in the moneth of Abib: for in the moneth of Abib thou camest out of Egipte.

19 All that breaketh vp the matryce shalbe mine, and all that breaketh the matryce amonge thi catell, yf it be male: whether it be oxe or shepe.

20 But the first of the asse thou shalt by out with a shepe, or yf thou redeme him not: se thou breake his necke. All the firstborne of thi sonnes thou must nedes redeme. And se that no ma appeare before me emptye.

21 Sixe dayes thou shalt worke, and the seueth thou shalt rest: both from earynge and reapynge.

22 Thou shalt obserue the feast of wekes with the fyrst frutes of wheate heruest, ad the feast of ingaderynge at the yeres ende.

23 Thrise in a yere shall all youre men childern appeare before the Lorde Iehouah God of Israel:

24 for I will cast out the nacyons before the and will enlarge thi costes, so that no man shall desyre thi londe, while thou goest vp to appeare before the face of the Lorde thi God, thryse in the yere.

25 Thou shalt not offre the bloude of my sacrifyce with leuended bred: nether shall ought of the sacrifyce of the feast of Passeover, be lefte vnto the morninge.

26 The first of the firstfrutes of thy lode, thou shalt brynge vnto the house of the Lorde thy God. And se, that thou seth not a kydd in his mothers mylke.

27 And the Lorde sayde vnto Moses: write these wordes, for vppon these wordes I haue made a couenaunt with the and with the childern of Israel.

28 And he was there with the Lorde .xl. dayes ad .xl. nyghtes, ad nether ate bred nor dronke water. And he wrote in the tables the wordes of the couenaunt: euen ten verses.

29 And Moses came doune from mount Sinai and the .ij. tables of witnesse in his hande, and yet he wyst not that the skynne of his face shone with beames of his comenynge with him.

30 And when Aaron and all the childern of Israel loked apon Moses and sawe that the skynne of his face shone with beames, they were a frayde to come nye him.

31 But he called the to him, and then Aaron and all the chefe of the companye came vnto him, ad Moses talked with them.

32 And at the last all the childern of Israel came vnto him, and he commaunded them all that the Lorde had sayde vnto him in mount Sinai.

33 And as soone as he had made an ende of comenynge with them, he put a couerynge apo his face.

34 But whe he went before the Lorde to speak with him, he toke the couerige of vntill he came out. And he came out and spake vnto the childern of Israel that which he was commaunded.

35 And the childern of Israel sawe the face of Moses, that the skynne of his face shone with beames: but Moses put a couerynge vppon his face, vntill he went in, to comen with him.

Exodus 34 Commentary

Chapter 34

The tables of the law renewed. (1-4) The name of the Lord proclaimed, The entreaty of Moses. (5-9) God's covenant. (10-17) The festivals. (18-27) The vail of Moses. (28-35)

Verses 1-4 When God made man in his own image, the moral law was written in his heart, by the finger of God, without outward means. But since the covenant then made with man was broken, the Lord has used the ministry of men, both in writing the law in the Scriptures, and in writing it in the heart. When God was reconciled to the Israelites, he ordered the tables to be renewed, and wrote his law in them. Even under the gospel of peace by Christ, the moral law continues to bind believers. Though Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, yet not from the commands of it. The first and the best evidence of the pardon of sin, and peace with God, is the writing the law in the heart.

Verses 5-9 The Lord descended by some open token of his presence and manifestation of his glory in a cloud, and thence proclaimed his NAME; that is, the perfections and character which are denoted by the name JEHOVAH. The Lord God is merciful; ready to forgive the sinner, and to relieve the needy. Gracious; kind, and ready to bestow undeserved benefits. Long-suffering; slow to anger, giving time for repentance, only punishing when it is needful. He is abundant in goodness and truth; even sinners receive the riches of his bounty abundantly, though they abuse them. All he reveals is infallible truth, all he promises is in faithfulness. Keeping mercy for thousands; he continually shows mercy to sinners, and has treasures, which cannot be exhausted, to the end of time. Forgiving iniquity, and transgression, and sin; his mercy and goodness reach to the full and free forgiveness of sin. And will by no means clear the guilty; the holiness and justice of God are part of his goodness and love towards all his creatures. In Christ's sufferings, the Divine holiness and justice are fully shown, and the evil of sin is made known. God's forgiving mercy is always attended by his converting, sanctifying grace. None are pardoned but those who repent and forsake the allowed practice of every sin; nor shall any escape, who abuse, neglect, or despise this great salvation. Moses bowed down, and worshipped reverently. Every perfection in the name of God, the believer may plead with Him for the forgiveness of his sins, the making holy of his heart, and the enlargement of the Redeemer's kingdom.

Verses 10-17 The Israelites are commanded to destroy every monument of idolatry, however curious or costly; to refuse all alliance, friendship, or marriage with idolaters, and all idolatrous feasts; and they were reminded not with idolaters, and all idolatrous feats; and they were reminded not to repeat the crime of making molten images. Jealously is called the rage of a man, ( Proverbs 6:34 ) ; but in God it is holy and just displeasure. Those cannot worship God aright, who do not worship him only.

Verses 18-27 Once a week they must rest, even in ploughing time, and in harvest. All worldly business must give way to that holy rest; even harvest work will prosper the better, for the religious observance of the sabbath day in harvest time. We must show that we prefer our communion with God, and our duty to him, before the business or the joy of harvest. Thrice a year they must appear before the Lord God, the God of Israel. Canaan was a desirable land, and the neighbouring nations were greedy; yet God says, They shall not desire it. Let us check all sinful desires against God and his glory, in our hearts, and then trust him to check all sinful desires in the hearts of others against us. The way of duty is the way of safety. Those who venture for him never lose by him. Three feasts are here mentioned: 1. The Passover, in remembrance of the deliverance out of Egypt. 2. The feast of weeks, or the feast of Pentecost; added to it is the law of the first-fruits. 3. The feast of in-gathering, or the feast of Tabernacles. Moses is to write these words, that the people might know them better. We can never be enough thankful to God for the written word. God would make a covenant with Israel, in Moses as a mediator. Thus the covenant of grace is made with believers through Christ.

Verses 28-35 Near and spiritual communion with God improves the graces of a renewed and holy character. Serious godliness puts a lustre upon a man's countenance, such as commands esteem and affection. The vail which Moses put on, marked the obscurity of that dispensation, compared with the gospel dispensation of the New Testament. It was also an emblem of the natural vail on the hearts of men respecting spiritual things. Also the vail that was and is upon the nation of Israel, which can only be taken away by the Spirit of the Lord showing to them Christ, as the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth. Fear and unbelief would put the vail before us, they would hinder our free approach to the mercy-seat above. We should spread our wants, temporal and spiritual, fully before our heavenly Father; we should tell him our hinderances, struggles, trails, and temptations; we should acknowledge our offences.

Chapter Summary

INTRODUCTION TO EXODUS 34

In this chapter Moses has orders to hew two tables of stone, that God might write on them the ten commands, and bring them up with him to the mount, Ex 34:1-4 where the Lord proclaimed his name, and caused his glory and his goodness to pass before him, Ex 34:5-7 when Moses took this favourable opportunity that offered to pray for the people, that God would forgive their sin, and go along with them, Ex 34:8,9 upon which he made a covenant with them, which on his part was to do wonders for them, and drive out the inhabitants of Canaan before them; and on their part, that they should have no confederacy and communion with these nations, and shun their idolatry, and everything that might lead unto it, Ex 34:10-17 and he repeated several laws before given, and urged the observance of them, which Moses was to acquaint the people with, Ex 34:18-27 and after a stay of forty days and forty nights on the mount, he came down with the two tables of the law; and the skin of his face shone so bright, that the people of Israel were afraid to come nigh him, and therefore he put a vail over his face while he conversed with them, Ex 34:28-35.