Exodus 33

1 Then the LORD said to Moses, “Leave this place, you and the people you brought up out of Egypt, and go up to the land I promised on oath to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, saying, ‘I will give it to your descendants.’
2 I will send an angel before you and drive out the Canaanites, Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites.
3 Go up to the land flowing with milk and honey. But I will not go with you, because you are a stiff-necked people and I might destroy you on the way.”
4 When the people heard these distressing words, they began to mourn and no one put on any ornaments.
5 For the LORD had said to Moses, “Tell the Israelites, ‘You are a stiff-necked people. If I were to go with you even for a moment, I might destroy you. Now take off your ornaments and I will decide what to do with you.’ ”
6 So the Israelites stripped off their ornaments at Mount Horeb.

The Tent of Meeting

7 Now Moses used to take a tent and pitch it outside the camp some distance away, calling it the “tent of meeting.” Anyone inquiring of the LORD would go to the tent of meeting outside the camp.
8 And whenever Moses went out to the tent, all the people rose and stood at the entrances to their tents, watching Moses until he entered the tent.
9 As Moses went into the tent, the pillar of cloud would come down and stay at the entrance, while the LORD spoke with Moses.
10 Whenever the people saw the pillar of cloud standing at the entrance to the tent, they all stood and worshiped, each at the entrance to their tent.
11 The LORD would speak to Moses face to face, as one speaks to a friend. Then Moses would return to the camp, but his young aide Joshua son of Nun did not leave the tent.

Moses and the Glory of the LORD

12 Moses said to the LORD, “You have been telling me, ‘Lead these people,’ but you have not let me know whom you will send with me. You have said, ‘I know you by name and you have found favor with me.’
13 If you are pleased with me, teach me your ways so I may know you and continue to find favor with you. Remember that this nation is your people.”
14 The LORD replied, “My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.”
15 Then Moses said to him, “If your Presence does not go with us, do not send us up from here.
16 How will anyone know that you are pleased with me and with your people unless you go with us? What else will distinguish me and your people from all the other people on the face of the earth?”
17 And the LORD said to Moses, “I will do the very thing you have asked, because I am pleased with you and I know you by name.”
18 Then Moses said, “Now show me your glory.”
19 And the LORD said, “I will cause all my goodness to pass in front of you, and I will proclaim my name, the LORD, in your presence. I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion.
20 But,” he said, “you cannot see my face, for no one may see me and live.”
21 Then the LORD said, “There is a place near me where you may stand on a rock.
22 When my glory passes by, I will put you in a cleft in the rock and cover you with my hand until I have passed by.
23 Then I will remove my hand and you will see my back; but my face must not be seen.”

Cross References 38

  • 1. S Exodus 13:11; S Numbers 14:23; Hebrews 6:13
  • 2. S Genesis 12:7
  • 3. S Exodus 14:19; Exodus 32:34
  • 4. S Exodus 23:28; Exodus 23:27-31; Joshua 24:11
  • 5. S Exodus 3:8
  • 6. Exodus 32:9; Acts 7:51
  • 7. S Exodus 32:10
  • 8. Numbers 14:39; Ezra 9:3; Esther 4:1; Psalms 119:53
  • 9. S Exodus 32:9
  • 10. S Exodus 32:10
  • 11. S Exodus 3:1
  • 12. S Exodus 27:21; Exodus 29:42-43
  • 13. S Genesis 25:22; S 1 Kings 22:5
  • 14. ver 10; Numbers 16:27
  • 15. Exodus 13:21; S Exodus 19:9; Deuteronomy 31:15; 1 Corinthians 10:1
  • 16. S Exodus 29:42; Exodus 31:18; Psalms 99:7
  • 17. S ver 8
  • 18. Numbers 12:8; Deuteronomy 5:4; Deuteronomy 34:10
  • 19. S Exodus 17:9
  • 20. Exodus 3:10; S Exodus 15:17
  • 21. ver 17; Isaiah 43:1; Isaiah 45:3; Isaiah 49:1; John 10:14-15; 2 Timothy 2:19
  • 22. S Genesis 6:8
  • 23. Psalms 25:4; Psalms 27:11; Psalms 51:13; Psalms 86:11; Psalms 103:7; Psalms 143:8; Psalms 119:33
  • 24. Exodus 3:7; Exodus 34:9; Deuteronomy 9:26,29; Psalms 77:15
  • 25. S Exodus 13:21; Deuteronomy 4:37; Isaiah 63:9; Haggai 1:13; Haggai 2:4
  • 26. Deuteronomy 12:9,10; Deuteronomy 25:19; Joshua 1:13; Joshua 11:23; Joshua 21:44; Joshua 22:4; Joshua 23:1; 1 Kings 8:56; Isaiah 63:14; Jeremiah 31:2; Matthew 11:28; Hebrews 4:1-11
  • 27. ver 3; Exodus 34:9; 2 Kings 13:23; 2 Kings 17:18; 2 Kings 23:27; 2 Kings 24:20; Psalms 51:11; Psalms 80:3,7,19; Jeremiah 7:15; Jeremiah 52:3
  • 28. Exodus 34:5; Exodus 40:34,35; Numbers 9:15; Numbers 14:14
  • 29. Exodus 34:10; Leviticus 20:24,26; Numbers 23:9; Dt 4:7,32,34; Deuteronomy 32:9; Deuteronomy 33:28
  • 30. Exodus 34:28; Deuteronomy 9:18,25; Deuteronomy 10:10; James 5:16
  • 31. S Genesis 6:8
  • 32. S Exodus 16:7; John 1:14; John 12:41; 1 Timothy 6:16; Revelation 15:8
  • 33. 1 Kings 19:11
  • 34. Exodus 6:3; Exodus 34:5-7
  • 35. Romans 9:15*
  • 36. S Genesis 16:13; S Exodus 3:6; S Deuteronomy 5:26; S John 1:18; Genesis 32:30; Isaiah 6:5
  • 37. Genesis 49:24; 1 Kings 19:9; Psalms 27:5; Psalms 31:20; Psalms 62:7; Psalms 91:1; Isaiah 2:21; Jeremiah 4:29
  • 38. Psalms 91:4; Isaiah 49:2; Isaiah 51:16

Exodus 33 Commentaries

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