Exodus 33:3

3 Unto the 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.

Exodus 33:3 Meaning and Commentary

Exodus 33:3

Unto a land flowing with milk and honey
Abounding with all the necessaries and good things of life, a description of the land of Canaan frequently made, see ( Exodus 3:8 ) :

for I will not go up in the midst of thee;
would not grant them his presence in so near, visible, and respectable a manner as he had before done, though he would not utterly forsake them: the tabernacle was before in the midst of the camp, that is, that which was erected until the large one, ordered to be made, was finished, but now it was removed without the camp, ( Exodus 33:7 )

for thou art a stiffnecked people; (See Gill on Exodus 32:9):

lest I consume them in the way;
in the way to the land of Canaan, and so never get there; the meaning is, that the Lord being in the midst of them, their sin would be the more aggravated to be committed in his presence, before his face; and the glory of his majesty would require that immediate notice be taken of it, and just punishment inflicted; so that by this step God both consulted his own honour and their safety.

Exodus 33:3 In-Context

1 And the LORD said unto Moses, Depart and go up from here, thou and the people which thou hast brought up out of the land of Egypt unto the land which I swore unto Abraham, Isaac, and 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, the Hittite, the Perizzite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite.)

3 Unto the 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 one put on their ornaments.

5 For the LORD had said unto Moses, Say unto the sons 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.