Shemot 34

1 4 And Hashem said unto Moshe, Chisel thee two Luchot Avanim like the first ones; and I will write upon these Luchot the divarim that were on the Luchot HaRishonim, which thou broke.

2 And be ready in the boker, and come up in the boker unto Mt.Sinai, and present thyself there to Me on the rosh HaHar.

3 And no ish shall come up with thee, neither let any ish be seen throughout kol HaHar; neither let the tzon nor herd graze in front of that Har.

4 And he chiseled two Luchot Avanim like the first ones; and Moshe rose up early in the boker, and went up unto Mt.Sinai, as Hashem had commanded him, and took in his yad the two Luchot Avanim.

5 And Hashem descended in the anan, and stood with him there, and called out the Shem of Hashem.

6 And Hashem passed by before him, and proclaimed, Hashem, Hashem El Rachum v’Channun, slow to anger, and abundant in chesed and emes,

7 Preserving chesed for thousands, forgiving avon and pesha and chatta’ah, and by no means leaving the guilty unpunished; visiting the avon of the avot upon the banim, and upon the bnei banim, unto the third and to the fourth generation.

8 And Moshe made haste, and bowed his head toward the ground, and worshiped.

9 And he said, If now I have found chen in Thy sight, Adonoi, let Adonoi, now, go among us; although it is an Am Kesheh Oref; and forgive avoneinu and chattateinu, and take us for Thine nachalah.

10 And He said, Hinei, I cut a brit; before all thy people I will do nifla’ot, such as have not been done in kol ha’aretz, nor in kol HaGoyim; and kol HaAm among which thou art shall see the ma’aseh Hashem; for it is a norah that I will do with thee.

11 Be thou shomer over that which I command thee this day; hinei, I drive out before thee the Emori, and the Kena’ani, and the Chitti, and the Perizzi, and the Chivi, and the Yevusi.

12 Be shomer over thyself, lest thou make a brit with the inhabitants of HaAretz whither thou goest, lest it be for a mokesh (snare) in the midst of thee;

13 But ye shall destroy their mizbechot, break their matzebot, and cut down their asherah (sacred trees, poles);

14 For thou shalt worship no el acher; for Hashem, Whose Shem is Jealous, is El Kanah;

15 Lest thou make a brit with the inhabitants of HaAretz, and they go awhoring after eloheihem, and do sacrifice unto eloheihem, and one invite thee, and thou eat of his zevach (sacrifice, i.e., participate in his pagan worship);

16 And thou take of their banot unto thy banim, and their banot go a-whoring after their elohim, and make thy banim go a-whoring after their elohim.

17 Thou shalt make thee no elohei massekhah.

18 The Chag Hamatzot shalt thou be shomer over. Shivat yamim thou shalt eat matzot, as I commanded thee, in the mo’ed of the month Aviv; for in the month Aviv thou camest out from Mitzrayim.

19 All that openeth the rechem (womb) is Mine; and every firstling among thy cattle, whether ox or seh, that is zachar.

20 But the firstling of a donkey thou shalt redeem with a seh; and if thou redeem him not, then shalt thou break his neck. Kol bechor of thy banim thou shalt redeem. And none shall appear before Me empty.

21 Sheshet yamim thou shalt work, but on the yom hashevi’i thou shalt rest; in plowing and in harvest thou shalt rest.

22 And thou shalt observe Chag Shavu’os [Ac chp 2], with the firstfruits the ketzir chittim (wheat harvest), and the Chag HaAsif (Festival of Ingathering, Harvesttime [Yn chp 7]) shall be at the tekufat hashanah (changing, turning of the year).

23 Shalosh in the year shall all your men children appear before HaAdon Hashem Elohei Yisroel.

24 For I will drive out the Goyim before thee, and enlarge thy borders; neither shall any man covet thy land, when thou shalt go up to appear before Hashem Eloheicha shalosh in the shanah.

25 Thou shalt not offer the dahm of My zevach with chametz; neither shall the zevach of the Chag HaPesach be left overnight unto the boker.

26 The reshit bikkurim of thy land thou shalt bring unto the Beis Hashem Eloheicha. Thou shalt not cook a kid in cholov immo.

27 And Hashem said unto Moshe, Write thou these devarim; for according to these devarim I have cut a brit with thee and with Yisroel.

28 And he was there with Hashem arba’im yom and arba’im lailah; he did neither eat lechem, nor drink mayim. And he wrote upon the Luchot the Divrei HaBrit (Words of the Covenant), the Aseres Hadevarim (Ten Commandments).

29 And it came to pass, when Moshe came down from Mt. Sinai with the two Luchot HaEdut in the yad Moshe, when he came down from HaHar, that Moshe had no da’as that the ohr (skin) of his face had become radiant when he had spoken with Him.

30 And when Aharon and kol Bnei Yisroel saw Moshe, hinei, the ohr (skin) of his face was radiant; and they were afraid to come near him.

31 And Moshe called unto them; and Aharon and kol HaNesi’im of the Edah returned unto him; and Moshe spoke with them.

32 And afterward kol Bnei Yisroel came near; and he gave them in commandment all that Hashem had spoken with him in Mt Sinai.

33 When Moshe had finished speaking with them, he put a masveh (veil, mask) on his face.

34 But when Moshe went in before Hashem to speak with Him, he took the masveh off, until he came out. And he came out, and spoke unto the Bnei Yisroel that which he was commanded.

35 And the Bnei Yisroel saw the face of Moshe, that the ohr of the face of Moshe was radiant; and Moshe put the masveh upon his face again, until he went in to speak with Him.

Shemot 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.