Exodus 33:3

3 et intres in terram fluentem lacte et melle non enim ascendam tecum quia populus durae cervicis est ne forte disperdam te in via

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 locutusque est Dominus ad Mosen vade ascende de loco isto tu et populus tuus quem eduxisti de terra Aegypti in terram quam iuravi Abraham Isaac et Iacob dicens semini tuo dabo eam

2 et mittam praecursorem tui angelum ut eiciam Chananeum et Amorreum et Hettheum et Ferezeum et Eveum et Iebuseum

3 et intres in terram fluentem lacte et melle non enim ascendam tecum quia populus durae cervicis est ne forte disperdam te in via

4 audiens populus sermonem hunc pessimum luxit et nullus ex more indutus est cultu suo

5 dixitque Dominus ad Mosen loquere filiis Israhel populus durae cervicis es semel ascendam in medio tui et delebo te iam nunc depone ornatum tuum ut sciam quid faciam tibi