The context of Exodus 33:
In Exodus 32:7-8, the Israelites corrupted themselves by making a
molten calf and worshipping it. They sacrificed to it and proclaimed it as
their gods that brought them out of Egypt.
In verse 9 God calls them a “stiffnecked people”. God says “They have
turned aside quickly out of the way which I commanded them…” (Exodus 32:8).
God had commanded the Israelites before Moses went up on the mount to
receive the tablets from God. God commanded them in the third month after they
had left Egypt, the same day that they came into Sinai (Exodus 19:1-6). Moses
went up to the mountain and the Lord called to him from out of the mountain and
told Moses what to say to the house of Jacob, what to tell the children of
Israel…
Exodus 32: 4-6:“4 Ye have seen what I did unto the Egyptians, and how I bare you on eagles' wings, and brought you unto myself.
5 Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people: for all the earth is mine:
6 And ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation. These are the words which thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel.”
Moses came and gathered all the elders and told them what the Lord had
commanded him. They all “answered together, and said, All that the Lord hath
spoken we will do. And Moses returned the words of the people unto the Lord.”
(verse 8).
God told Moses that He was coming in a dark cloud so that the people
could hear Him speaking to Moses Himself and so they would believe Moses
forever. Then He told Moses to sanctify the people that day and the next and
told them to wash their clothes and be ready for the third day because that was
the day He would come down upon the mountain in their sight. God told them to
set boundaries so that no one came up to the mountain. He told them when they
heard the long trumpet sound to come to the mountain (Exodus 19:9-19).
Exodus 20:1-17 - God gave the children of Israel the ten commandments.
Exodus 20:18-21 – The people were afraid.
They had seen the greatness of the Lord, the thunderings and
lightnings, and they heard to trumpet and saw the smoking mountain. They were
so afraid that they moved far off from the mountain and told Moses how afraid
they were. They wanted Moses to talk to the Lord for them and they didn’t want
Him to speak to them because they feared they would die. Moses told them not to
be afraid because God came to speak with them so they would fear Him and not
sin.
Exodus 20:21-26
Moses went near to the thick darkness where God was and the Lord told
Moses to remind them that they had just seen Him talking to them Himself from
Heaven. They didn’t see any specific image, they saw a thick darkness (nothing
but darkness). The Lord told them not to make any images with Him (or to be Him
or representing Him). He told them to make an altar of earth (He gave them
specifics on how to make it) and sacrifice on it. The Lord reminded them not to
come near the mountain.
Exodus chapters 21-23 – The Lord’s Judgments
The Lord gave Moses judgments to give to the people.
·
These judgments told the people how they were to
treat each other. They also told them what to do in the event certain
situations occurred. These judgments also told the people how to treat
strangers.
·
Not only did the Lord’s judgments tell the
people how to treat each other, it also told them about the year of Jubilee (every
7th year the land shall not be worked so as to give it rest and so
the poor of the people may eat, and the beasts shall eat what they leave),
about the Sabbath (every 7th day shall they rest and all their
animals and servants shall rest too, as well as the stranger – so that all may
be refreshed).
·
God told them not to even mention the name of
other gods or even let it be heard out of their mouths.
·
God told them they were to keep a feast to Him 3
times a year (the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the Feast of Harvest – the Firstfruits,
and the Feast of Ingathering). The Lord gives them some of the specifics of the
sacrifices.
·
God tells them He is sending and Angel to go
before them and to keep them in the way and bring them to the place He has
prepared for them. He warns them to be sure to obey the Angel and not to
provoke Him (God’s Name is in Him).
·
God tells them not to bow down to the other
nations’ gods or serve them, but to destroy them.
·
He tells them to serve Him and He will bless
them. He tells them how He will go before them and drive out before them and
how He will watch over them and protect them.
·
He tells them not to make a covenant with any of
the nations He is driving out from before them because it will be a snare unto
them.
The Lord tells Moses to come up with Aaron, Nadab and Abihu and 70 of the elders and worship from afar off. He told Moses that only he would be allowed to come up near Him. Moses told the people what the Lord had commanded and all the judgments and the people answered with one voice “…All the words which the Lord hath said will we do.” (Exodus 24:3)
“4 And Moses wrote
all the words of the Lord, and rose up early in the morning, and builded an
altar under the hill, and twelve pillars, according to the twelve tribes of
Israel.
5 And he sent young
men of the children of Israel, which offered burnt offerings, and sacrificed
peace offerings of oxen unto the Lord.
6 And Moses took
half of the blood, and put it in basons; and half of the blood he sprinkled on
the altar.
7 And he took the
book of the covenant, and read in the audience of the people: and they said,
All that the Lord hath said will we do, and be obedient.
8 And Moses took
the blood, and sprinkled it on the people, and said, Behold the blood of the
covenant, which the Lord hath made with you concerning all these words.
9 Then went up
Moses, and Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel:”
Moses Goes Up to Receive More Commandments and the Tablets:
Exodus 25-31 – The Lord tells Moses, after he went up unto Him, how to
build the Tabernacle, to keep the light burning always, and about Aaron and the
priest’s office and their garments, and all the specifics of these things.
Exodus 31:12-18 – The Lord commanded them about the Sabbaths (God’s
Holy Days):
“12 And the Lord
spake unto Moses, saying,
13 Speak thou also
unto the children of Israel, saying, Verily my sabbaths ye shall keep: for it
is a sign between me and you throughout your generations; that ye may know that
I am the Lord that doth sanctify you.
14 Ye shall keep
the sabbath therefore; for it is holy unto you: every one that defileth it
shall surely be put to death: for whosoever doeth any work therein, that soul
shall be cut off from among his people.
15 Six days may
work be done; but in the seventh is the sabbath of rest, holy to the Lord:
whosoever doeth any work in the sabbath day, he shall surely be put to death.
16 Wherefore the
children of Israel shall keep the sabbath, to observe the sabbath throughout
their generations, for a perpetual covenant.
17 It is a sign
between me and the children of Israel for ever: for in six days the Lord made
heaven and earth, and on the seventh day he rested, and was refreshed.
18 And he gave unto
Moses, when he had made an end of communing with him upon mount Sinai, two
tables of testimony, tables of stone, written with the finger of God.”
Exodus 32
This is where the people corrupted themselves and showed they were
still “stiffnecked”. They turned quickly from what God had commanded them.
·
The people told Aaron to make them gods to go
before them because they didn’t know what had happened to Moses on the
mountain. Aaron gave into the people and made the molten calf.
·
The people declared this calf their gods that
brought them out of Egypt.
·
When Aaron saw it, he built an altar and
proclaimed the next day to be a feast to the Lord.
·
The people woke the next morning and brought offerings
to the calf and then they ate and drank and played.
Exodus 32:9-14
“9 And the Lord said unto Moses, I have
seen this people, and, behold, it is a stiffnecked people:10 Now therefore let me alone, that my wrath may wax hot against them, and that I may consume them: and I will make of thee a great nation.
11 And Moses besought the Lord his God, and said, Lord, why doth thy wrath wax hot against thy people, which thou hast brought forth out of the land of Egypt with great power, and with a mighty hand?
12 Wherefore should the Egyptians speak, and say, For mischief did he bring them out, to slay them in the mountains, and to consume them from the face of the earth? Turn from thy fierce wrath, and repent of this evil against thy people.
13 Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, thy servants, to whom thou swarest by thine own self, and saidst unto them, I will multiply your seed as the stars of heaven, and all this land that I have spoken of will I give unto your seed, and they shall inherit it for ever.
14 And the Lord repented of the evil which he thought to do unto his people.”
Exodus 32:15-35
Moses went down to see what the people were doing and he was very angry
with them for bringing a great sin upon them. He asked the people which of them
were on the Lord’s side and they gathered unto him. Everyone that was not with
the Lord was put to the sword and three thousand men fell of the people that
day. Moses told them to consecrate themselves to the Lord that they may receive
a blessing. Moses went up unto the Lord the next morning to make atonement for
the people for their sin. The Lord plagued the people because of the calf, but
He still sent His Angel before them as they traveled to the land He had spoken
of to them. He said to Moses “33 … Whosoever hath sinned against me, him will I
blot out of my book. 34 Therefore now go, lead the people unto the place of
which I have spoken unto thee: behold, mine Angel shall go before thee:
nevertheless in the day when I visit I will visit their sin upon them.”
Exodus 33
With all of this in mind (the context of chapter 33) we now take a look
at chapter 33.
The Lord still sent them to the land He had promised them, but He told
them they would not inherit it. Only their children would inherit the land “flowing
with milk and honey”. The Lord told them He would not go up in the midst of
them because He would consume them. The people mourned because of this. God
told them to strip off their ornaments and they did.
Exodus 33:7-17
Moses took the tabernacle far off from the camp (he called it the
Tabernacle of the congregation). When Moses entered the tabernacle a cloudy
pillar would descend and stand at the door of the tabernacle and the Lord would
talk with Moses.
In this passage Moses asked the Lord whom He would be sending with him
when he brought the people up to the land He told them about. He asked the Lord
to show him His way so that he would know he had found grace in the Lord’s
sight. He also asked the Lord to consider this nation His people.
The Lord told Moses that He would go with him when he brought the
people up. He also told Moses that He would give him rest. Moses didn’t want to
go if the Lord wasn’t going to go with them…
Exodus 33:15-16 - “And he said unto him, If thy presence go not with me, carry us not up hence.
For wherein shall it be known here that I and thy people have found grace in thy sight? is it not in that thou goest with us? so shall we be separated, I and thy people, from all the people that are upon the face of the earth.”
The Lord answered Moses… Exodus 33:17
“And the Lord said
unto Moses, I will do this thing also that thou hast spoken: for thou hast
found grace in my sight, and I know thee by name.”
Exodus 33:18-23
“18 And he said, I
beseech thee, shew me thy glory.
19 And he said, I
will make all my goodness pass before thee, and I will proclaim the name of the
Lord before thee; and will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will
shew mercy on whom I will shew mercy.
20 And he said,
Thou canst not see my face: for there shall no man see me, and live.
21 And the Lord
said, Behold, there is a place by me, and thou shalt stand upon a rock:
22 And it shall
come to pass, while my glory passeth by, that I will put thee in a clift of the
rock, and will cover thee with my hand while I pass by:
23 And I will take
away mine hand, and thou shalt see my back parts: but my face shall not be
seen.”
Jeremiah speaks of the children of Israel when they corrupted
themselves…
Jeremiah 31:1-4 “1 At the same time, saith the Lord, will I be the God of all the families of Israel, and they shall be my people.
2 Thus saith the Lord, The people which were left of the sword found grace in the wilderness; even Israel, when I went to cause him to rest.
3 The Lord hath appeared of old unto me, saying, Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love: therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn thee.
4 Again I will build thee, and thou shalt be built, O virgin of Israel: thou shalt again be adorned with thy tabrets, and shalt go forth in the dances of them that make merry.”
This brings us to the other
chapter from my dream ( John chapter 14):
John 14:1-4
“1 Let not your
heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me.
2 In my Father's
house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to
prepare a place for you.
3 And if I go and
prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that
where I am, there ye may be also.
4 And whither I go
ye know, and the way ye know.”
I think this part of the chapter relates to Exodus 33 in that the Lord
was preparing a place for His people here on earth in Exodus 33 and in John 14
we see Jesus is going to prepare a place for the Lord’s people in Heaven.
If we think about it, in Exodus 33, only the people who stood with the
Lord went to see His promised land (the children of those who were left after
the three thousand were slain for corrupting themselves with the calf – Exodus 33:1
“And the Lord said unto Moses, Depart, and go up hence, thou and the people
which thou hast brought up out of the land of Egypt, unto the land which I
sware unto Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, saying, Unto thy seed will I give
it:”). That generation corrupted themselves by not obeying the Lord’s
commandments and were not able to see the promised land.
John 14:4 – The Lord tells us that we know where He is going and we
know the way to get there. In relation to the context of Exodus 33, I think
this means that the Lord told us in the previous chapters what His commandments
and judgments were. Those commandments and judgments foretold of Jesus coming
to save us as a Passover sacrifice. There is only one way to Heaven and that is
to repent of our sins (realizing what our sins are from the commandments and
judgments), ask forgiveness of those sins and ask Jesus to save us (accepting
His bloody sacrificial death on the cross as our Passover Lamb Who atoned for
our sins by covering us with His blood).
John 14:5-6
“5 Thomas saith
unto him, Lord, we know not whither thou goest; and how can we know the way?
6 Jesus saith unto
him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but
by me.”
Jesus goes on to tell the disciples…
John 14:7-11
“7 If ye had known
me, ye should have known my Father also: and from henceforth ye know him, and
have seen him.
8 Philip saith unto
him, Lord, show us the Father, and it sufficeth us.
9 Jesus saith unto
him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip?
he that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Show us
the Father?
10 Believest thou
not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? the words that I speak unto
you I speak not of myself: but the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works.
11 Believe me that
I am in the Father, and the Father in me: or else believe me for the very
works' sake.”
I think this passage is related to Exodus in that I think Jesus was the
cloudy pillar that descended and stood at the door of the tabernacle and talked
with Moses face to face “as a man speaketh unto his friend”.
Exodus 33:9-11
“9 And it came to
pass, as Moses entered into the tabernacle, the cloudy pillar descended, and
stood at the door of the tabernacle, and the Lord talked with Moses.
10 And all the
people saw the cloudy pillar stand at the tabernacle door: and all the people
rose up and worshipped, every man in his tent door.
11 And the Lord
spake unto Moses face to face, as a man speaketh unto his friend. …”
Everyone in the Exodus passage saw the cloudy pillar (Jesus) and knew
it was God coming to speak to Moses. Jesus stood at the tabernacle door so that
Moses could speak to God through Him. Everyone saw Him and they worshipped Him at
their tent doors (Exodus 33:10).
Note verse 10 of John chapter 14 – “…the words that I speak unto you I
speak not of myself: but the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works.”
Jesus was speaking to them, but it was God’s words that He was saying (just
like in Exodus when the Lord spoke to Moses through the cloudy pillar – Jesus).
“12 Verily, verily,
I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also;
and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father.
13 And whatsoever
ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in
the Son. 14 If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it.”
John 14:15 - Jesus says “If ye love me, keep my commandments.”
This verse relates to the passages in Exodus in that those chapters are
where the Lord gave us His commandments and judgments. He punished the people
because they disobeyed His commandments and judgments. Jesus is telling us that
if we love Him (and thereby if we love the Lord) we will keep His commandments
(Jesus is speaking for the Lord).
John 14:16-18
“16 And I will pray
the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you
for ever;
17 Even the Spirit
of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither
knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.
18 I will not leave
you comfortless: I will come to you.”
Jesus knows He is going to be with the Father and that He will not be
able to physically be here on earth with the disciples. He also knows that we
all need Him with us all the time. Jesus tells His disciples that the Lord is
going to send them “another Comforter” to be with us forever (the Holy Spirit
- the Spirit of truth). Jesus tells us
that He will not leave us without Him, He will come to us and comfort us
through the Spirit of truth.
Remember Exodus 33:13-14…
“13 Now therefore,
I pray thee, if I have found grace in thy sight, shew me now thy way, that I
may know thee, that I may find grace in thy sight: and consider that this
nation is thy people.
14 And he said, My
presence shall go with thee, and I will give thee rest.”
“19 Yet a little
while, and the world seeth me no more; but ye see me: because I live, ye shall
live also.
20 At that day ye
shall know that I am in my Father, and ye in me, and I in you.”
Jesus is telling His disciples that He is fixing to leave this earth
physically, but even though He won’t physically be here, after He has ascended
and the Comforter has come (Jesus through the Holy Spirit) we will know that
Jesus is in the Father and the Father is in Jesus and that Jesus is in us too
(we will have the Holy Spirit living in us).
John 14:21-26
“21 He that hath
my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth
me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself
to him.
22 Judas saith
unto him, not Iscariot, Lord, how is it that thou wilt manifest thyself unto
us, and not unto the world?
23 Jesus answered
and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will
love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him.
24 He that loveth
me not keepeth not my sayings: and the word which ye hear is not mine, but the
Father's which sent me.
25 These things
have I spoken unto you, being yet present with you.
26 But the
Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he
shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance,
whatsoever I have said unto you.”
For this passage, let’s look at Hebrews 8:1-3, 8, 10
“1 Now of the
things which we have spoken this is the sum: We have such an high priest, who
is set on the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens;
2 A minister of the
sanctuary, and of the true tabernacle, which the Lord pitched, and not man.
3 For every high
priest is ordained to offer gifts and sacrifices: wherefore it is of necessity
that this man have somewhat also to offer.”
“8 … Behold, the
days come, saith the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of
Israel and with the house of Judah:”
“10 For this is the
covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the
Lord; I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts: and I
will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people:”
Jesus is our “high priest”, our “minister of the sanctuary, and of the
true tabernacle” which God made (God made Heaven - our promised land). Every
high priest is to offer sacrifices and gifts to God (Jesus is our sacrifice and
His sacrifice is His gift to God). The Lord gives us the Holy Spirit to live in
us. The Holy Spirit is Jesus and the Lord God (John 14:19-20). The Lord is
making a new covenant with the house of Israel (those who are saved by grace
through faith in Jesus). This new covenant is that the Lord will put His laws
in our minds and write them in our hearts. The Lord will let us know, through
the Holy Spirit in our mind and heart, what His laws are and He will write them
on our hearts (I think this means that the Holy Spirit will tug at our hearts
to let us know this is important to the Lord for us to do and we will feel
emotional about His laws).
“He that loveth me not keepeth not my sayings: and the word which ye hear is not mine, but the Father's which sent me.”
·
The Lord is telling us, through His Son Jesus,
that if we don’t keep His sayings (commandments, laws, judgments) that we do
not love Him.
·
Jesus is also telling us in this verse that we
are not hearing His words, we are hearing the Lord’s words (the Father, Who
sent His Son Jesus to us to talk to us through Him and Who is doing the Father’s
Will). It is so important for us to understand this that the Lord sent Jesus
Himself to tell us while He was physically with us (remember John 14:10 - “…the words that I speak unto you I speak
not of myself: but the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works.”).
John 14:27-31
“27 Peace I leave
with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you.
Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.
28 Ye have heard
how I said unto you, I go away, and come again unto you. If ye loved me, ye
would rejoice, because I said, I go unto the Father: for my Father is greater
than I.
29 And now I have
told you before it come to pass, that, when it is come to pass, ye might
believe.
30 Hereafter I will
not talk much with you: for the prince of this world cometh, and hath nothing
in me.
31 But that the
world may know that I love the Father; and as the Father gave me commandment,
even so I do. Arise, let us go hence.”
“17 But the wisdom that is from above is first
pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be intreated, full of mercy and good
fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy.
18 And the fruit of
righteousness is sown in peace of them that make peace.”
Jesus gives us the Lord’s truth which is pure (meaning it will make you
stop and think and realize that what you are doing may or may not be
right). Then, after we have accepted the
Lord’s truth, we are peaceable with it (“gentle, and easy to be intreated, full
of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy”).
In John 14:27 – Jesus is telling us not to be afraid and not to let our
heart be troubled. I think this means that, when we realize what the truth is,
we should not be afraid to face it and to try to understand it because it will
bring us peace, His peace, when we accept it as the truth (the fruit of
righteousness).
John 14:28-30 – Jesus is telling us that, although He is physically
leaving us, He will come again unto us through the Holy Spirit after His
ascension.
John 14:31 – Jesus is telling us that we will know He loves the Father
because He is obeying the Father’s commandments and is becoming our Passover
sacrificial, spotless Lamb by dying on the cross for our sins even though He is
sinless (spotless like the Passover Lamb).
Don’t be a “stiffnecked people” like the Israelites in Exodus 32:9. Don’t
turn “aside quickly out of the way which” God is commanding us. Listen to the
word of the Lord our God and keep His commandments!
An interesting note:
As I was studying these scriptures in the van waiting for the kids to go in at
school, I heard the song “God’s Not Dead”… God is not dead, He is surely alive!
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