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:_ The Lord said - rather 'had' said unto Moses. The conference detailed in this chapter must be considered as having occurred prior to the pathetic intercession of Moses recorded at the close of the preceding chapter; and the historian, having mentioned the fact of his earnest and painful anxiety, under the overwhelming pressure of which he poured forth that intercessory prayer for his apostate countrymen, now enters on a detailed account of the circumstances....

1._Depart, and go up hence, thou and the people _I have used the pluperfect tense; (360) for the reason is here given, whereby Moses was stirred up to such vehemence in prayer, viz., because, although God had not altogether abandoned the care of the people, still He had renounced His covenant, and had proclaimed to them that, after He had once performed His engagement of giving them possession of the land, He would have no more to do with them. Wherefore, what is here related, preceded, in order of time, the prayer of Moses; for, being astonished at the sad and almost fatal message, he burst forth into that confused and wild request, that he might be blotted out of the book of life. Let us now endeavor to elicit the true meaning of the passage. It is plain, that when God bids Moses depart with the people, He utterly renounces the charge which He Himself had hitherto sustained. He only pr...

1-6 Those whom God pardons, must be made to know what their sin deserved. "Let them go forward as they are;" this was very expressive of God's displeasure. Though he promises to make good his covenant with Abraham, in giving them Canaan, yet he denies them the tokens of his presence they had been blessed with. The people mourned for their sin. Of all the bitter fruits and consequences of sin, true penitents most lament, and dread most, God's departure from them. Canaan itself would be no pleasant land without the Lord's presence. Those who parted with ornaments to maintain sin, could do no less than lay aside ornaments, in token of sorrow and shame for it....

CHAPTER XXXIII _Moses is commanded to depart from the mount, and lead up the_ _people towards the promised land_, 1. _An angel is promised to be their guide_, 2. _The land is described, and the Lord refuses to go with them_, 3. _The people mourn, and strip themselves of their ornaments_, 4-6. _The tabernacle or tent is pitched without the camp_, 7. _Moses goes to it to consult the Lord, and the cloudy pillar descends_ _on it_, 8, 9. _The people, standing at their tent doors, witness this_, 10. The Lord speaks familiarly with Moses

EXPOSITION THE THREAT OF GOD'S WITHDRAWAL, AND THE HUMILIATION OF THE PEOPLE. The intercession of Moses, and his offer to sacrifice himself for his people had obtained from God some great concessions, viz.— 1. That the people's lives should be spared (Exodus 32:14); 2. And that they should be led into Palestine (Exodus 32:34) But a change had been introduced into the conditions under which the future journeys were to be made, somewhat obscurely indicated in the words—"Behold, mine angel shall go before thee" (_ibid._)—which was now to be more distinctly set

AND THE LORD SAID UNTO MOSES, DEPART, AND GO UP HENCE,.... Not from the place where Moses was, which was the top of the mount, but where the camp of Israel was, at the bottom of the mount; where they had lain encamped some time, but were now ordered to proceed on their journey: THOU, AND THE PEOPLE WHICH THOU HAST BROUGHT UP OUT OF THE LAND OF EGYPT; though his wrath was in some measure mitigated, and he had so far forgave their sin, that he would not cut them off from being a people; yet still he does not call them his people, or own that he brought them out of Egypt, as he does in the preface to the commands they had now broke, as if they were not under his care and conduct; but speaks of them in a different manner, as a people that Moses had brought out from thence, and whom he orders to go on with: UNTO THE LAND WHICH I SWARE UNTO ABRAHAM, TO ISAAC, AND TO JACOB, SAYING, UNTO THY S...

5. MOSES' INTERCESSION AND ITS RESULTS CHAPTER 33 Repentance and Intercession _ 1. The word of the Lord and the people's repentance (Exodus 33:1)_ 2. The tabernacle without the camp (Exodus 33:7) 3. Moses enters the tabernacle (Exodus 33:8) 4. Moses' prayer and Jehovah's answers (Exodus 33:12) 5. Moses' request (Exodus 33:18) The words of the Lord, with which this chapter begins, reveal Him as the covenant-keeping Jehovah. He remembers His covenant, though they are a stiff-necked people. Yet He is a holy Go

EXODUS 33:1 J, EXODUS 33:5 E, EXODUS 33:12 J. YAHWEH'S PRESENCE. The sections of 34 have been glossed and disarranged. In Exodus 33:1 J, Yahweh's refusal to go up in the midst of Israel leads the people to put off their ornaments. In Exodus 33:5 f. follows from E Yahweh's order to put off ornaments and its execution. This may have been connected with the construction of the sacred Tent which is assumed as known in Exodus 33:7, the details being dropped in view of Exodus

THE LORD [HEBREW. _ JEHOVAH._ SAID. See note on Exodus 3:7, and p. note on Exodus 6:10....

_go up_ into the high ground of Canaan. Cf. on Exodus 1:10. _which I sware_, &c. See the passages quoted on Exodus 32:13....