Exodus 33:1-23

33:1-6 | For the rest of Israel’s journey to the Promised Land, God promised His protection and guidance through one He called My Angel (this was not Himself). Losing God’s immediate presence caused great mourning. As a sign of their remorse, the children of Israel stopped wearing their ornaments (jewelry), the equivalent of putting on sackcloth and ashes. Later, in response to Moses’ prayer, God agreed to go with them.

33:7-11 | Here we see that the pillar of cloud was in fact an appearance of Yahweh, Moses had not been a part of the illicit worship, so his tent outside the camp became the only place the Lord would meet with Moses, His only contact. Amazingly, the Lord spoke to him face to face as a man speaks to his friend. The Lord’s tender care for Moses is underscored in 3:17, where He says, I know you by name.

33:12-34:7 | Moses had seen God’s astounding acts during the Exodus, but now he wanted to see more – God’s glory. God granted this bold request, passing His goodness before Moses and proclaiming His own name – the expression of His character. The Lord speaks of His manner as being gracious and showing compassion, words Paul used in Romans 9:15-18.

33:20-23 | There were limits to what Moses would see, for no one can look upon the Lord and live. God is Spirit – with no physical features whatsoever – so the use of anthropological imagery (My face, My back) is simply a means to help humans understand what cannot be understood otherwise. Moses’ passing view of the Lord’s back was still more than ever had been seen (John 1:18; 14:7) – until Jesus, in whom the transcendent God was revealed in human flesh.