In Wednesday's study we found Moses asking to see the Lord face to face, but it's not possible for anyone in the flesh to see the glory of the righteous, holy, perfect God and survive. But in our passage today God is going to let Moses see as much as his humanity is able to bear. Also the Lord will provide a new copy of the ten commandments to replace the two tablets Moses broke when he returned to the camp and found the people indulging in an idolatrous pagan festival.
Both things the Lord does are acts of mercy----sheer undeserved, unearned mercy. He doesn't have to fulfill the very bold request of Moses. He doesn't have to replace the tablets of the covenant the people so cavalierly set aside in Exodus 32. But He extends mercy to them anyway.
"The Lord said to Moses, 'Chisel out two stone tablets like the first ones, and I will write on them the words that were on the first tablets, which you broke. Be ready in the morning, and then come up on Mount Sinai.'" (Exodus 34:1) Moses is to prepare two fresh stone tablets and have them ready by morning when he will ascend the mountain again for the Lord to rewrite the ten commandments of the covenant.
Bible scholars have long debated who carved out the first set of tablets but the Bible simply does not say. Some scholars suppose that Moses would have had no stoneworking tools with him when he made his first trek up Mount Sinai. If that's the case then the Lord carved out the first set of tablets after Moses arrived on the mountain the first time, Moses carved out the second set of tablets before going up on the mountain the second time, and the Lord wrote the commandments on both sets Himself with His own finger. (Exodus 31:18, Exodus 34:1) I don't think we need to get too caught up wondering who carved the first tablets since the main point is that God wrote the commandments Himself because they are His laws, not man's laws. In providing the commandments God is making an offer to the people. Their job is not to carve the commandments on the tablets themselves. Their job is not to add to or take away from what God has written. Their job is simply to accept His offer and agree to abide by His covenant.
Salvation through Christ works the same way. He offers us redemption. We can't add to or improve upon what He's already done for us. Our part in this transaction is to simply accept His offer and abide in Him.
"Present yourself to Me there on top of the mountain. No one is to come with you or be seen anywhere on the mountain; not even the flocks and herds may graze in front of the mountain." (Exodus 34:2b-3) Moses is to come up on the mountain alone. He is God's chosen mediator. He is God's chosen intercessor. No one else is to approach Him at this time or be present when He shows Himself to Moses. Moses is only going to get a glimpse of the Lord---only as much as is safe for him in his frail humanity---but I don't think anyone else from the camp could have seen this glimpse and survived. At this time no one else seems to have as close a relationship with the Lord as Moses has, but even if they did, no one but Moses really needs this special sighting. Moses is going to have to lead the people for the next forty years and it's going to be unremitting, backbreaking, frustrating work. Without this little peek at the Lord's glory I don't think he could have faced the hard task ahead of him. This boost to his faith is going to get him through the rest of his life. Whenever the going gets so tough he thinks he can't do one more thing, he'll be able to cast his mind back to this moment and be reminded that his strength comes from the Holy One who passed by him on the mountain.
"So Moses chiseled out two stone tablets like the first ones and went up Mount Sinai early in the morning, as the Lord had commanded him; and he carried the two stone tablets in his hands." (Exodus 34:4) Moses, as usual, carries out the Lord's instructions.
Next the Lord honors the request Moses made of Him when he said, "Now show me Your glory." (Exodus 33:18) You'll recall the fiery cloud that came down and rested on the mountain the first time Moses went up. It seems the same cloud is present again on this second visit. "Then the Lord came down in the cloud and stood there with him and proclaimed His name, the Lord. And He passed in front of Moses, proclaiming, 'The Lord, the Lord, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin.'" (Exodus 34:5-7a)
In Exodus 33, when Moses asked to see God, God said He would, "Cause all My goodness to pass in front of you, and I will proclaim My name, the Lord, in your presence." (Exodus 33:19a) Though I think Moses knows the Lord is good, sometimes we all need some reminders and reassurance, don't we? The Lord begins to proclaim His name to Moses by speaking in His covenant name with Israel (the Hebrew Yahweh, which is was transliterated as Jehovah in the Greek translations). He uses the name that is to be Israel's special and personal name for Him, saying, "I am Yahweh, Yahweh, your personal God, the God who makes a covenant with you. I feel compassion for you. I intend to be gracious to you. Because of My love for you I am not quickly angered by your mistakes but am faithful even when you are not. My love doesn't die when you mess up. I am willing and ready to forgive sin when you acknowledge it and repent of it. I will not withhold forgiveness from anyone who asks for it. I set no limits on how many people I'm willing to forgive or how many times I'm willing to forgive them. You are wicked and rebellious at times but I will forgive those of you who return to Me and I will forgive your descendants when they do the same."
In Exodus 33 the Lord told Moses he wouldn't be able to see His face and survive the experience, so He said He would put him "in the cleft in the rock and cover you with My hand until I have passed by. Then I will remove My hand and you will see My back; but My face must not be seen." (Exodus 33:22b-23) The Lord does this while proclaiming His name to Moses, yet Moses doesn't even attempt to describe what he saw when the Lord passed by. I think this may be because he couldn't describe this encounter in a way that did it justice. There aren't any words in the human vocabulary capable of describing such an awesome sight.
But in a way you and I can relate to Moses' inability to describe what happened on the mountain, for it's not really possible to completely describe any of our own personal spiritual experiences with the living God. How do you explain someone what it feels like when the Holy Spirit fills you with joy and thrills your soul? How can you describe those moments when it feels like God is so close to you that you could almost touch Him? How can you convey to someone else the emotions that overwhelm you when you think about what Christ did for you out of His great love? We can try to describe these things, but not in a way that someone who has never experienced them can nod their heads and say, "I know exactly what you mean!" Moses is the only man who has seen God in this way and even if he tried to describe this encounter to us, we couldn't relate to it and say, "I know exactly what you mean!" He doesn't attempt to tell us what he saw and I'm honestly glad he didn't. Human words would have taken away from the glory of what met his eyes when God passed by. Any explanation he might have attempted would have fallen short and we don't want that. Whatever God looks like, He's so much more than we can imagine or describe, and we need to just wait until that day when finally see Him face to face in bodies like Christ's that can withstand such an honor.
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