Exodus
King James Version (KJV)
Exodus Chapter 34 Discussion
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Appears Moses did, by direction of GOD,
Hopefully this is helpful
The rest of the chapter transitions into explaining the feasts that the Israelites are to keep: Unleavened Bread (Passover), the firstborn of all their herds and children are to be consecrated to YHWH; the Sabbath commandment; Weeks (Pentecost) (firstfruits of the early harvest); In gathering (at the end of the harvest at the end of the year). Three times a year all of the men are to appear before the LORD God of Israel.
He promises to cast out the nations before them and to enlarge the borders of the land promised, so much so that no man shall covet the land of another, it will be so plentiful.
Then YHWH gives other laws: not offering blood of His sacrifice with leaven, nor keep any of the Passover meal until the morning. The first of the firstfruits are to be brought to the house of the LORD you God. So this would be the first picking of the harvest, nor boil a young goat in its mother's milk.
YHWH tells Moses to write these words, because they are the terms of the covenant of YHWH with the Israelites.
Moses was on the Mount for forty days and forty nights, as before when the first tablets were made. Moses did not eat bread or drink water while there. This is a miracle. A person will die of dehydration long before the 40 days are up. YHWH wrote the 10 commandments on the tablets Moses brought up to the Mount.
Moses comes back down to the people. This time the people did not resort to idolatry nor distrust God's keeping of Moses. Moses' face shone from being in the Presence of God. It was very noticeable and Aaron and the people were afraid to come near Moses. Eventually, the people became comfortable in Moses' presence and listened to him as he told them all that YHWH had instructed him about on the Mount. At some point, Moses would put a veil on his face to hide the shine. He would take it off whenever he was in YHWH's Presence. I imagine he did this so the people would not be afraid to be around him. 2Corinthians 3:12-18 is good to read.
Moses immediately bow to YHWH in worship. Moses must have recognized how transcendent God is compared to mankind. He was given a glimpse of the splendor and majesty of YHWH-His "Otherness". How indelibly this encounter must have been engraved on Moses' heart! Though YHWH was definitely displaying his eminence with Moses (presence near and with Moses), YHWH was describing Himself as Totally and Infinitely Perfect in all of His ways.
After Moses' act of worship (bowing) he asks YHWH to go among the Israelites, even though He had said He would not. Moses asks YHWH to pardon the sin of the people. He asks YHWH to take them into the inheritance promised to their forefathers. Moses calls it "Your" inheritance. The fulfillment of this promise belongs to God. YHWH responds by saying He will do marvels like people in all the earth have never seen before, nor has any other nation had a God who can do such wonders. But these people with Moses will see the work of YHWH and it will be an awesome thing.
Then YHWH says: Observe what I command you this day. He promises to drive out the named peoples from the land before the Israelites (this probably means that they will experience this action not in the sense of doing it before they get there).
Then YHWH give strict commands for the people to break down all of the pagan altars, images, and pillars. They are to not intermix with these idolaters by social interaction, marriage, or copying anything about their worship. They are to ONLY worship YHWH-no other false god PERIOD! They are not to make any covenants with these people, no treaties, no entanglements with them, lest they be tempted into idolatry with them. He likens them participating in idolatry as being adulterous, playing the harlot with these false gods.
He emphasizes very strongly-You shall make NO molded gods for yourselves. (Remember the golden calf-don't do it again in any way-no household 'gods'). He makes this command so plain, no exceptions!
Next, God says that He is truth. Not just truthful, or knows all truth, but that He IS Truth. He is never a lie. We can depend on Him to always be exactly Who He is. Truth is an essential aspect of His Being, like goodness, longsuffering, mercy, and graciousness (as He defined Himself here). God could have defined Himself as just or wrathful (which He rightly is) but God here with Moses after the great idolatry of the golden calf, emphasizes these qualities that offset His justice and wrath by executing these upon Jesus instead of sinners. He cannot not punish sin with His justice. But, because of His mercy, grace, and love, He spent these upon His Son, Who alone could bear the infinite punishment for sin, which is infinitely abhorrent to God.
Next, God elaborates about Himself: keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin. Interesting that He uses three word for our actions towards Him that require punishment. He goes on to say "by no means clearing the guilty".
So which is it, forgiving sin in all of its manifestations or not clearing the guilty? He both forgives and judges sin. So He may be speaking of those who trust Him by faith will be forgiven, but those who will not repent and put their faith in Him, He will not clear them of their guilt. Forgiveness is given to those who seek God's way for this forgiveness to come to them-through faith in Jesus, believing the Gospel, repentance and turning to God from rebellion against Him. He may be speaking to two different groups of people in how He deals with their sins.
He goes on to say that those He does not clear the guilt of their sin, He will visit the iniquity of the fathers upon their children, their children's children to the 3rd a nd 4th generation. What does this mean. Surely, God would be merciful to children, grandchildren, etc. But perhaps He is speaking of such unrepentance of a father is replicating in succeeding generations without God's intervention
In this chapter, YHWH once again gives Moses the 10 commandments for the Israelites. He writes these down Himself, again.
So, as I recall, these commandments have been given to Moses three times: Exodus 20 (Moses told these to the people); Between Exodus 20 and 31; Moses went back up the Mount for 40 days. God wrote the ten Commandments on the stone tablets (which Moses broke apart when he saw the golden calf); and in Exodus 34, God writes them down again on the new stone tablets.
As the chapter begins, YHWH tells Moses to cut two new stone tablets and bring them with him up to the Mount early the next morning. These tablets were chiseled out of stone, but nothing was written upon them yet.
It says that YHWH descended in the cloud (as He had done before). He stands with Moses and proclaims His own name. Then He goes n to describe Himself to Moses. He calls Himself The LORD (YHWH) and The LORD God (YHWH Elohim?). He starts off by claiming that He is merciful and gracious. How wonderful that God, who was angry at the Israelites for their idolatry, tells Moses that He is merciful and gracious. What a comfort that must have been to Moses to hear YHWH say this about Himself first. It is only by His mercy and grace that mankind did not end in the Garden of Eden with the first sin. But He has shown mercy and grace since that first sin upon humanity. Thus humanity continues to this day.
Next, He says he is longsuffering. This means that God is not hasty in His righteous anger to punish sin and sinners. He shows extensive restraint in delaying His judgment. He shows patient forbearance. Next God says He is abounding in goodness. He is the only Being Who is infinitely and ever good. His goodness is absolute, without any imperfection. His goodness is constant and continuous. He never loses any of His goodness, ever. His goodness is always morally righteous. His goodness is active-He chooses to be good to His created beings.
King James Version
12 Take heed to thyself, lest thou make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land whither thou goest, lest it be for a snare in the midst of thee:
13 But ye shall destroy their altars, break their images, and cut down their groves:
14 For thou shalt worship no other god: for the Lord, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God:
God has no tolerance for false religions and national views, values, and norms that are offensive to God. That includes American democrat promotions of abortion, homosexuality, immorality, lying, theft, violence, sedition, racism, and so forth.
These laws were only given to Israel - the heathen nations didn't receive it: they had their own laws which no doubt included all forms of idolatry. But the Law to Israel was only temporal (a shadow of the Perfect Law to come) & so by strict adherence to it plus all the sacrifices they had to make, their sins were only covered year by year by the High Priest's intercession, but never removed. It was only when God's Son, Jesus Christ, the fulfilment of all of God's Laws came to give His Life for all of us, that we who have faith in that complete Work at the Cross, can truly be forgiven. Jesus, the sinless One, became our sacrificial Lamb whereas the lamb from the pasture was just a weak, temporal sacrifice done by Israel according to the law. So both Jew & Gentile now need to respond to Jesus to be saved from sin.