Exodus 34:8–17
1. The Prayers of Moses (34:8-9)
8 And Moses quickly bowed his head toward the earth and worshiped. 9 And he said, “If now I have found favor in your sight, O Lord, please let the Lord go in the midst of us, for it is a stiff-necked people, and pardon our iniquity and our sin, and take us for your inheritance.”
Moses prayed that he could see God’s glory.
Exodus 33:18–19 (ESV)
18 Moses said, “Please show me your glory.” 19 And he said, “I will make all my goodness pass before you and will proclaim before you my name ‘The Lord.’ And I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show mercy on whom I will show mercy.
Exodus 34:6–7 (ESV)
6 The Lord passed before him and proclaimed, “The Lord, the Lord, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, 7 keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, but who will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children and the children’s children, to the third and the fourth generation.”
I’m not sure how Moses envisioned this going but when God passed by, all Moses could do was not stand and stare but…8 And Moses quickly bowed his head toward the earth and worshiped.
God’s answer was greater than Moses ever thought. Moses hardly saw any of God because he quickly bowed his head in worship.
In these Chapters we discover that Moses is doing a lot of praying. One thing we learn by reading slowly through this section is that there are certain key elements Moses has as he prays. He was praying within the promises of God.
God promised to be with them…
Exodus 33:14 (ESV)
14 And he said, “My presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.”
So, Moses prayed that God would go with them and not send an angel.
God promised to forgive wickedness and rebellion…
Exodus 34:7 (ESV)
7 keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, but who will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children and the children’s children, to the third and the fourth generation.”
Moses prays God would forgive the Israelites.
God promised to take Israel as His treasured possession…
Exodus 19:5–6 (ESV)
5 Now therefore, if you will indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possession among all peoples, for all the earth is mine; 6 and you shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’ These are the words that you shall speak to the people of Israel.”
Moses prayed and asked God to make them His inheritance.
What are some promises of God that we have?
-God promised salvation to all who believe in His Son (Romans 1:16–17). There is no greater blessing than the free gift of God’s salvation.
Romans 1:16 (ESV)
16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.
-God promised that all things will work out for good for His children (Romans 8:28). This is the broader picture that keeps us from being dismayed by present circumstances.
Romans 8:28 (ESV)
28 And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.
-God promised comfort in our trials (2 Corinthians 1:3–4). He has a plan, and one day we will be able to share the comfort we receive.
2 Corinthians 1:3–4 (ESV)
3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, 4 who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.
The Puritans called this type of praying, begging God on the basis of the credit of His promise.
In verse 9 Moses does something else as he is praying…he includes himself in Israel’s sin. He was identifying with them. He includes himself among the transgressors. Now, it is true Moses was also a sinner. However, he did not sin with them in the Golden Calf incident. Yet he is taking their sin upon himself and as their mediator including himself in their sin.
Who does this sound like?
1 Peter 2:24 (ESV)
24 He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed.
Acts 10:43 (ESV)
43 To him all the prophets bear witness that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name.”
2. God Will Be Glorified Among the Nations (34:10)
10 And he said, “Behold, I am making a covenant. Before all your people I will do marvels, such as have not been created in all the earth or in any nation. And all the people among whom you are shall see the work of the Lord, for it is an awesome thing that I will do with you.
God is making a covenant with Moses and the Israelites. The Israelites would continue to see God’s wonders as He will go with them and lead them through the wilderness. He will give them through the conquest the Land that He promised. He would keep His promise and Moses will be praying the entire time. The nations will see the glory of God as He performs miracles and signs.
Psalm 96:1–9 (ESV)
96 Oh sing to the Lord a new song;
sing to the Lord, all the earth!
2 Sing to the Lord, bless his name;
tell of his salvation from day to day.
3 Declare his glory among the nations,
his marvelous works among all the peoples!
4 For great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised;
he is to be feared above all gods.
5 For all the gods of the peoples are worthless idols,
but the Lord made the heavens.
6 Splendor and majesty are before him;
strength and beauty are in his sanctuary.
7 Ascribe to the Lord, O families of the peoples,
ascribe to the Lord glory and strength!
8 Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name;
bring an offering, and come into his courts!
9 Worship the Lord in the splendor of holiness;
tremble before him, all the earth!
God shows His glory…Goodness…Grace and Mercy to the nations today through our Lord Jesus Christ. It is through Christ that the nations of the world will be blessed.
Romans 16:25–26 (ESV)
25 Now to him who is able to strengthen you according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery that was kept secret for long ages 26 but has now been disclosed and through the prophetic writings has been made known to all nations, according to the command of the eternal God, to bring about the obedience of faith—
3. God Will Judge the Nations Who Worship Idols (34:11-17)
11 “Observe what I command you this day. Behold, I will drive out before you the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. 12 Take care, lest you make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land to which you go, lest it become a snare in your midst. 13 You shall tear down their altars and break their pillars and cut down their Asherim 14 (for you shall worship no other god, for the Lord, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God), 15 lest you make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land, and when they whore after their gods and sacrifice to their gods and you are invited, you eat of his sacrifice, 16 and you take of their daughters for your sons, and their daughters whore after their gods and make your sons whore after their gods.
17 “You shall not make for yourself any gods of cast metal.
Because God made a covenant with them, He would deal with them a certain way. Now He commands them not to make a covenant with anyone else. Their only interaction with the unbelieving nations around them was to drive them out and tear down their places of worship.
Here’s the problem. It is very hard for idolators to destroy idols. The other issue we must honestly look at is what’s the difference between the Israelites and the nations they are about to drive out in judgement?
There is no difference in the people. The difference is God was with them. God had chosen them to be His possession. The Israelites themselves were idol worshippers too. Their hearts were as evil as the other nations…but God
Ephesians 2:1–5 (ESV)
2 And you were dead in the trespasses and sins 2 in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— 3 among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. 4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, 5 even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved—
The only difference is that God had made a covenant with Abraham which included these very people. God had made a promise and had set His love upon the remnant which would bring about Jesus the Messiah.
Here, in this passage we have learned another part of God’s name…
14 (for you shall worship no other god, for the Lord, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God),
J I Packer helps us understand what God means here when He says that He is a jealous God and that His name is Jealous…
God means that He demands from those whom He has loved and redeemed utter and absolute loyalty, and will vindicate His claim by stern action against them if they betray His love by unfaithfulness—Packer
Through the Scriptures, God portrays Himself as the faithful husband who is jealous for His wife with a bold jealously. He will not and does not take it well when we as His bride cheat on Him with another god. Idols are not real gods and yet they can capture our love, affections and worship to this God is a jealous God.
Exodus 20:4–5 (ESV)
4 “You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. 5 You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I the Lord your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and the fourth generation of those who hate me,
Just as the Israelites were to guard their hearts from worshipping idols, we too must guard ours. Take steps in your life to love God alone.
Resources Used:
https://www.gotquestions.org/promises-of-God.html
Exodus by Ryken
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