‏ Exodus 32

Summary for Exod 32:1-35: 32:1-35  ^a At the foot of Mount Sinai, after Moses had been absent for many days, the people felt the need for protection, guidance, and a tangible way to express their worship. God knew this and was eager to meet these needs (chs 25–31  ^b). The Israelites, however, tried to meet their needs for themselves. Fellowship with God requires depending on him (see John 15:5  ^c; 2 Cor 3:5  ^d).
Summary for Exod 32:1-6: 32:1-6  ^e The people were not willing to wait and see what God had been saying to Moses on the mountain for the forty days while he was there (see 24:18  ^f). 32:1  ^g The Israelites’ actions were motivated by fear, disrespect for this fellow Moses, disbelief in God’s leadership, and denial of responsibility. They were unwilling to wait for God to reveal his plans of care for them. Refusal to wait on God is often a cause of sin (see 1 Sam 13:7-13  ^h; Isa 30:15-18  ⁱ).
Summary for Exod 32:2-4: 32:2-4  ^j The religious professional, Aaron, demanded a specific contribution of gold rings and then excluded the people from any further involvement in the process. This is very different from what God had commanded regarding the construction of the Tabernacle, where the people were invited to bring many different kinds of things as they felt led (25:1-9  ^k; 35:4–36:7  ^l) and to share in the work under the guidance of a Spirit-filled layperson (31:1-6  ^m; 36:1-2  ⁿ).
32:4  ^o the shape of a calf: The idol might actually have been an image of a bull, like the images of the Egyptian god Amon-Re that the people had known in Egypt. The bull represented power, domination, and fertility. The writer would then be using the term calf as a way of expressing contempt for the idol. Alternatively, Aaron might have made a calf, feeling that this sin was not as serious as if the idol were a full-sized bull.

• these are the gods who brought you out: The people attributed to the idol what they had just said that Moses had done (32:1  ^p). Idolatry expresses the belief that the divine realm and the visible world are continuous with one another. This worldview sees it as possible to lay hold of divine power through ritual manipulation of the god by means of the idol. God had been insisting that the very opposite is true: God is not contained in or restrained by his creation, and his blessings cannot be procured by manipulating creation, either ritually or otherwise. The blessings of God are for those who surrender their own efforts to make themselves secure and come to him using the ways and means that he has decreed.
32:5  ^q Aaron attempted to control the process, but he was actually abdicating leadership by simply doing what he thought the people wanted.

• Although the idol was referred to as “the gods” (32:4  ^r), Aaron also implied that it was a physical manifestation of the Lord.
32:6  ^s The Hebrew term translated pagan revelry is traditionally rendered they got up to play. As in English, the Hebrew word for play can have sexual overtones (see Gen 26:8  ^t, “caressing”), which is likely the case here. Worship of a fertility symbol such as a bull was often accompanied by sexual activities on the part of the worshipers (see 1 Cor 10:7-8  ^u).
32:7  ^v Your people whom you brought from the land of Egypt: God here attributes his own work to Moses, which suggests that he was testing Moses, giving him an opportunity to make the same mistake the people had made (32:1  ^w). God was not “tempting” Moses in the sense of “seducing him to do evil” (see Jas 1:13-14  ^x), but he was putting Moses into a situation where he was faced with a clear choice that could take him in opposing directions (cp. 1 Kgs 22:19-23  ^y).
Summary for Exod 32:9-10: 32:9-10  ^z God was apparently prepared to disown his people, since they had broken their covenant with him.
32:10  ^aa Now leave me alone: This apparent command was in fact an invitation to Moses to intercede for his people. Although the people deserved destruction, God was willing not to destroy them if Moses continued to stand before him as an intercessor.

• I will make you, Moses, into a great nation: If Moses were willing, God would start over again, abandoning the rest of the children of Abraham and beginning now with the children of Moses. This was apparently a test of Moses’ understanding of God.
Summary for Exod 32:11-13: 32:11-13  ^ab If a test was involved, Moses passed it. He refused to put himself in God’s place (32:11  ^ac). He knew that God is just and faithful and that he would not deliver people only to destroy them (32:12  ^ad). He refused to accept the invitation to become the father of a great nation, since that would involve God’s breaking his promises to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (32:13  ^ae). Moses had learned who God really is.
32:14  ^af In response to Moses’ argument, the Lord changed his mind. This is not the picture of a raging tyrant who is, with great difficulty, finally persuaded to back down. The Lord is much more inclined to be merciful than to insist on vengeance, and he invites those who are near him, like Moses, to give him an occasion for his mercy through faithful intercession.
Summary for Exod 32:15-29: 32:15-29  ^ag When Moses actually saw what was going on, he was much less calm than he had been on the mountain. He smashed the tablets (32:15-19  ^ah), destroyed the calf (32:20  ^ai), confronted Aaron (32:21-25  ^aj), and had the ringleaders killed (32:26-29  ^ak).
32:16  ^al These tablets were God’s work: The covenant was not merely a human agreement.
32:19  ^am While the act of smashing the tablets might simply have been a reaction of fury, it might also have been Moses’ way of saying that the covenant with God was now irrevocably broken. God later reminded Moses rather pointedly that Moses was the one who had smashed the tablets (see 34:1  ^an).
32:20  ^ao Passing the gold powder of the image through the bodies of the people effectively rendered it unclean.
Summary for Exod 32:21-25: 32:21-25  ^ap Aaron denied responsibility even though he himself had made the molds and poured the gold (32:4  ^aq). Aaron wanted Moses to believe that it all “just happened” (32:24  ^ar) and that he had no choice because the people were so evil (32:22  ^as). Moses was not misled. He knew that Aaron could have led the people but had let them get completely out of control (32:25  ^at).
32:25  ^au much to the amusement of their enemies: After the Israelites’ great show of worshiping the Lord as a different kind of God, their actions proclaimed that he was merely another of the idols that their enemies had been worshiping all along (see Ezek 36:19-20  ^av).
Summary for Exod 32:26-29: 32:26-29  ^aw Moses had asked God to spare the people, but now he called on those who followed the Lord to kill those who had sinned. The Levites (32:26  ^ax) were willing to confront the sin that Aaron had let loose. Although Moses commanded them to kill everyone (32:27  ^ay), the number 3,000 (32:28  ^az) makes it clear that the word everyone had a restricted meaning. The reference to your own sons and brothers suggests that as Aaron had led in the idolatry, many of the Levites had led in the worship of the idol, and they were the ones that the rest of the Levites killed. Aaron may have escaped because God had already designated him as high priest (28:1  ^ba).
Summary for Exod 32:30-35: 32:30-35  ^bb This further intercession for the people may have been needed because of Moses’ new recognition of how serious the sin really was.
32:32  ^bc As if underlining his earlier refusal of God’s invitation to become a great nation at the people’s expense, Moses here rather piously asked God to destroy him, too, if he chose not to forgive the people.
32:33  ^bd God dismissed Moses’ request. He would bring judgment only on those who had sinned in the incident.
32:34  ^be the place I told you about: Canaan, which God had promised to give to Abraham’s descendants (see 3:17  ^bf; 32:13  ^bg; 33:1  ^bh).

• when I come to call the people to account: Because of God’s mercy, judgment may not always come immediately (though in this instance God soon sent a plague, 32:35  ^bi), but it will come for those who persist in sin (see Matt 13:24-30  ^bj).

‏ Exodus 33

Summary for Exod 33:1-6: 33:1-6  ^bk God would not lead the people up to Canaan as he had previously led them (see 33:3  ^bl; but see also 33:14-17  ^bm). Instead, he would send an angel (33:2  ^bn).
Summary for Exod 33:2-3: 33:2-3  ^bo an angel. ... But I will not travel: This angel was possibly not the “angel of the Lord,” since in Exodus and other parts of the Old Testament, the angel of the Lord is closely associated with the presence of the Lord himself (see 3:2  ^bp; 23:20-23  ^bq). Or, God might have been saying that while he would go before them in the person of the angel (33:2  ^br), he would not dwell among them (33:3  ^bs) in the Tabernacle, as he had planned.

• Canaanites ... Jebusites: See study note on 3:8.
33:3  ^bt land that flows with milk and honey: Although Canaan was not as fertile as the Nile Valley in Egypt, it was a great deal more productive agriculturally than the Sinai Desert where they were.

• stubborn and rebellious: They were covenant-breakers.

• I would surely destroy you: As the Covenant Lord (see study note on 23:20-33), he would enforce the terms of the covenant that called for the destruction of covenant-breakers (see 24:7-8  ^bu and study notes).
Summary for Exod 33:4-6: 33:4-6  ^bv The jewelry and fine clothes might have been worn while worshiping the gold calf. Here their removal signifies mourning (33:4  ^bw) and repentance.
Summary for Exod 33:7-11: 33:7-11  ^bx The means of communication between God and his people before the completion of the Tabernacle are probably recorded here to explain the communications in 33:1-6  ^by and 33:12-23  ^bz. 33:7  ^ca Although the Tabernacle is often referred to as the Tent of Meeting (see study note on 27:21), the “Tent of Meeting” referred to here was another, temporary tent. When the Tabernacle was completed, it was located in the center of the camp (see Num 2:1-31  ^cb).
Summary for Exod 33:8-11: 33:8-11  ^cc get up and stand ... stand and bow down: The people were awed by the thought that Moses was talking directly to God, face to face (33:11  ^cd).
33:11  ^ce Just as Joshua had previously gained experience as a military leader (see 17:9-13  ^cf), he was now gaining experience as a spiritual leader (see also 24:13  ^cg). Here he may have remained behind to guard the tent, a function the Levites would later fulfill with the Tabernacle (1 Chr 26  ^ch).
Summary for Exod 33:12-23: 33:12-23  ^ci Moses begged for God to go with him and the people to the Promised Land. In these verses the word personally (33:14-15  ^cj) usually reflects a Hebrew term literally rendered face. Moses wanted to continue experiencing the “face to face” relationship he had begun to have (33:11  ^ck). He also wanted the people to have that experience in some sense. 33:12  ^cl I know you by name: Moses had been appointed by God himself.
33:13  ^cm let me know your ways: Moses did not merely want God’s blessings; he wanted to know God’s nature and character, as well as the manner of and reasons for his actions. God’s goal of revealing himself was beginning to be realized, at least in one person.

• Moses wanted God himself to accompany them, because they were the Lord’s own people.
33:14  ^cn I will give you rest: Literally a place to roost, as in a place where a bird can land and be at peace. Ever since Abraham left Ur, he and his descendants had had no such place.
Summary for Exod 33:15-16: 33:15-16  ^co Moses made his request even more direct. Again he showed his understanding of what God was doing. The Exodus was not merely about getting the Israelites out of Egypt so they could go to Canaan. It was about a personal experience of God that would change how they lived. If that was not possible, then they might just as well have stayed at Sinai. Going on to Canaan would be disastrous without the Lord.
33:17  ^cp The Lord reaffirmed his agreement to go with them and his personal appointment of Moses.
33:18  ^cq Moses asked for confirmation of God’s promises. He asked to see God’s glorious presence (literally glory). He was asking for an experience of seeing the very essence of God (see study note on 16:7).
33:19  ^cr In his positive reply, God subtly changed the terms. He would grant Moses a glorious experience, but he would not show Moses his face. Rather, he would show him his goodness and express his character (my name), marked above all by mercy and compassion (see Rom 9:14-16  ^cs).

• Yahweh: Here God is emphasizing his own personal name.
Summary for Exod 33:20-23: 33:20-23  ^ct God longs to show us his character, but to see his face (his essence) and his glorious presence (33:22  ^cu) would be to die. Moses was permitted a glimpse of that, but nothing more.

‏ Exodus 34

Summary for Exod 34:1-35: 34:1-35  ^cv God granted Moses’ request (33:18  ^cw), showed Moses his goodness (34:1-9  ^cx), and renewed the covenant (34:10-35  ^cy). This renewal was a unilateral statement by God. God would indeed go with his people, maintaining his covenant promises even though they had broken the covenant (32:1-6  ^cz) and deserved nothing better than death and abandonment.
Summary for Exod 34:1-3: 34:1-3  ^da God called Moses to come back up Mount Sinai with two new stone tablets. The restrictions for the rest of the people are like those made at first (see 19:12-13  ^db, 21-25  ^dc).
Summary for Exod 34:5-9: 34:5-9  ^dd Moses experienced God’s presence in a revelation of the name, or character, of God. As God had promised (33:19  ^de), he showed Moses the glory of his goodness.
Summary for Exod 34:5-6: 34:5-6  ^df Yahweh: Here God is emphasizing his personal name.
34:6  ^dg compassion and mercy (see 20:5-6  ^dh; 33:19  ^di and study notes): The Creator who was revealing himself to the Israelites, and through them to the world, is a God of grace. Neither his justice nor his sovereignty are underlined here, as true as those attributes are. If God were merely just, the Old Testament would have ended at this point, or it would have picked up and started again with an entirely new family. This did not happen because God, in his unique character, is slow to anger and full of unfailing love and faithfulness. These qualities were the basis for his renewal of the covenant.
34:7  ^dj God’s unfailing love and his generous desire to forgive are not weakness or indecisiveness, nor are they reason to sin. Sin will have its effects, because God created a world of cause and effect. The murderer may repent, be forgiven, and lead a new life, but the effects of previous choices will continue to play out. We should not sin just because we know that God will forgive (see study note on 20:5-6).

• a thousand generations: See Deut 7:9-11  ^dk.

• I lay the sins of the parents: Our sins affect future generations of descendants, but God restricts the natural effect of those sins to three or four generations. See also Exod 20:5-6  ^dl.
Summary for Exod 34:8-9: 34:8-9  ^dm Since the Lord had already twice promised to go with them (33:14  ^dn, 17  ^do), this renewed request seems to show a lack of faith. It may also be that God’s presence had driven home to Moses how absolutely holy God is and how very different he is from this stubborn and rebellious people. Here Moses took his request a step further and asked God to travel with the people and make them his own special possession (see 19:5-6  ^dp). Moses asked for the complete restoration of the relationship.
Summary for Exod 34:10-26: 34:10-26  ^dq Some of the terms of the covenant are restated, particularly those that prohibit the worship of other gods and that describe the proper worship of the Lord.
Summary for Exod 34:10-11: 34:10-11  ^dr God committed himself again to the miraculous care of his people in bringing them into the land of Canaan. That care was contingent on obedience. In Hebrew, the word translated listen (34:11  ^ds) also means obey. There is no distinction as there is in English, in which a disobedient person can hear a command but not obey.
Summary for Exod 34:12-17: 34:12-17  ^dt Worship of idols was prohibited, particularly the idols of the peoples into whose lands the Israelites were going. Central to this restriction was the prohibition of treaties, or covenants, with these idol-worshiping peoples. Not only would the making of a treaty involve recognizing those peoples’ gods (because ancient treaties would call upon the gods as witnesses; see study note on 20:1–23:33), but the very existence of the treaties would predispose the Israelites to accept the ways of their treaty partners (34:12  ^du, 15-16  ^dv).
34:13  ^dw Asherah was a Canaanite fertility goddess who would continue to be a temptation throughout Israel’s history (see, e.g., Judg 6:25  ^dx; 1 Kgs 14:15  ^dy; 2 Kgs 23:15  ^dz).

• The poles seem to have been fertility symbols.
34:16  ^ea Intermarriage with pagans was a problem throughout the Old Testament (see Gen 24:3  ^eb; Ezra 9:1-2  ^ec; cp. 2 Cor 6:14-18  ^ed).
34:22  ^ee Festival of the Final Harvest: See study notes on 23:16; Lev 23:15-21, 34-43.
34:23  ^ef Three times: See 23:14-17  ^eg.
34:24  ^eh No one will ... conquer your land: If Israel would trust God and obey him, he would protect them.
Summary for Exod 34:27-28: 34:27-28  ^ei Moses wrote down this reiteration of the general terms of the covenant (34:27  ^ej). The Ten Commandments, the summary of the terms, were written on the new tablets (34:28  ^ek).
Summary for Exod 34:29-35: 34:29-35  ^el Moses, who had asked to see the glory of God, wasn’t aware that his own face reflected that glory.
34:33  ^em covered his face with a veil: While Moses was reporting what God had said to him, he left his face unveiled. Then he covered it, perhaps because of the fright (34:30  ^en) its radiance caused during ordinary discourse (see 2 Cor 3:7-18  ^eo for Paul’s reflection on this incident).