Exo 33:18-34:6 | TNotes | STEP | 33:18 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).

33:18 ^a 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 ^b 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 ^c).

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

‏ Exodus 34:1-6

Summary for Exod 34:1-35: 34:1-35 ^f God granted Moses’ request (33:18 ^g), showed Moses his goodness (34:1-9 ^h), and renewed the covenant (34:10-35 ⁱ). 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 ^j) and deserved nothing better than death and abandonment.
Summary for Exod 34:1-3: 34:1-3 ^k 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 ^l, 21-25 ^m).
Summary for Exod 34:5-9: 34:5-9 ⁿ Moses experienced God’s presence in a revelation of the name, or character, of God. As God had promised (33:19 ^o), he showed Moses the glory of his goodness.
Summary for Exod 34:5-6: 34:5-6 ^p Yahweh: Here God is emphasizing his personal name.
34:6 ^q compassion and mercy (see 20:5-6 ^r; 33:19 ^s 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.