Exodus 34

Ex 34:1-35.

THE

TABLES

ARE

RENEWED.

1. the like unto the first--God having been reconciled to

repentant Israel, through the earnest intercession, the successful

mediation of Moses, means were to be taken for the restoration of the

broken covenant. Intimation was given, however, in a most intelligible

and expressive manner, that the favor was to be restored with some

memento of the rupture; for at the former time God Himself had provided

the materials, as well as written upon them. Now, Moses was to prepare

the stone tables, and God was only to retrace the characters originally

inscribed for the use and guidance of the people.

2. present thyself . . . to me in the top of the

mount--Not absolutely the highest peak; for as the cloud of the

Shekinah usually abode on the summit, and yet

(Ex 34:5)

it "descended," the plain inference is that Moses was to station

himself at a point not far distant, but still below the loftiest

pinnacle.

3. no man shall come up with thee . . . neither

. . . flocks nor herds--All these enactments were made in

order that the law might be a second time renewed with the solemnity

and sanctity that marked its first delivery. The whole transaction was

ordered so as to impress the people with an awful sense of the holiness

of God; and that it was a matter of no trifling moment to have

subjected Him, so to speak, to the necessity of re-delivering the law

of the ten commandments.

4. Moses . . . took in his hand the two tables of

stone--As Moses had no attendant to divide the labor of carrying

them, it is evident that they must have been light, and of no great

dimensions--probably flat slabs of shale or slate, such as abound in

the mountainous region of Horeb. An additional proof of their

comparatively small size appears in the circumstance of their being

deposited in the ark of the most holy place

(Ex 25:10).

5. the Lord descended in the cloud--After graciously hovering

over the tabernacle, it seems to have resumed its usual position on the

summit of the mount. It was the shadow of God manifest to the outward

senses; and, at the same time, of God manifest in the flesh. The emblem

of a cloud seems to have been chosen to signify that, although He was

pleased to make known much about himself, there was more veiled from

mortal view. It was to check presumption and engender awe and give a

humble sense of human attainments in divine knowledge, as now man sees,

but darkly.

6. the Lord passed by before him--in this remarkable scene, God

performed what He had promised to Moses the day before.

proclaimed, The Lord . . . merciful and gracious--At

an earlier period He had announced Himself to Moses, in the glory of

His self-existent and eternal majesty, as "I am"

[Ex 3:14];

now He makes Himself known in the glory of His grace and

goodness--attributes that were to be illustriously displayed in the

future history and experience of the church. Being about to republish

His law--the sin of the Israelites being forgiven and the deed of

pardon about to be signed and sealed by renewing the terms of the

former covenant--it was the most fitting time to proclaim the extent of

the divine mercy which was to be displayed, not in the case of Israel

only, but of all who offend.

8-26. Moses bowed . . . and worshipped--In the East,

people bow the head to royalty, and are silent when it passes by, while

in the West, they take off their hats and shout.

9, 10. he said, If now I have found grace in thy sight, O Lord, let

my Lord, I pray thee, go among us--On this proclamation, he, in the

overflowing benevolence of s heart, founded an earnest petition for the

Divine Presence being continued with the people; and God was pleased to

give His favorable answer to Moses' intercession by a renewal of His

promise under the form of a covenant, repeating the leading points that

formed the conditions of the former national compact.

27, 28. And the Lord said unto Moses, Write thou these

words--that is, the ceremonial and judicial injunctions

comprehended above

(Ex 34:11-26);

while the rewriting of the ten commandments on the newly prepared slabs

was done by God Himself (compare

De 10:1-4).

28. he was there with the Lord forty days and forty nights--as

long as formerly

[Ex 24:18],

being sustained for the execution of his special duties by the

miraculous power of God. A special cause is assigned for his protracted

fast on this second occasion

(De 9:18).

29. Moses wist not that the skin of his face shone while he talked

with him--It was an intimation of the exalted presence into which

he had been admitted and of the glory he had witnessed

(2Co 3:18);

and in that view, it was a badge of his high office as the ambassador

of God. No testimonial needed to be produced. He bore his credentials

on his very face; and whether this extraordinary effulgence was a

permanent or merely temporary distinction, it cannot be doubted that

this reflected glory was given him as an honor before all the

people.

30. they were afraid to come nigh him--Their fear arose from a

sense of guilt--the beaming radiance of his countenance made him appear

to their awe-struck consciences a flaming minister of heaven.

33. he put a veil on his face--That veil was with the greatest

propriety removed when speaking with the Lord, for every one appears

unveiled to the eye of Omniscience; but it was replaced on returning to

the people--and this was emblematic of the dark and shadowy character

of that dispensation

(2Co 3:13, 14).