32:1–6 Moses spends forty days and nights on the mountain (24:18). At some point the people give up on his ever returning and take matters into their own hands (32:1). Moses has been not only their leader but also their connection to God and his protective help and power. In Moses’ absence they need a new way to connect to the divine, and they resort to the most common approach of the day: physical idols. Israel has been taken out of Egypt, but much of Egypt remains in Israel (cf. Acts 7:39). Sin’s muscle memory can be very strong.

To start they “gathered themselves together to Aaron” (Ex. 32:1), which might also be translated “gathered themselves together against Aaron.” The phrase occurs three other times in the Pentateuch, always with a threatening connotation (Num. 16:3, 42; 20:2). One senses that emotions are running high.

Next they demand he make them a god “who shall go before us” (Ex. 32:1)753—to protect and provide for them as they move from that place. Moses had indeed brought them up from Egypt, but, they claim, “we do not know what has become of him,” and they seek to ensure access to divine aid. They believe an idol to be the most certain way of doing so.

Aaron immediately gives in, asking them for the golden earrings of their wives and children (v. 2).754 This is perhaps the same jewelry the Lord gave them as plunder from the Egyptians (3:22) and was to be used to make the tabernacle as a sign that their redeeming God wanted to live in their midst. Instead, Aaron turns the gold into a calf (32:4),755 that is, a young version of a bull. Bulls were commonly worshiped as idols in the ancient Near East.756 Seeing it, the people blasphemously describe it as their true deliverer.757

In light of their response Aaron builds an altar in front of the calf and proclaims, “Tomorrow shall be a feast to the Lord” (v. 5). He may be attempting to salvage the situation by suggesting the calf represents the Lord. But even this would be a treacherous disregard of the Lord’s earlier commands (20:4–5, 23). Not surprisingly, we later learn the Lord is so angry with Aaron “that he was ready to destroy him” (Deut. 9:20). The people, in any case, appear to miss Aaron’s possible nuance and seem to view the calf itself as the god who has delivered them (Ex. 32:4; cf. also 32:8; comment on 32:25–29). They have broken the second commandment (20:4–5) as well as the first (20:3).758

The next day the Israelites feast on the meat of the peace offerings they have made before the idol (32:6). This is especially tragic, as peace offerings function as a shared covenant meal (cf. comments on 24:3–8; 24:9–11), meaning the Israelites are proclaiming their fidelity to the golden calf—and doing so with great enthusiasm! The word translated “to play” is used elsewhere for laughing (Gen. 17:17) or entertaining (Judg. 16:25) and can have sexual overtones (Gen. 39:17). It refers here to festive singing and dancing (Ex. 32:18–19), perhaps with lewd behavior implied (cf. v. 25), and is undoubtedly fueled by the drinking just mentioned (v. 6). The resulting behavior is so rowdy that Joshua mistakes its sound for the sound of war (v. 17). This is a raucous and drunken party in honor of their newfound god.

32:7–10 Meanwhile, on the mountain the Lord has just finished inscribing and giving the covenant tablets to Moses. Seeing what is happening below, he is understandably furious. The people just confirmed their relationship with him only forty days before (24:1–11). Their treacherous worship of another god so soon is like “adultery on one’s wedding night.”759 And just as adultery jeopardizes a marriage, so the Israelites’ idolatry has jeopardized their relationship with the Lord.

The Lord commands Moses to go down to “your people” (32:7). This is an ominous description. Throughout Exodus the Lord has repeatedly referred to Israel as “my people” (3:7, 10; 5:1; 6:7; 7:4, 16; etc.). Now he distances himself from them. Or perhaps more accurately he names the distance they have created: “They [have] exchanged the glory of God for the image of an ox that eats grass” (Ps. 106:20). To this point in history the exodus has been the most significant act of salvation the Lord has accomplished for a people, and the Israelites have now attributed it to a piece of calf-shaped metal. This is akin to someone’s telling his mother that a woman he just met gave him birth, and he will act as her child from now on.

The Lord describes what he will do. To this point in Exodus, when he “sees” his people, he is paying attention to them because their suffering is so great (2:25; 3:7, 9; 4:31). Now what he “sees” most is that they are “stiff-necked,” that is, stubbornly sinful, unwilling to yield to discipline or correction (Deut. 31:27; Neh. 9:16–17). As a result, he will consume them in his wrath and make Moses into a great nation in their place (Ex. 32:9–10). It is as though he says, “Moses, I will make you like a second Abraham, to whom I made the same promise four hundred years ago (cf. Gen. 12:2). I will not abandon faithfulness to that promise, but I need to start all over again.” Significantly, however, the Lord prefaces his statement of judgment with the command “Now therefore let me alone” (Ex. 32:10). If the Lord’s decision to abandon Israel were absolute and final, such a statement would be unnecessary. Thus the Lord’s statement hints at the fact that, if Moses intercedes, a way of mercy may yet be found. In other words this is more an invitation to pray than a command not to—an invitation Moses immediately accepts.760

32:11–14 Moses does not simply pray; he “implored the Lord his God,” a term commonly used to refer to seeking someone’s favor (of seeking God’s favor: 1 Sam. 13:12; 1 Kings 13:6; etc.; of seeking man’s favor: Job 11:19; Prov. 19:6). Moses’ words could be paraphrased, “O Lord, please do not let your anger burn against Israel.761 They are not simply my people (Ex. 32:7) but your people (v. 11)! You are the one who brought them out of Egypt (v. 11b)! You are the one who showed your great power before Egypt, the mightiest nation on earth. Do not give Egypt the opportunity to speak ill of you (v. 12a)!762 Have I mentioned these are your people? Please do not carry out your judgment (v. 12b)! After all, you made promises to our fathers. You swore promises by your own self (Gen. 22:16) —the greatest name by which one can swear763—and these promises are for the Israelites! Do not start over with me; continue with them (Ex. 32:13)!”

This is the first of Moses’ four acts of intercession on Israel’s behalf in chapters 32–34 (cf. Section Overview). The Lord listens to his prayer and relents of the disaster he had threatened (32:14). This speaks to his merciful nature. He wants not to judge his people but to show them patient forgiveness and steadfast love—which he will soon emphasize to Moses (34:6–7). At the same time, what he relents of is his threat to wipe out the people completely (32:10); he still may execute some form of judgment or discipline. Just because a parent forgives a child of great wrong does not mean there will not be consequences, even very severe ones—as Israel soon learns.

32:15–20 In the meantime Moses heads down the mountain (v. 15a). The text pauses to describe the stone tablets he carries: they are covenant tablets (“testimony” refers to a covenant; cf. comment on 16:31–36) written on both sides and are God’s work; that is, God has made the tablets and engraved the covenant on them (32:15b–16; cf. comment on 31:18). The reason they are mentioned becomes clear momentarily.

We learned earlier that Moses’ assistant, Joshua, had gone with him up the mountain (cf. 24:13; whether he went all the way up with Moses or only partway up is nowhere stated). Joshua now reenters the story as he and Moses draw nearer to the Israelite camp at the mountain’s base. He hears such a loud commotion that he assumes the people are shouting as they either celebrate victory or lament loss in war (32:17). Moses replies that it is neither; they are simply singing loudly (v. 18). In other words a riotous party is taking place.

As Moses draws near enough to see the golden calf and the people worshiping before it with singing and dancing, his “anger burned hot” (v. 19). The same phrase was just used to describe the Lord’s anger (v. 10)—the very anger Moses asked the Lord to avert (v. 11). Now seeing its cause, Moses has the same response; the people’s treachery against their faithful Lord is rightly infuriating. Moses throws the God-made, God-engraved tablets to the ground, shattering the covenant into a thousand pieces at the foot of the mountain—the very place where the people had first pledged covenant faithfulness (cf. 24:4–8).764 Shattering the tablets here is a visual picture of what the people have just done with their idolatrous worship (32:19).

Moses then turns his attention to the golden calf. Sarna suggests it is a “wooden model . . . overlaid with gold.”765 This might explain how Moses could burn it and then ground the charcoal remains and the melted gold overlay into fine pieces (v. 20; cf. Deut. 9:21), though it is also possible the language of this verse is simply “a conventional way to describe demolition and is not a literal description of how a statue might be destroyed.”766 Either way, the point remains: he demolishes it completely. Casting the idolatrous mixture on the water flowing down the mountain, he makes the people drink it (Ex. 32:20; cf. Deut. 9:21). Some have suggested this is similar to the ritual in Numbers 5:11–28 and that some visual mark appears on those guilty of idolatry, identifying them for the Levites. The idolatrous, however, number far more than merely three thousand people (Ex. 32:3, 7–10, 35).767 Perhaps this is simply a punishment corresponding to the crime, a way of saying, “You long this much for an idol? Then I will make sure to fill your bellies with it!” Either way, the calf is shown to be what it really is: not a god but merely a completely ordinary statue.

32:21–24 Moses now confronts Aaron (v. 21). He had left Aaron in charge when he went up the mountain (24:14), and now he demands to know what the people could possibly have done to make Aaron lead them into such great sin. Moses’ question is instructive. He is experienced enough in leadership to know the people may have pressured Aaron, and yet he views leadership highly enough to know Aaron still bears responsibility.

Aaron’s answer begins honestly enough. He notes the people’s tendency to evil—a tendency Moses himself has experienced (14:11; 15:24; 16:2, 20; etc.)—and accurately and fully describes their reason for desiring an idol (32:23; cf. v. 1).768 But he abbreviates his role in the events and finishes laughably, at best: “I threw [the gold] into the fire, and out came this calf” (v. 24). In reality Aaron himself had “fashioned [the gold] with a graving tool and made a golden calf” (v. 4). Many of us can identify with Aaron’s evasiveness and selective recounting. It is far easier to describe other’s sin in detail than even to admit our own.

32:25–29 The situation has now gotten out of control. The people have “broken loose” (v. 25), language used elsewhere to describe unkempt hair allowed to hang loose and do whatever it wants (Lev. 10:6; 21:10). The picture here is of the people’s having cast off even the basics of orderly society as they worship the idol in drunken and riotous rebellion. Aaron’s responsibility is again emphasized, since he is the one who “had let them break loose to the derision of their enemies.” No enemy is currently watching Israel, so this phrase must describe how the enemies will react once Israel’s behavior becomes known to them. And while there is some question about whether to translate this as “derision” or “gloating” of their enemies, the endpoint is not much different: in either case their enemies will look on Israel not as a righteous people to emulate but as a drunken laughingstock.

Moses takes decisive action. He stands at the camp’s “gate” (Ex. 32:26), that is, the place considered the camp’s entrance, and summons any whose first allegiance is to the Lord. The only tribe to respond is that of Levi. Moses conveys the Lord’s command for them to take up a sword and go throughout the camp to execute the Lord’s judgment on the treasonous—even family and friends (v. 27).769 The Levites obey immediately, executing three thousand people (v. 28). Since this is only a fraction of the non-Levites in the camp, clearly not every guilty person is punished. This suggests the Levites kill the ringleaders or the most serious offenders. In doing so they set themselves apart for the Lord’s service and blessing (v. 29), a fact later celebrated in song (Deut. 33:8–9). But this comes at great personal cost, since deciding for the kingdom of God often means deciding against family and friends (“each one at the cost of his son and of his brother”; Ex. 32:29; cf. Matt. 10:37; Luke 14:26).

32:30–35 The next day is very somber. While the Lord has agreed not to wipe out the entire nation (Ex. 32:14), the Israelites have broken the covenant and been given no assurance they will receive its promises. Moses knows the people are therefore still in great danger, and so he tells them he will attempt to make atonement on their behalf (v. 30). But there is no guarantee, so he chooses his words carefully: “Perhaps I can make atonement for your sin.” If we compare this to a marriage, we could say that the Lord has biblical grounds for divorce, and Moses does not know what the Lord will do.

Moses goes back up the mountain to make his second act of intercession in chapters 32–34 (cf. Section Overview). He acknowledges the people’s great sin and pleads for the Lord’s forgiveness (32:31–32a). He underscores the request by asking for God, if forgiveness is not given, to “blot me out of your book that you have written” (v. 32b). In other words, “You write history as one writes a book,770 and I would rather be blotted out of the story at this point if Israel is not forgiven.” He is not offering himself as a sacrifice (kill me instead of the people); he is simply saying that, if they are not forgiven, he would rather not live (cf. Num. 11:10–15).771 In doing so he shows his deep commitment to the people and his deep desire for their well-being. Moses is a true shepherd.

The Lord begins by stating that he will not wipe Moses out with the guilty; he will judge those who have sinned (Ex. 32:33). But he follows this with words of assurance and warning. The assurance is that Moses may “lead the people to the place” the Lord has promised them. Israel will still inherit the Promised Land, and the Lord’s angel will continue to go before them (v. 34a). Clearly some level of forgiveness has happened. The warning is that punishment for sin will still come (v. 34b). As noted above, forgiveness does not mean the absence of discipline (as any parent knows).

That discipline is now named: “The Lord sent a plague” (v. 35a). The same word is used in 12:23, 27 to refer to a fatal blow, and the noun built on the same root occurs elsewhere in the Pentateuch to refer to fatal consequences (Num. 14:37; 16:48–49; 25:8–9). The implication is that many more of the people die as a result of their sin. The verse ends by making clear that, while Aaron made the calf, he did so because the people desired it be made, the sense being, “The Israelites are the ones who had this calf made, the one Aaron made.”

33:1–6 Verses 1–2 resume the thought of 32:34a. This suggests that verse 35 describes a judgment that occurs later—showing the threat of verse 34b is carried out—and that 33:1 returns to the present, as the Lord continues his speech to Moses.772

Moses earlier reminded the Lord of his promise to the patriarchs to give the Promised Land to their descendants (32:13), and the Lord affirms he will keep that promise and carry it out by means of a conquering angel who will go before the Israelites (33:1–2). This sounds similar to the Lord’s promise in 23:20–23 to send an angel before them, but there is a key difference. The Lord followed his earlier promise by commanding Israel to collect materials for a sanctuary so that he could dwell in Israel’s midst (25:1–8). Here he follows his promise by stating, “I will not go up among you, lest I consume you on the way, for you are a stiff-necked people” (33:3). To be stiff-necked is to adopt a posture of proud rebellion (cf. comment on 32:7–10), and those in such a posture are most at risk of the Lord’s judgment. He therefore will not dwell among them; it is far too dangerous for them. So all the tabernacle instructions in chapters 25–31 have been for nothing; a tabernacle is no longer needed. Indeed, the whole point of the exodus (“I am the Lord their God, who brought them out of the land of Egypt that I might dwell among them”; 29:46) seems to have been nullified. This is a tragedy of epic proportions.

In response the people mourn and do not put on their ornaments (33:4). This is in keeping with the Lord’s command: “Take off your ornaments, that I may know what to do with you” (v. 5). The people’s taking off ornaments is an appropriate sign of mourning over their sin and its consequences—not only because mourners do not dress in their finest (Gen. 37:34; 2 Sam. 14:2) but also because ornaments include earrings (Hos. 2:13), the very things the Israelites had used to make the golden calf (Ex. 32:2–3). But all is not lost. The statement “That I may know what to do with you” (33:5) is both sobering and hopeful. It is sobering because it indicates the possibility of further punishment; it is hopeful because it leaves open the door that Lord may respond positively to their repentance.

The people obey, stripping themselves of their jewelry and mourning in repentance for their sin. This also sets up an opportunity for Moses to intercede again on their behalf.

33:7–11 The text now pauses to let us know where the intercession takes place. Instead of going up the mountain every time he needs to speak with God, Moses speaks with him at a tent he sets up “outside the camp, far off from the camp” (v. 7). It is not stated how long he has been doing so, whether it has been since their arrival at Sinai or prior to that, nor, if the former, whether it was in response to the Lord’s rebuke in chapter 32 or beforehand. Whatever the answer, the emphasis on its placement outside the camp is a sad reminder that God will not dwell in the Israelites’ midst due to their sin.

Moses names it “the tent of meeting” since he may meet with the Lord there (vv. 7–8), as may others seeking the Lord (presumably when Moses is there to mediate773). The tabernacle is likewise called “the tent of meeting” since it is to have the same function (29:42–43), though it will not be built until chapters 35–40, and it is not clear at this point in the narrative whether it will ever be built. All that to say, these verses concern a different tent, far less glorious than the coming tabernacle and pitched far away from the camp instead of in its midst (cf. Num. 2:2).

Those who seek the Lord include those needing guidance in legal disputes (Ex. 18:15–16) or life events (Gen. 25:22; 2 Sam. 21:1) and those desiring to pursue the Lord in repentance or worship (Deut. 4:29; Ps. 40:16). Whenever Moses goes out to the tent, the Israelites watch intently (cf. note 85 within comment on 3:4–6). And no wonder—every time he goes inside, the Lord’s cloud of glory descends to the tent’s entrance, leading the people to worship the Lord from a distance, each at one’s own tent (Ex. 33:8–10). This too is a positive sign: repentance for sin is now matched with worship of Israel’s Redeemer.

Verse 11 finishes with two notices. First, “the Lord used to speak to Moses face to face.” This does not contradict the Lord’s comment to Moses in a few verses (“You cannot see my face, for man shall not see me and live”; v. 20). It is a figurative expression that refers to personal and intimate communication, as the next phrase makes clear: “As a man speaks to his friend.”774 The Lord speaks with other prophets in visions or dreams or riddles; with Moses he speaks directly (cf. Num. 12:6–8). The point is that Moses has a uniquely direct and personal relationship with the Lord (cf. Deut. 34:10), which helps explain the direct and personal conversations that ensue.775

Second, whenever Moses returns to the camp, his assistant Joshua stays at the tent. No reason is given for this practice, though the tent’s association with the Lord’s presence and as the place for people to seek the Lord paints Joshua in a positive light and further establishes his credibility as Moses’ successor (cf. Ex. 17:9–13).

33:12–17 We now return to Moses’ third intercession in these chapters (cf. Section Overview). The Lord has said he will not go up in his people’s midst (33:3, 5). Moses now asks him to reconsider, repeatedly using the verb “to know” and the phrase “to find favor in your sight” (vv. 12–13). His prayer could be paraphrased, “You have said, ‘Lead this people up,’ but you have not made me know who will go with me in your place. Yet you have said you have known me very personally (by name!) and that I have found favor in your sight. If I have found favor in your sight, then make me know your ways in our very midst—it is your presence for which I am truly asking!—that I may know you even more deeply, so that I may indeed find favor in your eyes (in keeping with what you have said). And do this not only for my sake. Consider also that this nation is your people,776 which is one more reason that you should go up among us. Not just for my sake; also for theirs!”

The Lord responds positively: “My presence will go with you, and I will give you rest” (v. 14); that is, I myself will lead you into the land and give you rest from your enemies (cf. Deut. 12:10; 25:19).777

In biblical times it was not uncommon to ask someone to confirm that he meant what he had just agreed to do, somewhat akin to when a parent says, “I will take you to the zoo,” and the child responds, “Do you promise?”778 Moses does something similar here, stating that, if the Lord does not go to the Promised Land with them—and he mentions “I and your people” twice to emphasize that the Lord’s promise applies to all Israel—it is better that they not go. Why? Only the Lord’s presence shows the nations that Moses and Israel have found favor in the Lord’s sight and that Israel is his treasured possession (Ex. 33:15–16; cf. 19:5; Num. 14:14). Only then can Israel carry out its role as a “kingdom of priests and a holy nation” (Ex. 19:6), so that “every other people on the face of the earth” can know the reality and nature of the Lord.

The Lord reassures Moses that he will indeed go with Israel, emphasizing that Moses has found favor in his sight—the fifth time this expression is used!—and that he knows him by name (33:17; cf. v. 12). Moses is thus assured of the Lord’s presence with Israel and the Lord’s special favor toward him in particular. His prayers have made the difference.

33:18–23 Moses now makes one further request: “Please show me your glory” (v. 18). The “glory of the Lord” has already appeared elsewhere in the book, where it refers to the Lord’s display of his presence in a spectacular but veiled way (16:10; 24:16–17; for details cf. note 296 within comment on 16:6–8; cf. also comment on 16:9–12). Based on the Lord’s response (33:20), Moses seems to be asking to see the Lord’s presence directly, with no cloud acting as a veil. He wants to see God as he is in all his fullness. This would put it beyond a shadow of a doubt that Moses has found favor in the Lord’s eyes and that the Lord will answer his prayer to go with Israel. It also shows us that Moses is a man who wants to know God deeply. He has seen more of God’s power and has more direct communication with him than has any human to this point in history. But, like those who take a first bite of the most delicious meal they have ever tasted, he wants to keep eating. He is hungry for more.

The Lord will answer his prayer—in part. We might paraphrase, “Everything about me is goodness (Pss. 31:19; 145:7), and I will allow you to see more physical manifestation of it than others and to hear me describe my character (“name”). And what you will hear me describe is that I am characterized above all by mercy and grace, which I am free to show without limit!”779

But God cannot answer Moses’ prayer in full. Again to paraphrase: “But you cannot see my face, for to see me unveiled, shining in all my brilliance and splendor and glory, would be fatal” (Ex. 33:20). Why? As noted earlier (19:20–25), the idea might be that if merely earthly circumstances can so overwhelm a person’s senses that he loses consciousness, then the sight of the heavenly Lord’s full glory can so overwhelm a person’s senses that he loses life itself. It is like a power surge of glory that fatally overwhelms and short-circuits our mortal capacities.

The Lord tells Moses of a place on “the rock”—which here refers to the mountain’s peak (34:2; cf. Num. 23:9)—where Moses is to stand (Ex. 33:21). Then as now standing was a sign of respect and the posture of those attending a king (1 Sam. 22:6) or awaiting a response from a deity (Num. 23:6). While the Lord passes by, he will put Moses in a cleft and obscure his view with his hand but at some point remove it, allowing Moses to see his “back” but not his “face” (Ex. 33:22–23). The Lord describes himself here in human terms, not because he has a body (John 4:24) but so we may understand his point: just as we get an idea of a person by seeing his back but learn more upon seeing his face, so Moses will get to see more of God’s glory than the average person but will not be able to see God’s glory in all its fullness.

34:1–8 Earlier Moses had shattered the covenant tablets to portray physically what Israel had done by making and worshiping the golden calf (Ex. 32:19). Now, in words full of hope, the Lord commands Moses to make two new tablets so he can write on them the same covenant words as before (34:1). This will occur the next day, after Moses goes up to the mountain top and presents himself before the Lord (34:2). Aaron, who went up with Moses the first time (19:24), is not mentioned, perhaps because of his part in the golden calf incident. Whatever the case, the mountain will be especially consecrated by God’s presence and thus off limits to everyone except Moses (34:3; cf. 19:12–13).

Moses obeys and early the next morning takes the stone tablets and ascends the mountain (34:4). The Lord then comes down in the cloud of glory (v. 5a). The phrase “And stood with him there” could mean that the Lord stood with Moses or that Moses stood with the Lord. In favor of the latter is verse 2, where “present yourself” uses a similar sounding root to describe what Moses is to do—but the endpoint is the same. The Lord then “proclaim[s] the name of the Lord” (v. 5b; cf. 33:19), which, as the context shows, refers to his describing his own essential nature and character (34:6b–7).780 In keeping with what he said earlier (33:19) the Lord does this as he “passes before” Moses (34:6), who is presumably hidden in the rock as described in 33:21–23.

The words that follow are the most detailed self-description the Lord has given to this point in the Bible (34:6–7). Not surprisingly, biblical characters and writers return to this text continually when thinking of the glories of who the Lord is and why these perfections matter for the lives of God’s people.781 They did not get to see what Moses saw, but these verses allow them to hear what he heard so that they (and we!) get a clear window into God’s very heart.

The terms fall into four natural pairings: (1) merciful and gracious, (2) slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, (3) keeping steadfast love and forgiving sin, and (4) not clearing the guilty but visiting the father’s iniquity upon the children. As will be seen, the progression is natural from one pairing to the next. Perhaps most noteworthy, however, is that mercy, patience, and love (the first three pairings) all come before judgment for sin (the fourth) and are all elaborated in much greater detail than judgment for sin is (three pairings versus one). He stresses that he a God of mercy and love who desires us to know him as such.

Mercy and grace are the first aspects of God’s character. That these come first tell us something about his heart’s instinctive reflex toward his people. “Merciful” (Hb. rakhum) is built on a root that often refers to the compassion God shows to those suffering punishment for sin or those worthy of punishment for sin (Deut. 30:3; Isa. 49:13; 54:8, 10; 55:7; Jer. 31:20; Hab. 3:2). “Gracious” (khanun) is built on a root that often refers to his showing undeserved favor to someone (Gen. 33:5, 11; Num. 6:25), even someone experiencing punishment for sin (2 Sam. 12:22; Pss. 31:9–10; 41:4; 51:1; Amos 5:15). In both cases he withholds or stops due punishment because he leans toward his people with mercy and grace.

Not surprisingly, God is therefore “slow to anger” when confronted with his people’s sin. This is not a God who is spring-loaded with judgment, ready to pounce at his people’s slightest misstep. He is awash with merciful and gracious patience. And not only patience, as though gritting his teeth while trying to remain calm; his patience is paired with his “steadfast love and faithfulness.” If his patience causes him to withhold or stop due punishment, then his steadfast love and faithfulness propel him to show kindness and love. When used of the Lord, the word translated “steadfast love” (khesed) refers to a love characterized by graciousness and faithfulness, that is, to “gracious steadfast love” or “gracious loyal love.” The gracious aspect of khesed is seen in that it often refers to the Lord’s love demonstrated through favorable action toward someone, giving him something good, be it a spouse (Gen. 24:12, 14), material prosperity (Gen. 32:10–11), favor in the eyes of a superior (Gen. 39:21), or forgiveness and general loving kindness instead of punishment and wrath (Ex. 20:6; 34:6–7; Num. 14:18–19). The faithful aspect of this love is seen in that showing khesed can be paralleled to keeping the covenant, since both acts demonstrate the faithfulness expected from one covenant member to another (Deut. 7:9, 12; cf. the use of khesed in the context of oaths in Gen. 47:29; Josh. 2:12, 14). For this reason khesed is often paired with the word “faithfulness” (ʾemet), the terms together referring to the faithful expression of covenant loyalty and love (Gen. 24:27, 49; 32:10; Ex. 34:6). And the Lord does not simply have steadfast love and faithfulness; he is abounding in them. They pour from him, cascading down on his people like a waterfall of faithful love and grace.

This leads naturally to the third pairing. Because he overflows with faithful steadfast love, he faithfully maintains such love toward his people (“keeping steadfast love”)—not just to a few generations but to thousands (cf. ESV mg.), stretching forward as far as the eye can see. And this is despite the fact that his people are still sinful! Indeed, what enables him to maintain such love toward a sinful people is that he forgives so lavishly (“forgiving iniquity”). As in relationships between people, if there is no forgiveness for wrongs, there will be no more relationship. The Lord’s forgiveness clears the way for his relationship with his people to continue. He continues to show his people steadfast love because he continues to forgive their sin—and not just sin but their “iniquity and transgression and sin” (v. 7). The terms for sin are multiplied to show that, no matter how great the sin, the forgiving mercy of God is greater still. His people cannot out-sin it. He is spring-loaded to forgive. It is his natural reflex. He delights to forgive us.

But this does not mean sin should be taken lightly (cf. Rom. 6:1). This leads to the final pairing. The Lord “by no means clears the guilty.” This cannot mean he does not forgive (as has just been emphasized). It means he will hold sinners to account and will do so by “visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children and the children’s children, to the third and the fourth generation” (Ex. 34:7). This last phrase occurs in 20:5 in a context contrasting those who were persisting in sin (“those who hate me”) with those who were persisting in righteousness (“those who love me and keep my commandments”; 20:6). Here the contrast is missing; the preceding statement is simply that he “by no means clears the guilty,” which could also be rendered, “he does not remit all punishment.”782 In other words, “Yes, I abound in forgiveness for sinners, but do not think forgiveness means absence of discipline. Good parents can forgive wrongs and discipline their children for them at the same time. They do this for their good because they love them. Shall I, your heavenly father, who loves his people infinitely more, not do the same (Heb. 12:5–11)? So take sin very seriously! Remember discipline can impact not only you but also the three to four generations of your family who live with you and are connected to you!”783 The idea is not that discipline happens every single time we sin but that God can and does bring his discipline to bear, especially the more serious or persistent the sin.

Yet his deepest desire is not that we know his discipline; it is that we know his forgiving love. As noted at Exodus 20:4–6, the fact that steadfast love is shown to “thousands,” as compared to punishment shown to the “third and the fourth generation,” shows us something of the Lord’s heart: “By the greatest numerical contrast in the Bible (three/four to thousands), God identified eloquently his real desire: to have his people remain loyal forever so that he might in turn show them the rich blessings of his resulting loyalty to them.”784 As noted above (cf. Section Overview), he has not created his people for judgment; he has created us for relationship with him, and he overflows with the mercy, grace, patience, love, and forgiveness we need in order to make this relationship a reality.

Moses responds to the Lord’s display of glory and proclamation of his name by casting himself face down on the ground in reverent worship, paying him homage as the King of kings (34:8; cf. 1 Kings 1:16; cf. also Job 42:1–6).

34:9 While the Lord’s appearance is profoundly sobering to Moses, it also encourages him that the Lord views him with favor. Added to this, the Lord has already told him to come up the mountain with two new stone tablets so he can write on them the words of the covenant (Ex. 34:1). With this dual encouragement Moses intercedes for the fourth and final time on Israel’s behalf in these chapters (cf. Section Overview), praying for full and final restoration of the covenant relationship. “O Lord, my ruler and king,785 if I have found favor in your sight as you have said (and as your special appearing to me in glory confirms), then please go in our midst in the tabernacle, as you have also said, even though786 this is a stiff-necked people (as you have noted, 32:9). But I am bold to pray for this because, as you have just said (34:7), you overflow with steadfast love that you keep for thousands by forgiving their transgression and sin. So please forgive the transgression and sin of this people and take us as your inheritance, your chosen lot, your treasured possession.”787 If the Lord answers this prayer, it would will renewing the covenant the people have broken.

34:10 And that is exactly what he does. “Behold, I am making a covenant” (v. 10), that is, “I am remaking the covenant with the Israelites that they have broken. And they will know this because I will do unheard of marvels in their sight that will show not only Israel, but the surrounding nations, that the Lord is in covenant relationship with this people.” The marvels are not named here, but the fact that the Lord speaks of their happening in view of the nations and that he tells Israel, “It is an awesome thing I will do with you,” suggests the marvels relate to the coming conquest.788 Not surprisingly, the next occurrence of the word “marvels” is found at Joshua 3:5 to describe the Lord’s stopping the waters of the Jordan so Israel can cross into the Promised Land. This is followed by a series of events to which the same term could also apply, though it is not explicitly used: the collapse of the walls of Jericho (Josh. 6:20) and the sun’s standing still at Gibeon (Josh. 10:12–13). Indeed, the conquest as a whole is described as “the work that the Lord did for Israel” (Josh. 24:31; cf. “the work of the Lord” in Ex. 34:10).

34:11–16 A covenant, however, requires faithfulness, so the Lord immediately exhorts the Israelites to obedience, giving a general command to obey (v. 11a) followed by specific examples (vv. 11b–26). The commands repeat or echo Exodus 23:12–33, that is, the very end of the first covenant commands. Indeed, the fact that the Lord will rewrite the Ten Commandments (34:1), which occur at the beginning of the original covenant, and here repeats the commands from the end of that covenant makes clear that he is renewing all of it.789 The specific commands he cites focus on the twin themes of not worshiping false gods (vv. 11b–17) and worshiping the Lord correctly (vv. 18–26). In other words, Israel must turn from false worship and practice true worship. The focus on such commands is no surprise, given the golden calf tragedy two chapters prior. Of all the things Israel needs at this point in time, proper worship is at the top of the list.

The Lord therefore begins with commands to turn from false worship (vv. 11b–17). He will drive out the idolatrous nations in the Promised Land (v. 11b), but not all at once (23:27–30). So he warns the Israelites not to enter into a covenant relationship with them, lest they be led into worshiping their gods (34:12–16). Instead they are to destroy anything related to such worship, whether altars, sacred pillars (cf. note 568 within comment on 23:23–24), or Asherim,790 and must avoid intermarriage, lest false worship enter Israel through the family.791 This is rooted in the fact that “the Lord, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God” (34:14) and will therefore view spiritual adultery with the same anger and hatred as a spouse would view physical adultery.792 In other words, this jealousy is that not of petty envy but of betrayed love (cf. comment on 20:4–6).

34:17 To drive the point home, the Lord also forbids the Israelites from making “any gods of cast metal.” The term here for “cast metal” is the same term used to describe the golden calf in 32:4, 8. What happened there must never happen again.

34:18 Cf. comment on 23:14–17.

34:19–20 Cf. comment on 12:51–13:2, 11–16.

34:21 Cf. comments on 20:8–11; 23:12; 31:12–17. The mention of plowing and harvest is unique here but underscores that even the busiest times of life do not take precedence over the Sabbath.

34:22–23 Cf. comment on 23:14–17. As observed there (note 564), “firstfruits of the wheat harvest” describes the Feast of Weeks. The three feasts are thus Unleavened Bread, Weeks (also known as the Feast of Harvest or Pentecost), and Ingathering (also known as the Feast of Booths).

34:24 This verse answers a practical question raised by the previous two: Who will protect the land if they leave it three times a year to go to the Lord’s place of worship? The answer is that the Lord will give them such success in battle and make them so great that no one will set his heart on the land and try to take it (cf. comment on 20:17 for this understanding of “covet”).

34:25 Cf. comment on 23:18.

34:26 Cf. comment on 23:19.

34:27–28 The covenant commands are now written down. In 34:27 the Lord commands Moses to write down “these words,” a reference to verses 11–26 at the least, though it should not surprise us if all the covenant commands from chapters 20–23 are to be rewritten, since that entire covenant is now being renewed (cf. 24:4). And, since the Lord said at the beginning of chapter 34 that he himself would rewrite the Ten Commandments on the tablets (34:1), it makes sense that the Lord is the “he” mentioned in the last half of verse 28: “And he [the Lord] wrote on the tablets the words of the covenant, the Ten Commandments,” that is, those originally given in 20:2–17.793

The process takes forty days and nights, during which Moses abstains from both bread and water (34:28). While managing forty days without food is possible for some people, no one can survive forty days without water. We may be reading of a miracle, though neither this text nor those describing parallel situations note the Lord’s special involvement (cf. Deut. 9:9, 18). Another possibility is that the text is using idiom or hyperbole; perhaps “forty days and nights” is a way to say “a good many days and nights” (cf. note 606 within comment on 24:15–18) or “neither ate bread nor drank water” could mean “a lot of fasting.” Whatever the case, we know that fasting accompanies earnest seeking of the Lord (Judg. 20:26; 2 Sam. 12:16; Ezra 8:23) and therefore underscores the seriousness with which Moses undertakes his intercession for Israel and his role as covenant mediator. (Jesus’ forty-day-and-night fast in the wilderness [Matt. 4:2] points to him as a second Moses who gives God’s law, though he is infinitely greater than Moses himself [Heb. 3:1–6].)

34:29–35 As he did in 32:15, Moses comes down from the mountain with the two covenant tablets in his hand, but this time is different: “The skin of his face shone because he had been talking with God” (34:29).794 Given that Moses had talked with God the first time he received the Ten Commandments, why does his face shine now when it did not then? The most natural answer focuses on an important difference between the previous reception of the commandments and this one: Moses receives an even greater glimpse of God’s glory than he ever had before (33:18–34:7), and this exposure leaves a beaming residue of glory on his face.

Having never seen anything like it, Aaron and the Israelites are initially too frightened to come near Moses (34:30). Eventually he is able to persuade Aaron and the leaders to return so that he can speak with them (v. 31). The rest of the people soon follow, and Moses “commanded them all that the Lord had spoken with him on Mount Sinai” (v. 32). During this time his face continues to shine with the Lord’s glory, which surely confirms his authority as the one with whom God has spoken directly and who speaks on God’s behalf. After passing on God’s commands he veils his face (v. 33) and leaves it veiled until he returns to speak with the Lord (vv. 34–35). In short, when speaking with God or communicating God’s word to the people, he is unveiled, meaning the Israelites will know he is communicating words received directly in God’s glorious presence.795 The rest of the time he is veiled. No reason is given here—though, in light of Israel’s initial response of fear, constant exposure to this sight of God’s glory may simply be too much for them (and cf. below on 2 Corinthians 3).

The account of Jesus’ transfiguration in Matthew 17:1–8 bears several parallels to this passage: Jesus is high up a mountain (Matt. 17:1), his face shines “like the sun” (v. 2), Moses appears with him (as does Elijah, another great OT prophet; v. 3), a cloud of glory appears (v. 5), and the disciples with Jesus fall on their faces in fear (v. 6; cf. Moses in Ex. 34:8). By tying this event to Exodus 34 Matthew emphasizes that God’s glory now beams from Jesus’ face. Moreover, when the cloud appears, the Lord’s voice declares, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him” (Matt. 17:5). Jesus is not simply a prophet, as Moses is, but the very Son of God. His face shines God’s glory because “he is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature” (Heb. 1:3).

A second NT passage making use of the account of Moses’ shining face is 2 Corinthians 3, where Paul contrasts the old covenant with the new. The old was written on tablets of stone, resulted ultimately in condemnation and death for the Israelites, and was coming to an end due to its temporary nature.796 The new is written with the Spirit on human hearts, results in righteousness and life, and will continue forever due to its eternal nature (2 Cor. 3:3–11). In making the contrast Paul points out that, if the former covenant came with glory, how much greater is the glory that comes with an infinitely better covenant (2 Cor. 3:7–11)! What is more, unlike the veiling of God’s glory on Moses’ face, God’s glory is unveiled in Jesus (cf. 2 Cor. 4:6) so that those who turn to him in faith are “being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another” (2 Cor. 3:18). In other words the Christian life is one in which, through the indwelling Holy Spirit, we come to know Jesus better and better and, as a result, become more and more like him, reflecting his glory—God’s glory—increasingly in our lives for all the world to see.