Old Testament Commentary - Exodus 33

by Don R. Hender

Scriptural Text [& Editorial]	Commentary & Explanation	Footnotes ~ References ~ JST
CHAPTER 33 The Lord promises to be with Israel and drive out the people of the land—Tabernacle of the congregation moved away from the camp—The Lord speaks to Moses face to face in the tabernacle— Later, Moses sees the glory of God, but not his face.
1 AND the LORD said unto Moses, ^aDepart, and go up hence, thou and the people which thou hast brought up out of the land of Egypt, unto the land which I sware unto Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, saying, Unto thy ^bseed will I give it: 2 And I will send an ^aangel before thee; and I will drive out the ^bCanaanite, the Amorite, and the Hittite, and the Perizzite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite: 3 Unto a land ^aflowing with milk and honey: for I will not go up in the midst of thee; for thou art a stiffnecked people: lest I consume thee in the way.		3^a Lev. 1:1; Moses 1:17 ^b Ex. 3:12; Moses 1:1-3 4^a Deut. 327:11; D&C 124:18 (18,99) 5^a TG Obedience ^b TG Abrahamic Covenant TG Covenants ^c TG Israel, Twelve Tribes TG Peculiar People ^d TG Israel, Blessing of TG Treasure 6^a TG Election ^b TG Israel, Mission of; TG; Priesthood; TG Priesthood, History of ^c Ex. 22:31; 1 Pet. 2:9 (5-9); TG Holiness ^d TG Separation
4 ¶ And when the people heard these evil tidings, they ^amourned: and no man did put on him his ^bornaments. 5 For the LORD had said unto Moses, Say unto the children of Israel, Ye are a ^astiffnecked people: ^bI will come up into the midst of thee in a moment, and consume thee: therefore now put off thy ornaments from thee, that I may know what to do unto thee^a. 6 And the children of Israel stripped themselves of their ornaments by the mount Horeb.	5^a put off thy ornaments from thee, that I may know what to do unto thee Beyond needful clothing, the rest of the paraphernalia which encumber the dress of man is but unto 'ornaments' of the flesh, of a worldly nature and of a use and meaning which distracts men from God. In the temple such items are also restricted before the Lord in the House of the Lord. Therefore it is not a strange thing which the Lord does request of he people, that their minds might be more focused upon God and that a communicative link between the spirit of God and man might be established and uninhibited by such extraneous and worldly paraphernalia.	3^a Lev. 1:1; Moses 1:17 ^b Ex. 3:12; Moses 1:1-3 4^a Deut. 327:11; D&C 124:18 (18,99) 5^a TG Obedience ^b TG Abrahamic Covenant TG Covenants ^c TG Israel, Twelve Tribes TG Peculiar People ^d TG Israel, Blessing of TG Treasure 6^a TG Election ^b TG Israel, Mission of; TG; Priesthood; TG Priesthood, History of ^c Ex. 22:31; 1 Pet. 2:9 (5-9); TG Holiness ^d TG Separation
7 And Moses took the tabernacle, and pitched it without the camp, afar off from the camp, and called it the ^aTabernacle of the congregation. And it came to pass, that every one which sought the LORD went out unto the ^btabernacle of the congregation, which was without the camp. 8 And it came to pass, when Moses went out unto the tabernacle, that all the people rose up, and stood every man at his ^atent door, and looked after Moses, until he was gone into the tabernacle.		3^a Lev. 1:1; Moses 1:17 ^b Ex. 3:12; Moses 1:1-3 4^a Deut. 327:11; D&C 124:18 (18,99) 5^a TG Obedience ^b TG Abrahamic Covenant TG Covenants ^c TG Israel, Twelve Tribes TG Peculiar People ^d TG Israel, Blessing of TG Treasure 6^a TG Election ^b TG Israel, Mission of; TG; Priesthood; TG Priesthood, History of ^c Ex. 22:31; 1 Pet. 2:9 (5-9); TG Holiness ^d TG Separation
9 And it came to pass, as Moses entered into the tabernacle, the ^acloudy pillar descended, and stood at the door of the tabernacle, and the LORD talked with Moses. 10 And all the people saw the cloudy pillar stand at the tabernacle door: and all the people rose up and worshipped, every man in his tent door. 11 And the LORD ^aspake unto Moses ^bface to face, as a man ^cspeaketh unto his ^dfriend. And he turned again into the camp: but his servant ^eJoshua, the son of ^fNun, a young man, departed not out of the tabernacle.
12 ¶ And Moses said unto the LORD, See, thou sayest unto me, ^aBring up this people: and thou hast not let me know whom thou wilt send with me. Yet thou hast said, I ^bknow thee by ^cname, and thou hast also found grace in my sight. 13 Now therefore, I pray thee, if I have found ^agrace in thy sight, ^bshew me now thy ^cway, that I may know thee, that I may find grace in thy sight: and consider that this nation is ^dthy ^epeople.
14 And he said, My ^apresence shall go with thee, and I will give thee ^brest. 15 And he said unto him, If thy presence go not with me, carry us not up hence. 16 For wherein shall it be known here that I and thy people have found grace in thy sight? is it not in that thou ^agoest with us? so shall we be ^bseparated, I and thy people, from all the people that are upon the face of the earth.
17 And the LORD said unto Moses, ^aI will ^bdo this thing also that thou hast spoken: for thou hast found grace in my sight, and I know thee by name. 18 And he said, I beseech thee, ^ashew me thy glory.
19 And he said, I will make all my ^agoodness pass before thee, and I will ^bproclaim the name of the LORD before thee; and will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will shew ^cmercy on whom I will shew mercy. 20 ^aAnd he said, Thou canst not see my face: for ^bthere shall no man ^csee me, and live.
21 And the LORD said, Behold, there is a place by me, and thou shalt stand upon a rock: 22 And it shall come to pass, while my glory passeth by, that I will put thee in a clift of the rock, and will cover thee with my hand ^awhile I pass by: 23 And I will take away mine hand, and thou shalt ^asee my ^bback parts: but my face shall not be ^cseen.