Exodus 33: God's Presence and Moses' Plea

Short answer: Exodus 33 records God telling Moses to lead Israel onward without His presence because they are stiff-necked, and Moses pitching the Tent of Meeting outside the camp where he speaks with God face to face. Moses pleads for God's presence to go with them, and God grants his request and reveals His goodness and back to him.

What Exodus 33 says

The chapter opens with God commanding Moses to depart and go up to the land promised to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and to their offspring. God promises to send an angel before Israel and to drive out the Canaanite, Amorite, Hittite, Perizzite, Hivite, and Jebusite. The land is described as flowing with milk and honey. But God adds a severe condition: He will not go up among the people, because they are stiff-necked, and He might consume them on the way. When the people hear this evil news, they mourn and no one puts on jewelry. God then tells Moses to instruct Israel to take off their jewelry so that He may know what to do with them. Israel obeys from Mount Horeb onward.

Moses takes a tent and pitches it outside the camp, far away, and calls it the Tent of Meeting. Everyone who seeks Yahweh goes out to that tent outside the camp. When Moses goes out, all the people rise and stand at their tent doors, watching until he enters. When Moses enters, the pillar of cloud descends and stands at the door, and Yahweh speaks with Moses. All the people see the pillar and rise and worship, each at their tent door. Yahweh speaks to Moses face to face, as a man speaks to his friend. Moses returns to the camp, but his servant Joshua, son of Nun, a young man, does not depart from the Tent.

Moses speaks to Yahweh, reminding Him that He said to bring up the people but has not revealed whom He will send. Moses recalls that Yahweh said He knows Moses by name and that Moses has found favor in His sight. Moses asks that if he has found favor, Yahweh would show him His way so that he may know Him and continue to find favor, and he asks Yahweh to consider that this nation is His people. Yahweh responds that His presence will go with Moses and give him rest. Moses insists that if Yahweh's presence does not go with them, they should not be carried up from there. Moses argues that the only way people will know that he and Israel have found favor is if Yahweh goes with them, separating them from all other peoples on the earth. Yahweh agrees to do this thing because Moses has found favor and Yahweh knows him by name.

Moses then asks Yahweh to show him His glory. Yahweh says He will make all His goodness pass before Moses and will proclaim Yahweh's name before him. Yahweh declares that He will be gracious to whom He will be gracious and show mercy on whom He will show mercy. But Yahweh says Moses cannot see His face, for man may not see Him and live. Yahweh tells Moses there is a place by Him where Moses shall stand on the rock. When Yahweh's glory passes by, He will put Moses in a cleft of the rock and cover him with His hand until He has passed by. Then Yahweh will take away His hand, and Moses will see His back, but Yahweh's face shall not be seen.

Verses that carry the chapter

• “Go to a land flowing with milk and honey; but I will not go up among you, for you are a stiff-necked people, lest I consume you on the way.”” (Exodus 33:3) — This verse states the central crisis: God will not go up among the people because they are stiff-necked, threatening to consume them. It sets the tension for Moses' intercession.
• “Yahweh spoke to Moses face to face, as a man speaks to his friend. He turned again into the camp, but his servant Joshua, the son of Nun, a young man, didn’t depart from the Tent.” (Exodus 33:11) — This verse describes the extraordinary intimacy of Yahweh speaking with Moses face to face as a friend, and notes Joshua's continual presence at the Tent. It highlights the unique relationship Moses had with God.
• “He said, “My presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.” (Exodus 33:14)” (Exodus 33:14) — This verse contains God's promise that His presence will go with Moses and give him rest. It is the turning point where God grants Moses' plea for His presence.
• “He said, “You cannot see my face, for man may not see me and live.” (Exodus 33:20)” (Exodus 33:20) — This verse declares that man cannot see God's face and live, setting the limit on Moses' request to see God's glory. It underscores the holiness and otherness of God even in revelation.

Gospel connection

Exodus 33 anticipates the gospel by showing that God's presence is both the greatest need and the greatest danger for a sinful people. The people are stiff-necked and cannot survive God's immediate presence, yet Moses pleads for that very presence to go with them. God's answer is a mediator, Moses, who stands outside the camp and intercedes. Later, Jesus becomes the greater mediator who bears the curse of sin and makes God's presence dwell with His people without consuming them. The chapter also reveals God's character as gracious and merciful, which is fully displayed in the cross where justice and mercy meet. The cleft of the rock and the passing of God's goodness point forward to the day when God's glory is seen in the face of Jesus Christ, who is the radiance of God's glory and the exact imprint of His nature.

Application

This chapter asks the reader to consider whether they truly want God's presence or merely His gifts. Israel was offered the land and an angel, but without God's presence they mourned. The reader is invited to examine their own heart: do we seek God Himself, or do we settle for blessings without the Blesser? Moses' persistent intercession models a prayer life that refuses to move forward without God. The chapter also calls for humility, recognizing that we are stiff-necked and cannot approach God on our own terms. It encourages us to take off our ornaments, to strip away the things we use to adorn ourselves before God, and to come to Him with honest need. Finally, it points us to rest, which is found not in circumstances but in God's presence going with us.

Biblical fidelity check

The chapter does not claim that God completely abandoned Israel, only that He would not go up among them in the immediate sense. It does not specify what the jewelry represented or why it was worn, only that the people mourned and stripped it off. The text does not describe the content of God's conversation with Moses at the Tent beyond the fact that He spoke with him face to face. It does not explain how the pillar of cloud appeared or what it looked like beyond standing at the door. The chapter does not say that Moses actually saw God's face; it explicitly says he could not and would only see God's back. It does not name the location of the rock or the cleft beyond being by God. It does not record the people's response to Moses' request to see God's glory, nor does it describe Joshua's role beyond staying at the Tent.

Questions for study

1. Why did God say He would not go up among the people, and how did the people respond to this news?
2. What was the significance of Moses pitching the Tent of Meeting outside the camp, and how did the people react when he went to it?
3. What arguments did Moses use to persuade God to go with them, and what does this reveal about Moses' relationship with God?
4. What did God promise to show Moses, and what limits did He set on what Moses could see?
5. How does the description of God's character in verse 19 shape our understanding of His grace and mercy?

Keep reading

Related studies: Exodus 1 Bible Study, Exodus 10 Bible Study, Exodus 11 Bible Study, Exodus 12 Bible Study.

Subscribe for new Bible studies or support this work.

FAQ

Why did God say He would not go with Israel?

God said He would not go up among them because they were a stiff-necked people, and He feared He might consume them on the way. This was a response to their sin, particularly the golden calf incident just before this chapter.

What was the Tent of Meeting in this chapter?

It was a tent Moses pitched outside the camp, far away, which he called the Tent of Meeting. Anyone who sought Yahweh would go there, and God would speak with Moses there in the pillar of cloud.

Did Moses actually see God's face?

No, God told Moses that no man could see His face and live. Instead, God placed Moses in a cleft of the rock, covered him with His hand, and allowed him to see His back after He passed by.