Exodus 33

This chapter belongs to the latter part of Exodus and immediately follows Exodus 32, which recounts the golden calf incident. It shows how the broken covenant relationship is restored, and it leads into Exodus 34, which deals with the second set of stone tablets.

Outline

• Verses 1–6 The LORD tells the people to go up to the land of Canaan and says He will send an angel before them. Because they are "a stiffnecked people," however, He says He will not go up in their midst. The people mourn and, from Mount Horeb onward, strip themselves of their ornaments.
• Verses 7–11 Moses pitches a tent outside the camp and calls it the tent of meeting (KJV: "the Tabernacle of the congregation"). Whenever Moses enters, the pillar of cloud stands at its door, and the people worship, each at the door of his own tent. The LORD speaks with Moses face to face, and the young man Joshua does not depart from the tent.
• Verses 12–17 Moses pleads with God to show him His way and to consider this nation His people. The LORD answers, "My presence shall go with thee."
• Verses 18–23 Moses asks God to show him His glory. The LORD replies that no one can see His face and live. He says He will put Moses in a cleft of the rock and cover him with His hand while He passes by, and afterward Moses will see His back.

Key Verses

• Exodus 33:11 "As a man speaketh unto his friend": a classic expression of the intimate fellowship between God and Moses.
• Exodus 33:14 "My presence shall go with thee, and I will give thee rest": the turning point at which God's presence with His people is restored.
• Exodus 33:19 "I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious": a verse quoted by Paul in the New Testament.

People and Places

• Moses: the mediator who intercedes before God on behalf of the people.
• Joshua: the son of Nun, introduced as Moses' servant (attendant).
• Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob: mentioned as those to whom God swore to give the land.
• Mount Horeb: the mountain where the covenant was received, commonly understood to be the same as Mount Sinai.
• Canaan: the promised land inhabited by the six nations to be driven out.

Points for Reflection

• The tent of meeting in verse 7 differs in location (outside the camp) and function from the tabernacle that is commanded in chapters 25–31 and erected in chapters 35–40. For this reason, it is widely interpreted as a temporary tent used before the tabernacle was completed.
• "Face to face" in verse 11 and "Thou canst not see my face" in verse 20 appear to be in tension. Many commentaries read the former as an idiom for direct and intimate communication. In the New Testament, John 1:18 ("No man hath seen God at any time") is also read alongside this chapter (John 1).
• Verse 19 is quoted in Romans 9:15 (Romans 9). The Calvinist tradition cites this verse as evidence of God's sovereign election. The Wesleyan and Arminian traditions read it as a statement of God's freedom to show mercy rather than as a statement about the predestination of individuals to salvation (predestination and free will).
• In Korean Bibles, the expression seonhan hyeongsang ("good form") is rendered seonhan geot ("good thing") in the Revised New Korean Version (Gaeyeok Gaejeong).

In the Korean Church

Verse 14, "My presence shall go with thee," is known as a verse frequently quoted on occasions that mark a new beginning, such as the first worship service of the new year or the New Year's Eve watch-night service. The "cleft of the rock" in verse 22 is also sometimes discussed in sermons on God as a refuge, together with the imagery of the hymn "Rock of Ages, Cleft for Me."