EXODUS – Chapter 34 – Chapter 461
SECOND TABLETS OF LAW SUPPLIED: A NEW VISION AND COMMISSION GRANTED
The fervent and prolonged intercession of Moses has been rewarded by Yahweh pardoning the people's sins. Moreover, their repentance and prayers are accepted as a desire for the renewal of the covenant they have broken. However, it yet remains for Yahweh to confirm it on His part. The first step to this end is the renewing of the tablets containing the ten commandments. To indicate the changed conditions, however, Moses is instructed to hew the new tablets himself, whereas previously they had been prepared by God. Now, with these tablets in his hands, Moses ascends the mount for the seventh time, and Yahweh s glory descends upon it. Sheltered in the cleft rock, Moses is granted a vision of the divine glory, and hears the proclamation of the divine name. He formally seeks a renewal of the covenant, and in granting it, Yahweh proclaims a further name that He superimposes upon Himself, as a warning of the consequence of breaking the covenant again. It is the name of Jealous. Complete and undivided loyalty is demanded of the people in a command even more demanding than that given previously. Then basic principles of the renewed covenant are outlined to Moses.
Moses Again Invited Into The Mount — vv. 1-4.
Moses is commanded to hew two tablets of stone, and to return to the mount; this time entirely on his own.
VERSE 1
"And Yahweh said unto Moses, Hew thee two tables of stone like unto the first" — Yahweh had made the first tablets (Exo. 32:16), but Israel having broken the covenant, the nation, through Moses, had to take steps to restore it. For this purpose, Moses had to return to the people and, on behalf of the people, prepare two tablets of stone.
"And I will write upon thesetables the words that were in the first tables, which thou brakest" — The "words" comprised the ten commandments. In Deu. 10:4, these are described as "ten words," for "commandments" in Hebrew is debarim, "words." Psalm 119, which can be described as The Alphabet of Grace, is significantly built upon ten words, all of which are expressive of the ten commandments, and one of each of which is found in every verse of the Psalm, excepting vv. 122 and 132. The ten words are: saying (imrah), word (dabar), testimony, way, judgment, precepts, commandments, law, statutes, righteousness.
VERSE 2
"And be ready in the morning, and come up in the morning unto mount Sinai, and present thyself there to Me in the top of the mount" — This comprised the seventh ascent of Moses.
VERSE 3
"And no man shall come up with thee, neither let any man be seen throughout all the mount; neither let the flocks nor herds feed before that mount" — For this most solemn purpose of renewing the broken covenant, and proclaiming the divine name, God ordered that Mount Sinai be completely separated and isolated as most holy. On this occasion, not even Joshua was to ascend with Moses. The orders given were even more stringent than those issued previously (see Exo. 19:12-13).
VERSE 4
"And he hewed two tables of stone like unto the first; and Moses rose up early in the morning, and went up unto mount Sinai, as Yahweh had commanded him, and took in his hand the two tables of stone" — Moses obeyed to the letter all the directions given him. In the early morning, when all was still, and the light of a new dawn spread abroad from the east, with fresh tokens of the divine presence and goodness, and when everywhere evidence of God's omnipotence could be felt, Moses made his solitary way above into the harsh, craggy heights of Sinai.
The Glory Revealed In The Name — vv. 5-9.
In the mount, Yahweh fulfils the promise He made to Moses. He reveals to His faithful servant some of His glory, and proclaims in greater detail the attributes of His Name. The first is described in the brief statement: "Yahweh passed by before him" (v. 6), and the second is shown to be made up of the two divine principles of goodness and severity. Thus Moses is encouraged to "Behold the goodness and severity of God" (Rom. 11:22). However, in spite of the listing of the latter qualities, Moses still prays that Yahweh would accept the people completely, and permit His presence to be with them during their wilderness wanderings.
VERSE 5
"And Yahweh descended in the cloud, and stood with him there, and proclaimed the name of Yahweh" — The cloudy pillar which stood at the door of the Tent of Meeting (Exo. 33:10), had withdrawn when Moses ascended Sinai, and appeared again upon the mount when he had made his way there. Thus Moses ascended in faith, and Yahweh descended in condescension, so as to meet him at that holy place. Then the voice of the angel of His presence (Isa. 63:9) proclaimed the attributes of the Name as recorded in the verses that follow. These attributes can be classified into two categories: goodness and severity.
Because of the nature of flesh, all the dealings of God with man reveal these two aspects. In fact, the manifestation of divine goodness is impossible without the manifestation also of severity. For example, the goodness shown towards Noah required severity towards a world given over to wickedness; the deliverance of Israel was at the expense of Egypt; the settling of the Israelites in Canaan required the elimination of its inhabitants with their lewd and evil forms of worship, and so forth. God's purpose to establish His glory throughout the earth is only possible by the suppression of flesh, and so will require a blending of goodness and severity.
VERSE 6
"And Yahweh passed by before him" — This was in fulfilment of His promise to allow Moses to view a measure of the divine glory (Exo. 33:22). Moses sheltered in the cleft rock, and Yahweh covered his face as the fulness of glory passed by him. Afterwards, with the hand withdrawn, Moses saw the back of the angel, and so was granted a wondrous vision of divine glory: a vision so bright, radiant and real, that its light settled on his face with such power as to be reflected therefrom. That glory was expressive of the revelation made to the people through Moses, but its fulness was to be manifested in Christ. In Moses was seen only the farther side of the divine glory: the severity of the law; in Christ is revealed its goodness. The apostles saw the glory of Christ on the Mount of Transfiguration, and they also witnessed the fading glory as of Moses (Luke 9:32, 35-36). Of the Lord, John declared: "We beheld his glory, the glory of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth... For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ" (John 1:14,17). The glory faded from Moses' face, but there was no fading of the Lord's glory.
"And proclaimed, Yahweh" — See Exo. 3:14. Yahweh is the family name of God, proclaiming His intention to reveal Himself in those whom He will call unto Himself to make them His own.
"Yahweh God" - The word "God" is El and denotes power or strength. Bro. Thomas wrote (Phanerosis, p. 49): "As often as this word ail [el] passed before his [a Jewish mind], the idea of power, might, strength, would stand out in bold relief." "It always," says Gesenius, "presented to the Hebrews the idea of strength and power."
The name Yahweh El signifies: He Who will be Strength, and its fulfilment is revealed in the Lord Jesus who is described as the "Son of Man whom Yahweh made strong for Himself" (Psa. 80:17). Moreover, that Strength flows through Christ to us by the Spirit-Word (John 6:63;Eph. 3:17; Phil. 4:13). Theattributes that follow in this declaration to Moses find their perfection in the Lord Jesus Christ. He is their channel to "whosoever" is prepared to ascend to Yahweh through him.
"Merciful" — The Hebrew racham denotes lovingkindness, compassion and tenderness, and therefore relates to one who is easily moved to help another. The word is rendered "mercy" or "merciful" (Deu. 5:10; Neh. 9:17; Psa. 103:8); "compassion" (2Chr. 30:9; Psa. 86:15; 111:4;112:4). The compassionate character of Yahweh is among His foremost attributes (cp. Rom. 2:4), and therefore is one upon which believers can rely, though they should not presume upon it. John declares that "God is love" (Uohn 4:8), and grammarians declare that the construction of the Greek indicates that this signifies that love is a quality of His very nature. Love is incidental to God, and permeates all His work. Agape love is only derived from Him; it is not a natural characteristic of man. Even chastisement can be a manifestation of His love (Rev. 3:19), for it demonstrates that He is interested in our development and welfare.
"And gracious" — The Hebrew channuwn denotes Yahweh's readiness to condescend to help those in need. It is from a root signifying to stoop, i.e., in kindness so as to assist an inferior. See how Israelites were instructed to manifest this characteristic in their dealings with those not so fortunate as they, on the ground that they are Yahweh's children, and He is gracious — therefore they should manifest such qualities in themselves (Exo. 22:27; 1Pet. 2:3). The use of the word suggests the gracious act of a person of strength coming to the aid of a weaker party who stands in need of it because of his condition or circumstances. We need the merciful help of Yahweh because of our inherent weakness, and He is ready to extend this to those who seek it. A typical expression used to describe such assistance is the formula to find favour in God's eyes: i.e., to acquire His favour, liking, sympathetic interest, benevolence, condescension and understanding.
To do that we need to recognise our weakness, and seek His help in the way appointed.
"Longsuffering" — This is a rendition of two Hebrew words: arech, "long" and aph, a word that comes from a root signifying "to contain; to hold in." In the context of the verse before us, it denotes the Being who, because of His goodness and tenderness, is not easily irritated, but is merciful and kind. Examples of Yah-weh's longsuffering are recorded in regard to the antediluvians (IPet. 3:20); towards Israel in Egypt (Rom. 9:22), and so forth. This divine patience is manifested in recognition of the weakness of humanity. It provides opportunity for repentance and reformation (cp. 2Pet. 3:9, 15). The Lord Jesus Christ is the channel of this longsuffering (1Tim. 1:16). All true children of God should strive to develop this characteristic of God and extend it to others (Col. 1:11; 3:12).
"And abundant in goodness" — The word "abundant" is rab, and signifies "great." "Goodness" is chesed, a word frequently rendered "mercy" in the Psalms, so that the RV translates the phrase here as plenteous in mercy. Dr. Strong, however, gives the meaning as kindness, and others as lovingkindness, which seems more appropriate to the context before us. The attribute of "mercy" as we understand the term signifies forgiveness rather than kindness, whereas chesed relates to the lovingkindness that Yahweh manifests toward His own. John declares that "God is love" (Uohn 4:8). The word is agape, a word unique to Scripture, implying a special kind of love. It denotes a love that is drawn out, not by desire for another, but rather a kindness that seeks the greatest good of others whether or not they are deserving of it (see Rom. 5:8, 10). Thus even anger, rebuke and discipline can become manifestations of that love (2Cor. 12:15; Heb. 12:5-7; Mark 3:5).
"And truth" — The word emeth signifies stability, faithfulness, trustworthiness, and denotes One who will neither deceive, nor can be deceived; Who is the fountain of Truth, and from Whom all true knowledge and wisdom is derived. Emeth is related to the word amen, "so be it!" which establishes a matter. In Isa. 65:16, Yahweh is styled "the God of Truth." Here the word is aman, derived from a common root with emeth, and so expressing the idea of faithfulness, stability and certainty. This attribute associated with the name of God, shows that what Yahweh proposes will be fulfilled beyond doubt. The certainty of this is witnessed in the Lord Jesus Christ, "for all the promises of God in him are yea, and in him Amen, unto the glory of God by us" (2Cor. 1:20). Therefore, in addressing the ecclesia at Laodicea, Christ introduced himself as "the Amen, the faithful and true witness" (Rev. 3:14). See also Psa. 91:4; 108:4; 111:8; 138:2; 146:6; John 1:17). Note how the idea of certainty, faithfulness, and stability are expressed in these verses rather than "the Truth," as we might use the term — expressive of a statement of faith.
VERSE 7
"Keeping mercy for thousands" — The Hebrew word natser signifies "to guard, protect, or preserve." "Mercy" is chesed as in v. 6, whilst "thousands" is alephim, the plural of the first letter of the Hebrew alphabet aleph. In its numerical sense, aleph does duty for "one" or a "thousand," the latter, of course, being a multiplicity of the former. In Judges 6:15, aleph is rendered "family;" in Num. 1:16; 10:4 and elsewhere, it is rendered "thousands," but obviously in the sense of "families." In the verse before us, Yahweh is revealed as the Preserver of Bountiful-ness, of Lovingkindness, One whose beneficence is inexhaustible, preserving mercy for His families (Israel after the flesh and spirit) showing lovingkindness and mercy whilst the world endures. See also Deu. 5:9-10; Jer. 32:18; Dan. 9:4.
"Forgiving iniquity, and transgression and sin" — These words describe three aspects of wickedness.
"Iniquity" is avon, and denotes that which is crooked and perverse, and hence a reference to human nature that inevitably goes astray, except when strengthened aswas the Lord.
"Transgression" is pasha and signifies "rebellion," a further development from the crookedness of human nature.
"Sin" is chattath, a "missing of the mark," the result of transgression and iniquity.
The statement used in regard to Yahweh reveals that He is the One who bears away iniquity, transgression and sin by arranging for the forgiveness of these perversities (John 1:9). He is the One whose prerogative alone it is to forgive sin and save life. Reference elsewhere is made to this divine characteristic (Num. 14:19; Psa. 103:3, 11, 14; 130:4; Dan. 9:9; Mic. 7:18). However, the forgiveness of sins is conditional (see Mat. 6:14-15; 18:32-35; Rom. 4:7-8) and is only granted through Christ (Eph. 1:7; 4:32; Uohn 1:9). In his time of greatest need, David made reference to this divine characteristic in pleading his own cause (Psa. 51:1-2).
"And that will by no means clear theguilty" — The Hebrew rakkeh lo yenekkeh has been rendered, "by no means acquitting him who is not innocent.7' The statement reveals that Yahweh is just, as well as merciful — a righteous Judge who distributes justice and mercy, but also with an impartial hand. Before Him no innocent person can be condemned; but at the same time, sinners will be revealed as such. Israel had recent evidence of this characteristic when found guilty of worshipping the golden calf (see Exo. 32:33; 23:7, 21; Num. 14:18-23; Rom. 2:4-9; Heb. 12:29). The significance of the statement is summed up in the atonement which illustrates Yahweh as being both just and merciful. Paul taught that the atonement "declared God's righteousness, that He might be just and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus" (Rom. 3:26).
"Visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the children's children, unto the third and to the fourth generation"— This declaration reveals that Yahweh is One who is not only merciful, but just, and who reveals sin for what it is, so that no sinner can escape His justice. Such must seek forgiveness or suffer the consequence, for Yahweh is the God of retributive justice. The declaration is several times invoked (see Num. 14:18; 2Chr. 30:9; Neh. 9:17; Psa. 103:8-13; Joel 2:13; Jonah 4:2). It is summed up in the statement of Paul: "Behold the goodness and severity of God" (Rom. 11:22).
In the citation of this declaration in Deu. 5:9-10, an important addition is attached to it, namely: "visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate Me." The statement underlines the responsibility resting upon both parents and children. The former, by their folly, can involve their families in disaster; though the latter can escape it by avoiding the evil example of their parents.
A case in point is the punishment brought upon the nation of Israel when it was taken into captivity: a punishment that involved both parents and children; both of whom were directly responsible for it, namely those who followed in the example of folly to which they had become accustomed.
An example of the opposite kind involves the children of Korah who escaped the punishment of their father, though the families of his collaborators did not (see Num. 16:27-33; 26:9-1 1). Ezekiel emphasised the justness of Yahweh by declaring that a son "who seeth all his father's sins which he hath done, and considereth, and doeth not such like... shall not die for the iniquity of his father, but shall surely live" (Eze. 18:14,17). The important addition of Deu. 5:9-10 "of them that hate Me" should be attached to the statement in the verse before us.