How Does the Old Testament Mesh with the New 22

Close Encounters with God

            Last time, during the 40-day absence of Moses up on Mount Sinai, the people slid into the sin of idolatry and orgiastic immorality. They would have been annihilated, but they were saved by Moses’ intercession and his destruction of the golden calf. (See part 21 of this series).

            Moses returns to Jehovah on the mountain:  

The Lord said to Moses, “Get going, you and the people you brought up from the land of Egypt. Go up to the land I swore to give to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. I told them, ‘I will give this land to your descendants.’ And I will send an angel before you to drive out the Canaanites, Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites. Go up to this land that flows with milk and honey. But I will not travel among you, for you are a stubborn and rebellious people. If I did, I would surely destroy you along the way.” Ex. 33:1 – 3. NLT

            Again, God is saying to Moses, ‘the people you brought up from the land of Egypt’, indicating that His anger over the golden calf incident is still simmering – emphasized again by His refusal to accompany the Israelites to constrain that anger.

            However, He will keep His promise He made to the patriarchs, to settle these people, their descendants, in Canaan.

            Jehovah then tells Moses to speak to the people, saying:

“’You are a stiff-necked (stubborn, rebellious) people! If I should come among you for one moment, I would destroy you. Now therefore, [penitently] take off your ornaments, so that I may know what to do with you.’” So the Israelites left off all their ornaments [in repentance], from Mount Horeb (Sinai) onward. Ex. 33:5, 6. AMP

            This would strip them of the leftover jewelry after having used a portion of them to create the golden calf.

            To facilitate Moses’ conversations with God, he sets up his own tent outside of the camp, (a temporary tent of meeting):

Everyone who wanted to make a request of the Lord would go to the Tent of Meeting outside the camp.

Whenever Moses went out to the Tent of Meeting, all the people would get up and stand in the entrances of their own tents. They would all watch Moses until he disappeared inside. As he went into the tent, the pillar of cloud would come down and hover at its entrance while the Lord spoke with Moses. When the people saw the cloud standing at the entrance of the tent, they would stand and bow down in front of their own tents. Inside the Tent of Meeting, the Lord would speak to Moses face to face, as one speaks to a friend. Ex. 33:7 – 11. NLT

            Obviously, God was not showing His face, He is an invisible Spirit. This was an anthropomorphic use of language to make Him more relatable to humans.

            Moses then asks Jehovah to clarify who the angel was that He had previously said would guide the Israelites to Canaan. In addition, Moses pleads to his Maker:

“If it is true that you look favorably on me, let me know your ways so I may understand you more fully and continue to enjoy your favor. And remember that this nation is your very own people.” Ex. 33:13. NLT

            What he is doing is interceding for the Israelites. And graciously, God grants him a boon:

The Lord replied, “I will personally go with you, Moses, and I will give you rest—everything will be fine for you.” Ex. 33:14 NLT

            Moses leans into God’s grace and pleads for a closer relationship with Him:

 “Please, show me Your glory!” Ex. 33:18 AMP

            And Jehovah acquiesces!

“I will make all My goodness pass before you, and I will proclaim the Name of the Lord before you; for I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show compassion (lovingkindness) on whom I will show compassion.” But He said, “You cannot see My face, for no man shall see Me and live!” Then the Lord said, “Behold, there is a place beside Me, and you shall stand there on the rock; and while My glory is passing by, I will put you in a cleft of the rock and protectively cover you with My hand until I have passed by. Then I will take away My hand and you shall see My back; but My face shall not be seen.” Ex. 33:19 – 23. AMP

            Again, an anthropomorphic representation. In our best understanding, God has no face, nor front or back. Moses was privy to an intimate relationship that no other human has ever had. And what was granted to him was surely beyond human description.

            Jehovah converses with Moses again, displaying His immeasurable grace, by beginning a restorative process to mend His relationship with His children:

The Lord said to Moses, “Cut two stone tablets like the first ones, and I will write on them the words that were on the first tablets, which you broke. Be prepared by morning. Come up Mount Sinai in the morning and stand before me on the mountaintop.” Ex. 34:1, 2. CSB

            Moses did so, and God Himself wrote the Ten Commandments upon them. While on the mountain, Jehovah kept His promise to reveal Himself to Moses:

Then the Lord came down in a cloud and stood there with him; and he called out his own name, Yahweh.The Lord passed in front of Moses, calling out, “Yahweh! The Lord! The God of compassion and mercy! I am slow to anger and filled with unfailing love and faithfulness. I lavish unfailing love to a thousand generations. I forgive iniquity, rebellion, and sin. But I do not excuse the guilty. I lay the sins of the parents upon their children and grandchildren; the entire family is affected—even children in the third and fourth generations.” Ex. 34:5 – 7. NLT

            God is not punishing four generations. He refers to how many are affected by the sin of the initial parents. Children often repeat those same sins they were exposed to. Thus, they may likewise fall into His justice.

            Jehovah’s restoration continues as He re-establishes His covenant with His children:

“Behold, I am going to make a covenant. Before all your people I will do wondrous works (miracles) such as have not been created or produced in all the earth nor among any of the nations; and all the people among whom you live shall see the working of the Lord, for it is a fearful and awesome thing that I am going to do with you.” Ex. 34:10 AMP

            God tells Moses about how He will drive out the Israelites’ enemies from Canaan, gives a warning for His people to refrain from fraternizing with those enemies, lest they take on pagan gods and worship them (i.e., what He says is ‘playing the prostitute’), and / or their idols.

            He continues by re-emphasizing the laws in the book of the Covenant, including the importance of observing the Sabbath and the other festivals. Moses records them to read to the people:

When Moses came down from Mount Sinai with the two tablets of the Testimony in his hand, he did not know that the skin of his face was shining [with a unique radiance] because he had been speaking with God. When Aaron and all the Israelites saw Moses, behold, the skin of his face shone, and they were afraid to approach him. But Moses called to them, and Aaron and all the leaders of the congregation returned to him; and he spoke to them. Ex. 34:29 – 31. AMP

            Whenever Moses spoke with God, his face shined with His glory. The people freaked out, so Moses would wear a veil after those encounters.

            We have previously seen God give Moses the plans for building the Tabernacle. At this point, he calls all those appointed (and divinely equipped) for this endeavor, to begin the actual construction of it, and to make the vestments of the priesthood. (See Ex. Chapters 35 – 40).

            The construction was finished within one year after the people first came to Mount Sinai:

Then the cloud [the Shekinah, God’s visible, dwelling presence] covered the Tent of Meeting, and the glory and brilliance of the Lord filled the tabernacle. Moses was not able to enter the Tent of Meeting because the cloud remained on it, and the glory and brilliance of the Lord filled the tabernacle. In all their journeys, whenever the cloud was taken up from over the tabernacle, the Israelites would set out; but if the cloud was not taken up, then they did not journey on until the day when it was taken up. For throughout all their journeys, the cloud of the Lord was on the tabernacle by day, and there was fire in it by night, in the sight of all the house of Israel. Ex. 40:34 – 38. AMP