Exodus 34:8

Exo 34:8 And Moses made haste, and bowed his head toward the earth, and worshipped.

Ver. 8. And Moses made haste.] It was time for him. The more any man sees of God, the lower he falls in his own eyes: as he that hath looked intently upon the sun, sees little when he looks down again.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Exo 34:8. And Moses made haste and bowed his head — Thus he expressed his humble reverence and adoration of God’s glory, together with his joy in this discovery God had made of himself, and his thankfulness for it. Then likewise he expressed his holy submission to the will of God, made known in this declaration, subscribing to his justice as well as mercy, and putting himself and his people Israel under the government of such a God as Jehovah had now proclaimed himself to be. Let this God be our God for ever and ever!

Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.—Exo_34:8-9

GOD’S PRESENCE WITH HIS PEOPLE

The revelation of the Divine name was almost too much for Moses, it was so unmerited. He was lost in wonder and adoration at the Divine condescension, Exo_34:8. Recovering himself, however, and emboldened by this gracious proclamation, he, in the true spirit of believing and triumphant prayer, supplicated God’s actual presence among His people. This is not the only instance in which past favours have been the basis for future expectations (Gen_18:23-33; Psa_116:12). The text teaches us—

I. That God’s presence with His people is secured by mediation. His presence with Israel was secured by the intercession of Moses; His presence with His Church is secured by the intercession of Jesus Christ. The whole of John 17 is based upon this.

II. That God’s presence is importuned because of the obstinacy of His people. “A stiff-necked people.” One would have thought that would have been an argument for vengeance. But no, Old and New Testaments alike base upon man’s failings a reason why God should visit him (Joh_3:16; Mat_9:13; Rom_5:8). The reason is obvious, God alone is equal to the task of subduing sinners and bringing them into obedience to Himself.

III. That God’s presence is supplicated to fulfil God’s promises.

1. God had promised to pardon. God’s presence was requisite for this, because the Divine pardon is not merely an erasure of sin from God’s book, but an erasure of sin from man’s heart. Forgiveness is not merely a fact in the moral universe of which man may or may not be conscious; but a fact in man’s spiritual nature which he enjoys, and of which he has irrefragable proofs. God Himself must come near and transform the sinner into the saint.

2. God had promised that Israel should be His inheritance. This could only be effected by God’s going amongst them and taking them. What boundless comfort does the double argument give! “God, in the person of His Son, has come amongst us, therefore we are His inheritance. Man is His inheritance, therefore He is with us always even unto the end of the world.”

In conclusion—i. God having blessed us is a reason for our expectation of future blessings. Compare the past, present, and future tenses of Psa_23:2. God having blessed us in the past should be the basis of our expectation that He will manifest Himself to us. iii. This Divine presence should be the incentive to, and power of, personal purity and consecration.—J. W. Burn.

ILLUSTRATIONS

BY

REV. WILLIAM ADAMSON

Law-Lights! Exo_34:1-35. Pressense says, that whatever opinions men may hold as to the integrity of that primitive witness, all must own that it contains pages in which one beholds, as it were, the reflection of the lustre which caused Moses’s face to shine when he held converse with God. It has ever been the pious mind which has through the eyes beheld the chain of revelation and the long series of Divine manifestations gradually unwind themselves. Just as they that watch for the morning gaze out from the height of the tower, longing with inexpressible desire for the approach of dawn; so does religious consciousness cast glances of fire upon the horizon as she looks out for the Divine Sunrise. The whole of the Old Testament pants and throbs with this Divine yearning, and it also shows us the finger of God writing in the heart of man the great preparation for the Gospel. The angels ever

“Draw strength from gazing on its glance,

Though none its meaning fathom may;

The Word’s unwithered countenance

Is bright as at Mount Sinai’s day.”

—Goëthe.

Grace-Memories! Exo_34:8. Moses could never forget those moments spent in the clefts of the rock, while he beheld the grace of God’s glory, after the insufferable glories of the law on Sinai. What Christian, who has felt the terrors of the law producing deep conviction in his conscience, and who has found peace, ever forgets that blissful moment when, hiding in the cleft side of Jesus, he beheld the glory of God’s grace, and heard His voice, “Thy sins are forgiven thee.” As the rebellious subject, who has stood before his offended monarch, marked the dread frown gathered on his royal brow, and listened to the solemn proclamation of the laws of the state, is filled with deep, unutterable joy as he sees the radiant smile of love glowing on that face, and as he hears the forgiving declaration, “Thy offence is blotted out by a merciful sovereign,” the pardoned and restored subject can never lose sight of that scene—of the radiant smile. The proclamation would be written on the tablets of his memory in ineffaceable characters.

“For the King Himself in His tender grace,

Hath shown me the brightness of His face;

And who shall pine for a glow-worm light,

When the sun goes forth in his giant might?”

—Havergal.

The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary (gen. ed. Joseph S. Exell; Funk & Wagnalls, c. 1892) — public domain (pre-1929). A full-Bible homiletical/sermon-outline anthology covering 65 of 66 books (2 John is absent from the source module). Text from a community e-Sword module.

34:8-9 Since the Lord had already twice promised to go with them (33:14, 17), this renewed request seems to show a lack of faith. It may also be that God’s presence had driven home to Moses how absolutely holy God is and how very different he is from this stubborn and rebellious people. Here Moses took his request a step further and asked God to travel with the people and make them his own special possession (see 19:5-6). Moses asked for the complete restoration of the relationship.

Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Moses bowed . . . and worshipped--In the East, people bow the head to royalty, and are silent when it passes by, while in the West, they take off their hats and shout.

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

(8) Moses made haste, and bowed his head.—As the Divine glory passed before him, Moses bowed his head in adoration, worshipping God, and not daring to look until the glory had gone by. It is thus seen that with his ardent desire to look into the things of God he combined the highest and deepest reverence.

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

8. Moses now reverently does obeisance (cf. Exo_4:31, Exo_12:27).

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And Moses made haste,.... Perceiving the voice ceased, and the Lord was passing on, lest he should be gone, and he lose the favourable opportunity he had:

and bowed his head toward the earth, and worshipped; threw himself prostrate upon it, and in the most humble manner put up his requests to God, which are expressed in the following verse; he gladly laid hold on this opportunity to use his interest with God for the people of Israel, and to improve the proclamation of grace and mercy, in the forgiveness of sins, now made; which encouraged his faith and hope to draw nigh with a holy boldness, and use freedom with him, and yet with an awe of his majesty, with reverence and godly fear.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Moses made haste and bowed his head. Worshipping the glory that had passed by, and accepting the gracious words addressed to him.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And Moses made haste, and bowed his head - Thus he expressed his humble reverence and adoration of God's glory, together with his joy in this discovery God had made of himself, and his thankfulness for it. Then likewise he expressed his holy submission to the will of God made known in this declaration, subscribing to his justice as well as mercy, and putting himself and his people Israel under the government of such a God as Jehovah had now proclaimed himself to be. Let this God be our God forever and ever!

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

If now I have found favor in your eyes

Here "found favor" is an idiom that means be approved of or that God is pleased with Moses. Here "eyes" are a metonym for sight, and sight is a metaphor representing his evaluation. See how you translated this in Exodus 33:12. AT: "Now If you are pleased with me" or "Now if you approve of me" (See: Idiom and Metonymy and Metaphor)

our iniquity and our sin

The words "iniquity" and "sin" mean basically the same thing and are combined for emphasis. AT: "all our sins" (See: Doublet)

take us as your inheritance

Something that someone possesses forever is spoken of as if it were something that they had inherited. AT: "take us as the people that you possess forever" or "accept us as the people who belong to you forever" (See: Metaphor)

translationWords

Moses

bow

worship

favor

lord

people group

stiff-necked

forgive

iniquity

sin

inherit

unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.

וימהר משה, AND MOSES MADE HASTE — When Moses saw that the Shechinah passed by and heard the sound of the proclamation he immediately prostrated himself.

Rashi on the Tanakh — English translations: “The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg” (CC BY 4.0); “Pentateuch with Rashi's commentary by M. Rosenbaum and A.M. Silbermann, 1929-1934” (public domain); “The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J” (CC BY 4.0); and “The Book of Joshua, Metsudah Publications, 1997” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.