Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on the Whole Bible
Exodus Ch.33 / 40 Ch.s
EX:33
* The Lord refuses to go with Israel. (1-6) The tabernacle of
Moses removed without the camp. (7-11) Moses desires to see the
glory of God. (12-23)
#1-6 Those whom God pardons, must be made to know what their sin
deserved. "Let them go forward as they are;" this was very
expressive of God's displeasure. Though he promises to make good
his covenant with Abraham, in giving them Canaan, yet he denies
them the tokens of his presence they had been blessed with. The
people mourned for their sin. Of all the bitter fruits and
consequences of sin, true penitents most lament, and dread most,
God's departure from them. Canaan itself would be no pleasant
land without the Lord's presence. Those who parted with
ornaments to maintain sin, could do no less than lay aside
ornaments, in token of sorrow and shame for it.
#7-11 Moses took the tabernacle, and pitched it without the
camp. This seems to have been a temporary building, set up for
worship, and at which he judged disputes among the people. The
people looked after him; they were very desirous to be at peace
with God, and concerned to know what would come to pass. The
cloudy pillar which had withdrawn from the camp when it was
polluted with idolatry, now returned. If our hearts go forth
toward God to meet him, he will graciously come to meet us.
#12-23 Moses is very earnest with God. Thus, by the intercession
of Christ, we are not only saved from ruin, but become entitled
to everlasting happiness. Observe here how he pleads. We find
grace in God's sight, if we find grace in our hearts to guide
and quicken us in the way of our duty. Moses speaks as one who
dreaded the thought of going forward without the Lord's
presence. God's gracious promises, and mercy towards us, should
not only encourage our faith, but also excite our fervency in
prayer. Observe how he speeds. See, in a type, Christ's
intercession, which he ever lives to make for all that come to
God by him; and that it is not by any thing in those for whom he
intercedes. Moses then entreats a sight of God's glory, and is
heard in that also. A full discovery of the glory of God, would
overwhelm even Moses himself. Man is mean, and unworthy of it;
weak, and could not bear it; guilty, and could not but dread it.
The merciful display which is made in Christ Jesus, alone can be
borne by us. The Lord granted that which would abundantly
satisfy. God's goodness is his glory; and he will have us to
know him by the glory of his mercy, more than by the glory of
his majesty. Upon the rock there was a fit place for Moses to
view the goodness and glory of God. The rock in Horeb was
typical of Christ the Rock; the Rock of refuge, salvation, and
strength. Happy are they who stand upon this Rock. The cleft may
be an emblem of Christ, as smitten, crucified, wounded, and
slain. What follows, denotes the imperfect knowledge of God in
the present state, even as revealed in Christ; for this, when
compared with the heavenly sight of him. is but like seeing a
man that is gone by, whose back only is to be seen. God in
Christ, as he is, even the fullest and brightest displays of his
glory, grace, and goodness, are reserved to another state.