Exodus 33

v1-6: “Of all the bitter fruits and effects of sin,” the worst is not having “God’s special presence.” Even though God promised to still “give them the land flowing with milk and honey,” if He was not with them there, “they could have little joy.”

v7-11: “When God intends to grant mercy, he stirs up prayer… If our hearts go out toward God to meet him, he will graciously come to meet us.”

v12-17: Christ’s intercession for us, not only means we have “the removal of the curse” against us, “but also an assurance” of God’s blessing, that is, His “favourable presence and all its benefits.” By His Spirit, God’s special presence is with us “to direct, defend, and comfort us,” as we travel through the desert of this world to the Promised Land.

v18-23: Those who know God, want to know Him more. “Let us adore him for the extent of what we do know of God and the depths of what we do not.”

Exodus 34

v1-4: After God was reconciled to Israel, He wrote His Law again on the tablets. This reminds us that “even under the Gospel of peace and reconciliation by Christ… the moral law should continue to be binding on believers.” Yes, “Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the Law,” but “he has not removed us from its command.”

v5-9: “Whoever has ears, let them hear, know, and believe” that God is “a great God” and “a good God,” of which “many words are here put together to teach, show, and convince us of God’s goodness.”

v10-17: “If we do not worship only God, we do not worship God rightly,” nor do we worship God rightly, if we “worship the true God with idols.”

v18-26: At all times “we live in God’s sight,” but in worship, “we present ourselves before him,” to receive commands from Him, and to petition Him to show us favour.

v27: “Moses is ordered to write these words, that the people might know them better by reading them frequently, and that they might be passed on to the generations to come.” How grateful we must be that we have the written Word of God available to us.

v28-35: When you grow “weary of an hour or two spent waiting on God and worshipping him,” remember how many days and nights Moses spent with him.