A Renewed Covenant (Part II)
A Renewed Covenant (Part II)
a commentary on Exodus 34
Thank you, Lord, for this day. May it be used for your glory!
Good morning everyone and welcome back to this week’s Biblit, part 2!
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This morning we are jumping back in with the interpretation of Exodus 34.
Let’s just get right into it!
Interpretation
God’s Glory
I think we learn a lot about God’s glory in this passage.
Moses, at the end of chapter 33, asks God to see more of His glory. When you first read that, you might wonder what Moses even really means.
I know I wondered that. What does it mean to see more of God’s glory?
Chapter 34 answers that question in a magnificent way. Moses knew God’s glory more by hearing His name and who God was.
The act of deepening their relationship was God’s way of sharing His glory with Moses!
Response to Glory
And what was Moses’s response?
Prayer and worship!
And part of his prayer, that I think is really cool, is praying for the Israelites for maybe the 5th time.
He never stopped praying for the Israelites to be forgiven and saved; he never gave up on them. I think that is amazing and a true mark of a good friend, good leader, and a good shepherd. He truly cared for His people, and knew the only thing they needed was God.
Moses also knew that God was just. He knew that their sin could not go unpunished. He knew they needed God’s mercy or else they would face His judgment.
And so what did he do?
He prayed relentlessly for them.
Renewed Covenant
The covenant renewal was really cool to see. There were not a ton of new laws or festivals in here, but there was one interesting thing I saw.
I don’t know if I’ve ever seen the Sabbath explained this way.
Let me paste the quote here word for word:
“You are to labor six days but you must rest on the seventh day; you must even rest during plowing and harvesting times.” (Exodus 34:21 CSB).
It’s that last part I’ve never heard before.
I’m no farmer, but I feel like the plowing times and the harvest times were the busiest seasons of the year for farmers.
The rest of the time, I guess you just water things or make sure plants aren’t diseased.
I don’t know if I’ve ever heard God add that stipulation on the Sabbath, but I thought it was so pertinent I couldn’t help but share it.
They were told to take time and rest in the Lord even when their lives were at their maximum levels of busyness.
The value of rest can not be underestimated.
Moses’s Radiant Face
Lastly, there are 2 really cool and powerful things going on with Moses.
First, he fasted for 40 days, totally dependent on God. I’m assuming he did this the first time too, but we didn’t really talk about it then. So I wanted to talk about it now!
Does this 40 day fast remind you of someone else?
Jesus!
I don't know if there is a massive takeaway here, but I just thought it was such a cool connection to Jesus.
And when Jesus fasted for 40 days, tempted in the desert, who did He quote in His times of need? Moses!
I love that!
But then something else happened. Moses’s face was radiant and literally glowing so bright it struck fear in the Israelites.
And that happened everytime Moses met with God. A little of His glory rubbed off.
It is such a cool thing and goes great with our closing Psalm from David:
“Those who look to him are radiant with joy; their faces will never be ashamed.” (Psalm 34:5 CSB).
And with that, we’ll call it a day! Tomorrow we are going to dive in and apply some of these principles to our own lives! Talk to you all then!