John Calvin Commentary Exodus 34

And no man shall come up with you. Again, men as well as beasts are prohibited from access to the mount, as had been the case at the first promulgation of the Law, so that the people might obediently receive the Law as if it had come down from heaven.

Why God admitted no witness is a question, the answer to which must remain with God Himself. The miracle indeed would have been illustrious if the writing had appeared in a moment on the empty tables; but God would leave some room for faith when He employed the intermediate agency of man.

But still, He amply provided what was sufficient to establish the dignity of the Law, when Moses brought the Ten Commandments written upon two tables which the people had recently seen taken up blank and empty, since He could not have found on the mount a chisel or engraving tool.

For³⁷⁶ God so administers the dispensation of His heavenly doctrine as to prove the obedience and teachableness of believers, while He leaves no room for doubting.

And the Lord descended in the cloud. It is by no means to be doubted that the cloud received Moses into it in the sight of the people, so that, after being separated from the common life of men for forty days, he would again come forth like a new man. Thus this visible demonstration of God’s glory served to awaken faith in the commandments.

The descent of God, which is recorded here, indicates no change of place, as if God, who fills heaven and earth and whose immensity is universally diffused, changed His position. Instead, it relates to human perception, because under the appearance of the cloud God testified that He met Moses. Therefore, according to the usual language of Scripture, the sacred name of God is applied to the visible symbol; not that the empty cloud was a figure of an absent Deity, but because it testified to His presence in a way that people could understand.

At the end of the verse, “to call in the name of the Lord” is equivalent to proclaiming His name, or promulgating what God would make known to His servant. This expression, indeed, frequently occurs with reference to prayers. Some,³⁷⁷ therefore, understand this to refer to Moses, that he called on the name of the Lord. There is no absurdity in this opinion; we are free, then, to take it as applying either to Moses or to God Himself, i.e., either that God Himself proclaimed His power, righteousness, and goodness in a loud voice, or that Moses himself professed his piety before God.

But what immediately follows must necessarily be referred to God, when He passed by, proclaiming and identifying Himself by His true titles. First of all, the name of Jehovah is uttered twice by way of emphasis, so that Moses might pay closer attention. The name El (אל), is added, which, originally derived from strength, is often used for God and is one of His names. By these words, therefore, His eternity and boundless power are expressed.

Next, He proclaims His clemency and mercy; and He is not content with a single word, but, after having called Himself “merciful,” He claims the praise of clemency, since He has no more unique attribute than His goodness and gratuitous beneficence. The nature of His goodness and clemency is also specified: namely, that He is not only forgiving, and ready and inclined to pardon, but He patiently waits for those who have sinned, and invites them to repentance by His long-suffering. For this reason He is called slow to anger,³⁷⁸ as if He would abstain from severity if human wickedness did not compel Him to execute punishment on their sins.

Afterwards He proclaims the greatness of His mercy and truth, and on these two supports the confidence of the pious is based, while they embrace the mercy offered to them and securely rest on the faithfulness and certainty of the promises. Everywhere, therefore, in the Psalms, where mention is made of God’s goodness, His truth is connected with it as its inseparable companion. Another reason is also that God’s mercy cannot be comprehended, except through the testimony of His word, the certainty of which must indeed be well assured, so that our salvation will not be wavering and insecure.

What follows, that God keeps mercy to a thousand generations, we have explained in chapter 20. On the other hand, the punishments He requires for human sins are only extended to the third and fourth generation, because His clemency surpasses His judgment, as is said in Psalm 30:5:³⁷⁹ There is only a moment in his anger, but life in his favor. Although this relates properly only to believers, yet it flows from a general principle. To the same effect is the next clause, forgiving iniquity, transgression, and sin; for thus the greatness of His clemency is demonstrated, since He not only pardons light offenses but the very grossest sins, and again, remits not only sin in one case but is gracious to sinners by whom He has been offended a hundred times. Hence, therefore, appears the extent of His goodness, since He blots out an infinite mass of iniquities.

Lest, however, this indulgence be perverted into a license for sin, it is afterwards added, by way of correction, “with³⁸⁰ cleansing He will not cleanse.” This, with the Chaldean interpreter and others, I understand as applying to His severe judgment against the reprobate and obstinate. I do not agree with the opinion of those who say that, although God indeed pardons sins, He still moderately chastises those who have sinned. This is a poor conjecture, that punishment is required though the guilt is remitted; and besides, it is altogether untrue, since it is clear from experience that God passes over many sins without punishment.

But what I have stated is very suitable: that, to prevent impunity from breeding audacity, after God has spoken of His mercy, He adds an exception, namely, that the iniquity which is accompanied by obstinacy is by no means pardoned. And hence the Prophets seem to have quoted from this passage,³⁸¹ Clearing should you be cleared? (Jeremiah 25:29; Jeremiah 49:12), when they address the reprobate, to whom pardon is denied. The words, therefore, may be properly paraphrased thus: Although God is compassionate and even ready to pardon, yet He does not therefore spare the despisers, but is a severe avenger of their impiety.

Nevertheless, the opposite meaning would not be inappropriate here: “With cutting off He will not cut off.” For this is sometimes the sense of the verb nakah (נקה); and it would thus be read connectedly, that God pardons iniquities because He does not wish entirely to cut off the human race. For who will escape if God should choose to call to judgment the sins even of believers? And perhaps Jeremiah alluded to this passage, where³⁸² he mitigates the severity of the vengeance of which he had been speaking by this same expression, for there it can only be translated, With cutting off I will not cut you off.

If this is preferred, it will be the assignment of the reason why God pardons sins, namely, because He is unwilling to cut off humanity, which would be the case if He insisted on the utmost rigor of the Law. Some³⁸³ thus explain it: that God pardons sins because no one is innocent in His sight; as if it were said, that all are destitute of the glory of righteousness, and therefore their only refuge is in the mercy of God. This is true indeed, but not so much an exposition as a plausible notion.

And Moses made haste, and bowed his head. This haste shows that Moses was astounded when he first beheld the brightness, for this is how God, when He reveals Himself, immediately overwhelms the godly with such admiration for Him that there is no time for delay.³⁸⁴ This prayer follows: that God would journey with His people and bear with their stubbornness. For since God had said that He could not possibly dwell with so stiff-necked and intractable a people, Moses proposes the remedy: namely, after he has confessed that the people are of a hardened and stubborn spirit, he still expresses a hope for their safety, if God will be merciful in sparing them.

What follows is worthy of observation: that you may possess us;³⁸⁵ for the conjunction has the force of a causal particle, as if he had said that God could not enjoy the inheritance He had chosen unless by pardoning their sins. And this is certainly the case, for such is man’s frailty that they would immediately fall from grace if they were not reconciled to God.

Nor was this spoken only of this ancient people, but it also refers to us. For, in order that God should possess us too, it is necessary that our sins should be constantly pardoned, as this embassy, according to Paul, daily resounds in the Church (2 Corinthians 5:20). Consequently, not only does the origin of our salvation flow from gratuitous adoption, but its continual progress, even to the end, can only be accomplished by God’s freely reconciling us to Himself.

And he said, Behold, I make a covenant. It is not specified with whom God would make the covenant. Some interpreters,³⁸⁶ therefore, supply the name of Moses, and this they seem to do on probable grounds, especially since it is added at the end of the verse, “the work³⁸⁷ that I will do with thee.” But, since Moses stipulated in the name of all, the meaning comes to the same thing if we understand it to mean that He will make a covenant openly with the whole people.

By this promise, then, God, as it were, entirely restored the Israelites, for He declares that He will deal so marvellously in the defeat of the nations as to prove that He is the God who is uniquely theirs; and this was to distinguish them from other nations, according to the prayer of Moses.

He says that they will all be eyewitnesses of this, so that, being eventually convinced by their own senses, they might sincerely and faithfully submit themselves to His dominion.