John Calvin Commentary Exodus 34:8

"And Moses made haste, and bowed his head toward the earth, and worshipped." — Exodus 34:8 (ASV)

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.

³⁸⁴ “Qu’ils n’ont point loisir de deliberer de ce qu’ils ont a faire, mais sont du premier coup abatus;” that they have no time to deliberate as to what they should do, but are abashed at once. — Fr.

³⁸⁵ “And take us for thine inheritance.” — A. V. “Inherit, or possess thou us.” — “Inherit, or possess thou us.” — Heb.