Matthew Henry Commentary Exodus 34
Matthew Henry Commentary
Exodus 34
Matthew Henry Commentary
Exodus 34
"And Jehovah said unto Moses, Hew thee two tables of stone like unto the first: and I will write upon the tables the words that were on the first tables, which thou brakest. And be ready by the morning, and come up in the morning unto mount Sinai, and present thyself there to me on the top of the mount. And no man shall come up with thee; neither let any man be seen throughout all the mount; neither let the flocks nor herds feed before that mount. And he hewed two tables of stone like unto the first; and Moses rose up early in the morning, and went up unto mount Sinai, as Jehovah had commanded him, and took in his hand two tables of stone." — Exodus 34:1-4 (ASV)
When God made man in his own image, the moral law was written in his heart, by the finger of God, without outward means. But since the covenant then made with man was broken, the Lord has used the ministry of men, both in writing the law in the Scriptures, and in writing it in the heart. When God was reconciled to the Israelites, he ordered the tables to be renewed, and wrote his law in them.
Even under the gospel of peace by Christ, the moral law continues to bind believers. Though Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, yet not from its commands. The first and best evidence of the pardon of sin and peace with God, is the writing of the law in the heart.
"And Jehovah descended in the cloud, and stood with him there, and proclaimed the name of Jehovah. And Jehovah passed by before him, and proclaimed, Jehovah, Jehovah, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abundant in lovingkindness and truth, keeping lovingkindness for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin; and that will by no means clear [the guilty], visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the children`s children, upon the third and upon the fourth generation. And Moses made haste, and bowed his head toward the earth, and worshipped. And he said, If now I have found favor in thy sight, O Lord, let the Lord, I pray thee, go in the midst of us; for it is a stiffnecked people; and pardon our iniquity and our sin, and take us for thine inheritance." — Exodus 34:5-9 (ASV)
The Lord descended by some open sign of His presence and manifestation of His glory in a cloud, and from there proclaimed His NAME—that is, the perfections and character which are denoted by the name JEHOVAH. The Lord God is merciful, ready to forgive the sinner and to relieve the needy. He is gracious, kind, and ready to bestow undeserved benefits.
He is long-suffering, slow to anger, giving time for repentance, and only punishing when it is necessary. He is abundant in goodness and truth; even sinners receive the riches of His bounty abundantly, though they abuse them. All He reveals is infallible truth; all He promises is in faithfulness. He keeps mercy for thousands; He continually shows mercy to sinners and has treasures, which cannot be exhausted, to the end of time.
He forgives iniquity, transgression, and sin; His mercy and goodness reach to the full and free forgiveness of sin. And will by no means clear the guilty; the holiness and justice of God are part of His goodness and love towards all His creatures. In Christ's sufferings, the Divine holiness and justice are fully shown, and the evil of sin is made known. God's forgiving mercy is always attended by His converting, sanctifying grace.
None are pardoned but those who repent and forsake the habitual practice of every sin; nor will any escape who abuse, neglect, or despise this great salvation. Moses bowed down and worshipped reverently. Every perfection in the name of God, the believer may plead with Him for the forgiveness of his sins, the sanctification of his heart, and the enlargement of the Redeemer's kingdom.
"And he said, Behold, I make a covenant: before all thy people I will do marvels, such as have not been wrought in all the earth, nor in any nation; and all the people among which thou art shall see the work of Jehovah; for it is a terrible thing that I do with thee. Observe thou that which I command thee this day: behold, I drive out before thee the Amorite, and the Canaanite, and the Hittite, and the Perizzite, and the Hivite, and the Jebusite. Take heed to thyself, lest thou make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land whither thou goest, lest it be for a snare in the midst of thee: but ye shall break down their altars, and dash in pieces their pillars, and ye shall cut down their Asherim; for thou shalt worship no other god: for Jehovah, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God: lest thou make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land, and they play the harlot after their gods, and sacrifice unto their gods, and one call thee and thou eat of his sacrifice; and thou take of their daughters unto thy sons, and their daughters play the harlot after their gods, and make thy sons play the harlot after their gods. Thou shalt make thee no molten gods." — Exodus 34:10-17 (ASV)
The Israelites are commanded to destroy every monument of idolatry, however intricate or costly. They must also refuse all alliance, friendship, or marriage with idolaters, and all idolatrous feasts.
They were also reminded to maintain no association with idolaters and to avoid all idolatrous feasts. Furthermore, they were reminded not to repeat the crime of making molten images.
Jealousy is called the rage of a man (Proverbs 6:34), but in God, it is holy and just displeasure. Those cannot worship God rightly who do not worship Him only.
"The feast of unleavened bread shalt thou keep. Seven days thou shalt eat unleavened bread, as I commanded thee, at the time appointed in the month Abib; for in the month Abib thou camest out from Egypt. All that openeth the womb is mine; and all thy cattle that is male, the firstlings of cow and sheep. And the firstling of an ass thou shalt redeem with a lamb: and if thou wilt not redeem it, then thou shalt break its neck. All the first-born of thy sons thou shalt redeem. And none shall appear before me empty. Six days thou shalt work, but on the seventh day thou shalt rest: in plowing time and in harvest thou shalt rest. And thou shalt observe the feast of weeks, [even] of the first-fruits of wheat harvest, and the feast of ingathering at the year`s end. Three times in the year shall all thy males appear before the Lord Jehovah, the God of Israel. For I will cast out nations before thee, and enlarge thy borders: neither shall any man desire thy land, when thou goest up to appear before Jehovah thy God three times in the year. Thou shalt not offer the blood of my sacrifice with leavened bread; neither shall the sacrifice of the feast of the passover be left unto the morning. The first of the first-fruits of thy ground thou shalt bring unto the house of Jehovah thy God. Thou shalt not boil a kid in its mother`s milk. And Jehovah said unto Moses, Write thou these words: for after the tenor of these words I have made a covenant with thee and with Israel." — Exodus 34:18-27 (ASV)
Once a week they must rest, even in plowing time and in harvest. All worldly business must give way to that holy rest; even harvest work will prosper better for the religious observance of the Sabbath day in harvest time. We must show that we prefer our communion with God, and our duty to him, before the business or the joy of harvest.
Three times a year they must appear before the Lord God, the God of Israel. Canaan was a desirable land, and the neighboring nations were greedy; yet God says, They shall not desire it. Let us check all sinful desires against God and his glory in our hearts, and then trust him to check all sinful desires in the hearts of others against us. The way of duty is the way of safety. Those who venture for him never lose by him. Three feasts are here mentioned:
- The Passover, in remembrance of the deliverance out of Egypt.
- The feast of weeks, or the feast of Pentecost; added to it is the law of the firstfruits.
- The feast of ingathering, or the feast of Tabernacles.
Moses is to write these words, that the people might know them better. We can never be thankful enough to God for the written word. God would make a covenant with Israel, with Moses as a mediator. Thus the covenant of grace is made with believers through Christ.
"And he was there with Jehovah forty days and forty nights; he did neither eat bread, nor drink water. And he wrote upon the tables the words of the covenant, the ten commandments. And it came to pass, when Moses came down from mount Sinai with the two tables of the testimony in Moses` hand, when he came down from the mount, that Moses knew not that the skin of his face shone by reason of his speaking with him. And when Aaron and all the children of Israel saw Moses, behold, the skin of his face shone; and they were afraid to come nigh him. And Moses called unto them; and Aaron and all the rulers of the congregation returned unto him: and Moses spake to them. And afterward all the children of Israel came nigh: and he gave them in commandment all that Jehovah had spoken with him in mount Sinai. And when Moses had done speaking with them, he put a veil on his face. But when Moses went in before Jehovah to speak with him, he took the veil off, until he came out; and he came out, and spake unto the children of Israel that which he was commanded. And the children of Israel saw the face of Moses, that the skin of Moses` face shone: and Moses put the veil upon his face again, until he went in to speak with him." — Exodus 34:28-35 (ASV)
Near and spiritual communion with God improves the graces of a renewed and holy character. Serious godliness puts a luster on a person's countenance, commanding esteem and affection.
The veil Moses put on marked the obscurity of that dispensation when compared with the gospel dispensation of the New Testament. It was also an emblem of the natural veil on human hearts regarding spiritual things. Furthermore, the veil that was and is on the nation of Israel can only be taken away by the Spirit of the Lord revealing Christ to them as the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth.
Fear and unbelief would place that veil before us; they would hinder our free approach to the mercy seat above. We should spread our wants, both temporal and spiritual, fully before our heavenly Father. We should tell him our hindrances, struggles, trials, and temptations; we should acknowledge our offenses.
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