Ex. 34 God commands Moses to hew two tables of stone like the former, wherein he promises to write, Ex. 34:1. Moses goes with these tables up to the mount, Ex. 34:4. God descends in a cloud, Ex. 24:5. He proclaims his name, Ex. 34:6–7. Moses worships, Ex. 34:8–9.

The first tables were made immediately by God, who of his own mere grace and good pleasure, and without man’s merit or contrivance, entered into covenant with Abraham and his seed.

This is said, not for the beasts, which are not capable of a law, but to restrain the presumption and curiosity of the people, by this argument, that even the beasts that come too near shall be destroyed, and much more man, whose knowledge aggravates his sin and punishment.

In the cloud; in the cloudy pillar, which ordinarily stood up in the air above the mount, but came down to the top of it when God spake with Moses. See Ex. 33:9, Num. 11:17, Num. 11:25. Stood with him there, to wit, in the mount, Ex. 34:2, Ex. 34:4, and the clift of a rock, Ex.

The Lord God: this title shows his glorious being, power, and authority; the following titles note his goodness to men. Abundant in goodness and truth; in fulfilling all his gracious promises made to Abraham, and to his seed, and to all his people; wherein he is said to be abundant, because he…

For thousands; the Chaldee and some others render it, for a thousand generations. Iniquity, and transgression, and sin; sins of all sorts and sizes, secret or open, infirmities or presumptions, against God or men, as the heap of various words here put together signifies.

It is a stiff-necked people, and therefore need thy glorious and powerful presence to rule them. Or rather, though it be a stiff-necked people, as thou sayest, yet forsake them not. The Hebrew particle chi oft signifies though, as Ex. 5:11, Isa. 44:6. Take us for thine inheritance, i.e.

Behold, I make a covenant, i.e. I do hereby renew my covenant with thy people which they had violated and voided by their sin. But the shortness of the phrase, there being no mention here of any with whom this covenant is made or renewed, and the following words, make it more probable that this…

Which at first were used by good men for their devotion, as Gen. 21:33; but afterwards being horribly abused to superstition and idolatry, were by God, s command to be destroyed.

Whose name is Jealous; who hath made himself known by, and glories in that name, The jealous God, who cannot endure any competitor or corrival; whereas the false and puny gods of the heathens were contented with multitudes of partners.

A covenant, for cohabitation, or to suffer them quietly to live among you, whom you should drive out. Go a whoring, i.e. commit idolatry, which is oft called and compared to spiritual whoredom. See Jeremiah 2:0; Jeremiah 3:0; Ezek. 16:0.

Nor graven, nor any other, as it plainly appears both from the nature of the things, and from many parallel scriptures; but he mentions molten, because their late idol was of that kind.

Heb. And (for that is, as the particle and is oft used; the words following here, and Ex. 34:20, being a particular explication of the general sentence in the beginning of this verse) all thy cattle which (a particle oft understood) shall be born male, (as it is also explained Ex.

Either without a gift to me, so it is a precept; or without benefit to himself, so it is a promise. See Ex. 23:15.

Which times are expressed, because the great profit and seeming necessity of working at that time was likely to be a powerful temptation to make men break the sabbath.

The feast of weeks, i.e. which is numbered by weeks being just seven weeks after the passover, whence it is called pentecost, i.e. the fiftieth day, to wit, after the passover. See Lev. 23:15, Lev. 25:8.

I will cast out the nations; so thou shalt have no intestine enemy to do time or thine mischief. This God promised to do, but upon condition of Israel’s discharge of their duty in following God in this work of driving them out, which they neglecting, it was not fully done.

First of the first-fruits; thou shalt not delay to do this, but shalt bring the very first of them. Or, the first-fruits, even the first-fruits of thy land; which limitation seems here conveniently added, because they were not bound to bring thither all their first-fruits, to wit, those of their…

Object. God saith, I will write, Ex. 34:1. Answ. 1. Moses was to write the ritual precepts mentioned here above, God wrote the moral law. 2. Moses wrote what he wrote in a book; see Ex.

He was there forty days and forty nights; as he had been before, being now to renew the broken covenant. This forty days’ fast of his is mentioned four times, Ex. 24:18, and here, and Deut. 9:18, Deut. 10:10, but it is evident it was performed but twice, as the occasion of it happened only twice.

Quest. Why now, and not when he came down from God before? Answ. 1. Because now he obtained what he did not before, to wit, a glimpse of the Divine glory, which, though but very transient, left its print upon his face. 2.

Unto him, to the tabernacle, which was still at a distance from the camp, though afterwards, God being reconciled, it was set up in the camp, Ex. 40:34.

In condescension to their weakness