Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Exodus 33:3
Unto a land flowing with milk and honey: for I will not go up in the midst of thee; for thou [art] a stiffnecked people: lest I consume thee in the way.
3. a land flowing, &c.] See on Exo 3:8.
in the midst of ] v. 5, Exo 17:7, Exo 34:9, Num 11:20; Num 14:14; Num 14:42.
a stiffnecked people ] Exo 32:9.
lest I consume thee, &c.] in consequence of some outburst of wilfulness or rebellion on thy part.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Verse 3. I will not go up in the midst of thee] Consequently, the angel here promised to be their guide was not that angel in whom Jehovah’s name was: and so the people understood it; hence the mourning which is afterwards mentioned.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
I will not go up in the midst of thee by my own special and gracious presence, as hitherto I have done, but I will depart from thee. In pursuance hereof God removes his tabernacle without the camp, Exo 33:7. I will only make good my promise to thy fathers, and send an angel to accomplish it, but I will show no peculiar and further kindness to thee.
Lest I consume thee in the way; lest thy sins should be aggravated by my presence and favour, and thereby I should be provoked utterly to destroy thee. So he shows that their perverseness makes this severity necessary for them, and that God even in his judgment remembers mercy to them.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
3. I will not go up . . . lest Iconsume theeHere the Lord is represented as determined to dowhat He afterwards did not. (See on Ex32:7).
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
Unto a land flowing with milk and honey,…. Abounding with all the necessaries and good things of life, a description of the land of Canaan frequently made, see Ex 3:8:
for I will not go up in the midst of thee; would not grant them his presence in so near, visible, and respectable a manner as he had before done, though he would not utterly forsake them: the tabernacle was before in the midst of the camp, that is, that which was erected until the large one, ordered to be made, was finished, but now it was removed without the camp, Ex 33:7
for thou art a stiffnecked people; [See comments on Ex 32:9]:
lest I consume them in the way; in the way to the land of Canaan, and so never get there; the meaning is, that the Lord being in the midst of them, their sin would be the more aggravated to be committed in his presence, before his face; and the glory of his majesty would require that immediate notice be taken of it, and just punishment inflicted; so that by this step God both consulted his own honour and their safety.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
(3) A land flowing with milk and honey.See Note on Exo. 3:8.
Lest I consume thee.Comp. Exo. 32:10; Lev. 10:2; Ps. 88:21, 31, &c. God is a consuming fire (Heb. 12:29). His near presence, if it does not cleanse and purify, scorches and withers. The conduct of Israel in the wilderness was such as continually to provoke Him to destroy them; and but for His amazing compassion and forbearance, the result here glanced at would assuredly have followed.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
3. I will not go up in the midst of thee This distinction between Jehovah and his Angel is not inconsistent with our doctrine of the Angel of Jehovah, as set forth in note on Gen 16:7. But Jehovah’s Angel might not at all times so bear his name (Exo 23:21) or exhibit his power as to be a consuming fire in the midst of Israel . He was rather of the nature of a mediator between Moses and Jehovah, and the statement of this verse is designed to enhance the infinite holiness of God. The hardness of the people’s heart is such that some consideration may be shown, (comp. Mat 19:8,) but the demands of infinite holiness are such that Jehovah here represents himself as withdrawing from the stiffnecked people, lest the immediate gaze of his holy eye consume them in the way. The whole manner of thought is anthropomorphic, for how else could such conceptions be then conveyed to such a sinful people? The mediating Angel may show mercy when holy wrath would destroy; and Israel may have an angel like other nations, (comp. Dan 10:13,) but lose the special presence of Jehovah himself.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Exo 33:3 Unto a land flowing with milk and honey: for I will not go up in the midst of thee; for thou [art] a stiffnecked people: lest I consume thee in the way.
Ver. 3. I will not go up, ] sc., By those visible signs of my gracious presence as heretofore.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
milk and honey = all kinds of good things. Figure of speech Synecdoche (of Species), App-6.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
a land: Exo 3:8, Exo 13:5, Lev 20:24, Num 13:27, Num 14:8, Num 16:13, Jos 5:6, Jer 11:5
for I: Exo 33:15-17, Exo 32:10, Exo 32:14, Num 14:12, Deu 32:26, Deu 32:27, 1Sa 2:30, Jer 18:7-10, Eze 3:18, Eze 3:19, Eze 33:13-16, Jon 3:4, Jon 3:10
stiffnecked: Exo 32:9, Exo 34:9, Deu 9:6-13, Psa 78:8, Act 7:51
lest I: Exo 23:21, Exo 32:10, Num 16:21, Num 16:45, Amo 3:13, Amo 3:14
Reciprocal: Exo 33:5 – Ye are Isa 48:4 – obstinate Eze 20:6 – flowing
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Exo 33:3. I will not go up in the midst of thee By my own special and gracious presence, as hitherto I have done, but I will depart from thee. In pursuance hereof, God removes his tabernacle without the camp. I will only make good my promise to thy fathers, and send an angel to accomplish it, but I will show no particular and further kindness to thee. Lest I consume thee in the way Lest thy sins should be aggravated by my presence and favour, and thereby I should be provoked utterly to destroy thee. So God shows that their perverseness makes this severity necessary for them, and that he, even in his judgment, remembers mercy to them.