Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Exodus 34:8
And Moses made haste, and bowed his head toward the earth, and worshiped.
8. Moses now reverently does obeisance (cf. Exo 4:31, Exo 12:27).
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
8-26. Moses bowed . . . andworshippedIn the East, people bow the head to royalty, and aresilent when it passes by, while in the West, they take off their hatsand shout.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
And Moses made haste,…. Perceiving the voice ceased, and the Lord was passing on, lest he should be gone, and he lose the favourable opportunity he had:
and bowed his head toward the earth, and worshipped; threw himself prostrate upon it, and in the most humble manner put up his requests to God, which are expressed in the following verse; he gladly laid hold on this opportunity to use his interest with God for the people of Israel, and to improve the proclamation of grace and mercy, in the forgiveness of sins, now made; which encouraged his faith and hope to draw nigh with a holy boldness, and use freedom with him, and yet with an awe of his majesty, with reverence and godly fear.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
8. And Moses made haste, and bowed his head This haste shews that Moses was astounded when he first beheld the brightness; for thus does God, when He reveals Himself, immediately ravish the godly into such admiration of Him, that there is no time for delay. (384) This prayer follows, that God would journey with His people, and bear with their frowardness; for, since God had said that He could not possibly dwell with so stiff-necked and intractable a people, Moses proposes the remedy, viz., after he has confessed that the people are of a hardened and stubborn spirit, he still expresses a hope of their safety, if God will be pitiful in sparing them. What follows is worthy of observation, “that thou mayest possess us;” (385) for the copula has the force of the causal particle, as if he had said, That God could not enjoy the inheritance He had chosen, unless by pardoning their sins. And surely so it is; for such is man’s frailty, that they would straightway fall from grace were they not reconciled to God. Nor was this spoken only of this ancient people, but refers also to us; for, in order that God should possess us too, it is needful that our sins should be constantly pardoned, as this embassy, according to Paul, daily resounds in the Church. (2Co 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.” — Heb.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.Exo. 34:8-9
GODS PRESENCE WITH HIS PEOPLE
The revelation of the Divine name was almost too much for Moses, it was so unmerited. He was lost in wonder and adoration at the Divine condescension, Exo. 34:8. Recovering himself, however, and emboldened by this gracious proclamation, he, in the true spirit of believing and triumphant prayer, supplicated Gods actual presence among His people. This is not the only instance in which past favours have been the basis for future expectations (Gen. 18:23-33; Psa. 116:12). The text teaches us
I. That Gods presence with His people is secured by mediation. His presence with Israel was secured by the intercession of Moses; His presence with His Church is secured by the intercession of Jesus Christ. The whole of John 17 is based upon this.
II. That Gods presence is importuned because of the obstinacy of His people. A stiff-necked people. One would have thought that would have been an argument for vengeance. But no, Old and New Testaments alike base upon mans failings a reason why God should visit him (Joh. 3:16; Mat. 9:13; Rom. 5:8). The reason is obvious, God alone is equal to the task of subduing sinners and bringing them into obedience to Himself.
III. That Gods presence is supplicated to fulfil Gods promises.
1. God had promised to pardon. Gods presence was requisite for this, because the Divine pardon is not merely an erasure of sin from Gods book, but an erasure of sin from mans heart. Forgiveness is not merely a fact in the moral universe of which man may or may not be conscious; but a fact in mans spiritual nature which he enjoys, and of which he has irrefragable proofs. God Himself must come near and transform the sinner into the saint.
2. God had promised that Israel should be His inheritance. This could only be effected by Gods going amongst them and taking them. What boundless comfort does the double argument give! God, in the person of His Son, has come amongst us, therefore we are His inheritance. Man is His inheritance, therefore He is with us always even unto the end of the world.
In conclusioni. God having blessed us is a reason for our expectation of future blessings. Compare the past, present, and future tenses of Psa. 23:2. God having blessed us in the past should be the basis of our expectation that He will manifest Himself to us. iii. This Divine presence should be the incentive to, and power of, personal purity and consecration.J. W. Burn.
ILLUSTRATIONS
BY
REV. WILLIAM ADAMSON
Law-Lights! Exo. 34:1-35. Pressense says, that whatever opinions men may hold as to the integrity of that primitive witness, all must own that it contains pages in which one beholds, as it were, the reflection of the lustre which caused Mosess face to shine when he held converse with God. It has ever been the pious mind which has through the eyes beheld the chain of revelation and the long series of Divine manifestations gradually unwind themselves. Just as they that watch for the morning gaze out from the height of the tower, longing with inexpressible desire for the approach of dawn; so does religious consciousness cast glances of fire upon the horizon as she looks out for the Divine Sunrise. The whole of the Old Testament pants and throbs with this Divine yearning, and it also shows us the finger of God writing in the heart of man the great preparation for the Gospel. The angels ever
Draw strength from gazing on its glance,
Though none its meaning fathom may;
The Words unwithered countenance
Is bright as at Mount Sinais day.
Gothe.
Grace-Memories! Exo. 34:8. Moses could never forget those moments spent in the clefts of the rock, while he beheld the grace of Gods glory, after the insufferable glories of the law on Sinai. What Christian, who has felt the terrors of the law producing deep conviction in his conscience, and who has found peace, ever forgets that blissful moment when, hiding in the cleft side of Jesus, he beheld the glory of Gods grace, and heard His voice, Thy sins are forgiven thee. As the rebellious subject, who has stood before his offended monarch, marked the dread frown gathered on his royal brow, and listened to the solemn proclamation of the laws of the state, is filled with deep, unutterable joy as he sees the radiant smile of love glowing on that face, and as he hears the forgiving declaration, Thy offence is blotted out by a merciful sovereign, the pardoned and restored subject can never lose sight of that sceneof the radiant smile. The proclamation would be written on the tablets of his memory in ineffaceable characters.
For the King Himself in His tender grace,
Hath shown me the brightness of His face;
And who shall pine for a glow-worm light,
When the sun goes forth in his giant might?
Havergal.
Fuente: The Preacher’s Complete Homiletical Commentary Edited by Joseph S. Exell
(8) Moses made haste, and bowed his head.As the Divine glory passed before him, Moses bowed his head in adoration, worshipping God, and not daring to look until the glory had gone by. It is thus seen that with his ardent desire to look into the things of God he combined the highest and deepest reverence.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
The Response of Moses On Behalf Of Himself and The People ( Exo 34:8-9 ).
Exo 34:8-9
‘And Moses reacted with great haste and bowed his head towards the earth and worshipped. And he said, “If now I have found favour in your sight, O sovereign Lord, let the Lord, I pray you, go in our midst. For it is a stiffnecked people. And pardon our iniquity, and our sin. and take us for your inheritance.”
This new revelation affects Moses deeply. ‘With great haste’ because he is so moved he bows down to the earth and worships. But he recognises from the revelation that Yahweh has made that He has declared Himself a forgiving God, and under their present circumstances that must specifically refer to the children of Israel. So he once again seeks confirmation that Yahweh will go up in their midst. It is true that they are a stiffnecked people, perverse, obstinate, slow in response, but he asks for full pardon for all they have done and that Yahweh will again take them as His inheritance (see Exo 15:16; Exo 19:5).
It is important to note that although Moses is God’s friend, he does not take advantage of that fact to presume. No one is more aware than he how deeply Israel has sinned. He is finding it difficult to accept that they are truly forgiven. He has cause to know what a stiffnecked people they are. This is why God’s revelation has come in this form, because God is aware of his problem. But at last he is coming to terms with it, and is willing to accept that it really is true. It seems that they really can begin again. So for the final time he seeks assurance that all really is well, that their sovereign Lord really will go up amongst them, that He really is pardoning their sin, that He really will again make them His inheritance. It has taken time to be able to accept it but after this wonderful display of the heart of God he can no longer be in doubt.
We may feel that he had had more than enough assurance (Exo 33:14; Exo 33:17), but we do not have Moses’ awareness of the holiness of God, and we were not there to see the depths and degradation of their sin. He had no doubt accepted Yahweh’s word, but it was only now that the niggle in his heart was able to subside. Many of us do understand his position. We too have in the past sinned in such a way that we found it hard to accept forgiveness. Not that we did not seek it. Not that we did not believe that God would do it. But we were so conscious of the awfulness of our sin that it took time to accept forgiveness fully. And though far above us in stature, he was a man of like passions as we are.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Reader! remark that God, even in his mercies, is awful. Psa 89:7 .
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Exo 34:8 And Moses made haste, and bowed his head toward the earth, and worshipped.
Ver. 8. And Moses made haste. ] It was time for him. The more any man sees of God, the lower he falls in his own eyes: as he that hath looked intently upon the sun, sees little when he looks down again.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
worshipped. This is ever the effect of the manifestation of Jehovah in grace. Compare 2Sa 7:18.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Exo 4:31, Gen 17:3, 2Ch 20:18
Reciprocal: Gen 24:26 – General Gen 48:12 – he bowed himself Exo 12:27 – bowed Num 22:31 – bowed down Hag 2:5 – to the 1Ti 1:16 – all
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Exo 34:8. And Moses made haste and bowed his head Thus he expressed his humble reverence and adoration of Gods glory, together with his joy in this discovery God had made of himself, and his thankfulness for it. Then likewise he expressed his holy submission to the will of God, made known in this declaration, subscribing to his justice as well as mercy, and putting himself and his people Israel under the government of such a God as Jehovah had now proclaimed himself to be. Let this God be our God for ever and ever!