Commentary - Exodus 33:7-11

Bird's-eye view

In the immediate aftermath of the golden calf fiasco, the central issue is one of divine presence. Israel has demonstrated, in the most profound way imaginable, that they are a stiff-necked people, utterly unworthy of having a holy God dwell in their midst. God Himself declares this, saying that if He were to go up among them for a single moment, He might consume them (Ex. 33:5). So the problem is this: how can a holy God dwell with a sinful people? This passage presents a provisional, temporary, and partial solution. It is a solution that magnifies the holiness of God, highlights the necessary role of a mediator, and points forward to the final solution that would come in Jesus Christ.

Moses establishes a "tent of meeting" outside the camp, creating a necessary distance between the holy God and the defiled people. This arrangement sets up a powerful visual lesson. Access to God is not a given. It is not casual. It is mediated. The people watch from a distance as their representative, Moses, goes into the place of meeting. God's presence is then manifested in the pillar of cloud, and He speaks with Moses with startling intimacy. This entire scene is a rich picture of law, grace, mediation, and worship, and it concludes with a telling detail about the next generation of leadership, Joshua, who lingers in the place of God's presence.

Outline

Context In Exodus

This passage cannot be understood apart from the outrageous sin of Exodus 32. The people, led by Aaron, fashioned a golden calf and credited it with their deliverance from Egypt. This was a flagrant violation of the first and second commandments, which they had just received. God's righteous anger burned against them, and were it not for Moses' intercession, the entire nation would have been destroyed. Following that intercession, God makes a monumental declaration: He will send an angel before them to drive out the Canaanites, but He Himself will not go up in their midst (Ex. 33:2-3). This is a devastating verdict. They will get the land, but they will not get the Lord. The gift without the Giver is a curse.

The people mourn this terrible news and strip off their ornaments (Ex. 33:4-6). It is in this climate of grief, repentance, and dreadful separation that Moses takes the tent and pitches it outside the camp. This is not the official Tabernacle, the plans for which had already been given on the mountain (Exodus 25-31). The construction of that Tabernacle has not yet begun. This is a provisional tent, perhaps Moses' own, which he consecrates for this purpose. Its location is the key. The camp has been defiled by idolatry, and so the meeting place with God must be established outside of it.

Verse by Verse Commentary

7 Now Moses used to take the tent and pitch it outside the camp, a good distance from the camp, and he called it the tent of meeting. And everyone who sought Yahweh would go out to the tent of meeting which was outside the camp.

Moses takes decisive action. The verb "used to take" indicates this was his regular practice during this period. The location is emphasized twice for a reason: "outside the camp, a good distance from the camp." Sin creates separation. This is a physical picture of a spiritual reality (Is. 59:2). The camp, which should have been the dwelling place of God, is now a place from which one must depart in order to seek Him. This is a stark lesson in corporate responsibility. The sin was not committed by every single individual, but the entire camp is now treated as unclean. This is why the author of Hebrews later picks up this theme, urging believers to go to Jesus "outside the camp," bearing the reproach He endured (Heb. 13:13). Christ suffered outside the gate to sanctify His people, and fellowship with Him means joining Him out there.

He calls it the "tent of meeting." This is where God will meet with man. But who gets to meet with Him? Not just anyone. While "everyone who sought Yahweh would go out to the tent," we see in the following verses that it is Moses alone who enters. The people can come so far, but no further. They can seek the Lord, but they must do so through their appointed mediator. This is not a democratic, "all-paths-lead-to-God" arrangement. This is a covenantal monarchy. There is one mediator between God and this people, and his name is Moses.

8 And it happened whenever Moses went out to the tent, that all the people would arise and stand, each at the entrance of his tent, and gaze after Moses until he entered the tent.

This is a picture of expectant, vicarious worship. The people rise. This is a sign of respect and reverence, not for Moses himself, but for what he is doing and where he is going. He is their representative. He is going to meet with God on their behalf. Their standing and watching is an act of participation, albeit from a distance. They are identifying with their mediator. They stand at the entrance of their own tents, a boundary they cannot cross. And they "gaze after Moses." Their eyes are fixed on him. All their hopes for reconciliation with God are bound up in this one man. If he is accepted, they might be accepted. If he is rejected, they are without hope. This is a beautiful illustration of our relationship to Christ. We fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for us has entered the true holy place (Heb. 12:2).

9 And it happened whenever Moses entered the tent, that the pillar of cloud would descend and stand at the entrance of the tent; and Yahweh would speak with Moses.

The moment Moses enters, God descends. The pillar of cloud, that visible manifestation of God's glorious presence that had led them through the wilderness (Ex. 13:21), now comes to rest at the entrance. This is the divine seal of approval on Moses' mediation. It is God's public declaration: "This man is my appointed representative. I will meet with him." The cloud stands at the entrance, acting as a kind of doorkeeper. It marks the boundary between the holy and the common. Outside is the seeking sinner; inside is the mediator; and in the cloud is the very presence of Yahweh. And what happens there? "Yahweh would speak with Moses." This is the heart of the matter. God is not silent. He has not utterly abandoned His people. He is a God who speaks, who reveals Himself, who enters into relationship. But He does so on His own terms, through His chosen mediator.

10 And all the people would see the pillar of cloud standing at the entrance of the tent. And all the people would arise and worship, each at the entrance of his tent.

The signal for worship is the visible confirmation that God is meeting with their mediator. When they see the cloud, they worship. They have learned, at least for now, the lesson of the golden calf. True worship is not about creating your own images or approaching God on your own terms. True worship is responding to God's self-revelation. They see the glory-cloud, they know God is speaking with Moses, and they fall on their faces in reverence. Again, notice the location: "each at the entrance of his tent." They are separated from the immediate presence of God, but they are not separated from the act of worship. Their worship is an act of faith, trusting that the transaction happening in that tent is for their benefit. They are like the crowd outside the temple in Luke's gospel, praying while Zechariah was inside offering incense (Luke 1:10).

11 Thus Yahweh used to speak to Moses face to face, just as a man speaks to his friend. Then Moses would return to the camp, and his attendant Joshua the son of Nun, a young man, would not depart from the tent.

This is one of the most astonishing statements in the Old Testament. The nature of the communication between God and Moses is described with a radical intimacy. "Face to face, just as a man speaks to his friend." This does not mean Moses saw God's unmediated essence, for later in this very chapter God tells him, "you cannot see my face, for man shall not see me and live" (Ex. 33:20). Rather, this is a Hebrew idiom describing direct, clear, personal, and interactive communication. There were no riddles, no dark sayings, no intermediaries like dreams or visions (Num. 12:6-8). It was a real conversation. This is the privilege of the mediator. While the people stood far off, Moses enjoyed a friendship with God. This points us directly to the Lord Jesus, the ultimate Mediator, who was in the bosom of the Father and has made Him known (John 1:18). Through Christ, we are no longer called servants, but friends (John 15:15).

After this incredible communion, Moses would return to the defiled camp. He does not remain in isolation. The mediator brings the fruit of his mediation back to the people. But his attendant, his disciple, Joshua, remains. This is a crucial detail. Joshua, the one who will lead the people into the promised land, is a man who loves the presence of God. While Moses has duties in the camp, Joshua lingers. He does not want to leave the place where God has just been. This demonstrates a spiritual hunger, a zeal for the house of the Lord, that marks him out as a true leader. He is not just Moses' servant; he is Yahweh's servant. He is preparing for his future leadership not by politicking in the camp, but by waiting in the place of meeting. This is a lesson for all who would aspire to leadership in God's kingdom. The first qualification is a deep, abiding desire to be in the presence of God.

Application

The first and most obvious application is that sin separates. Our sin, our corporate idolatries, make our camp an unfit place for the presence of a holy God. We must not treat the presence of God as a light or casual thing. Repentance means recognizing this separation and seeking God on His terms, not our own.

Second, we see with glorious clarity our need for a mediator. The people could not approach God on their own. They needed Moses. We are in an even more desperate state, and we need a better mediator. We have one in Jesus Christ, who did not pitch a temporary tent, but who became the true tabernacle, the dwelling place of God among men (John 1:14). He did not just go outside the camp to meet with God; He was cast out and crucified there, once for all, to bring us in.

Third, our worship is a response to God's gracious initiative through our Mediator. We do not worship to get God's attention. We worship because in Christ, God has descended to meet with us. We see the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ, and we respond in adoration. Our worship is always mediated, always through Him.

Finally, we should desire to be like Joshua. We should cultivate a heart that lingers in the presence of God. Through Christ, the veil is torn and we have bold access to the throne of grace (Heb. 4:16). The meeting place is no longer outside the camp; by the Spirit, God has made His temple in us. The question is, do we love being there? Do we linger, or are we quick to return to the business of the camp? May God give us the heart of Joshua, to be a people who will not depart from His presence.