Exodus 33:12–17
The Bible4Jesus.com Podcast
About this episode
We come now to a pivotal moment, not just in the life of Moses, but in the life of Israel, and by extension, in the life of the Church. Just one chapter before this, we had the great apostasy of the golden calf. And God's response was, quite rightly, white-hot righteous anger. He told Moses He was ready to consume them all and start over with him. God had said earlier in this chapter that He would not go up in their midst, lest His holy presence consume them in their stiff-necked rebellion. He would still keep His real estate promise to Abraham, but He was withdrawing His personal, glorious, covenantal presence. Now, to the modern evangelical ear, this might sound like a decent compromise. To receive the promise without the Promiser was not a blessing but a curse.