View from the Cleft of the Rock | Exodus 34:1-9
One of my favorite rhythms we practice in our gospel communities is the telling of our stories with God as the hero. Hearing one another tell what God has done to make us the people we are today is a consistently sweet and powerful and encouraging, and humbling experience. We feel the impact of this practice by the way it simultaneously reveals who we are AND the way it reveals who God is. We tell of God creative and providential formation of our lives. We acknowledge our fallen, sinful, and helpless nature. We recount God’s gracious and sovereign work of redemption, and all He has done to save us and draw us to Himself. And we draw attention to what God is continuing to do to restore us to His image and purpose. Through this practice we open a window for one another into who are and what we’re like. But we also open a window for one another into who God is and what He’s like. And magic that happens in this practice is this – as we disclose who we are, by drawing attention to the people and the critical events God has used to shape us into the people we are, our hearts are often knit together through the shared wonder at the greatness and goodness of who God is and what He has done.
I believe the purpose of Ex. 34:1-9 is the same. In this passage, God tells His story. He discloses who He is, and what He’s like. And God’s aim and purpose in doing so is to knit our hearts and souls to Him - through the shared wonder and joy we experience in the glory of His greatness and goodness.
Now, to understand this passage rightly, we must take into account the events of Ex. 33. In Ex. 33:18, Moses expresses his passionate and audacious request of God, “Show me your glory.”
And then God says, “I will make all my goodness pass before you and will proclaim before you my name ‘The LORD.’ But you cannot see my face, for man shall not see me and live.” And then in Ex. 33:21, the LORD says, “There is a place by me where you shall stand on the rock, and while my glory passes by, I will put you in a cleft of the rock, and I will cover you with my hand until I have passed by. Then I will take away my hand, and you shall see my back, but my face shall not be seen” (Exodus 33:21-23).
Our text today, Ex. 34:1-9, is the account of Moses’ experience of God while standing in the cleft of the rock. And from the vantage point of that safe place, Moses’ has a front row seat from which he hears God tell His story – from which he hears God himself proclaim who He is. And can you believe it? It’s all recorded for us here.
The text falls neatly into three parts. In part one, Moses gets ready. In part two, God tells His story. In part three, Moses responds. First,
Moses Gets Ready
Ex. 34 begins with God’s instructions for a new edition of the stone tablets. Once again, God will inscribe the laws that inform and give shape to His covenant relationship with His people. Moses will cut the stones. God will do the writing. And God’s purpose is, once again, to reveal His Himself, to reveal His character. God’s desire is for His people to live life before Him. Which is breath-taking. Since, in spite of their spectacular rebellion and rejection, God still wants His people to experience the joy of His very presence.
“The LORD said to Moses, “Cut for yourself two tablets of stone like the first, and I will write on the tablets the words that were on the first tablets, which you broke.”
—Exodus 34:1
God is about to reveal Himself again through words. And what He’s going to reveal through words is not merely abstract information. This is simply a lecture, or the content of a textbook. God’s words will reveal who He is to the people He has saved. Nor will this be a display of power and awesome perfection. The aim of this revelation is relationship with Himself. We must never forget that God’s Word is designed for relationship. The revelation of God through His Word is intended to engender joyful communion with God. God’s purpose for this book is to draw us into life together with God Himself. So, God tells Moses, “Lets fix the tablets.”
“Be ready by the morning, and come up in the morning to Mount Sinai, and present yourself there to me on the top of the mountain. No one shall come up with you, and let no one be seen throughout all the mountain. Let no flocks or herds graze opposite that mountain.”
—Exodus 34:2-3
So, even though God makes every provision for His people to know Him and experience Him, the one true God is, nevertheless, a holy God. And one must nor cannot approach Him casually or without an invitation. Those who treat God like their “little buddy,” clearly have no appreciation for why it was necessary for Moses to stand in the cleft of the rock, covered by God’s hand. Without a covering, without a mediator, without Christ, no mortal human can draw near to God and live. That’s why we practice a “call to worship.” When we gather here, we let God have the first Word. We make God’s voice of invitation the first thing. That’s why you want to be here at the beginning. It is no small thing to present oneself before the Lord. Therefore, our rejoicing in God’s presence is mingled with trembling in God’s presence.
“So Moses cut two tablets of stone like the first. And he rose early in the morning and went up on Mount Sinai, as the LORD had commanded him, and took in his hand two tablets of stone.”
—Exodus 34:4
Moses has got to be thinking, “Will I survive this?” In Ex. 33:19, God said, “I will make all my goodness pass before you and will proclaim before you my name.” Moses is about to see and hear what no other human being on earth had seen or heard. I’ve heard someone say, “This is Moses’ ‘walk on the moon’ moment.” It doesn’t get any bigger than this. Adrenaline had to be flowing. And so, it happens.
“The LORD descended in the cloud and stood with him there, and proclaimed the name of the LORD.”
—Exodus 34:5
The LORD proclaimed the name of the LORD. Moses experiences a personally provided disclosure of God’s character. Moses experiences a more profound awareness of the sum of God’s nature than he had previously. How do you conceive of God’s transcendent glory? Can you get your head around it? Is it all fire and smoke and earthquakes? What is God actually like? When God tells His story, when God offers a more profound awareness of the entirety of His nature, what are your assumptions? Moses (and we) are about to learn what that is. What God promised to Moses in Ex. 33:19 is now fulfilled in Ex. 34:6-7.
God descends in a cloud. Can you imagine? But immediately the text adds, “and stood there with him.” The Lord stood there with Moses. The first thing is heightened intimacy. Don’t you wonder, what did Moses see? The LORD is right there, with him, mercifully shielding him with His hand lest he receive a lethal dose of divine glory.
And the first thing is not “face-melting” holiness. The first thing is words. God speaks. God reveals Himself. God proclaims His nature.
God Tells His Story
This is important. The glory of God’s story is how His exalted nature is revealed in the way He relates to His people.
“The LORD passed before him and proclaimed, “The LORD, the LORD, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, keeping steadfast love for thousands (see textual footnote “to a thousand generations”), forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, but who will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children and the children’s children, to the third and fourth generation.”
—Exodus 34:6-7
Notice, God doesn’t flash His high and omnipotent power and might. Rather, He proclaims His personal name, “Yahweh.” He proclaims the name that disclosed His nature, the name that was a promise of His presence with His people, and a promise of His actions for His people. “The LORD. The LORD.” It must have sent chills down Moses’ spine. He’d heard this before, at the burning bush. But this is way bigger!
And God is reiterating that promise. And what makes it bigger and insanely mind-blowing is on account of what happened in Ex. 32. You see, God is saying, “I AM STILL God with my people, and for my people. I AM STILL the present one, and present to save. But this time God is going go a step further with Moses, and unfold the significance of that promise – with an explanation OF His name.
WHO is God? WHAT is God like? Well, God Himself is about to tell us. And He does so by communicating 7 attributes that will describe His nature. It’s like a multi-faceted diamond shining forth His manifold goodness. And, again, notice, God says nothing here about His power or place the accent His divine perfections. What God says is all about how He relates to others. So who is God? What’s He like? First,
God is Merciful
Is that what you expected? That the first thing God would say about Himself to a people who had just rejected Him for a baby cow?! God is merciful. God is for His people. The word means compassionate. It’s an emotional word that speaks of tenderness and concern and sympathy.
We’ve got a whole bunch of first (and second and third) time parents here. This word, merciful, is what a mother (or father) has for a child – deeply caring, deeply feeling that child’s vulnerability, and their heart welling up in love. It’s the feeling of ferocious, unexpected, instantaneous love that comes from somewhere deep. It’s that “mother-bear” impulse. And it says, “I will protect this child with my life. So stand back.” Loved ones, this is how God is toward His people. Do you think of God that way – welling up in mercy, sensitive to your needs and vulnerabilities? Second,
God is Gracious
This is NOT so much emotion, but the inclination of God’s heart toward those in need and, I would add, especially those who do not deserve it. God does not turn a cold shoulder to you. God does not look down on you for your inadequacies. God does not take offense at the inconvenience of your neediness, like you’re a pathetic worm. Rather, He responds to your needs. And He responds with favor. He goes beyond what is expected. God is extravagant and undeservedly generous. 3rd,
God is Slow to Anger
This speaks of God’s forbearance. It’s the opposite of short-tempered. God is not on edge. He’s not standing over you with a short fuse, critical of every mistake, just waiting to go off. His reflex is not anger. God does not have a borderline personality disorder. He’s patient. He loves giving safety and time for conviction and repentance, because that’s just who He is. And when He DOES act against evil, and He WILL act against evil, it’s never reactionary or impulsive or volatile. It’s careful, considered, and wise, and holy. 4th,
God is Abounding in Steadfast Love
So if God is slow at anger, then what’s His fastball? What’s God great at? Steadfast love. This word is one of the most important words in the Bible. We’ve seen it before. It’s a covenant word. It is used of people bound in a relationship. When it’s used in relation to God, it speaks of God unobligated loyalty to keep His promises toward to His people. It speaks of doing good when it’s not deserved, when there’s no obligation to do it. To quote one of my Sovereign Grace, theologically smarter than me, friends – this word refers to -
“God’s committed, loyal, freely given, undeserved, grab-hold-of-you-and-not-let-go love.”
—Jeff Purswell
God Is Abounding in Faithfulness
This is faithfulness in the sense of dependability. Firmness. Strong arms. Strong pillars. Unswervingly reliable. God always keeps His promises. He can always be counted on. He always comes through. He always hits safely with runners in scoring position. Who else do you know who is like this? One theologian writes, “Paired together these two attributes (i.e. steadfast love and faithfulness) are theological dynamite.”
And v. 7 emphasizes the constancy of God by repeating the phrase,
“Keeping steadfast love for thousands.”
—Exodus 34:7
God guards His love. God preserves His love. His love never gets away from Him. His love never escapes. God never acts differently. And it spread through the generations, gathering up more and more people into the bond of His love. And if you are His, know this. God binds Himself to His people. God is committed and present with His people, to extend mercy and grace to His people. And when His people sin,
God Forgives
The word forgive is very common verb. Translated, it simply means “to lift” or “lift up” or “to carry away” or “to bear.” Forgiveness is what God does with repented for sin. He doesn’t hold it over our heads. He lifts it off our shoulders, and He bears it away. And lest you doubt that, and cringe with shame and fear about some past sin – if you are, right now, ashamed over something you’ve done, something you just can’t shake – hear this word. God forgives. And if that isn’t emphatic enough, look at v. 7.
“Forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin.”
—Exodus 34:7b
God piles up the words to show that He forgives the entire spectrum of sin – from faults of which we’re oblivious, to willful disobedience, all the way to the kind of outright rebellion and treason the people committed in Ex. 32. There is nothing beyond the reach of God’s great grace. No type of sin. No degree of sin that is beyond God’s capacity and willingness to forgive.
But lest this attribute be misunderstood or presumed upon, a sober note is sounded at the end of v. 7.
“(God) will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children and the children’s children, to the third and fourth generation.”
—Exodus 34:7c
The world is full of people who would wish God’s self-disclosure stopped at forgiveness. But loved ones, that would not be the kind of God worth worshipping. Would you really worship a God who indulges sin? Would you really praise a God who has no standard for righteousness? Would you really trust a God who doesn’t care about injustice? Would you lay down your life for a God who is content to permit sin to defile the people and the world He has made? That’s not our God! And so finally,
God is Just
The unrepentant, unbelieving sinner finds no safe quarter with this God. And there may very well be consequences for sin – consequences that persist for, what, 3 generations? 4 generations?
But even in this, do not miss the accent. God’s forgiveness is for a thousand generations. That is God’s story. That is who God is!
Now, despite my sermon title – i.e. “View From the Cleft of the Rock” – there is nothing in this text about what Moses actually saw. Perhaps, we might deduce from Ex. 33:23 that all Moses saw was a glimpse of God’s back. So rather than telling us what Moses saw, Ex. 34:6-7 is all about what Moses heard. God didn’t blow Moses away with a visible display of power and perfection. Rather, God spoke. And what Moses heard is all about who God is to His people and what God does for His people. And the significance of that for us is - God’s Word is sufficient! God’s Word contains everything we need God to communicate to us about Himself for our salvation, that we might trust His promises, and obey Him perfectly. God’s Word is all we need for a relationship with Him. Now, the last observation is this,
Moses’ Response
It may be safe to say that Moses is overwhelmed.
“Moses quickly bowed his head toward the earth and worshipped.”
—Exodus 34:8
Over the course of his life, Moses had experienced a lot of God. But he had never experienced anything like this. He had seen God’s glory in the plagues, and the parting of the Red sea, and the miracle of Mannah in the wilderness, and towering inferno of God’s earlier decent on Mt. Sinai. But the focus here, while he stood safely in the cleft of the rock, is the matchless majesty of God’s mercy and grace toward sinners.
My non-Christian friends, perhaps you feel like - if only – if only I could see a bona fide miracle, then I could say, “I believe! I’ve seen the glory of God!” But listen. The greatest miracle of all. The greatest display of glory of all. The most stunning revelation of the greatness and goodness of God is display of His matchless mercy and grace toward sinners in the perfect life and sin-atoning death of Jesus on a cross. According to Jn. 1:14, it is in Him, Jesus, the Christ, that –
“The Word (of God) became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen His glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.”
—John 1:14
In Ex. 34, we hear the Word of God’s mercy and grace toward sinners. In the person and work of Jesus we have seen God’s mercy and grace toward sinners. And this Jesus is worthy to be worshipped. There is no putting this off. Bow your head before Him. Bow your heart toward Him. Repent of your sins. Entrust yourself to His steadfast love and faithfulness, and His sacrifice in your place, and He will forgive your sins and make you His own.
But Moses did more than bow down and worship. Moses also prayed.
“And he said, “If now I have found favor in your sight, O Lord, please let the Lord go in the midst of us, for it is a stiff-necked people, and pardon our iniquity and our sin, and take us for your inheritance.”
—Exodus 34:9
These are all things Moses has previously requested from God. So why does he pray these things again? I believe the reason Moses repeats these requests is because He has just encountered God in all His greatness and mercy. And from the experience of that revelation, Moses prays again. Out of that revelation springs God-centered desires and affections.
This is what we do. We hear God’s Word. We give our attention to the verbal revelation of what God has said about Who He is. And like Moses, this establishes a rock solid foundation for our worship, as well as Spirit-inspired information for our prayers.
And further, we have every assurance that the covenant, that was shattered by the rebellion of the people in Ex. 32, can now be renewed by God’s grace. And the ground of our confidence that God’s covenant can and will be renewed by God’s grace is because of who God has communicated Himself to be. Only our confidence is better. Our foundation is firmer. That’s because God’s greatest saving act has now been fulfilled. And that revelation was not merely an announcement. That revelation is a person – the person of Jesus Christ. The glory that Moses asked to see, the glory that he heard in Ex. 34, would one day appear in person. It’s in the person of Jesus that you and I encounter and experience God’s steadfast love, His loyal, relentless love. Christian, He’s got you. You can’t get out of His grip! In Jesus we encounter and experience God’s faithfulness. In Jesus we encounter God’s holiness and justice. Our sins required payment. Our sins require justice. And the greatest display of God’s mercy and justice is on the cross as Jesus died. In Jesus we encounter the very nature of God. In Jesus we behold the glory of God. According to John 1:17-18, “The law was given through Moses. Grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. No one has ever seen God. The only God, who is at the Father’s side, he has made him known.”
Behold our God. And come. Let us adore Him.