Reading for August 5th

Read Exodus 33.1-23
In 33.1-33: Moses seeks assurance of God's presence with Israel.
In verses 2-3: The Lord promises to send an angel, a subordinate divine messenger.
However, God's own presence cannot go with Israel lest God's own holiness come in contact with and consume the stiff-necked people of Israel.
In verse 5-6: The stripping of Israel's ornaments involves letting go of the jewelry Israel had stripped from the Egyptians (12.35-36).
In verse 7: The tent of meeting reflects an older tradition of a tent or shrine in which the deity delivers oracles.
Although the tent of meeting probably preceded the tabernacle tradition, the two became associated with each another ((27.19-21).
Moses pitches the tent of meeting far off from the camp rather that at its center in this interim time while God decides what to do with Israel (v. 5).
The tent will eventually be located in the middle of the Israelite camp (Num 2.2).
In verse 14: God's words in Hebrew are literally "My presence will go" (not "with you"), God will go to Canaan but not "with" or "in the midst" of Israel.
In verse 16: Moses asks that God not only go to Canaan (v. 14), but Moses insists that God go with us or "in our midst."
In verse 17, God relents and agrees to Moses' request.
In verse 19: On the divine name Lord, see comment on 3.13.15.
This verse and God's character revealed to Moses in 34.6-7 add new dimensions by accenting God's compassion and mercy.
In 3.13-15, the Lord's name is "I will be who I will be."
Here the name is "I will be gracious to whom I will be."
In verses 20-23: A human could not look directly into the deity's face, for it would cause death (v. 20, see 3.6; Isa 6.5).
However, Moses will see more of God than before; he will see God's back (v. 23).
Comments or Questions...