5 And the LORD descended in the cloud, and stood with him there, and proclaimed the name of the LORD. This was the same cloud that: • Covered Mount Sinai . • Went with Israel by day . • Went to the tent of Moses . • Filled the temple with glory . • Overshadowed Mary at the conception of Jesus . • Was present at the transfiguration of Jesus . • Will be present at the return of Jesus . ______________________________________________ 6 And the LORD passed by before him, and proclaimed, The LORD, The LORD God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, --------- Hermans Notes Proclaimed the name of the LORD: This means that God revealed His character to Moses. The specific aspects of His character are mentioned in this passage, yet this was far more than a lecture on the nature of God.Moses experienced the character of God in a dramatic way ____________________________________________ 7 Keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and that will by no means clear the guilty ; visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the children's children, unto the third and to the fourth generation . -------------- By no means clearing the guilty: If His love and forgiveness are rejected, God will punish, and that punishment will have repercussions through the generations that hate Him (Exodus 20:5). His loving, gracious, and giving character do not "cancel out" His righteousness. Because of the work of Jesus, the righteousness of God is satisfied and the grace and mercy of God are righteously given The Bible says that iniquities can be passed down to the third and fourth generations (Exodus 20:4-6). Sin energy from sexual sins has an effect to the tenth generation (Deuteronomy 23:2). And the blessing of obedience to God is passed down a thousand generations (Deuteronomy 7:9). Praying for the sins of a nation (Daniel 9) ___________________________________________________ 10 And he said, Behold, I make a covenant: before all thy people I will do marvels, such as have not been done in all the earth, nor in any nation: and all the people among which thou art shall see the work of the LORD: for it is a terrible thing that I will do with thee. ----------------- I will do marvels . . . all the people among whom you are shall see the work of the LORD: God's plan was to glorify Himself to all the nations through Israel, and to do this through the great things He did among them. Israel had a choice regarding those great things. Either the great things would be blessings so great that every nation would know that God alone had blessed Israel (as was the case with Solomon). Or, the great things would be curses so great that every nation would know God had chastised Israel and yet kept them a nation (as was the case with the exile). Either way, God would glorify Himself through Israel among the nations. 14 thou shalt worship no other god: for the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God: ------------------------------- qanna To be jealous or zealous. Most often, it is used to describe the character of the Lord. He is a jealous God who will not tolerate the worship of other gods. It can be either good or bad: Phinehas was commended for taking up the Lord's jealousy; but such passion can also be rottenness to the bones. It is used to describe a spirit of jealousy, which comes on a man for his wife. Most often, however, this word describes God's zeal, which will accomplish His purpose; and will be the instrument of His wrath in judgment . This word is always used to describe God's attitude toward the worship of false gods, which arouses His jealousy and anger in judgment against the idol worshipers. So closely is this characteristic associated with God that His name is Jealous. _________________________________________________________ 15 Lest thou make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land, and they go a whoring after their gods, and do sacrifice unto their gods, and one call thee, and thou eat of his sacrifice; ----------------------------- 1 Corinthians 10:18-21 18 Behold Israel after the flesh: are not they which eat of the sacrifices partakers of the altar? 19 What say I then? that the idol is any thing, or that which is offered in sacrifice to idols is any thing? 20 But I say , that the things which the Gentiles sacrifice, they sacrifice to devils, and not to God: and I would not that ye should have fellowship with devils. 21 Ye cannot drink the cup of the Lord, and the cup of devils: ye cannot be partakers of the Lord's table, and of the table of devils. Romans 14:13-23 13 Let us not therefore judge one another any more: but judge this rather, that no man put a stumblingblock or an occasion to fall in his brother's way. 14 I know, and am persuaded by the Lord Jesus, that there is nothing unclean of itself: but to him that esteemeth any thing to be unclean, to him it is unclean. 15 But if thy brother be grieved with thy meat, now walkest thou not charitably. Destroy not him with thy meat, for whom Christ died. 16 Let not then your good be evil spoken of: 17 For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost. 18 For he that in these things serveth Christ is acceptable to God, and approved of men. 19 Let us therefore follow after the things which make for peace, and things wherewith one may edify another. 20 For meat destroy not the work of God. All things indeed are pure; but it is evil for that man who eateth with offence. 21 It is good neither to eat flesh, nor to drink wine, nor any thing whereby thy brother stumbleth, or is offended, or is made weak. 22 Hast thou faith? have it to thyself before God. Happy is he that condemneth not himself in that thing which he alloweth. 23 And he that doubteth is damned if he eat, because he eateth not of faith: for whatsoever is not of faith is sin. 1 Corinthians 8:4-5 1 Now as touching things offered unto idols, we know that we all have knowledge. Knowledge puffeth up, but charity edifieth. 2 And if any man think that he knoweth any thing, he knoweth nothing yet as he ought to know. 3 But if any man love God, the same is known of him. 4 As concerning therefore the eating of those things that are offered in sacrifice unto idols, we know that an idol is nothing in the world, and that there is none other God but one. 5 For though there be that are called gods, whether in heaven or in earth, (as there be gods many, and lords many,) 6 But to us there is but one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we in him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we by him. 7 Howbeit there is not in every man that knowledge: for some with conscience of the idol unto this hour eat it as a thing offered unto an idol; and their conscience being weak is defiled. 8 But meat commendeth us not to God: for neither, if we eat, are we the better; neither, if we eat not, are we the worse. 9 But take heed lest by any means this liberty of yours become a stumblingblock to them that are weak. 10 For if any man see thee which hast knowledge sit at meat in the idol's temple, shall not the conscience of him which is weak be emboldened to eat those things which are offered to idols; 11 And through thy knowledge shall the weak brother perish, for whom Christ died? 12 But when ye sin so against the brethren, and wound their weak conscience, ye sin against Christ. 13 Wherefore, if meat make my brother to offend, I will eat no flesh while the world standeth, lest I make my brother to offend. Romans 10:2-3 2 For I bear them record that they have a zeal of God, but not according to knowledge. 3 For they being ignorant of God's righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God ________________________________________________________ 24 For I will cast out the nations before thee, and enlarge thy borders: neither shall any man desire thy land, when thou shalt go up to appear before the LORD thy God thrice in the year. --------------------------------- Three times in the year all your men shall appear before the Lord: God commanded that at three feasts each year (Passover, Pentecost, and the Feast of Tabernacles), each Israelite man should gather before the LORD. He even promised a supernatural protection for an obedient Israel (neither will any man covet your land when you go up to appear before the LORD your God three times in the year). ________________________________________________________ 26 The first of the firstfruits of thy land thou shalt bring unto the house of the LORD thy God. Thou shalt not seethe a kid in his mother's milk. __________________________________________________________ 27 And the LORD said unto Moses, Write thou these words: for after the tenor of these words I have made a covenant with thee and with Israel. --------------------------------------------- And the LORD said unto Moses, Write thou these words: Here we are told that Moses wrote the ten commandments the second time they were written. ___________________________________________________________ 28 And he was there with the LORD forty days and forty nights; he did neither eat bread, nor drink water. And he wrote upon the tables the words of the covenant, the ten commandments. ----------------------------------------- So he was there with the LORD forty days and forty nights; he neither ate bread nor drank water: This was a completely unique and supernatural fast. It is definitely possible for someone to live without food for 40 days, but by any account it is a miracle to go without water for this long. This kind of fasting is never repeated or recommended in the Scriptures. In contrast the first writing was by God. Also in Exodus 34:1 God said he would write the second copy of the ten commandments. Yet, Moses actually wrote it. Exodus 31:18 And he gave unto Moses, when he had made an end of communing with him upon mount Sinai, two tables of testimony, tables of stone, written with the finger of God. Exodus 34:1 And the LORD said unto Moses, Hew thee two tables of stone like unto the first: and I will write upon these tables the words that were in the first tables, which thou brakest. I will write on these tablets the words that were on the first tablets which you broke: _____________________________________________________________ 35 And the children of Israel saw the face of Moses, that the skin of Moses' face shone: and Moses put the veil upon his face again, until he went in to speak with him. ----------------------------- He put a veil on his face: We could easily jump to the assumption that Moses wore the veil so the people would no longer be afraid to come near him. It is easy to think that the veil was to protect them from seeing the shining face of Moses. But Paul explained the real purpose of the veil: not to hide the shining face of Moses, but so that the diminishing glory of his face would not be observed, - because the glory was fading. Moses, who put a veil over his face, so that the children of Israel could not look steadily at the end of what was passing away (2 Corinthians 3:13). The Old Covenant had a glory, but it was a fading glory. God didn't want people to see the fading glory of the Old Covenant, and lose confidence in Moses. The Old Covenant was great and glorious - but it looks pretty pale in comparison to the New Covenant. A bright autumn moon may look beautiful and give great light, but it is nothing to the noon-day sun.