Moses breaketh the tables.

Before CHRIST 1491.

+ Heb. weakness.

1 Deut. 9. 21.

17 And when Joshua heard the noise of the people as they shouted, he said unto Moses, There is the noise of war in the camp.

18 And he said, It is not the voice of them that shout for mastery, neither is it the voice of them that cry for + being overcome: but the noise of them that sing do I hear.

19 And it came to pass, as soon as he came nigh unto the camp, that he saw the calf, and the dancing: and Moses' anger waxed hot, and he cast the tables out of his hands, and brake them beneath the mount.

1

20 And he took the calf which they had made, and burnt it in the fire, and ground it to powder, and strawed it upon the water, and made the children of Israel drink of it.

21 And Moses said unto Aaron, What did this people unto thee, that thou hast brought so great a sin upon them?

22 And Aaron said, Let not the anger of my lord wax hot: thou knowest the people, that they are set on mischief.

23 For they said unto me, Make us gods, which shall go before us: for as for this Moses, the man that brought us up out of the land of

to be folded up, and shut like a book, when they were laid in the ark. Bp. Patrick.

19.-he cast the tables &c.] He did this, not till he came nigh the camp, so that the people might see with what indignation their wickedness filled him. We never find that he is blamed for breaking the tables: whence it is concluded, that he did it, either by Divine impulse and instruction, or from a proper and virtuous feeling. Bp. Patrick.

20.-ground it to powder,] Probably by means of a file, or by having it beaten out into thin plates. Stackhouse. For Moses, single and alone, to take their golden calf, and destroy it before their faces, was an example of a noble and undaunted resolution, which ought to animate the acts of all persons in authority, especially in the cause of God. Wogan.

-made the children of Israel drink of it.] He did not constrain them; but as they had no other water, they could not avoid, when they were thirsty, to drink from the brook with this mixture. Bp. Patrick.

The dust is cast into the water, which they had received not long before out of the rock in that dry and barren place; thereby to upbraid their unthankfulness, which in the same place, where they had received so great a benefit, forgat God, and fell away from Him.

Willet.

24. — then I cast it into the fire, and there came out this calf.] It seems to be the design of Aaron to plead, that he was not actually the maker of the image; but that other persons were the founders of it. He repre

24 And I said unto them, Whosoever hath any gold, let them break it off. So they gave it me: then I cast it into the fire, and there came out this calf.

25 And when Moses saw that the people were naked; (for Aaron had made them naked unto their shame among their enemies :)

Before CHRIST 1491.

+ Heb. those that rose up

26 Then Moses stood in the gate against them. of the camp, and said, Who is on the LORD's side? let him come unto me. And all the sons of Levi gathered themselves together unto him.

27 And he said unto them, Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, Put every man his sword by his side, and go in and out from gate to gate throughout the camp, and slay every man his brother, and every man his companion, and every man his neighbour.

28 And the children of Levi did according to the word of Moses: and there fell of the people that day And Moses about three thousand men.

|| Or,

said, Consecrate your

to the LORD,

29 || For Moses had said † Conse- selves to day t crate yourselves to day to the LORD, because every even every man upon his son, and man ha upon his brother; that he may bestow upon you a blessing this day.

been against

his son, and

against his brother, &c.

Heb. Fill

your hands.

30 ¶ And it came to pass on the sents, that they required him to make them a god; that hereupon he asked them for materials; that they brought him their gold; "then," says he, "I cast it into the fire;" I delivered it out of my hands to the use it was designed for, into the furnace in which it was to be melted; "and there came out this calf:" that is, I was no further concerned in what was done; the next thing I saw was the calf. What was done further, was done by others, not by me: the workmen made the calf, and brought it to me. Shuckford.

25.-that the people were naked; &c.] Or deprived of the Divine protection: Aaron having laid them open by this sin to the scorn of all their enemies, who should hear of such a shameful revolt from their God. Bp. Patrick. After the unhallowed sacrifice they had risen up to wanton play, singing, and dancing, according to the obscene Egyptian rites, by which Aaron "made them naked to their shame." Dr. Hales. Perhaps also the verse is intended to express, 1. That the people were upon no guard; in no posture of defence; under no direction or command of their proper officers; but were scattered up and down the plain at their games, as their fancy led them; and so were in no formed body, to be able to make head against an enemy. And, 2. That they were free of their armour, or unarmed, "naked" in this sense; not clothed to defend themselves against any violence that might be offered to them. This was the condition, in which Moses found them exposed "to their shame," or in a "shameful" manner amongst their enemies." Shuckford.

66

Moses prayeth for the people.

Before

1491.

CHRIST morrow, that Moses said unto the people, Ye have sinned a great sin: and now I will go up unto the LORD; peradventure I shall make an atonement for your sin.

31 And Moses returned unto the LORD, and said, Oh, this people have sinned a great sin, and have made them gods of gold.

32 Yet now, if thou wilt forgive their sin―; and if not, blot me, I pray thee, out of thy book which thou hast written.

33 And the LORD said unto Moses, Whosoever hath sinned against me, him will I blot out of my book.

34 Therefore now go, lead the people unto the place of which I have spoken unto thee: behold, mine Angel shall go before thee: nevertheless in the day when I visit I will visit their sin upon them.

35 And the LORD plagued the people, because they made the calf, which Aaron made.

b Deut. 7. 22.

3

2 b And I will send an angel before Josh. 24. 11. thee; and I will drive out the Ca

32.-blot me, I pray thee, out of thy book] The expression of "blotting out of the book of life" is of the same import with those phrases so frequently used in the Old Testament, of "blotting out from the face of the earth,” and “blotting out one's name from under heaven:" and the desire of Moses signifies, that he was willing to submit to a temporal death, that his nation might be saved from a temporal ruin. Abp. Tillotson.

So in Numb. xi. 15. it is, "Kill me, I pray thee, out of hand." The expression is an allusion to the custom of registering the people, as in Numbers, chap. i. and as more at large in Ezra and Nehemiah afterwards ; and blotting out every one's name as fast as they died. Pyle. God hath no need of a book to register and record any of His purposes: but the Scripture uses the language of men, according to the practice of the Jews, who, to this day, retain the same form of speech. Bp. Patrick.

This was the highest possible expression of Moses's

The tabernacle is removed.

naanite, the Amorite, and the Hittite, and the Perizzite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite:

Before CHRIST 1491.

3 Unto a land flowing with milk and honey for I will not go up in the midst of thee; for thou art a stiffnecked people: lest I consume c Chap. 32. 9. thee in the way.

4 And when the people heard these evil tidings, they mourned: and no man did put on him his ornaments.

5 For the LORD had said unto Moses, Say unto the children of Israel, Ye are a stiffnecked people: I will come up into the midst of thee in a moment, and consume thee: therefore now put off thy ornaments from thee, that I may know what to do unto thee.

6 And the children of Israel stripped themselves of their ornaments by the mount Horeb.

7 And Moses took the tabernacle, and pitched it without the camp, afar off from the camp, and called it the Tabernacle of the congregation. And it came to pass, that every one which sought the LORD went out unto the tabernacle of the congregation, which was without the camp.

8 And it came to pass, when Moses went out unto the tabernacle, that all the people rose up, and stood every

Moses, until he was gone into the tabernacle.

9 And it came to pass, as Moses entered into the tabernacle, the cloudy pillar descended, and stood at the door of the tabernacle, and the LORD talked with Moses.

10 And all the people saw the

Deut. 9. 13.

great zeal for the glory of God, and of his fear lest any thing should be done, which might reflect upon God's power and goodness. Bp. Beveridge.

11 And the LORD spake unto Moses face to face, as a man speaketh unto his friend. And he turned again into the camp: but his servant Joshua, the son of Nun, a young man, departed not out of the tabernacle.

12 And Moses said unto the LORD, See, thou sayest unto me, Bring up this people: and thou hast not let me know whom thou wilt send with me. Yet thou hast said, I know thee by name, and thou hast also found grace in my sight.

13 Now therefore, I pray thee, if I have found grace in thy sight, shew me now thy way, that I may know thee, that I may find grace in thy sight: and consider that this nation is thy people.

14 And he said, My presence shall go with thee, and I will give thee

rest.

15 And he said unto him, If thy presence go not with me, carry us not up hence.

16 For wherein shall it be known here that I and thy people have found grace in thy sight? is it not in that

11.-face to face, as a man &c.] That is, the glory of the Lord appeared visibly before the face of Moses, but not in a dreadful and alarming manner, as when He spake to all the people out of the midst of the fire, Deut. v. 4; but with such a mild and comfortable | light, as encouraged and cheered him. Bp. Patrick. Speaking by audible voices to him, as one friend imparts his counsel to another. Bp. Hall. This expression merely signifies the clear and familiar manner, in which God was pleased to communicate His will to Moses. Dr. Leland. He spake plainly and familiarly; not in visions, and dreams, and dark speeches. This was a peculiar privilege of Moses, Numb. xii. 6, 8; Deut. xxxiv. 10. Bp. Kidder.

— a young man,] He was at this time near sixty years old; but the Hebrews called all men young till they began to decline. Bp. Patrick.

12.-I know thee by name,] To know any one by his name expresses a distinction, a friendship, a particular familiarity. The kings of the East had little communication with their subjects, and hardly ever appeared in publick. So that when they knew their servants by name, vouchsafed to speak to them, to call them, and to admit them into their presence, it was a great mark of favour. Calmet. See the note on Jer. i. 5. 13. — shew me now thy way,] Thy gracious and merciful administration. Bp. Kidder. The way, which Thou hast appointed, whereby men may come to a right knowledge of Thee. Bp. Beveridge.

that I may know thee,] That I may be assured of Thy gracious acceptance. Bp. Patrick.

18.-shew me thy glory.] Thy glorious presence,

the glory of God.

thou goest with us? so shall we be separated, I and thy people, from all the people that are upon the face of the earth.

17 And the LORD said unto Moses, I will do this thing also that thou hast spoken: for thou hast found grace in my sight, and I know thee by name. 18 And he said, I beseech thee, shew me thy glory.

Before CHRIST 1491.

19 And he said, I will make all my goodness pass before thee, and I will proclaim the name of the LORD before thee; and will be gracious d Rom. 9.15. to whom I will be gracious, and will shew mercy on whom I will shew.

mercy.

d

20 And he said, Thou canst not see my face: for there shall no man see me, and live.

21 And the LORD said, Behold, there is a place by me, and thou shalt stand upon a rock:

22 And it shall come to pass, while my glory passeth by, that I will put thee in a clift of the rock, and will cover thee with my hand while I pass by:

23 And I will take away mine hand, and thou shalt see my back parts: but my face shall not be seen.

not vailed in a cloud; but in its full majesty and splendour. Bp. Patrick.

That which Moses begs, is a more plain and familiar knowledge of the Divine Nature and Essence, or such a “ seeing of God,” ver. 20, as this mortal state will not admit of. Bp. Kidder.

66

19.—I will make all my goodness pass &c.] When Moses desires, that God would shew him His glory, he is answered, that God will cause “ His goodness to pass before him ;" and will "proclaim His name,' or His glorious attributes before him; hereby intimating, that to know God in His glorious attributes or moral perfections was of much greater importance, than to be admitted to the immediate sight of that outward Divine Glory, even though he had been able to behold it in all its unutterable splendour. Dr. Leland.

and will be gracious &c.] I will always dispense My favours, according to My own pleasure, as I now vouchsafe this favour to thee. Bp. Patrick. 22.— will cover thee with my hand] I will cast a cloud about thee, that thou mayest not be struck dead by the inconceivable brightness of the rays, which come from the Divine Majesty. Bp. Patrick.

23.-I will take away mine hand, &c.] When the full splendour of My Majesty is passed, I will remove that cloud which covered thee; and thou shalt see the skirts and hinder portion, or have a shaded and imperfect view, of the symbol of My presence; but thou shalt not see My glory in its fullest lustre. Bp. Patrick. It is manifest, that these passages cannot possibly be designed to signify, that God is of a bodily form, or that His Essence can be seen with the bodily eye.

The tables are renewed.

Before CHRIST

1491.

a Deut. 10. 1.

b Chap. 19. 12.

CHAP. XXXIV.

AND the LORD said unto Moses, ND the LORD said unto Moses, a 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. 2 And be ready in the morning, and come up in the morning unto mount Sinai, and present thyself there to me in the top of the mount. 3 And no man shall come up with thee, neither let any man be seen throughout all the mount; neither let the flocks nor herds feed before that mount.

b

4 And he hewed two tables of stone like unto the first; and Moses rose up early in the morning, and went up unto mount Sinai, as the LORD had commanded him, and took in his hand the two tables of stone.

:

When Moses desired to see "the glory of God," the natural and most literal sense is, that he desired, as a token of the extraordinary favour, with which God was pleased to honour him, that He would vouchsafe to admit him to a full and immediate view of that Divine brightness and splendour of Majesty, without the cloud or darkness which usually vailed it and when God let him know, that he could not "see His face and live;" and that "His face should not be seen;" this is designed to signify, that He would grant him such a view of that glory, as he was able to bear, but not in its full lustre and majesty, which would have overpowered his frail nature. The bright side of the glorious light, where it shone with its full unvailed lustre, is called the fore part, or 66 face:" and the dark side, where there was a lower degree of brightness, is called its "back part." There is no danger that any one, who reads the Scriptures, should think that the Divine Essence consists of any bodily form or parts; since He is described as "filling the heaven of heavens," 1 Kings viii. 27; as "a spirit," John iv. 24, "whom no man hath seen, nor can see," 1 Tim. vi. 16, &c. Dr. Leland.

Chap. XXXIV. ver. 1. Hew thee two tables &c.] By this renewal of the Law, God shewed that He was reconciled to Israel. As the Israelites had been wilfully blind, had they not seen God's anger in the tables broken; so could they not but esteem it a good sign of grace that God gave them His testimonies. There was nothing, wherein Israel surpassed all the rest of the world more than in this privilege; the pledge of His covenant, the Law, written with God's own hand. What a favour then is it, where God bestows His Gospel upon any nation! That was but " a killing letter," 2 Cor. iii. 6: this is the power of God unto salvation," Rom. i. 16. Bp. Hall.

The name of the Lord proclaimed.

5 And the LORD descended in the cloud, and stood with him there, and proclaimed the name of the LORD.

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,

C

Before CHRIST 1491.

7 Keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and that will by no means clear the guilty; visiting the iniquity e Chap. 20. 5. of the fathers upon the children, and Jer. 32. 18. upon the children's children, unto the third and to the fourth generation.

8 And Moses made haste, and bowed his head toward the earth, and worshipped.

9 And he said, If now I have found grace in thy sight, O LORD, let my Lord, I pray thee, go among us; for it is a stiffnecked people; and pardon our iniquity and our sin, and take us for thine inheritance.

Deut. 5. 9.

10 ¶ And he said, Behold, I make d Deut. 5. 2. 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

5.-proclaimed the name of the Lord.] Here "the name of the Lord" signifies those adorable perfections or attributes, which are, as it were, the proper denomination and character of the Divine Nature. Dr. S. Clarke.

7.—that will by no means clear the guilty:] Without repentance. Dr. Wells. The words have been translated also, " In extirpating He will not extirpate:" and so they still belong to the lovingkindness of God, as all the foregoing do; signifying, that when He doth punish, He will not utterly destroy and make desolate. Bp. Patrick. See the notes on Numb. xiv. 18, and Jer. xxx. 11.

Although there be several other names and properties of God, commonly attributed to Him in His Holy Word, yet they are all included in one or other of those here given. This great essential name, JEHOVAH, The LORD, used singly, signifies what He is in Himself, without respect to His creatures: where it is used with the word GOD, it seems to denote all those perfections, which He manifests in the creation and government of the world. And so the LORD God is the same, as if He had said, The Lord, the Almighty, All-wise, Allgood Creator, Preserver, and Governour of all things: this He speaks of Himself, with reference to the whole creation. But the rest of the properties here mentioned, as His mercy, His grace, His longsuffering, His abundance in goodness or bounty, and truth. His keeping mercy for thousands, His forgiving iniquities, transgression, and sin, &c. have all respect to mankind in a particular manner. And by the last, namely, His “ forgiving," or, as the word signifies, His taking away iniquity, transgression, and sin," He intimates His special love to them, in sending His Son, "the Lamb of God, that taketh away the sin of the world." Bp. Beveridge.

66

h Chap. 23.

15.

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;

16 And thou take of their daughters unto thy sons, and their daughters go a whoring after their gods, and make thy sons go a whoring after their gods.

with the Israelites.

Before CHRIST 1491.

thou redeem him not, then shalt thou break his neck. All the firstborn of thy sons thou shalt redeem. And none shall appear before me empty. 1Chap. 23. 15. 21 Six days thou shalt work, m Chap. 23. but on the seventh day thou shalt Deut. 5. 12. rest: in earing time and in harvest Luke 13. 14. thou shalt rest.

m

12.

16.

22¶And thou shalt observe the n Chap. 23. feast of weeks, of the firstfruits of wheat harvest, and the feast of ingathering at the † year's end.

23 ¶Thrice in the year shall all your men children appear before the LORD God, the God of Israel.

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.

+ Heb. revolution of

the year. 14, 17.

o Chap. 23.

Deut. 16. 16.

18.

25 P Thou shalt not offer the blood p Chap. 23. of my sacrifice with leaven; neither shall the sacrifice of the feast of the passover be left unto the morning.

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 q Chap. 23.

|| Or, kid.

20 But the firstling of an ass thou shalt redeem with a lamb: and if

go a whoring after their gods.] The Scriptures frequently speak of idolatrous worship as uncleanness: partly, in compliance with the Jewish idiom, which calls any thing, that is detestable, filthy and unclean; the persons of that people being rendered unholy by corporal pollutions: partly, by reason of the very unchaste actions and rites, by which many of the heathen idols were served: but especially, because it was an alienation of the hearts and bodies of the Jews from the God of Israel, who had, as it were, chosen that Church as His spouse on earth. Abp. Tenison.

21. Six days thou shalt work, but on the seventh &c.] If labour of any sort could be ordinarily permitted on this day, it must be that of cultivating the earth, and gathering in the fruits of it: the proper seasons for which, especially for the latter, may otherwise be lost. And accordingly allowances of this kind have been formerly granted by law. But they have been found so little needful, and so liable to abuse, that these laws have

19.

Deut. 14. 21.

Deut. 9. 9.

27 And the LORD said unto Moses, Write thou these words: for after r Deut. 4. 13. the tenor of these words I have made a covenant with thee and with Israel. 28 And he was there with the Chap. 24. 18. 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.

29¶ And it came to pass, when Moses came down from mount Sinai with the two tables of testimony in

been repealed, and that of Moses resumed: "Six days thou shalt work, but on the seventh, in earing," that is, in ploughing "time and in harvest, thou shalt rest." Never, I believe, hath any general scarcity, seldom, if ever, hath any great distress in any particular place happened, merely by observing this rule. But were the breach of it indulged, whenever the persons concerned should think it necessary, many of them would plead the necessity every year, and in a little while throughout the year: so their servants and cattle would be kept to incessant toil; and just that part of the world, which most needs instructing and civilizing, that is, the lowest, would have by far the least opportunity for it. Abp. Secker. - neither shall any man desire thy land, &c.] He tells them, that there shall be no danger of their country being invaded by their enemies, when their males are gone to worship God. Bp. Patrick. See the note on Deut. xvi. 16.

24.

29.- the two tables of testimony] The Ten Com