Morning Repost: Exodus 34: Moses Prepares To See the Glory of the Father
1 And Yahweh said to Moses, “Cut two tablets of stone like the first ones, and I will write on these tablets the words that were on the first tablets which you broke. 2 So be ready in the morning, and come up in the morning to Mount Sinai, and present yourself to Me there on the top of the mountain. 3 And no man shall come up with you, and let no man be seen throughout all the mountain; let neither flocks nor herds feed before that mountain.”
This is the preparation for renewal of the Covenant with Israel— the revelation of Yahweh’s glory, as Moses recently sought for this people. "The stringency of the new orders must be connected with the promised revelation to Moses of God’s glory...” (Ellicott's Commentary)
Cut two tablets of stone like the first ones, and I will write on these tablets the words that were on the first tablets which you broke… "Moses broke the first set of stone tablets, the ones written with the finger of God (Exodus 32:19). He broke the tablets because Israel broke the covenant.” (Guzik)
"In Exodus 32:16; we are told that the two first tables were the work of God, and the writing was the writing of God; but here Moses is commanded to provide tables of his own workmanship, and God promises to write on them the words which were on the first.” (Clarke) Man must prepare the tablets of his heart for God's Commandments before His mercy can be revealed.
"God's renewal of the covenant with Israel was, certainly, upon exactly the same basis as that of the first giving of it. God said, 'I will write upon the tables the same words which were on the first tables, which thou brakest.’” (Coffman Commentary)
And again: "When God was reconciled to them, he ordered the tables to be renewed, and wrote his law in them, which plainly intimates to us, that even under the gospel (of which the intercession of Moses was typical) the moral law should continue to oblige believers. Though Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, yet not from the command of it, but still we are under the law to Christ. When our Saviour in his sermon on the mount expounded the moral law, and vindicated it from the corrupt glosses with which the scribes and Pharisees had broken it, he did in effect renew the tables, and make them like the first...” (Wesley Notes) But here we learn that it is God Himself who will write them on the tablets.
Write them on my heart, my God and Redeemer!
Come up in the morning watch... And no man shall come up with you... "These stringent commands were new. On the previous occasion, Aaron, Hur, and the elders had ascended the mount part of the way (Exodus 24:9-11); and Joshua had accompanied his master almost to the summit (Exodus 24:13), and had apparently remained in some part of the mountain during the whole time of Moses’ stay (Exodus 32:17). Now Moses was to be quite alone, and no one was to be seen in any part of the mount.” (Ellicott)
And let no man be seen throughout all the mountain; let neither flocks nor herds feed before that mountain... "When God first spoke the Ten Commandments to Israel at Mount Sinai, He commanded that they not come near the mountain (Exodus 19:12-13). At this second giving of the commandments they were also to stay away, all except Moses.” (Guzik)
"Moses comes alone to God, and leaves the flock [of Israel]. Jacob ferrieth over all belonging to him on the other side of the river, before he wrestleth with God. Abraham leaveth the servant and asses at the foot of the hill, &c. Men must lay aside all, and prepare, before they draw nigh to God in holy duties...” (Trapp Commentary), ithrough prayer.
4 So he cut two tablets of stone like the first ones. Then Moses rose early in the morning and went up Mount Sinai, as Yahweh had commanded him; and he took in his hand the two tablets of stone.
Exodus 34: The Father Reveals His Glory to Moses
5 Now Yahweh descended in the cloud and stood with him there, and proclaimed the name of Yahweh.
The moral code of the Ten Commandments was established as the basis of the Old Covenant, as well the New Covenant promised by God through the prophet Jeremiah, wherein these same Words will be written in our hearts. See Jeremiah 31:31-34; and Hebrews 8:7-13. Yahweh stood with him there, "to wit, in the mount, Exodus 34:2,4, and the clift of a rock, Exodus 33:22, which was in the mount, and near the top of it, as appears by comparing these places together.” (Poole) And Moses saw His back side (Exodus 33:23). And Yahweh proclaimed the name of Yahweh. “that is, showed Moses fully what was implied in this august name.” (Clarke Commentary)
6 And Yahweh passed before him and proclaimed, “Yahweh, Yahweh God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abounding in goodness and truth, 7 keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, by no means clearing the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children and the children’s children to the third and the fourth generation.”
“These glorious titles and attributes are those back parts of God. [Exodus 33:23] None can see more than these and live: and we need see no more than these that we may live.” (Trapp) “Those attributes... were displayed in their most glorious light in the redemption of the world by the death of JESUS CHRIST..." (Thomas Coke Commentary)
"At the bush He had revealed His eternal, self-existent character; in the descent on Sinai (Exodus 19:16-19; Exodus 20:18-21) He had shown His terribleness; now, in the act of pardoning His people and taking them once more into favour, He made known His attribute of mercy. The more to impress this feature of His character on Israel, He accumulated epithet on epithet, calling Himself Rakhum, 'the tender or pitiful one;’ Khannun, 'the kind or gracious one,' who bestows His benefits out of mere favour; Erek appayim, 'the long-suffering one;’ Rab khesed, 'the great in mercy;' Notser khesed, 'the keeper of mercy;' and Nose ’avon, 'the forgiver of iniquity.’
STILL, to prevent the fatal misapprehension that He is a Being of pure and mero benevolence (Butler, Analogy, Part I., Exodus 2, p. 41). He added, to complete the description, a reference to His justice. He 'will by no means clear the guilty' (cf. Nahum 1:3), and will 'visit iniquity to the third and fourth generation.’ (cf. Exodus 20:5.)” (Ellicott’s Commentary)
8 So Moses made haste and bowed his head toward the earth, and worshiped. 9 Then he said, “If now I have found grace in Your sight, O Lord, let my Lord, I pray, go among us, even though we are a stiff-necked people; and pardon our iniquity and our sin, and take us as Your inheritance.”
"Moses' response to God's gracious revelation was submission and worship..." (Expository Notes of Dr. Thomas Constable) directed at the Redeemer God of Israel. God's glory-- "When we see the goodness of God for what it is," we cannot help but worship Him... "and we should not hesitate to ask that it be extended to us. If we know God is good, we should ask Him to be good to us. If we know He is forgiving, we should ask Him to forgive us. The knowledge of God is therefore not a passive exercise. When we know Him it leads us to receive from Him.” (Guzik)
"O Lord, let my Lord, I pray," (v. 9) "The original is not יהוה Jehovah, but אדני Adonai in both these places, and seems to refer particularly to the Angel of the Covenant, the Messiah. See Clarke on Genesis 15:8." (Clarke)… "go among us, even though we are a stiff-necked people; and pardon our iniquity and our sin, and take us as Your inheritance.”
Exodus 34: The Covenant Renewed
10 And He said: “Behold, I make a covenant. Before all your people I will do marvels such as have not been done in all the earth, nor in any nation; and all the people among whom you are shall see the work of Yahweh. For it is an awesome thing that I will do with you. 11 Observe what I command you this day. Behold, I am driving out from before you the Amorite and the Canaanite and the Hittite and the Perizzite and the Hivite and the Jebusite. 12 Take heed to yourself, lest you make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land where you are going, lest it be a snare in your midst. 13 But you shall destroy their altars, break their sacred pillars, and cut down their wooden images 14 (for you shall worship no other god, for Yahweh, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God), 15 lest you make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land, and they play the harlot with their gods and make sacrifice to their gods, and one of them invites you and you eat of his sacrifice, 16 and you take of his daughters for your sons, and his daughters play the harlot with their gods and make your sons play the harlot with their gods. 17 You shall make no molded gods for yourselves.”
Behold I make a covenant… "When the covenant was broken, it was Israel that broke it; now it comes to be renewed, it is God that makes it; if there be quarrels, we must bear all the blame; if there be peace, God must have all the glory.” (Benson) "'I lay down afresh the terms of the covenant between me and Israel.’ ON MY PART, I will go with them..., and do miracles for them, and drive out the nations before them ...” (Pulpit Commentary)
Before all your people I will do marvels such as have not been done in all the earth...and all the people among whom you are shall see the work of Yahweh… "As the drying up of the Jordan (Joshua 3:16, 17); the falling down of the walls of Jericho (Joshua 6:20), the slaughter of the army of the five kings by hailstones (Joshua 10:11), and the like. It is a terrible thing that I will do with thee. Terrible, not to Israel, but to Israel's enemies. Compare Deuteronomy 10:21; Psalm 106:22; Psalm 145:6, etc.” (Pulpit Commentary)
Behold, I am driving out of the Amorite, the Canaanite, the Hittite, the Perizzite, the Hivite and the Jebusite. "The same six nations are particularised in Exodus 3:8; Exodus 3:17, in Exodus 23:23, and also in Exodus 33:2. In Deuteronomy 7:1, and Joshua 3:10; Joshua 24:11, the Girgashites are added, and the number of the nations made seven.” (Ellicott)- perhaps, signifying the complete removal of idolators in Heaven.
"ON THEIR PART, they must 'observe that which I command them' (ver. 11)...” (Pulpit Commentary), including the Ten Commandments as well as these instructions to guard against the sin of idolatry.
Make no covenants with the inhabitants… "If God, in kindness to them, drove out the Canaanites, they ought, in duty to God, not to harbour them: If they espoused their children, they would be in danger of espousing their gods." (Benson) BUT you shall destroy their altars, break their sacred pillars, and cut down their wooden images... "This command is more sweeping than the corresponding one in the 'Book of the Covenant' (Exodus 23:24), which expressly mentions only the ‘images.' Here the destruction of idol-altars and idol-groves is further commanded… Groves are here for the first time mentioned. They appear to have been artificial constructions, either of wood or metal, or both, more or less imitative of trees, and regarded as emblems of the Oriental nature-deities, especially Baal and Astarte or Ashtoreth. The word translated ‘grove' (asherah) is a modification of the name Ashtoreth…” (Pulpit Commentary)
For you shall worship no other god, for Yahweh, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God… "who hath made himself known by, and glories in that name, The jealous God, who cannot endure any competitor or corival; whereas the false and puny gods of the heathens were contented with multitudes of partners. So this is properly said to be the name of God, whereby he is known and distinguished from all other gods.” (Poole)
Lest you make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land, and they play the harlot with their gods… "The unfaithfulness of the nation to its covenant with Yahweh is here for the first time spoken of as a breach of the marriage bond. The metaphor is, in any case, a natural one, but it seems to gain point, if we suppose it to convey an allusion to the abominations connected with pagan worship, such as are spoken of in Numbers 25:1-3.” (Barnes)
You shall make no molded gods for yourselves. "Thou shalt not worship the true God by images.” (Benson Commentary)
"It is just possible that the Israelites when they worshipped the golden calf may have conceived that they were not breaking the second commandment, which forbade the adoration of any 'graven image.' An express law was therefore made against 'molten images.’” (Ellicott)
In Paul's day, he "stood in the midst of the Areopagus and said, 'Men of Athens, I perceive that in all things you are very religious; for as I was passing through and considering the objects of your worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: TO THE UNKNOWN GOD. Therefore, the One whom you worship without knowing, Him I proclaim to you." (Acts 17:22-23)
Morning Repost: Exodus 34: The Feast of Unleavened Bread
18 “The Feast of Unleavened Bread you shall keep. Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread, as I commanded you, in the appointed time of the month of Abib; for in the month of Abib you came out from Egypt.
God "repeateth divers laws. It was a token of reconciliation to the people after their apostasy, in that he treats with them again, after their repentance, about his solemn worships. So, for a testimony of his reconciliation to Peter after his foul fall, he sets him to work in the ministry. [John 21:15] So he commendeth his spouse afresh, after her drowsy decays, every whir as amiable as she was before her fall. [Song of Solomon 6:5; 5:10-16]" (Trapp)
Speaking of the Paschal lamb, Yahweh said: "And thus you shall eat it: with a belt on your waist, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand. So you shall eat it in haste. It is the Lord’s Passover.” (Exodus 12:11) But it is not mentioned here, rather it is taken for granted.
Concerning the UNLEAVENED BREAD,
there was no time to allow the bread for the journey to rise. They had to eat the Passover in haste… and take the BREAD with them. As a memorial to the Exodus from Egypt, the annual feast of Unleavened bread "spoke of the purity God desired among Israel before Him, when all leaven - a symbol of sin - was put away and Israel walked in a symbolic purity."(Guzik)
As it was for the children of Israel, so it was for the disciples of Messiah… and thus it is for us: "Once someone has come under the blood of Christ, having been forgiven of past sins, he has the opportunity for a new start. The very process of coming out of sin is what true Christians must do once their slate has been wiped clean. Even before coming under the sacrifice of Christ, there has to be an acknowledgement and regret of having sinned as a way of life. The process of coming out of sin is not instantaneous—it requires many years of overcoming and character building. This second step of God’s plan is pictured by the Days of Unleavened Bread, which typify putting sin out of our lives."(The Restored Church of God- rcg.org)
Keep the Passover-- "Your glorying is not good. Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump? Therefore purge out the old leaven, that you may be a new lump, since you truly are unleavened. For indeed Christ, our Passover, was sacrificed for us. Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, nor with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth." (1Cor 5:6-8)
Leaven causes bread to puff up. Jesus warned would-be disciples to "Take heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the Sadducees." They thought He was talking about bread, but they finally understood that He was talking the doctrine of the Pharisees and Sadducees. (Matt 16:12) THUS, bad doctrine tends to puff us up, making us think that we can be saved by our own efforts. Perhaps the old leaven that must be purged out is our own ideas about God— perhaps a work-based (fig leaf) theology, but the new lump is based on faith in the God of Scriptures. Each chair at many modern Seders has a pillow where the children of Israel recline comfortably at the table. It points to a time when they would no longer slaves/ servants, but rather free - sons of God. Concerning the last cup of wine, signifying the blood of Christ – the Cup of Redemption, Jesus notifies believers, "But I say to you, I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it new with you in My Father's kingdom. (Matt 26:28-29)
Morning Repost After Reflections on Walk:
Exodus 34: The Torah of the Firstborn
19 The first offspring of every womb belongs to me, including all the firstborn males of your livestock, whether from herd or flock. 20 Redeem the firstborn donkey with a lamb, but if you do not redeem it, break its neck. Redeem all your firstborn sons. No one is to appear before me empty-handed.
In light of the recent apostasy, this text has added meaning. Though others may not understand it, I have forgiven you. I, before, ordered your sanctification (Exodus 13:2) and I stand by it. Indeed you are "set apart” for service to Me. “The foundation of this duty rested on the fact that the Israelites, having had their first-born preserved by a distinguishing act of grace from the general destruction that overtook the families of the Egyptians, were bound in token of gratitude to consider them as the Lord's peculiar property (cf. Heb 12:23).” (Jamieson-Fausset-Brown)
"But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, to an innumerable company of angels, to the general assembly and church of the firstborn who areregistered in heaven, to God the Judge of all, to the spirits of just men made perfect.." (Hebrews 12:22-23)
Redeem the firstborn donkey with a lamb…
"The ass, not less than the ox and sheep, was a common domestic animal (Exodus 20:17; 22:9-10, &c.): but it was regarded as ‘unclean’..., and could not consequently be either eaten, or offered in sacrifice (Leviticus 1:2; Leviticus 22:19). Nevertheless its firstling was claimed by Jehovah, and could only be retained for its owner’s use by being redeemed with a lamb.” (Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges)
“And the same is to be understood of all unclean beasts in general, see Numbers 18:15. The ass seems to be particularly mentioned, because those animals were more numerous among them than other beasts of burden. If a man had not a lamb, he was to give the price of one. This lamb was to be given to the Lord; that is, to his priest.” (Benson)
"For you were bought at a price;” (1 Corinthians 6:20a) The first offspring of every womb belongs to me… a token of the fact that all of His creation belongs to Him. "No one is to appear before me empty-handed." God "here defines what the offering was to be, viz., that they should redeem their children as well as the unclean animals at a price;” (John Calvin)— a lamb or the price thereof.
The Levites were about to take the ministry in the place of the eldest sons. Therefore, the first born of religious Jews was to be freed from mandatory service at the same price. Thus, “they were therefore to remain free and in their own power after a pecuniary compensation.” (John Calvin)
"But if any should not put so high a value on an ASS OR OTHER UNCLEAN ANIMAL, the Law commanded that its neck should be broken; for otherwise it would have been sacrilege to reap profit from God’s property, or, what is the same, to transfer to their private use what God had adjudged to Himself.” (Calvin) IN CONTRAST, IF FIRSTBORN MALE HUMANS were not freed from the oblation, they would be guilty of negligence of duty to their Master. All creation will be redeemed at the consummation of all things at Jesus’ coming; but meanwhile, He wants all to come to Him of their own free will. And He will make them clean.
Peter's Vision- "The next day, as they went on their journey and drew near the city, Peter went up on the housetop to pray, about the sixth hour. Then he became very hungry and wanted to eat; but while they made ready, he fell into a trance and saw heaven opened and an object like a great sheet bound at the four corners, descending to him and let down to the earth. In it were all kinds of four-footed animals of the earth, wild beasts, creeping things, and birds of the air. And a voice came to him, 'Rise, Peter; kill and eat.’ But Peter said, 'Not so, Lord! For I have never eaten anything common or unclean.’ And a voice spoke to him again the second time, 'What God has cleansed you must not call common.’ This was done three times. And the object was taken up into heaven again.” (Acts 10:9-16) Peter’s vision had nothing to do with dietary laws, but rather with the fact that the Gospel was first to the Jews, then to the Gentiles. "But God has shown me that I should not call any man common or unclean." (Acts 10:28)
Exodus 34: The Torah of the Weekly Sabbath
21 Six days thou shalt work, but on the seventh day thou shalt rest: in earing time and in harvest thou shalt rest. (KJV)
Yahweh "repeateth divers laws. It was a token of reconciliation to the people after their apostasy, in that he treats with them again, after their repentance, about his solemn worships…." (Trapp) "See Exodus 20:9; Exodus 23:12. There is here added to the commandment a particular caution respecting those times of year when the land calls for most labor. The old verb 'to ea' (i. e. to plow) is genuine English.” (Albert Barnes)
"That is, in the time of ploughing, and in the time of reaping and gathering in the harvest, which are both very busy seasons; the rest of the sabbath was not to be violated; such sort of works, though they might require haste and expedition, yet the sabbath was not to be broken on account of them.” (John Gill)
"Though most busy times, you may not make bold with God.” (John Trapp)
"The most busy times of the year. All wordly business must give way to that holy rest: harvest - work will prosper the better for the religious observation of the sabbath - day in harvest - time. Hereby we must shew that we prefer our communion with God, before either the business or the joy of harvest.” (John Wesley)
"It is remarkable, with what minute care the observation of the sabbath is constantly provided for: no season, not even the most laborious and busy, was to exempt them from this duty.” (Thomas Cokes)
"This commandment is worthy of especial note; many break the Sabbath on the pretense of absolute necessity… But is not the above command pointed directly against this? I have known this law often broken on this pretense, and have never been able to discover a single instance where the persons who acted thus succeeded one whit better than their more conscientious neighbors, who availed themselves of no such favorable circumstances...” (Adam Clarke)
"The law of the Sabbath... was so fundamental to the entire polity, that it naturally held a place in every section of the legislation. We have already found it (1) propounded at the giving of the manna (Exodus16:22-30); (2) reasserted in the fourth commandment (Exodus 20:8-11); (3) introduced into the 'Book of the Covenant' (Exodus 23:12); and (4) appended to the directions given for the construction of the Tabernacle (Exodus 31:13-17)." (George Rawlinson)
“In a prophecy of the end time [harvest of souls], Jesus Christ foretold that true Christians would be observing the Sabbath! And in the Bible, the weekly ‘Sabbath' always means the seventh day of the week...
...
Jesus then brings up two needs so important that He urges His followers to be praying about them ahead of time. Mark 13:18 and Matthew 24:20 both record 'pray that your flight may not be in winter.’ Why? To avoid the prolonged exposure to winter weather.
And Matthew adds these words of Jesus: 'or on the Sabbath' (Matthew 24:20). Why? Because His followers will be trying to rest and worship God every Sabbath!.” (United Church of God)
Final Morning Repost: Exodus 34: The Pilgrimage Feasts
22 “And you shall observe the Feast of Weeks, of the firstfruits of wheat harvest, and the Feast of Ingathering at the year’s end. 23 Three times in the year all your men shall appear before Yahweh, Yahweh God of Israel. 24 For I will cast out the nations before you and enlarge your borders; neither will any man covet your land when you go up to appear before Yahweh your God three times in the year.
"Here is a repetition of several appointments made before, especially relating to their solemn feasts. When they had made the calf, they proclaimed a feast in honour of it now, that they might never do so again, they are here charged with the observance of the feasts which God had instituted." (Matthew Henry Commentary)
"Though there were other observances to be kept, these three were the great festivals during which all the men of Israel were required to present themselves before the Lord. In them there was a remembrance not only of their redemption, but of God's continual blessing and provision.” (Wycliffe)
The Feast of Weeks.. aka Pentecost,
"called the Feast of Weeks, because seven sabbaths or weeks, or fifty days, were to be reckoned from the day in the passover feast, on which the sheaf of the wave offering was brought,…” (Gill) This is the birthday of the church and coincides with the giving of the Law at Sinai.
Of the firstfruits of wheat harvest… "to distinguish it from the barley harvest, at the time of the passover, when a sheaf of barley was the wave offering to the Lord [three days after Passover, representing Christ the first-fruits]; but at this two loaves or cakes of fine wheaten flour were brought as the first fruits of the wheat harvest...” (Gill), celebrating the end-time harvest of believing Jews and Gentile of every generation-- those who are Christ's at His Coming
And the Feast of Ingathering at the year’s end. "The corn, wine, and oil, and all others were gathered in; and this was at the close of the old year, and at the beginning of the new, according to the ancient account, which made Tisri or September the first month in the year.” (Gill Commentary)
"The fruit of 'goodly trees' was to be gathered on the first day of the feast, along with palm fronds, willow branches, and boughs from trees in full leaf. From these, rough shelters or booths were to be constructed in which the people lived for the week of the feast. Every seventh year the observances were marked by a public recital of the covenant provisions to which the Israelites under Moses had committed themselves, a procedure designed to keep fresh in their minds the obligations as well as the blessings of the covenant relationship...” (Tyndale Bible Dictionary) Thus during this feast, as they looked forward to the Final Ingathering at the end of this age when their dwellings will be permanent and their barns full, they were reminded of their stay in the wilderness, when they dwelled in tents.
"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.” (Geneva Study Bible)
"Neither shalt any man desire thy land - Not only they shall not invade it, but they shall not so much as think of invading it. What a standing Miracle was this, for so many Generations?” (Wesley's Explanatory Notes)— like the Manna in the wilderness had been.
"They who have God for their protector have a sure refuge; and how true is the proverb, The path of duty is the way of safety!” (Clarke's Commentary)
But remember also the golden calf. For it is Messiah “whose fan is in his hand, and he will throughly purge his floor, and gather his wheat into the garner; but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.” (Matthew 3:12) And the right theology of unquenchable fire is the complete destruction of it, which no man can avert without application of the blood of the Covenant... And that by Yahweh Himself.
Exodus 34: The Torah of Yahweh's Paschal Offering
25 “You shall not offer the blood of My sacrifice with leaven, nor shall the sacrifice of the Feast of the Passover be left until morning.
"Thou shalt not offer the blood of My sacrifice, of the Passover lamb, with leaven; neither shall the sacrifice of the Feast of the Passover be left unto the morning; it should either be eaten to the last fragment, or the remainder burned with fire, Exo_12:10.” (Kretzmann)
Yahweh "repeateth divers laws. It was a token of reconciliation..." (Trapp) "That is, not kill the passover, while there was any leaven in their houses; so the Targum of Jonathan; see Gill on Exodus 23:18.” (Gill) Sin exists without, but must never be allowed within. The blood on the lentils of the houses was the barrier to sin and death. Thus it is with our hearts when the blood of Jesus is rightly applied.
"According to modern Jewish notions, leavened bread is permissible at the other feasts; at Pentecost it was commanded (Leviticus 23:17).” (Ellicott)
It would be easy to get the wrong idea— that in order to partake of the Paschal lamb, the forgiven Israelite must be free of sin. However, Passover was more about the Lamb of God; and Pentecost about the church. Perhaps there it is commanded, because the two loaves represent the universal church where, though sin is being removed by the Spirit, it still thrives. In order to partake of Christ’s atoning death, it is not necessary to be sin-free, nor to perfectly understand doctrine. But it is paramount to do it with sincerity of heart, desiring the faith and obedience of Jesus in your inward parts.
As yeast is often a picture of sin in the Bible, many modern Jews search for it in the homes, gather it... and burn it in a corporate fire at the temple.
Nor shall the sacrifice of the Feast of the Passover be left until morning.… “The fat of my sacrifice.—Rather (as in the Margin), the fat of my feast. The fat of the Paschal lambs was burnt on the altar with incense the same evening. Thus the whole lamb was consumed before the morning. As the Paschal lamb is καὶ ἐξοχήν, 'my sacrifice,' so the Passover is 'my feast.’” (Ellicott) It received the just recompense of our transgressions— consumption in fire.
"For we are God’s fellow workers; you are God’s field, you are God’s building. According to the grace of God which was given to me, as a wise master builder I have laid the foundation, and another builds on it. But let each one take heed how he builds on it. For no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now if anyone builds on this foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, each one’s work will become clear; for the Day will declare it, because it will be revealed by fire; and the fire will test each one’s work, of what sort it is. If anyone’s work which he has built on it endures, he will receive a reward. If anyone’s work is burned, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire." (1 Corinthians 3:9-15)
Evening Repost:Exodus 34: The Firstfruit and the Prohibition of a Kid-Goat Boiled in The Mother's Milk
26 "The first of the firstfruits of your land you shall bring to the house of Yahweh your God. You shall not boil a young goat in its mother’s milk.
I have struggled and I am done. No more edits or reposts. I have meditated on it throughout the day and so fulfilled the commandment. Hopefully, the third time’s the charm... but not likely. It is what it is.
"The outline of law put before the Israelites in the 'Book of the Covenant' terminated with this remarkable prohibition. Its importance is shown - 1. By its place here; and 2. By its being thrice repeated in the law of Moses (see Exodus 34:26; and Deuteronomy 14:21). Various explanations have been given of it.” (Pulpit Commentary)
The first of the first fruits of your land,.... "this being the most prominent rite of the Feast of Unleavened Bread." (Kretzmann) "Both of the barley [Passover] and wheat harvest [Pentecost], and of the wine and oil; yea, Jarchi says, the seventh year was obliged to first fruits…” (Gill’s Exposition)
"There was a natural tendency to ‘delay' the offering (Exodus 22:29) until a considerable part of the harvest had been got in. True gratitude makes a return for benefits received as soon as it, can. 'Bis dat qui cito dat.’” (Ellicott)
"Thou shall bring into the house of the Lord thy God; to the tabernacle, during the standing of that, and the temple when that was built; which were the perquisites of the priests who officiated in the house and service of God…” (Gill) We who call ourselves Christians, who are the firstborn among our brethren, ought not to forsake gathering together in the house of Yeshua, those very special places where God chooses to put His name.
"You shall not boil a young goat in its mother’s milk.” I have wrestled with this text all day, and it caused my repost twice.
The Catholics generally take this to be a dietary law restricting the consumption of milk and meat together.
Others see in it — "a prohibition against imitating the superstitious rites of the idolaters in Egypt, who, at the end of their harvest, seethed a kid in its mother's milk and sprinkled the broth as a magical charm on their gardens and fields, to render them more productive the following season. [See on [21]De 14:21].” (Jamieson-Fausset-Brown)
Others: "understand of slaying a young kid and its dam together, and so is a law against cruelty, like that law of not taking the dam with the young…” (Gill)
I don't know but I do know that Deuteronomy 14:21, declares that eating the two together makes it an unclean dish. After giving a list of foods that are unclean by themselves. Yahweh said: "You shall not boil a young goat in its mother’s milk.” (Deut 14:21b)
Goats are clean animals. He-goats are offered in sacrifice as sin offerings. (Leviticus 23:19) Milk from a she-goat is also alright to drink. But, just because Yahweh says that it is so, the two together are unclean. We do not need to apply human reasoning. Is it heath reasons or is it the prevention of cruelty to animals or that of pagan worship?— I do not know. But my God has said it is not to do it.
The Bible talks of the pure milk of the Word. (1 Peter 2:2) Do everything according to the instruction on the mount. Do not boil the sacrifice in his mother’s milk of reasoning. When the Spirit of Yahweh causes us to believe, we are then declared clean. Jesus says: "You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you.” (John 15:3)
But there is always a counterfeit. Even the goat alone "was often used in a figurative and symbolic sense by the writers of the Bible:in Song of Solomon 4:1 and 6:5 for the bride's black hair; in Matthew 25:31- 46 for the wicked; and in Ezekiel 34:17 and Daniel 8:5- 8 for various human leaders.” (Tyndale) Follow Jesus only.
"For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall be made alive. But each one in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, afterward those who are Christ’s at His coming. Then comes the end, when He delivers the kingdom to God the Father, when He puts an end to all rule and all authority and power. For He must reign till He has put all enemies under His feet. The last enemy that will be destroyed is death.” (1 Corinthians 15:22-26)
Exodus 34: Moses Wrote the Book of the Covenant;
God Wrote the Covenant-- the Ten Words
27 Then Yahweh said to Moses, “Write these words, for according to the tenor of these words I have made a covenant with you and with Israel.”
Moses recorded all these words. “What was before spoken, is now committed to writing; and abundant cause have we to bless God, that his word is thus transmitted to us, and not left to oral tradition. A covenant is entered into between God and Moses in behalf of the people of Israel: thus peace is re-established, and Moses's mediation effectual." (Coke)
Write these words..." put them in writing for thine own use and the use of thy people." (Ellicott’s Commentary) "The first duty of the Israelite king when he took the throne was to make for himself a copy of the law on a scroll... Its contents were written by Moses in a scroll and placed in the sanctuary in the custody of the Levites (Deut. 31:9; 24, 26). It was from this master copy of Deuteronomy that the newly crowned king had to make a copy of the scroll from himself at his enthronement. The king was to keep the scroll throughout his life, to read and study it constantly, and to obey diligently all of its instructions..” (Stefanovic, The Revelation of Jesus Christ)
28 So he was there with Yahweh forty days and forty nights; he neither ate bread nor drank water. And He wrote on the tablets the words of the covenant, the Ten Commandments.[Literally Ten Words]
So he was there with the Lord forty days and forty nights… "Was not Moses in this a type of the ever blessed Jesus? Matthew 4:2." (Hawker) "To try the patience of the people, Moses was detained a second time for forty days and forty nights in the mount with the Lord." (Coke's Commentary)
And He wrote on the tablets the words of the covenant… "He wrote - God." (Wesley) "It has been argued from this last sentence that Moses wrote the words on the second tablets; and it would be natural so to understand the passage, had nothing else been said on the subject. But in Exodus 34:1, we are told that 'God said, I will write upon these tables,’ and the same is repeated in Deuteronomy 10:2, where it is distinctly declared that 'He (God) wrote on the tables according to the first writing.’ We must therefore regard ‘he' in this passage as meaning 'the Lord,’ which is quite possible according to Hebrew idiom.” (Rawlinson)
"As we have a greater Mediator than Moses, we have also a part in a better covenant, established on better promises, and secured by the best of titles, even by the sacrifice and infinite merit of our Divine Lord." (Coke) But we must remember that the Ten Commandments are the basis of both covenants. Jesus came to fulfill the demands of the covenant and to preach peace to you who are afar off and to you who are near. (Ephesian 2:17)
"So I wept much, because no one was found worthy to open the scroll, or to look at it. But one of the elders said to me, 'Do not weep. Behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has prevailed to open the scroll and to loose its seven seals.’ And I looked, and behold, in the midst of the throne and of the four living creatures, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as though it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God sent out into all the earth." (Rev 5:4-6)
Seek Jesus who lived a perfect life and thus rose from the dead. "And when they say to you, 'Seek those who are mediums and wizards, who whisper and mutter,' should not a people seek their God? Should they seek the dead on behalf of the living? To the law and to the testimony! If they do not speak according to this word, it is because there is no light in them. They will pass through it hard-pressed and hungry; and it shall happen, when they are hungry, that they will be enraged and curse their king and their God, and look upward. Then they will look to the earth, and see trouble and darkness, gloom of anguish; and they will be driven into darkness." (Isaiah 8:19-22)
Exodus 34: The Glory of Two Ministries Compared
29 Now it was so, when Moses came down from Mount Sinai (and the two tablets of the Testimony were in Moses’ hand when he came down from the mountain), that Moses did not know that the skin of his face shone while he talked with Him. 30 So when Aaron and all the children of Israel saw Moses, behold, the skin of his face shone, and they were afraid to come near him. 31 Then Moses called to them, and Aaron and all the rulers of the congregation returned to him; and Moses talked with them. 32 Afterward all the children of Israel came near, and he gave them as commandments all that the Lord had spoken with him on Mount Sinai.
Moses skin shone-- "St. Paul's words are conclusive as to the true meaning." (Pulpit)— "But if the ministry of death, written and engraved on stones, was glorious, so that the children of Israel could not look steadily at the face of Moses because of the glory of his countenance, which glory was passing away, how will the ministry of the Spirit not be more glorious? For if the ministry of condemnation had glory, the ministry of righteousness exceeds much more in glory. For even what was made glorious had no glory in this respect, because of the glory that excels. For if what is passing away was glorious, what remains is much more glorious.” (2 Cor 3:7-11)
So with Moses' face shining at the divine revelation of the ministry of condemnation, "all the children of Israel came near, and he gave them as commandments all that the Lord had spoken with him on Mount Sinai." (32)
This was called the ministry of condemnation because death reigned during this era of Israelite history. The temple system with all of it’s ordinances could not introduce them to union with Yahweh, "and its carnal ordinances and worldly promises could not render them spiritually minded. Thus the letter, that external, emblematical, and shadowy dispensation, killed such as adhered to it, and rejected the gospel; but the Spirit giveth life. As the Spirit of God is the grand promise of the new covenant, (see Isaiah 44:3; Isaiah 59:21; Joel 2:28; John 7:37-38,) so by this the gospel doctrines, precepts, and promises, are made spirit and life to us; repentance unto life and living faith are begotten in us, the favour of God is manifested, and union with God imparted, productive of a spiritual mind, which is life and peace… The end of this was Christ. The whole Mosaic dispensation tended to, and terminated in, him. But the Israelites had only a dim wavering sight of him, of whom Moses spake in an obscure, covert manner...”
(Benson on 2 Corinthians 3)
33 And when Moses had finished speaking with them, he put a veil on his face. 34 But whenever Moses went in before the Lord to speak with Him, he would take the veil off until he came out; and he would come out and speak to the children of Israel whatever he had been commanded.
"So the vail was not worn while he was speaking, but when he left off speaking, and until he went into the tabernacle. Exodus 34:34-35. 'The brilliant light on Moses’s face,' says Keil, 'set forth the glory of the old covenant, and was intended both for Moses and the people as a foresight and a pledge of the glory to which Jehovah had called, and would eventually exalt, the people of his possession.'" (Whedon) BUT "That veil was with the greatest propriety removed when speaking with the Lord, for every one appears unveiled to the eye of Omniscience..." (Jameison-Faussett-Brown)
"This signifies... as it is explained, 2 Corinthians 3:16 , that when a soul turns to the Lord, the veil shall be taken away, that with open face it may behold his glory." (Wesley) "The glimpse of glory which Moses saw, then a singular favour, is now open to every believing soul... The gospel is the speculum or glass, setting forth the glory of Christ. When we contemplate his lustre, the whole soul becomes irradiated with the light of life; when we behold his love, the heart presently burns with celestial fire; and as it is the property of fire to convert every substance into its own element, so we are changed into the same image, by the renovating power of the Holy Ghost. Thus Stephen before the council had a countenance irradiated with the glory of Christ, for heaven at that moment opened to his view with brighter and still brighter beauty... (Sutcliffe on 2 Cor 3)
35 And whenever the children of Israel saw the face of Moses, that the skin of Moses’ face shone, then Moses would put the veil on his face again, until he went in to speak with Him.
Moses "had more glory by his vail than by his face. How far are those spirits from this Christian modesty, which care only to be seen and wish only to dazzle others’ eyes with admiration, not caring for unknown riches!“ (Trapp)