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Exodus 33 |
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| 33:1
And the LORD said unto Moses, Depart, and go up hence, thou and the people
which thou hast brought up out of the land of Egypt, unto the land which I
sware unto Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, saying, Unto thy seed will I
give it: |
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| 33:2
And I will send an
angel before thee; and I will drive out the Canaanite, the Amorite, and the
Hittite, and the Perizzite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite: |
 (33:2) "I will drive out the Canaanite."
God promises to cast out many nations
including the Canaanites and the Jebusites. But he was unable to fulfill his
promise. (See Joshua 15:63, 16:10, 17.12-13:
Judges 1:21, 27,
3:1-5)
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| 33:3
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 thee in the way.
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| 33:4
And when the people heard these evil tidings, they mourned: and no man did
put on him his ornaments. |
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| 33:5
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. |
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| 33:6
And the children of Israel stripped themselves of their ornaments by the
mount Horeb. |
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| 33:7
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. |
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| 33:8
And it came to pass, when Moses went out unto the tabernacle, that all the
people rose up, and stood every man at his tent door, and looked after
Moses, until he was gone into the tabernacle. |
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| 33:9
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. |
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| 33:10
And all the people saw the cloudy pillar stand at the tabernacle door: and
all the people rose up and worshipped, every man in his tent door. |
 (33:11)
"And the Lord spake unto
Moses face to face, as a man speaketh unto his friend."
Can God be seen?
Does God have a body?
Did Moses see God face to face?
The Face of Yahweh
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| 33:11
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.
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| 33:12
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.
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| 33:13
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.
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| 33:14
And he said, My presence shall go with thee, and I will give thee rest.
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| 33:15
And he said unto him, If thy presence go not with me, carry us not up
hence. |
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| 33:16
For wherein shall it be known here that I and thy people have found grace
in thy sight? is it not in that 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. |
(33:20) "Thou canst not see my face: for there shall no man see me, and live."
Immediately after being told about Moses' face to face encounter with God, we are
told that it never could have happened, since, as God explains to Moses, "no man
can see me, and live."
Did Moses see God face to face?
Can God be seen?
(33:22-23)
God shows his back parts to Moses (The Divine Mooning)
Although God is too shy to let
Moses see his face, he does permit a peek at his "back parts."
"The word used in the Hebrew text and translated as "glory" is kabod --
but we are not often told that kabod also may be translated as "liver" and is sometimes used idiomatically to refer to the male reproductive
organ." Jonathan Kirsch, The Harlot By the Side of the Road, p.8.
(33:22) "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."
(33:23) "And I will take away mine hand, and thou shalt see my back parts."
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| 33:17
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.
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| 33:18
And he said, I beseech thee, shew me thy glory.
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| 33:19
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 to whom I
will be gracious, and will shew mercy on whom I will shew mercy.
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| 33:20
And he said, Thou
canst not see my face: for there shall no man see me, and live.
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| 33:21
And the LORD said, Behold, there is a place by me, and thou shalt stand
upon a rock:
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| 33:22
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:
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| 33:23
And I will take away
mine hand, and thou shalt see my back parts: but my face shall not be
seen.
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