Exodus 33.7-11-Moses' Privileged Position
Wenstrom Bible Ministries
Pastor-Teacher Bill Wenstrom
Sunday September 16, 2012
Journey Through The Bible Series: Exodus 33:7-11-Moses’ Privileged Position
Lesson # 52
Please turn in your Bibles to Exodus 33:7.
This morning we will study Exodus 33:7-11, which reveals to us that Moses was on intimate terms with the Lord.
Exodus 33:7 Now Moses used to take the tent and pitch it outside the camp, a good distance from the camp, and he called it the tent of meeting. And everyone who sought the Lord would go out to the tent of meeting which was outside the camp. 8 And it came about, whenever Moses went out to the tent, that all the people would arise and stand, each at the entrance of his tent, and gaze after Moses until he entered the tent. 9 Whenever Moses entered the tent, the pillar of cloud would descend and stand at the entrance of the tent; and the Lord would speak with Moses. 10 When all the people saw the pillar of cloud standing at the entrance of the tent, all the people would arise and worship, each at the entrance of his tent. 11 Thus the Lord used to speak to Moses face to face, just as a man speaks to his friend. When Moses returned to the camp, his servant Joshua, the son of Nun, a young man, would not depart from the tent. (NASB95)
In Exodus 33:3, the Lord told Moses “I will not go up in your midst, because you are an obstinate people, and I might destroy you on the way.”
Then, in Exodus 33:5, he instructed Moses to communicate this to the Israelites.
Now, here in Exodus 33:7, we have the Moses moving the tent from the midst of the Israelite camp and pitching it a good distance outside their camp in order that the Lord would not destroy them on the way to Canaan and he called this tent, “the tent of meeting.”
Exodus 33:7-11 stands in stark contrast to Exodus 33:1-6.
The former reveals that God was pleased with Moses whereas the latter reveals His displeasure with the Israelites.
The former reveals that Moses and the Lord were on intimate terms whereas the latter reveals the strained relationship between the Israelites and the Lord.
Moses was on intimate terms because of his habitual obedience and the Israelites were not because of their habitual disobedience.
Now, we must remember that at this point in the Exodus narrative, Moses had received the instructions for the construction of the tabernacle but it had yet to be built.
Therefore, this tent is not the tabernacle but rather a smaller tent used as a meeting place for Moses, the Israelites and God over which the pillar of cloud stood.
So this tent served some of the functions of the tabernacle that later replaced it.
Therefore, the tent mentioned in Exodus 33:7-11 is a temporary makeshift tent which would be replaced by the tabernacle.
This tent of meeting in Exodus 33:7 never held the Ark of the Covenant or any of the other sacred furniture and was never used for sacrifices and it was never anointed as the tabernacle was after its completion.
After the construction of the tabernacle, the tent mentioned in Exodus 33:7-11 continued to exist, which stands in contrast to the tabernacle, which was also called the tent of meeting.
Numbers 2 records the twelve Israelite tribes were organized around the tabernacle.
However, here in Exodus 33:7-11, we have the Israelites worshipping the Lord from afar whereas later on, God in His grace, would permit them to worship Him in their midst.
Numbers 2-11 teaches that after the construction of the tabernacle, Aaron and the priests would minister to the Lord in the tabernacle courtyard, the holy place and holy of holies but now Joshua is the only one allowed near the tent of meeting.
By setting up the tent of meeting a good distance from the Israelite camp, Moses was teaching the Israelites the seriousness of their sin in worshipping the golden young bull.
If you recall, He severely disciplined those who were unrepentant by killing the offenders.
Then, the Lord’s statement in Exodus 33:3 and 5 also indicates that the Lord was greatly displeased with the Israelites.
Lastly, we have the Israelites forced to worship the Lord from a distance as the tent of meeting was set up a good distance from their camp.
Moses was teaching the people how relatively distant God was from them.
Though, God was greatly displeased with the Israelites, He did not cut off communication with them completely.
The Israelites could inquire of Him through Moses at the tent of meeting with regards to His will in a particular matter.
Interestingly, by placing the tent of meeting a good distance outside the Israelite camp, it would force an individual to demonstrate his loyalty to the Lord publicly since they would have to separate themselves from the rest of the crowd and walk out to the tent with everyone seeing them go out to it.
Another benefit for placing the tent of meeting outside the Israelite camp was that it would demonstrate to the Israelites that Moses was chosen personally by God.
Previously, Moses would go up to Mount Sinai to meet with the Lord and would thus be out of the Israelites’ sight.
They never saw Moses in close proximity to the Lord but now with the tent of meeting outside the camp but within their sight, they could see for themselves Moses having a conversation with the Lord as the pillar of cloud descended upon the tent.
Exodus 33:8 records the Israelites rising and standing whenever Moses entered the tent and would gaze after him after he entered it.
The events recorded in Exodus 32 reveal the Israelites disrespected Moses but now they show him great respect after the Israelites had been disciplined by the Lord.
To rise and stand was the standard action of respect in the ancient world, which is also true today in the twenty-first century.
However, the Israelites would again disrespect him and challenge his delegated authority.
In Exodus 33:9, the reader is told that whenever Moses entered the tent, the pillar of cloud would descend and stand at the entrance of the tent and the Lord would speak with him.
Up to this point in the Exodus narrative we have seen this expression “pillar of cloud” appear four times (Exodus 13:21-22; 14:19, 24).
The pillar of cloud during the day and the pillar of fire at night was a visible manifestation of the Lord’s presence in the camp of the Israelites.
This visible manifestation was to guide and protect the Israelites and also would comfort them.
When the pillar of cloud arrived, the Israelites would know the meeting between Moses and the Lord had begun and when it left the tent, they knew that their meeting was over.
The statement in Exodus 33:10 indicates that the Israelites could see the pillar of cloud and would thus demonstrate proper respect to the Lord’s presence by bowing to the ground and worshipping Him.
NASB95 translation presents a picture of the Israelites standing and remaining standing as they worshipped, which is incorrect.
“Worship” is the third person plural hithpael middle perfect form of the verb ḥā∙wā(h) (חָוָה) (khaw-vah´), which means “to bow in worship” since it refers to prostrating oneself as a sign of honor, worship and homage to deity.
The hithpael stem is a “reflexive-factitive” hithpael meaning that the subject of the verb causes itself to enter a state.
Here the subject is the Israelites and thus this stem denotes that they caused themselves to enter the state of worshipping the Lord while in a prostrate position.
Exodus 33:11 tells us that the Lord would speak face to face with Moses just as a man speaks to his friend.
The expression “face to face” is an idiom that expresses intimacy.
It means that they spoke openly with each other and does not contradict God’s statement in Exodus 33:20 that no one could see His face and live since this idiom is a figurative expression suggesting openness and friendship.
So here in Exodus 33:7-11, we have a stark contrast with Moses on intimate terms with the Israelites who were not.
Verse 11 also tells the reader that when Moses left the tent, Joshua would remain at the tent in order to guard it from any Israelite attempting to enter without authorization.
That Joshua guarded the tent of meeting does not indicate that he was on a par with Moses or superior to the Israelites since the latter could inquire of God at any time.
However, it does reveal that both Moses and God trusted Joshua who would eventually lead the Israelites into the Promised Land after Moses’ death.
Joshua did not live in this tent but rather his tent was nearby so that he could serve as its custodian.
So he lived outside the Israelite camp.
He is described in this verse as a young man which does not mean he was immature but rather that he was much younger than Moses who was in his eighties at this time with Joshua about forty.