reflecting on god exodus 32-34 · text: focus on the broad teaching of exodus . introduction to...

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Reflecting on God—Exodus 32-34 Harold Shank

Austin, Texas May 18-20, 2009

Approach

1. Issue: Raise an issue about God in contemporary society

2. Text: Focus on an aspect of Exodus

3. Theology: Draw theological observations

Reflecting on God—Using Exodus 32-34 to form a Biblical Worldview

Lecture 1 Preview

1. Issue: Young people do not grasp the Christian worldview

2. Text: Focus on broad teaching of Exodus

3. Theology: God and how he is present among us

Issue: Young people do not grasp the Christian worldview

1. Christian Smith, Soul Searching: The Religious and Spiritual Lives of American Teenagers, New York: Oxford,

2005.

a. Most ambitious national study ever conducted among American teenagers about their religious and

spiritual lives.

b. “Our distinct impression is that very many religious congregations and communities of faith in the

United States are failing rather badly in religiously engaging and educating their youth.“ 262

c. Point: Young people in churches do not understand the Christian worldview.

2. David Kinnaman and Gabe Lyons, Unchristian—What A New Generation Really Thinks about Christianity and

Why it Matters. Grand Rapids: Baker, 2007.

a. They study 24 million young people in US born 1965 and 2002 who do not attend any church. 17-19

b. Of the 24 million, 66% at one time made a commitment to Jesus. Yet of that 66% only 3% had a

Christian world view. They define the Christian worldview as understanding and believing God is all

powerful and all knowing and creator, salvation is a gift of God, Satan is real, Christians should

evangelize, the Bible is true, and unchanging moral truth exists. 23

c. Point: Young people leave the church without a Christian world view.

3. Ministry and youth

a. Crisis in Youth Ministry

i. Mark Oestreicher, Youth Ministry 3.0. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2008.

ii. Merton Strommen and Richard Hardel, Passing on the Faith—A Radical New Model for

Youth and Family Ministry. Winona, Minnesota: St. Mary’s Press, 2000.

iii. Mark A. Holmen, Building Faith at Home—Why Faith at Home Must be Your Church’s #1

Priority. Ventura, CA: Regal, 2007.

b. Crisis of pulpit and youth

i. Preachers have an imaginary audience in their mind as they prepare lessons/sermons but often

do not include young people.

ii. “I have been guilty in the past of believing that if I preach the truth powerfully and with

enthusiasm that people who refuse to listen are the ones at fault entirely.”

c. Point: Ministers must help young people form a Christian world view.

Text: Focus on the broad teaching of Exodus

Introduction to Exod 32-34

1. Proposal: Exodus (and especially Exod 34:5-7) is crucial to the Christian world view.

2. Importance of Ex 34:5-7

2009 Sermon Seminar Harold Shank - Exodux 32-34 of 25

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a. Moberly (Mountain, 193) calls it the fullest description of God in Scripture

b. Brueggemann (“Crisis Evoked,” 95) labels it the OT’s “most characteristic speech” about God.

c. Brueggemann (Exodus, 946) writes, “Nowhere before this speech has anyone been privileged to hear

directly a disclosure of what is most powerful and definitional in God’s own life.”

d. Laney (36) claims, “It is the only place where God actually described Himself, listing His own glorious

attributes.”

e. Bosman (233) calls the passage “a credo.”

f. Raitt (45), this passage is the most significant statement of forgiveness in the OT

g. Denton (36) points out that most biblical descriptions of God tell what He does, but this passage, and

those texts that depend on it, tell who God is

3. Count to 10

4. Worldview

a. How does this passage and its larger context in Exodus help us frame a worldview?

b. What is so critical about this passage and its context?

What do we find about God when we look at Exodus and ask what it says about God?

1. God is the main character

a. God and LORD appear 428 times in Exodus

b. God is a major character in the book

c. Moses (mentioned 770 times in OT; 1/3 in Exod) speaks to God 54 times in Exodus. No other Biblical

character more intimate with G than Moses. Wessner (2002).109

2. God’s presence is the central theological (read worldview) point of the book and its broader context.

a. Durham

i. Durham (xxi): “the only unity that is of any real importance in the Book of Exodus is

theological unity—and that the book displays on every hand. The centerpiece of this unity is

the theology of Yahweh present with and in the midst of his people Israel.”

ii. Durham (xxiii) “the foundational biblical declaration that whatever else he may be, God is

first of all a God at hand, a God with his people, a God who rescues, protects, guides,

provides for, forgives, and disciplines the people who call him their God and who call

themselves his people”

iii. Durham finds three circles of the presence of God

1. Center Circle with Moses in Ex 3-4

2. Middle Circle with all Israel in Ex 19, 20, 24

3. Outer Circle with Moses representing the presence of God to all in Ex 32-34

b. Janzen

i. Janzen shows how the presence of God dominates Exodus:

ii. Examples:

1. Ex 3 The divine name is a password to God (33)

2. Ex12 God is present in Passover (90)

3. Ex 17 God is present in water and manna (119)

4. Ex24f Tabernacle is architectural representation of God’s presence and parallels the

3 levels at Sinai (189, 224)

5. Ex25 Table of the presence and Psa 23:5 (197)

6. Ex 25 the lamp stand as a symbol of God’s wakefulness (199)

c. Walter Brueggemann

i. “The book of Exodus is concerned not only with an event of liberation, but with a structure

that will ensure in some concrete institutional form the continued presence of God in the

midst of Israel. This God, however, is not casually or easily available to Israel, and the

emerging problem is to find a viable way in which to host the Holy. The pattern for presence

imagines God’s awesome magisterial, life-giving glory being present concretely in the world.

This text asserts that God is willing and yearning to be present, but that presence requires a

community of generous faith, which gives its best skills, disciplines, and goods for the

housing of the holy.” [Exodus]

ii. Presence of God in the OT [IDB-S, Sv, “Presence of God, Cultic.”]

1. God is coming—Sinai

2. God is leading—wilderness


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3. God is abiding—monarchy

4. God is hiding—exile

3. God comes

a. Critical appearances (theophanies)

i. Ex 3—Burning bush

ii. Ex 19-20—Sinai (all the people)

iii. Ex 33-34—Sinai (Moses only)

b. Theophanies

i. Theophany comes from two Greek words meaning “the appearance of God”

ii. Epiphany derives from Greek words meaning “to show forth.”

c. Ex 19:3-6 pulls the key themes of Ex together (Fretheim, Pentateuch, 111-118)

i. The line “because the whole earth is mine” (9:16; 19:6) gives focus to God on a mission

ii. “This translation links the text with the missional purpose of God, first articulated in Gen

12:5b.”

iii. “God’s redemptive activity on Israel’s behalf is not an end in itself; it is in the service of the

entire creation, for ‘all the earth” is God’s. The divine calling to be a kingdom of priests and

a holy nation is a commission to a task on behalf of God’s earth.”

4. He seeks to be known

a. Explicit theological language and trajectories in narrative

b. “You shall know me” passages: Exod. 6:7; 7:5, 17; 8:22; 10:2; 14:4, 18; 16:12; 29:46

5. His presence is often indirect.

a. G. Henton Davies (874-85) cites God’s presence in these indirect ways: Face, Glory, Name,

Tabernacle, “before” (Literally “in the face of”), to dwell, cloud, Sinai-Horeb, Law and cult, and

murmuring

b. Davies develops idea of Substitution, what he calls “Substitutionary presence”

i. Concept

1. Lev develops substitutionary atonement

2. Ex develops substitutionary presence

ii. Examples

1. Sinai/Horeb is replaced by the Tent of Meeting and Tabernacle

2. Angel substitutes for God—23:20-21; 33:14

3. Moses saw God face to face, but then sees only his back, then hears only his words

4. G dwells on Sinai instead of Heaven

5. G dwells on Tabernacle instead of Sinai

6. G dwells in Holy of Holies of temple instead of Tabernacle

7. G dwells in the church and Christians instead of Holy of Holies

6. The nature of his presence changes

a. Exodus chronicles God’s move from heaven to Sinai to the tabernacle.

b. “Rather than a fixed place, God will now reside in (and not just appear at) a portable Sinai, a dwelling

place in the midst of an on-the-move people, a “mobile home” for God! Rather than being so distant

from the people, emphasized by the number of mountain levels Moses ascends to get to God’s eagle

like aerie (24:12-18), God descends to be with the people at close range. As noted, this is a new

experience for both people and God. God leaves the mountain of remoteness and ineffable majesty,

the typical abode for gods in the ancient Near East, and moves into a residence that belongs to the

same type (if not quality) as that of the people themselves. No longer are the people—or their

mediator—asked to ‘come up’ to God; God ‘comes down’ to them. No more trips up the mountain for

Moses! God here begins a ‘descent’ that John 1:14 claims comes to a climax in the Incarnation.”

Fretheim, Pentateuch, 112.

c. Exodus answers these questions

i. Will God dwell among a sinful people?

ii. Are the divine promises still valid, given the apostasy?

7. His presence is for different purposes. Fretheim (Suffering, 60ff) points out four kinds of presence in Exodus

a. #1--Journey Presence

i. Exodus 13:18 - 14:1 18 So God led the people by the roundabout way of the wilderness

toward the Red Sea. The Israelites went up out of the land of Egypt prepared for battle. 19

And Moses took with him the bones of Joseph who had required a solemn oath of the


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Israelites, saying, "God will surely take notice of you, and then you must carry my bones with

you from here." 20 They set out from Succoth, and camped at Etham, on the edge of the

wilderness. 21 The LORD went in front of them in a pillar of cloud by day, to lead them

along the way, and in a pillar of fire by night, to give them light, so that they might travel by

day and by night. 22 Neither the pillar of cloud by day nor the pillar of fire by night left its

place in front of the people.

ii. Journey Presence open to us

1. Ps23

2. Mt28

b. #2--Tabernacle Presence

i. Exodus 25:21-22 You shall put the mercy seat on the top of the ark; and in the ark you shall

put the covenant that I shall give you. 22 There I will meet with you, and from above the

mercy seat, from between the two cherubim that are on the ark of the covenant, I will deliver

to you all my commands for the Israelites.

ii. Tabernacle Presence open to us

1. 1 Cor 3, 6—Holy spirit in the church/individual

2. Church at worship

3. John 15—Abide in me and I will abide in you

c. #3--Cleansing Presence

i. Exodus 34:9-10 9 He said, "If now I have found favor in your sight, O Lord, I pray, let the

Lord go with us. Although this is a stiff-necked people, pardon our iniquity and our sin, and

take us for your inheritance." 10 He said: I hereby make a covenant. Before all your people I

will perform marvels, such as have not been performed in all the earth or in any nation; and

all the people among whom you live shall see the work of the LORD; for it is an awesome

thing that I will do with you.

ii. Cleansing Presence open to us

1. Acts 2:38

2. Rom 1-8

d. #4--Power Presence

i. Exodus 14:13-14 But Moses said to the people, "Do not be afraid, stand firm, and see the

deliverance that the LORD will accomplish for you today; for the Egyptians whom you see

today you shall never see again. 14 The LORD will fight for you, and you have only to keep

still."

ii. Power presence with us

1. Isa 41:10

2. Rom 1;16

8. Exodus contains ambiguity and even contradiction on the nature of God’s presence

Theology: God and how he is present among us

1. Human desire for God’s presence is reflected in contemporary music.

a. He Leadeth Me

b. Teach Me Lord to wait

c. Be with Me Lord

d. On Bended Knee I Come

2. Much of the Biblical view of God is formed in Exodus.

a. Genesis and Exodus are theologically significant books in our understanding of God

b. Most of our vocabulary about God comes from these books, especially Exodus

3. Preaching and teaching the theology of Exodus will help young people form a Christian worldview.

a. Narrative, expository, inductive preaching from Exodus can

i. Place these stories in the hearts of people

ii. Provide a means of speaking about God in biblical/theological terms

iii. Create a biblical/theological understanding of the God who is present

iv. Form a biblical/theological foundation for how the NT treats God

b. Among the theological points arising from Exodus are these

i. God has a mission

ii. God comes to the earth and lives among us


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iii. God wants to be in our presence

iv. God tells us what we need to know about being in his presence

v. God wants us to depend on him

vi. The problem is not that God does not dwell with us or act on our behalf, but that we do not

trust that he is

vii. It is more important to know God’s goodness than to see his face

viii. Sin interferes with God’s dwelling

ix. Look for God during times of weakness

x. Look for God’s agenda

xi. The object of God’s presence is because he seeks a relationship with his people Janzen (55)

xii. We are not conscious of being in Presence of God (Janzen, 218)

xiii. The foundations of prayer are rooted in Ex 29 in the Presence of God theme (Janzen, 218)

xiv. God is often present in places we do not see him (Janzen finds God’s presence in the most

unexpected places in Exodus)

e. NT texts deal with the presence of God

i. James 1:5; 4:8a

ii. 1 Cor 3:16; 6:19

iii. 2 Cor 3:16-18


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Reflecting on God—Using Exodus 32-34 to affirm the nature of the Biblical God

Lecture 2 Preview

1. Issue: Anti-theism denies the goodness of God

2. Text: Focus on Exodus 34:5-7

3. Theology: The Biblical God is for us.

Issue: Anti-theism denies the goodness of God

1. Dawkins, Richard. The God Delusion. New York: Houghton Mifflin, 2006.

a. Jacket: “The God Delusion makes a compelling case that belief in God is not just wrong but

potentially deadly. It also offers exhilarating insight into the advantages of atheism to the individual

and society, not the least of which is a clearer, truer appreciation of the universe’ wonders than any

faith could ever muster.”

b. Dawkins (31): “The God of the OT is arguably the most unpleasant character in al fiction, jealous and

proud of it, a petty, unjust, unforgiving control-freak, a vindictive, bloodthirsty ethnic cleanser; a

misogynistic, homophobic, racist, infanticidal, genocidal, filicidal, pestilential, megalomaniacal,

sadomasochistic, capriciously malevolent bully.”

c. Dawkins (97): “In the farsighted words of Thomas Jefferson, writing to his predecessor, John Adams,

‘the Day will come when the mystical generation of Jesus, by the Supreme Being as his father, in the

womb of a virgin, will be classed with the fable of the generation of Minerva in the brain of Jupiter.”

2. Christopher Hitchens. The Portable Atheist—Essential Readings for the Non Believer. New York: Da Capo

Press, 2007.

a. Daniel Dennett (281): “Still, I excuse those who pray for me. I see them as like tenacious scientists

who resist the evidence for theories they don’t like long after a graceful concession would have been

the appropriate response.”

3. Sam Harris. Letter to a Christian Nation. New York: Alfred A. Knoff, 2006.

a. Harris (vii): “Since the publication of my first book, The End of Faith, thousands of people have

written to tell me that I am wrong not to believe in God. The most hostile of these communications

have come from Christians. This is ironic, as Christians generally imagine that no faith imparts the

virtues of love and forgiveness more effectively than their own. The truth is that many who claim to

be transformed by Christ’s love are deeply, even murderously, intolerant of criticism. While we may

want to ascribe this to human nature, it is clear that such hatred draws considerable support from the

Bible. How do I know this? The most disturbed of my correspondents always cite chapter and verse.”

b. Harris (50): “Somewhere in the world a man has abducted a little girl. Soon he will rape, torture, and

kill her. If an atrocity of this kind is not occurring at precisely this moment, it will happen in a few

hours, or days at most. Such is the confidence we can draw from the statistical laws that govern the

lives of six billion human beings. The same statistics also suggest that this girl’s parents believe—as

you believe—that an all-powerful and all-loving God is watching over them and their family. Are they

right to believe this? Is it good that they believe this? No. The entirety of atheism is contained in this

response.”

4. Point:

a. The Biblical God is widely misunderstood in contemporary society

b. Some believers who defend the Biblical God do so in ways that violate God’s own character.

Text: Focus on Exodus 34:5-7

Text

5 The LORD descended in the cloud and stood with him there, and proclaimed the name, “The LORD.”

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The LORD passed before him, and proclaimed, “The LORD, the LORD, a God merciful and gracious, slow

to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, 7 keeping steadfast love for the thousandth

generation, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, yet by no means clearing the guilty, but visiting

the iniquity of the parents upon the children and the children's children, to the third and the fourth

generation” (Ex 34:5-7).


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General Observations about the Text

1. God’s introduction of Himself in Exodus 34 is one of the first and one of the longest revelations about God in

the entire Bible.

2. It is the longest passage in the entire Bible where God talks about God.

Outlining the Text 1. Three Hebrew nouns—names of God indicating his self-existence, power and creative ability

a. The LORD

b. The LORD

c. God

2. Four Hebrew adjectives—descriptions of God that are relationship words that focus on the beneficial & hopeful

a. Merciful (adjective)

b. Gracious (adjective)

c. Slow to anger (adjective with a noun)

d. Abounding (adjective) in steadfast love and faithfulness (nouns)

3. Five Hebrew verbs—actions of God centering on describing and limiting his forgiving work.

a. Keeping (participle) steadfast love

b. Forgiving (participle) iniquity, transgression and sin

c. By no means clearing (two verbs in Hebrew) the guilty

d. Visiting (participle) the iniquity of the fathers to succeeding generations

Exegesis

Names of God. lae hw"hy> hw"hy> ar"q.YIw: wyn"P'-l[; hw"hy> rbo[]Y:w: 1. God

a. ’el

i. generic word “god” or “God” used 245 times. Associated with might and power

ii. Usually appears with another word that qualifies it (El Shaddai, God of Bethel, God of gods.)

iii. Almost never appears alone in prose—rare occurrence here

2. LORD

a. WORD

i. hw"hy> 3XS YHWH in this verse; 397 times in Exodus

ii. “Lord” and “LORD.”

1. “LORD” is God’s name. Cf. Jehovah or Yahweh

2. “GOD” is not the same as “God.”

iii. Usage: KJV - LORD 6510 times, GOD 4, JEHOVAH 4, variant 1; Used a total of 6519 xs

b. Exodus 3:14-15

i. I AM WHO I AM, or, I AM WHAT I AM or I WILL BE WHAT I WILL BE or I WILL CAUSE TO BE.

ii. Root “to be.”

c. Meaning

i. Meanings point to God’s eternal existence and to His causative powers.

ii. It speaks to His identity, character, existence, and presence.

iii. It proclaims His existence without regard to anything or anyone else.

iv. He is self-existent.

d. Scholars

i. Mettinger (41) “the conviction of God’s active and helpful presence.”

ii. Laney (41) suggests it stresses that God is being present.

iii. Denton (40) claims the dual occurrence of the divine name indicates that the passage was used

as a confession in liturgy since the repetition gives the phrase more emotional strength.

The description of God. tm,a/w< ds,x,-br:w> ~yIP;a; %r<a, !WNx;w> ~Wxr:

1. Merciful.

a. Meaning


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i. 7349 ~Wxr; rachum merciful

ii. Root is often associated with the love of parents toward children or some other nurturing

relationship.

iii. Laney (43) notes rachum generally describes the love of a superior to an inferior

iv. Raitt (50-51) stresses that it is a love without conditions, more given than sought.

b. Uses

i. Adjectival

1. Used as adjective 13xs, refers only to God: Ex 34:6; Deu 4:31; 2Chr 30:9; Neh 9:17,

31; Pss 78:38; 86:15; 103:8; 111:4; 112:4; 145:8; Joel 2:13; Jonah 4:2

2. Many are quotes of Ex34:5-7

ii. Verbal form:

1. Can a woman forget her nursing child, or show no compassion (7349) for the child

of her womb? Even these may forget, yet I will not forget you (Isa 49:15).

2. As a father has compassion for his children, so the LORD has compassion (7349)

for those who fear him (Ps 103:13).

iii. Noun form

1. “All that first opens the womb is mine, all your male livestock, the firstborn of cow

and sheep” (Ex 34:19).

a. The word “womb” in this verse has the same root as “mercy.”

b. Dyrness (84-85) notes that the Hebrew language operates in a synthetic way

that it often uses words with concrete roots to refer to more abstract

concepts. In this case, the feminine body part, womb, becomes the basis of

the concept of compassion or mercy. The word for womb comes to mean

mercy. One might say that God’s concern for humanity is rooted in an

expectant mother’s concern about the new life within her body.

2. Gracious.

a. Meaning

i. 2587 !WNx; channun, gracious

ii. The root concept is thought to be associated with yearning.

iii. This quality enables one who has everything to be aware of and to give to the one who has

little. God is one who out of His ample resources gives to those who need.

iv. Yamauchi (202) notes that grace typically flows from a stronger person who has abundance to

a weaker person who has need.

v. Denton (42) defines channun as beauty or kindness toward the poor.

b. Uses

i. Noun. A feminine form of this word is the basis of the name Hannah (see 1Sa 1-2).

ii. Adjective

1. Ex 22:27; 34:6; 2Chr 30:9; Neh 9:17, 31; Ps 86:15; 103:8; 111:4; 112:4; 116:5;

145:8; Joel 2:13; Jonah 4:2.

2. Used 13xs all referring to G

iii. Verbal

1. Exodus 33:19, “I will be gracious.”

2. Graciousness is what makes God hear the cry of the troubled debtor (Ex 22:27).

3. Slow to anger.

a. Meaning

i. 3 English words translate 2 Hebrew words

1. 0750 %rea' 'arek 1) long (pinions) 2) patient, slow to anger

2. 0639 @a; 'aph 1) nostril, nose, face 2) anger

ii. Two words literally mean “long nose.” The phrase is an idiom for controlling anger or for

having patience.

iii. Dahlberg (135) points out that the Hebrews considered the nostrils the source of anger;

therefore, the longer the nose, the greater the patience, while the shorter the nose, the greater

the impatience. Hebrew language often used body parts to describe human traits: A stiff

neck meant stubborn, while high hands pointed to the intentional or premeditated sin.

iv. In an ironic way, the literal words here are the only physical description of God in the Bible.


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1. He has a long nose. However, rather than intending to depict the face of God, the

words rather describe Him as longsuffering and patient.

2. See references to God’s face, hands and back in Ex33

b. Uses

i. The two words appear together 13 times in the Bible, with ten of them referring to God.

1. God is slow to anger in Ex 34:6; Num 14:18; Neh 9:17; Ps 86:15; 103:8; 145:8; Jer

15:15; Joel 2:13; Jonah 4:2; Nah 1:3.

2. Proverbs holds up the patient person with these same words in Prov 14:29; 15:18;

16:32.

4. Abounding in steadfast love.

a. Meaning

i. 4 English words translate 2 Hebrew words

ii. rab much or great

1. 7227 br; rab

iii. chesed one of several Hebrew words translated by the English “love.”

1. 2617 ds,x, chesed 1) goodness, kindness, faithfulness 2) a reproach, shame

2. KJV uses ten different English words to render this Hebrew word, most often using

mercy, kindness, or loving.

3. Laney (47) suggests that God’s love is an unmerited loyalty by which God binds

Himself to His people.

4. When we uncover the meaning and implications of this word for loyalty or steadfast

love, we have probed near to the core of God’s heart and why He seeks relationship

with us.

b. Use: These two Hebrew words which appear together 13 times in the OT: Gen 24:49; 47:29; Ex

34:6; Josh 2:14; 2Sa 2:6; 15:20; Ps 25:10; 61:7; 85:10; 86:15; 89:14; Pro 3:3; 20:28.

5. Faithfulness. a. Meaning

i. 0571 tm,a/ 'emeth firmness, faithfulness, truth

ii. The idea expressed is of firm trust, acceptance, and reliability.

b. Related words

i. Faith--0530 hn"Wma/ 'emunah or hn"mua/ 'emunah, firmness, fidelity, steadfastness, steadiness

ii. To believe/support/nurse--0539 !m;a' 'aman

1. Numbers 11:12 compares God to a nurse: Did I conceive all this people? Did I give

birth to them, that you should say to me, ‘Carry them in your bosom, as a nurse

(0539) carries a sucking child,’ to the land that you promised on oath to their

ancestors? (Num 11:12).

2. Naomi (Ruth 4:16) became Obed’s nurse

3. Mordecai (Esther 2:7) served as Esther’s foster father, both situations using the same

root concept.

iii. Amen--0543 !mea' 'amen

c. Just as those praying offer a word of confirmation to the prayer, in a sense God promises to offer a

word of confirmation to His people.

6. Faithful love a. Combine the last two

i. Hendiadys--using more than one word to describe a concept

ii. “abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness” may be a hendiadys

b. John 1:14 And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of

a father's only son, full of grace and truth.

The actions of God.

hQ,n:y> al{ hQen:w> ha'J'x;w> [v;p,w" !wO[' afenO ~ypil'a]l' ds,x, rcenO ~y[iBerI-l[;w> ~yviLevi-l[; ~ynIb' ynEB.-l[;w> ~ynIB'-l[; tAba' !wO[] dqePo


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1. Preview

a. Keeping (Hebrew participle) steadfast love for the thousandth generation

b. Forgiving (Hebrew participle) iniquity and transgression and sin

c. By no means clearing (two verbs in Hebrew) the guilty

d. Visiting (Hebrew participle) the iniquity of the parents upon the children and the children's children, to

the third and the fourth generation

2. Keeping steadfast love for the thousandth generation. a. Keeping

i. 5341 rc;n" natsar, to guard, watch, watch over, keep

ii. the one who watches the vineyard, guards the city, and especially connected to the one who

perseveres with fidelity.

iii. God plays this role 15 times in the OT: Deu 32:10; Ps 12:8; 25:21; 31:24; 32:7; 40:12; 61:8;

64:2 140:2, 5; Isa 26:3; 42:6; 49:8; Prov 2:8; 22:12

iv. Just as the trusted military personnel keep watch over a city, so God keeps watch over His

steadfast love.

b. Love

i. Chesed repeated from 34;6

ii. modified by “much” or “abounding.”

c. Thousand generations

i. 0505 @l,a, 'eleph, Thousands

ii. The number for thousand is often understood literally, but it is also the word for infinite or

without number.

iii. Cf. Ex 20:6; 34:7; Deu 5:10; Jer 32:18; Deu 32:30; Ecc 6:6.

iv. Just as the night watchman guards the security of the vineyard, so God preserves His steadfast

love. But God does not just spend one night watching over His loyalty—he guards it for a

thousand generations.

d. Contrast: The two appearances of “steadfast love” in the passage emphasize different aspects of God’s

loyalty.

i. “Abounding in steadfast love”

1. depth and abundance of God’s love,

2. speaks to its quality,

3. its present availability.

ii. “Keeping steadfast love for the thousandth generation”

1. describes the width and coverage of God’s love,

2. speaks to its quantity,

3. its future availability.

3. Forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin.

a. 5375 af'n" nasa' , to lift, bear up, forgive

i. Hebrew words often take a literal action and give it a symbolic meaning.

ii. Just as a mother lifts a burden off her child, so here God lifts sin off the sinner.

iii. Just as the garbage truck carries away the refuse, so God carries away the iniquity.

b. 5771 !wO[' `avon, perversity, depravity, iniquity,

i. from 05753 meaning to bend, twist, distort

ii. The idea is of making a straight thing crooked. Instead of walking in a straight line toward

God, the iniquitous person walks in a crooked line.

c. 6588 [v;P, pesha`, transgression, rebellion

i. from 06586 meaning to rebel, transgress, revolt

ii. refers to a broken relationship between two people.

d. 2403 ha'J'x; chatta'ah, sin, sinful

i. from 02398 meaning to sin, miss, miss the way

ii. a person who misses living up to God’s ethical standards.

e. Hendiadys

i. 3 words simply refer to all possible wrong doing (Cassuto, 440).

ii. 2 possibilities

1. humans have not left a single kind of disobedience untried

2. God is able to forgive whatever kind of disobedience humans try.


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4. Yet by no means clearing the guilty

a. 5352 hq;n" naqah, to be empty, be clear, be pure, be free, be innocent

i. refers to plundering a city in war or purifying water

ii. many of the 44 occurrences in the Hebrew Bible refer to taking away sin

iii. emphatic form

1. using the verb naqah twice

2. indicate the intensity of God’s intent.

iv. “guilty” does not appear in Hebrew but is implied from the previous phrase.

5. Visiting the iniquity of the parents upon the children and the children's children, to the third and the fourth

generation.

a. 6485 dq;P' paqad, to attend to, muster, number, reckon, visit, punish, appoint, look after, care for

i. Used in Ex 3;16; 4:31; 13:19; 32:34

ii. The meanings of this word paqad may seem contradictory and often vary with the translator

and the context.

b. 5771 !wO[' `avon

i. Iniquity, same word as above

ii. the idea of making a straight thing crooked.

c. 0001 ba' 'ab, father of an individual 2) of God as father of his people 3) head or founder of a

household, group, family, or clan

d. 1121 !Be ben, son, grandson, child, member of a group

e. 8029 vLevi shillesh, pertaining to the third, third (generation)

f. 7256 [;BerI ribbea`, pertaining to the fourth

g. Meaning of generations

i. The sin has implications for the one who commits the sin along with descendants for the next

few generations.

ii. The sin has implications for all those now living, understanding that in that society often 3 or

4 generations lived together in the same house.

6. Last Phrases

a. Observations

i. often left off the list of God’s qualities

ii. some considered the matters too difficult to discuss.

iii. Rather than being a single word or a short phrase, this quality of God contains 15 words in

Hebrew.

b. Possible meanings

i. God does not forgive unconfessed and unrepentant sin.

1. “God pays attention to the unrepentant sins of the parents, remembering them for

several generations.”

2. This statement qualifies the earlier promise of forgiveness by affirming that God

does not forgive sin which is unconfessed.

3. Sin which has not been forgiven cannot simply be forgotten with the passing of time.

4. Raitt (40, 56) claims there are forty biblical occasions when God does not forgive sin

and 140 promises of forgiveness.

ii. God forgives sin, but does not remove the consequences of sin.

1. “God forgives sins, but some sins have consequences which God does not remove

until several generations have passed.”

2. God’s grace in this passage is not “cheap grace.”

3. Forgiveness does not remove consequences (Birch 131).

4. Although God is willing to forgive any sin, God reveals that the consequences of a

particular sin may continue to affect descendants of the sinner in a negative way.

iii. The decision to forgive sins is God’s alone and is not dictated by human wishes.

1. “I will forgive those I want to forgive and not forgive those I choose not to forgive,

and I even have the freedom to punish succeeding generations for the sins of their

parents.”

2. Raitt (44-48) finds a forgiving pole and a punishing pole as a means of explaining

God’s identity.

3. God claims the right to balance the two poles out of His steadfast love and mercy.


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4. God is not subject to human whims.

5. God is free to do what He wants to do.

6. He can forgive sin or He can refuse to forgive sin.

7. He can forgive it now or generations in the future.

8. He is not bound by the list of His traits.

iv. God’s justice demands that some sins be punished, even for generations.

1. “When injustice is done to an individual, and the person inflicting the injustice does

not make it right, I will stay with that situation for the succeeding generations until

the wrong is made right.”

2. To forgive the sins of those who have oppressed and hurt others does not address the

oppression or the hurt.

3. In the last trait God promises that even if it takes three or four generations to address

the wrong, He will continually right the world’s wrongs.

Theology: The Biblical God is for us

1. Contemporary views of God often emphasize a negative image of a distant God who does not care.

2. Ex 34:5-7 depicts a more complex view

a. God introduces himself

b. God’s nature includes both positive and negative aspects.

c. These are not intended to be isolated and independent qualities, but rather the are pieces of a whole

(cake not a salad)

3. This passage speaks in these ways

a. God is relational because all these items depend on God interacting with humans

b. God is benevolent

c. God initiates

d. God is free (these qualities do not determine God to a particular course of action with any individual or

group).

4. These words were significant enough to be used repeatedly

a. There are 8 direct quotations in the OT

b. There are over 20 allusions

c. These words provide the biblical vocabulary by which we speak of God.


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Reflecting on God—Using Ex 32-34 to affirm the uniqueness of the Biblical God

Lecture 3 Preview

1. Issue: The preferences of consumerism and pluralism for choices and tolerance undermine the idea of one God

2. Text: Focus on Ex 32-34 where the calf represents a challenge to the one God who calls himself Jealous

3. Theology: Rethinking God’s uniqueness and call for obedience in a postmodern culture

Issue: Consumerism and pluralism preferring choices and tolerance reject the idea of one God

1. Consumerism demands choices

a. Capitalism is driven by supply and demand that requires choice

b. Congregations exist in this consumer culture and must abide by some of its rules

c. Consumers who are used to choices and options, find the choice of one God restrictive and

countercultural

2. Pluralism demands toleration

a. Pluralism denies any absolute truths

b. Pluralism depends on the division between public fact and private values

c. Pluralists reject the idea of one God as being a private value asserted as a public fact

d. Bumper sticker:

3. Points

a. The Exodus call for one God clashes with the consumer’s demand for choices

b. The Exodus call for one God clashes with pluralism’s demand for tolerance

Text: Focus on Ex 32-34 where the calf represents a challenge to the one God who calls himself Jealous

1. Overview—Divide 32-34 into 9 pericopes (divided by conversation partners and probable locations)

a. 32:1-6—Aaron and Israel—The Golden Calf breaks covenant (Camp)

b. 32:7-14—Moses and God Conversation #1—God’s wrath and Moses’ intercession (Sinai)

c. 32:15-29—Moses and Israel #1 (Camp)

i. 32:15-20 Moses and Joshua—Moses’ wrath (tablets broken)

ii. 32:21-24 Moses and Aaron—Aaron’s excuses

iii. 32:25-29 Moses and Levites—Levite’s service

d. 32:30-33:6—Moses and God Conversation #2—Israel’s future and God’s forgiveness (Mt Sinai)

e. 33:7-11—Moses and God Conversation #3—Future of Moses and Israel (Tent)

f. 33:12-23—Moses and God Conversation #4—God’s visual revelation (Sinai Theophany #1)

g. 34:1-9—Moses and God Conversation #5—God’s verbal revelation (Sinai Theophany #2)

h. 34:11-28—God speaks (Sinai)—covenant renewed (tablets rewritten)

i. 34:29-35—Moses and Israel #2 (Camp)

2. Chart:

Passage Conversation Partners Topic Location Covenant

1 32:1-6 Aaron and Israel Golden Calf Camp Violated

2 32:7-14 Moses and God--#1 God’s wrath & Moses’ intercession Sinai

3 32:15-29 Moses and Israel--#1 See the next three lines Camp

32:15-20 Moses & Joshua Moses’ wrath Near Camp Tablets broken

32:21-24 Moses & Aaron Aaron’s excuse Camp

32:25-29 Moses & Levites Levite’s service Camp

4 32:30-33:6 Moses and God--#2 God’s forgiveness & Moses’ intercession Sinai

5 33:7-11 Moses and God--#3 Face to face between friends Tent

6 33:12-23 Moses and God--#4 Visual Theophany (#1) Sinai

7 34:1-9 Moses and God--#5 Verbal Theophany (#2) Sinai Reinstated

8 34:11-28 Moses and God--#6 Covenant Renewal Sinai New tablets

9 34:29-35 Moses and Israel--#2 Teaching Camp


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i. Of the 9 pericopes Moses and God speak in 6.

ii. Of the 9 pericopes 5 are on Sinai, 3 in camp, 1 outside of camp.

3. What does the calf represent?

a. Calf

i. 5695 lg<[e `egel, calf, bull-calf

ii. Psa 106:19; same as Jeroboam I’s calf in 1K12:25

iii. “gods” in v1 with plural verb

1. Could be intent to make multiple gods

2. Likely means to make an alternative god

b. Nature of offense

i. Calf--An assault on the Ten Commandments [TC] & covenant

1. TC#1—worship of another god (Calf represents another god)

2. TC#2—making of an image of Yahweh (Calf represents Yahweh, cf 32:5)

3. TC#3—Using God’s name in vain (calling the calf Yahweh)

4. Regardless of which one, the TC are assaulted.

ii. Aaron indicates the people were “bent on evil” (32:22). It uses the same words as “they were

in trouble” in Ex 5:19.

iii. Moses’ evaluation of the calf was, “You have sinned a great sin” (32:30). There are always

different evaluations of the moral weight of a particular sin. It would seem that making the

calf did not seem to be a sin at all to many people, yet God’s man saw it as a ‘great sin.”

c. Calf functions as a replacement for Moses (Janzen, 228)

i. The people need a concrete connection with God and with Moses gone they make their own

connection

ii. Moses has been gone since 24:18 (40 days)

iii. The people take matters into their own hands

iv. Irony that Aaron is given a dominant leadership role in Ex 28-29 while in Ex 32 (and 34:30)

appears in such a negative way

d. Calf functions as a replacement for Tabernacle

i. The people need a place to contact God and make their own point of contact.

ii. God planned the tabernacle as a place of his presence

1. “…have them make me a sanctuary, so that I may dwell among them” (Ex 25:8)

2. The calf interrupts that planning.

3. In the following events the tent of the meeting (?) and theophanies replace the

planned tabernacle

iii. Note the parallels between the preparations to build the tabernacle in 25:1-9 and the

preparations’ to build the calf in 32:1-6

iv. The irony of the text is that as God gives Moses the plans for how God will be present in the

Tabernacle (25-31) the people substitute an inferior plan (calf) which jeopardizes God’s plan

v. With the covenant renewed and appropriate laws given to prevent a recurrence of the calf (34)

construction on the tabernacle begins (35) and God establishes his presence in the tabernacle

(40).

e. Calf functions as a violation of the covenant between God and Israel

i. What God has done for Israel

1. Exodus 6:6-8 6 Say therefore to the Israelites, 'I am the LORD, and I will free you

from the burdens of the Egyptians and deliver you from slavery to them. I will

redeem you with an outstretched arm and with mighty acts of judgment. 7 I will take

you as my people, and I will be your God. You shall know that I am the LORD your

God, who has freed you from the burdens of the Egyptians. 8 I will bring you into

the land that I swore to give to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; I will give it to you for a

possession. I am the LORD.'"

2. Actions God has taken for Israel:

a. God has heard their cries

b. God has sent a deliverer

c. God redeemed them from Egypt

d. God led them across the Red Sea


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e. God brought them to the mountain (19)

f. God gave them the law and covenant (20-24)

g. God ate a meal with their leaders (24)

h. God planned the Tabernacle as a means of living among them (25-31)

i. The people accepted his deliverance and ratified his covenant

ii. Israel replaces the stipulations of the covenant with their own creation.

iii. What Israel does with the calf “is rather like committing adultery on one’s wedding night.”

(Moberly, “Exodus, Book of ,” 214)

f. Calf functions as a symbol of state power

i. Some see the calf celebration as a military celebration on parallel with Ex 15 which makes the

celebration non sexual. (Janzen 228)

ii. By making a calf, an Egyptian god, they signal their desire to worship the same power they

just escaped. (Janzen 12)

g. The calf story within the larger context of Scripture.

i. Parallels with Genesis 1-12

1. Both Gen 1-12 and Exod 1-40 are stories of beginnings.

2. Genesis couple and calf builders do not recognize that God works in the background

to help them accomplish what they seek to do by themselves.

3. Same structure: sin leads to judgment which calls for mercy which leads to renewal

4. God creates an ideal world in Gen 1-2 just as God creates an ideal nation in Ex 19-

31.

5. Humanity’s first sin is paralleled by Israel’s first sin as a nation

6. Gen 2-3 and Ex 32 is an attempt at self-sufficiency

7. Adam and Aaron blame others

8. The divine human rupture in Gen is paralleled by the rupture in Ex 32-34

9. Both Noah and Moses “find favor” with God

10. People in Gen 6 and Ex 32 both face destruction

11. The climatic revelation in the section comes in the midst of Noah’s/Moses’ worship

12. Both the world in Noah’s time and Israel in Moses’ time come close to total

destruction

13. Both Noah and Moses, standards of faith, sin later in life, and both show up at the

turning point between judgment and grace, and go on to hear God’s announcement

of mercy.

14. Just as God starts over with Abraham, so God starts over with Israel

15. God’s pain at the sin of the pre-flood world is paralleled by God’s anger at the calf

16. In the flood story the humans are sinful before and after the flood, but God changes

from near total destruction to a promise never to do it again; just as in Ex 32-34 the

humans are sinful during and after the story, but God changes his mind and makes

promises about who he is despite human sin.

ii. Parallels with Gospels and Acts

1. God sends Jesus the ideal man just as God creates an ideal nation in Ex 19-31

2. Israel breaks covenant with God by rejecting God’s ideal with the calf just as those

in the Gospel reject God’s ideal Jesus at the cross

3. Just as God starts over with Israel, so he begins anew in Acts 2

iii. Commentary on Ex 32-34

1. Psa 106:19-23; Rom 1:23

2. Dt 9:6-21

4. God’s response to the calf

a. God withdraws his presence

i. See Appendix A

ii. God changes his mind. See Appendix B

iii. God uses violence against Israel. See Appendix C

b. Forgiveness

i. See Ex 32:5-7

ii. See Appendix D

c. Renewal of the covenant and creation of boundaries


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i. Exodus 34:10-28—God plans for the future

ii. Exodus 34:10 He said: I hereby make a covenant. Before all your people I will perform

marvels, such as have not been performed in all the earth or in any nation; and all the people

among whom you live shall see the work of the LORD; for it is an awesome thing that I will

do with you.

1. What are the marvels? Generally it has been events like the Red Sea

2. It seems here that the marvel is God’s willingness to forgive even the sin of the calf.

iii. Ex 34:11-28

1. Out of God’s grace, mercy and love he sets boundaries so the divine-human

relationship is not challenged again

2. Out of God’s grace, mercy and love he continues to reveal himself to Moses.

d. Proclaims himself the Jealous God

i. Exodus 34:13-15 You shall tear down their altars, break their pillars, and cut down their

sacred poles 14 (for you shall worship no other god, because the Lord, whose name is Jealous,

is a jealous God). 15 You shall not make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land, for

when they prostitute themselves to their gods and sacrifice to their gods, someone among

them will invite you, and you will eat of the sacrifice.

1. 7067 aN"q; qanna' jealous (only of God)

2. This particular Hebrew word appears in its various forms over 80 times in OT, 33 of

which describe God in some way. God is jealous

ii. God’s Jealous nature is an expression of his uniqueness

1. He is one of a kind

2. It’s not that he rejects competition, there is none

3. There are no equivalent choices

Theology: Rethinking God’s uniqueness and call for obedience in a postmodern culture.

1. The calf sin is a sin of self-sufficiency

a. Humans regularly seek to replace God-provided revelation, institutions and personnel with humanly

devised items.

b. God freed the slaves, but they were not free to do what they wanted

c. Moberly (Mountain, 63) points out that Israel’s sin revolves around making their own vehicle of the

divine presence which makes them forfeit the true one

d. The calf shows how Yahweh respects human free will

2. Reading Ex 32-34 in light of the sin, interim and reconciliation of a broken marriage.

a. Contemporary culture continues to prize integrity in relationships

i. This illustration uses a rupture in a marriage relationship as a parallel to the events in Ex 32-

34

1. Sin

2. Interim

3. Reconciliation

ii. Scripture often draws a parallel between the divine human relationship and marriage: Hosea

1-3; Jer 2-3; Eph 5.

b. Sin:

i. Marital infidelity disrupts a marriage

ii. Idolatry disrupts God’s relationship with Israel

1. The people seek another god. Strike one

2. They make an idol of that god. Strike two

3. They call the idol by God’s name. Strike three

c. Interim:

i. Marital infidelity leads to ambiguity in the husband-wife relationship

ii. Idolatry leads to ambiguity in the divine-human relationship

1. God plans total destruction but while punishing increasingly shows restraint

2. Moses plays the role of counselor

3. Issues that rise during the interim

a. Will God forgive?


5

b. Will God consume the people?

c. Will God be present with the people?

d. Will God continue to know Moses?

e. The interim is filled with ambiguity, uncertainty, threats, and confusing

language and conversations. See Appendix A for a fuller discussion of the

ambiguities of the calf story.

4. The time between sin and the full reconciliation is likely to be filled with these same

attributes.

d. Reconciliation

i. Marital infidelity can lead to reconciliation but there is often a residue that continues for

generations.

ii. Idolatry can lead to reconciliation but there are consequences

1. Whether it is a couple that reconciles or a repair of the divine-human rift, such

reconciliation contains surprise and incredulity.

2. The reconciliation is made possible not by Israel’s repentance (which is never

mentioned) but by God’s willingness to accept his people and forgive them.

iii. Reading Exod 34:5-7 in light of Exodus 32-34 provides additional insights into the theology

of reconciliation. See Appendix B.

e. The marital imagery explains the uniqueness of God to a consumer and pluralistic society.

i. Consumer

1. God will not accept competition any more than a spouse will accept competition

2. I do not want my wife looking at any of the competition

ii. Pluralism

1. God will not accept the existence of things that do not exist

2. I believe in the truth of one man for one woman

3. Reading Ex 32-34 in a culture that prizes uniqueness

a. The God named Jealous reflects the uniqueness of God.

i. There are no other gods, so there can be no images of those non gods

ii. The name of the one God cannot be applied to a non god

iii. The non gods cannot be worshipped in place of the God

b. Contemporary culture prizes individuality

i. I am unique

ii. Identify theft, I do not want anybody else with my SSN

iii. She has the same dress on that I do

iv. We pay more for a unique work of art

c. Exodus prizes individuality

i. Just as we do not want anybody else with our social security number, neither does God.

ii. God has a passion, a heart, for his uniqueness just as we do

iii. It is who he is

iv. He is one, unique, SSN 000-00-001

v. There is no one like him anywhere

d. Jealousy is God’s way of saying

i. Hey, that’s my number.

ii. That’s a forgery.

iii. That’s a replica

iv. It’s not the real thing

4. Reading Ex 32-34 in a culture that prizes high expectations

a. Ex 34:14 (cf. 20:5) is the strongest statement of God’s jealousy in the OT.

b. Israel’s unfaithfulness is incompatible with God’s faithfulness.

i. Faithfulness to God is all or nothing.

ii. The renewal of the covenant stresses faithfulness to the one God

iii. Deut 6:2-4 calls for the people to love God with all their heart, soul and strength.

c. The high demand that God places on following only him rings true in a culture that responds well to

high demands.

i. People want to make a difference

ii. Want their lives to count for something


6

iii. Many looking for a cause bigger than themselves

iv. Showing mercy (giving of oneself) is popular

d. When Israel responds in faithfulness, they find new enthusiasm for their faith.

i. Ex 35 the eagerness of the people reflects the presence of God, a proper understanding and

encounter with God.

ii. Moberly (Mountain, 110) “The people’s free offering reflects a theological understanding that

it is the experience of God’s mercy which elicits true and worthy response on the part of

Israel.”


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Appendix A

Ambiguities in Ex 32-34

1. The presence of God follows a confusing and uncertain path.

a. Moberly (Mountain of God, 62) calls this the most extensive presentation of the presence of God in the

entire Bible.

b. Passages that reflect on God’s presence

1. 32:1 who will go before us

2. 32:10 let me alone, I may consume them, of you I will make a great nation

3. 32:11 Moses refuses to leave, but implores God

4. 32:14 Yahweh changes his mind about the disaster

5. 32:30 Moses returns to the mountain to talk to Yahweh

6. 32:34 my angel shall go in front of you

7. 33:2 I will send an angel before you

8. 33:3 I will not go among you, or I would consume you

9. 33:5 I will decide what to do to you

10. 33:9 The pillar of cloud would descend at the entrance to the tent of the meeting

11. 33:10 Yahweh speaks to Moses; Yahweh in cloud

12. 33:11 Yahweh speaks to Moses face to face

13. 33:12 you have not let me know whom you will send with me

14. 33:14 My presence will go with you

15. 33:15 If your presence will not go, do not carry us up from here

16. 33:16 unless you go with us?

17. 33:17 I will do the very thing that you have asked

18. 33:18 I will make my goodness pass before you

19. 33:20 You cannot see my face for no one can see me and live

20. 33:22 while my glory passes by

21. 33:23 you shall see my back, but my face shall not be seen

22. 34:5 The Lord descended in the cloud and stood with him

23. 34:11 I will drive out before you the Amorites…

24. 34:24 I will cast out nations before you

25. 34:28 He was there with the Lord 40 days and 40 nights

26. 34:29 His face shone because he had been talking with God

27. 34:11-16 unstated point is that God not an angel will lead them

28. 34:34 Whenever Moses went in before the Lord to speak with him

29. 40:34f God’s glory fills the tabernacle

c. Issues at work

i. Moses and the people sense a loss of God’s presence that they have experienced previously

1. At Sinai, in the cloud pillar

2. In the Tent of the Meeting

3. In the regular conversations

4. Promised in the Tabernacle

ii. Moses resists leaving Sinai where God is present to go on a journey where only the angel will

be present.

1. Moberly (Mountain,60ff )

a. Can Yahweh leave the mountain? Yes

b. Can a holy God accept an unholy people? Yes

c. Can God dwell among his people without consuming them? Yes, but only

because of his grace and mercy.

2. It is not clear if God will be present in the Promised Land or if he will continue to

dwell at Sinai especially without the Tabernacle.

iii. Many of these passages are complex and difficult to understand

1. How were the people punished? drinking water, sword, plague

2. God’s anger and decision to destroy Israel and promise to create the Mosesites


2

3. Moses’ request to remove his name from the book in 33:32 and God’s response

4. Are the ornaments a sign of repentance (we will remove our gold so we cannot make

another calf) or mourning/regret?

5. Why is the Tent of Meeting story included? Is it simply part of the presence of God

theme or is it a flashback to good old days?

6. What is going on in the conversation between God and Moses about “knowing God”

and finding favor and presence?

7. Are there one or two theophanies in 33:17-34:9?

iv. Why are these passages so difficult?

1. Different sources and editing process

2. An attempt to show that the interim between sin and reconciliation is often difficult

Appendix B

Does God Change His Mind?

Scripture

1. Terms

a. Immutable-- Unchangeable, never changing

i. General area of theology: God’s omniscience and foreknowledge

ii. Classical Argument

1. If God can change his mind, then that implies that there are things unknown to

God.

2. If there are things unknown to God, then God does not know everything

3. If he does not know everything, then he cannot be God.

b. Impassible— cannot feel pain, incapable of suffering, unfeeling, cannot arouse emotion

i. General area of theology: God’s sovereignty

ii. Classical Argument

1. God has passions and emotions

2. These passions and emotions cannot be affected by outside sources

3. If God’s emotions and passions are affected by outside sources, he is no longer

sovereign but contingent

2. Word

a. 05162 ~x;n" (nacham) to be sorry, console oneself

b. Appears 108xs in OT, 48xs in Niphal, 51 in Piel, 2x in Pual, 7xs in Hithpael

c. Generally has the twin ideas of

i. Decision

ii. Emotion

3. Texts favoring Immutability and Impassibility: Numbers 23:19; 1 Sam 15:27-31; Psa 33:10-11; 44:20-21;

100:4-5; 102:23-27; 110:4; 119:89; 139:1-3; Isa 41:22-23; 46:9-10; Jer 17:9-10; Mal 3:6-12; Mt 6:6; Lk 16:15;

2 Cor 11:31-12:3; Eph 2:10; 4:30; Tit 1:1-3; Heb 4:12; 6:17-19; Jam 1:16-17; 1Jn 3:20.

4. Texts Opposing Immutability and Impassibility: Gen 6:6-7; Ex 32:14; 1 Sam15:11, 35; 1 Chron21:15; Psa

106:43-36; Jer 18:8-10; 26:3-19; Hos 11:8-9; Amos 7:1-6; Joel 2:13; Jon 3:9-4:2

Interpretations

1. Classical Calvinistic View

a. Paul Helm, of Regent College in Bruce A. Ware, ed. Perspectives on the Doctrine of God—Four

Views (Nashville: Broadman and Holman, 2008) maintains impassibility and immutability.

b. See also: Ron Highfield, Great is the Lord—Theology for the Praise of God (Grand Rapids:

Eerdmans, 2008).

c. Arguments

i. God predestines all people from the beginning of time to either eternal salvation or

damnation.


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ii. All the references to God changing are understood as anthropomorphisms and

anthropopathisms.

iii. Take all of Scripture as God adapting and accommodating himself to our ways of

thinking and our laws.

2. Modified Calvinistic View

a. Bruce Ware, of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Perspectives on the Doctrine of God—

Four Views takes a similar position

b. Ware argues that God’s does not change his mind, but his predestination does not make him the

author of evil in the same way as he is the author of good

3. Classical Arminian View

a. In Perspectives on the Doctrine of God—Four Views” Baylor University professor Roger Olson

maintains that God can change his mind

b. He argues that God elects all the people that he can foresee will use their own free will come to

Christ, commonly called the Arminian or Molinist position of God having a “middle knowledge.”

i. God’s role in the world is linked to human free will.

ii. God’s omniscience is limited by the temporal order

iii. God would seem to be able to change his mind

4. Open Theist View

a. In Perspectives on the Doctrine of God—Four Views, Hendrix College Professor John Sanders

presents what is called the open theism view

b. Open theism argues that God seeks a relationship with humanity based on human free will and

that God does not know events which have not yet happened, that he is “open” to what people do.

c. God has partially decided the future and left part of it undecided or “open”

d. God can change his mind because part of the future is open and not set.

Appendix C

The violence of God

1. Sources

a. Terence Fretheim, “God and Violence in the OT” Word and World 24 (Winter 2004) 18-28.

b. Terence Fretheim, "’I was only a little angry’ Divine Violence in the Prophets” Interpretation, 58

(October 2004) 365-375.

c. Kari Latvus, God, Anger, and Ideology: The Anger of God in Joshua and Judges (Sheffield: Sheffield

Academic, 1998).

d. Gerd Ludemann, The Unholy in Holy Scripture: The Dark Side of the Bible (Louisville

Westminster/John Knox, 1997).

e. R. J. Rummel, Death by Government (New Brunswick, NJ: Transaction Publishers, 1994).

f. Harold Shank, “Violence: God and the Sword” Listening to His Heartbeat—What the Bible Says about

the Heart of God. Joplin: College Press, 2009.

g. Erich Zenger, A God of Vengeance? Understanding the Psalms of Divine Wrath, trans. Linda Maloney

(Louisville: Westminster/John Knox, 1996).

2. Fretheim:

a. Divine violence cannot be minimized

b. God often uses existing human entities as “agents” of his violence

c. God’s use of communal violent often hurts innocent people

d. His violence has two basic purposes: judgment and salvation.

e. Divine violence is only in opposition to human violence.

f. The OT itself questions God’s violence

g. God’s violence is not ultimately a matter of despair, but of hope.

h. God's response to the consequent disasters includes emotions.


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Appendix D Exod 34:5-7 within the context of Ex 32-34

1. Revisiting Ex 34:5-7 within the larger context by comparing what the words meant by themselves to how they

appear within the larger context.

2. Nouns/names

a. Words imply power, self-existence, creation

b. Context implies vulnerability and accessibility

i. God seeks to have a presence with his people

ii. After the temporary withdrawal of his presence in light of the calf, God again reveals his

name

iii. In Ex 3 his name is in light of God’s existence; in Ex 6 in light of Israelite history, but in Ex

34 it is in light of Israel’s sin

iv. Revelation of the name is an offer of accessibility and presence

1. 33:12-16 despite the difficulties portrays a Moses seeking accessibility and presence

2. God responds with his name

3. Mettinger (23) calls the divine name a “password”

v. Fretheim (Suffering, 100-01) writes, “Naming entails a certain kind of relationship. Giving

the name opens up the possibility of, indeed, admits a desire for, a certain intimacy in

relationship. . . . Naming entails vulnerability. In giving the name, God becomes available to

the world and at the disposal of those who can name the name.”

3. Adjectives with nouns/descriptions

a. Words describe a beneficial and hopeful God.

b. Context underscores the forgiveness for the sin at the calf, for the breaking of the covenant.

i. This descriptions of God come during a time of uncertainty, doubt, remorse and death

ii. God’s self-disclosure reveals he remains a God of grace and mercy throughout this particular

sin

iii. God’s promise to be slow to anger must be read in light of his quick but brief anger in Ex 32.

1. God’s offer of love in Ex 34 is the first time God offers his unqualified love directly

to his people and it comes in the midst of sin. Previous references to God’s love

a. Genesis 39:21 But the LORD was with Joseph and showed him steadfast

love; he gave him favor in the sight of the chief jailer.

b. Exodus 15:13 In your steadfast love you led the people whom you

redeemed; you guided them by your strength to your holy abode.

c. Exodus 20:6 but showing steadfast love to the thousandth generation of

those who love me and keep my commandments.

iv. Ex 34:5-7 seems to be buried in midst of law, tabernacle.

1. Why does the Bible not begin with this list?

2. Why is it buried here?

3. Because it makes the most sense in the midst of real life.

4. Verbs/forgiveness and withholding forgiveness

a. Words describe God in a way that is confusing and open to interpretation (see four views)

b. Context points to the strongest statement anywhere in the Bible of God being both forgiving and

punishing.

i. The forgiveness and punishment of the calf story are reflected in the theology of Ex 32:5-7

ii. God both forgives and punishes

1. Raitt (45) makes the point: “The rigor of juxtaposing a forgiving pole with a

punishing pole is echoed but never put more strongly elsewhere in the Old

Testament.”

a. He means that we often read about God’s love, forgiveness and mercy

without any indication of His willingness to punish, and we frequently hear

about His efforts to punish His people that make no mention of His love,

forgiveness and mercy.

b. In Exodus 34:7 we get both.


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2. Exodus 33:19 19 And he said, "I will make all my goodness pass before you, and

will proclaim before you the name, 'The LORD'; and I will be gracious to whom I

will be gracious, and will show mercy on whom I will show mercy.

3. Romans 9:15-16 For he says to Moses, "I will have mercy on whom I have mercy,

and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion." 16 So it depends not on

human will or exertion, but on God who shows mercy.

iii. God’s punishment is less frequent than his forgiveness

1. Love for a thousandth generation; punishment for 3-4 generations

2. 3-4 generations could refer to the people currently alive, in that at that time families

lived together and such sin would touch all 3-4 generations in each family.

3. Cf. Ex20:5-6

iv. God forgives despite the fact that the people do not repent or change.

1. Ex 32-34 never clearly reports the people’s repentance. God forgives not based on

the quality of their repentance but on the quality of his gracious and merciful

forgiveness.

2. The people remain stiff necked throughout

a. Words

i. 7186 hv,q' qasheh, hard, cruel, severe, obstinate

ii. 6203 @r,[o `oreph, neck, back of the neck,

iii. stiff of neck, obstinate (fig.)

b. Appearances of stiff-necked (Moberly, Mountain, 89)

i. 32:9—reason God will destroy

ii. 33:3—reason God will not go in their midst

iii. 33:5—reason Israel is despoiled just as Egypt was despoiled

iv. 33:9—reason God is merciful

Sources Cited Birch, Bruce C. “Divine Character and the Formation of Moral Community in the Book of Exodus.” The Bible in

Ethics: the Second Sheffield Colloquium. The Library of Hebrew Bible/OT Studies. Sheffield: Sheffield

Academic Press, 1995. 119-135.

Bosman, J. P. “The Paradoxical Presence of Exodus 34:6-7 in the Book of the Twelve.” Scriptura 87 (2004): 233-

43.

Brown, Steve. Approaching God: Accepting the Invitation to Stand in the Presence of God. West Monroe: Howard,

2008.

Brueggemann, Walter. Exodus, The New Interpreter’s Bible. Nashville: Abingdon, 1994.

________. “Crisis-evoked, Crisis-resolving Speech.” Biblical Theology Bulletin 24 (1994): 95-105.

________. Interpreter’s Dictionary of the Bible—Supplement . “Presence of God, Cultic.”

Dahlberg, B. T. Interpreter’s Dictionary of the Bible. “Anger.”

Davies, G. Henton. Interpreter’s Dictionary of the Bible. “Presence of God.”

Denton, Robert C. “The Literary Affinities of Exodus XXXIV 6f.” Vetus Testamentum 13 (1963): 34-51.

Dyrness, William A. Themes in Old Testament Theology. Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 1977.

Durham, John I. Exodus. WBC. Waco: Word, 1987

Fretheim, Terrence. The Pentateuch. Nashville: Abingdon, 1996.

________. The Suffering of God. Overtures to Biblical Theology. Philadelphia: Fortress, 1998.

Gowan, Donald. Theology in Exodus. Louisville: John Knox, 1994.

Janzen, Gerald. Exodus. Westminster Bible Companion. Louisville: Westminster John Knox, 1997.

Mettinger, Tryggve N. D. In Search of God—The Meaning and Message of the Everlasting Names. Philadelphia:

Fortress, 1988.

McConville, J. G. God and Earthly Power: An Old Testament Political Theology—Genesis-Kings. Library of

Hebrew Bible/Old Testament Studies, 454. New York: T & T Clark, 2006.

Mills, Mary. Images of God in the Old Testament. Collegeville, Minnesota: Liturgical Press, 1998.

Moberly. R. W. L. At the Mountain of God Story and Theology in Ex 32-34. Sheffield: JSOT, 1983.

_______. Dictionary for Theological Interpretation of the Bible. “Exodus, Book of.”


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________. “How May We Speak of God? A Reconsideration of the Nature of Biblical Theology.” Tyndale Bulletin

53.2 (2002): 177-202.

________. The Old Testament of the Old Testament: Patriarchal Narratives and the Mosaic Yahwism.

Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 1992.

Laney, J. Carl. “God’s Self-Revelation in Exodus 34:6-8.” Bibliotheca Sacra 158 (2001): 36-51.

Raitt, Thomas M. “Why does God forgive?” Horizons in Biblical Theology 13 (1991): 38-58.

Shank, Harold. Children Mean the World to God. Nashville: 21st Century Christian, 2001.

________ and David Ralston. It’s All About God. Nashville: 21st Century Christian, 2005.

________. Listening to His Heartbeat—What the Bible Says about the Heart of God. Joplin: College Press, 2009.

Yamauchi, Edwin. “Chanan.” In Theological Workbook of the Old Testament, edited by Gleason Archer, R.Laird

Harris, and Bruce Waltke . 302. Chicago: Moody, 2003.

Wessner, Mark D. “Toward a Literary Understanding of ‘Face to Face’ (~ynIP'-la, ~ynIP')) in Gen 32:23-33.” Restoration

Quarterly, 42.3 (2000): 169-77.

________. “Toward a literary understanding of Moses and the Lord "face to face" (~ynIP'-la, ~ynIP') in Exodus 33:7-11.”

Restoration Quarterly, 44.2 (2002): 109-116.

Wilson, Ian Douglas, “’Face to Face’ with God—Another Look.” Restoration Quarterly 51.2 (2009): 107-114.

General Bibliography on Exodus

Bailey, Randall C. Exodus. The College Press NIV Commentary. Joplin: College Press, 2007.

Brueggemann, Walter. The Book of Exodus: Introduction, Commentary and Reflections. The New Interpreter’s

Bible. Nashville: Abingdon, 1994.

Cassuto, Umberto . A Commentary on the Book of Exodus. Jerusalem: Magnes Press, 1967.

Childs, B.S. Exodus. Old Testament Library. Philadelphia: Westminster Press, 1974.

Clements, R. E. Exodus. Cambridge Bible Commentary. Cambridge: University Press, 1972.

Cole, R.A. Exodus: An Introduction and Commentary. Tyndale OT Commentaries. Downers Grove, IL:

InterVarsity, 1973.

Davies, G. H. Exodus. Torch Bible Commentaries. London: Studies in the Christian Movement Press, 1967.

Driver, S. R. The Book of Exodus. Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges. Cambridge: University Press,

1953.

Durham, J.I. Exodus. Nashville: Nelson, 1984.

Ellison, H. L. Exodus. Daily Study Bible. Philadelphia: Westminster Press, 1982.

Fensham, F.C. Exodus. Nijkerk: Callenbach, 1970.

Freedman, David N. “The Name of the God of Moses.” JBL 79 (1960): 151-156.

Fretheim, Terence E. “Because the Whole Earth Is Mine.” Interpretation 50 (1996): 229-239.

________. Exodus. Interpretation. Louisville: John Knox, 1991.

Gispen, W. H. Exodus. Bible Student’s Commentary. Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1982.

Gowan, Donald. Theology in Exodus: Biblical Theology in the form of a Commentary. Louisville: Westminster,

1994.

Greenberg, M. Understanding Exodus. Melton Research Center Series, vol. 2, pt 1. New York: Behrman House,

1969.

Holbert, John C. Preaching Old Testament: Proclamation and Narrative in the Hebrew Bible. Nashville: Abingdon

Press, 1991.

________. The Ten Commandments: A Preaching Commentary. Nashville: Abingdon, 2002. .

Hyatt, J.P. Exodus. The New Century Bible Commentary. London: Oliphants, 1971.

Janzen, J.Gerald. Exodus. Westminster Bible Companion. Louisville: Westminster/John Knox, 1997.

Kaiser, Walter. Exodus. Expositor’s Bible Commentary. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1990.

________. Preaching and Teaching from the Old Testament—A Guide for the Church. Grand Rapids: Baker, 2003.

Knight, G. A. F. Theology as Narration: A Commentary on the Book of Exodus. Edinburgh: Handsel Press, 1976.

Lowenstamm, S. E. The Tradition of Exodus in Its Development. 2d ed. Jerusalem: Magnes Press, 1972.

McNeile, A. H. The Book of Exodus. Westminster Commentaries. London: Methuen and Co., 1908.

Meyers, Carol. Exodus. New York: Cambridge, 2005.

Noth, Martin. Exodus: A Commentary. Old Testament Library. Philadelphia: Westminster Press, 1962.

Propp, W.H. Exodus 1-18: A New Translation with Introduction and Commentary. New York: Doubleday, 1999.

________. Exodus 19-40. New York: Doubleday, 2006.


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Ryken, Philip Graham. Preaching the Word: Exodus: Saved for God’s Glory. Wheaton: Crossway, 2005.

Sarna, N.M. Exodus. Philadelphia/New York: Jewish Publication Society, 1991.

________. Exploring Exodus: The Heritage of Biblical Israel. New York: Schocken, 1986.

Schmidt, W. H. Exodus. Biblischer Kommentar: Altes Testament. Neukirchen-Vluyn: Neukirchener Verlag,

1974, 1977, 1983.

Stuart, Douglas K. Exodus. The New American Commentary. Nashville: Broadman and Holman, 2006.


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