This week is a podcast featuring a class I recently taught on the book of Exodus.  In this particular class we focused on Exodus 33:21 -34:7.

Exodus 33 (NIV)

21Then the Lord said, “There is a place near me where you may stand on a rock. 22When my glory passes by, I will put you in a cleft in the rock and cover you with my hand until I have passed by. 23Then I will remove my hand and you will see my back; but my face must not be seen.”

Exodus 34

1The Lord said to Moses, “Chisel out two stone tablets like the first ones, and I will write on them the words that were on the first tablets, which you broke. 2Be ready in the morning, and then come up on Mount Sinai. Present yourself to me there on top of the mountain. 3No one is to come with you or be seen anywhere on the mountain; not even the flocks and herds may graze in front of the mountain.”

4So Moses chiseled out two stone tablets like the first ones and went up Mount Sinai early in the morning, as theLord had commanded him; and he carried the two stone tablets in his hands. 5Then the Lord came down in the cloud and stood there with him and proclaimed his name, the Lord. 6And he passed in front of Moses, proclaiming, “The Lord, the Lord, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness,7maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin. Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished; he punishes the children and their children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation.”

In these short verses many important issues were raised:

• Anthropomorphism of God
  • God's "face/faces"- panim
  • God's hand
• Life, Death, and Not living
• Miracles
• Behavior/Actions VS. Feelings/Intent
• Creation of the second set of Tablets
• Is God good?
  • How do we know?
  • What does it mean?
• How does God describe Himself?
  • 13 Attributes
• Compassion VS. Truth
• Must children suffer the sins of their parents?
  • Macro
  • Micro