Exodus 33:8
Then, whenever Moses went out to the tent, all the people would stand at the entrances to their own tents and watch Moses until he entered the tent.
Then, whenever Moses went out to the tent
The phrase highlights the regularity and significance of Moses' actions. The Hebrew root for "went out" (יָצָא, yatsa) implies a deliberate and purposeful action. Moses' journey to the tent of meeting was not a casual occurrence but a significant event, symbolizing his role as the mediator between God and the Israelites. The "tent" here refers to the Tent of Meeting, a temporary place of worship and divine encounter before the construction of the Tabernacle. This setting underscores the importance of seeking God's presence and guidance in the life of a believer.

all the people would stand
The act of standing signifies respect, reverence, and attentiveness. In ancient Near Eastern cultures, standing was a common posture of respect, especially in the presence of someone of higher status or during significant events. The Israelites' collective action of standing indicates their recognition of Moses' unique relationship with God and their anticipation of divine communication. This posture serves as a reminder for believers to approach God with reverence and readiness to listen.

at the entrances to their tents
The "entrances to their tents" represents the threshold between the private and communal spaces of the Israelites. By standing at their tent entrances, the people maintained a connection to their personal lives while simultaneously engaging in a communal act of worship and expectation. This duality reflects the balance believers must maintain between personal devotion and community worship, emphasizing the importance of both individual and collective faith experiences.

and watch Moses
The act of watching Moses indicates a deep interest and expectation from the people. The Hebrew root for "watch" (נָבַט, nabat) suggests a focused and intentional gaze. The Israelites were not merely observing; they were eagerly anticipating the outcome of Moses' encounter with God. This reflects the role of spiritual leaders as intermediaries who seek God's will on behalf of the community. It also encourages believers to look to their leaders for guidance while maintaining their own personal relationship with God.

until he entered the tent
The phrase "until he entered the tent" marks the transition from the public to the private, from the seen to the unseen. Moses' entry into the tent symbolizes the moment of divine encounter, where human limitations meet divine revelation. This moment serves as a powerful reminder of the accessibility of God's presence to those who earnestly seek Him. For believers, it underscores the importance of creating sacred spaces and times for personal communion with God, where they can enter into His presence and receive His guidance and wisdom.

Persons / Places / Events
1. Moses
The central figure in this passage, Moses is the leader of the Israelites and the mediator between God and His people. He regularly communicates with God on behalf of the Israelites.

2. The Tent of Meeting
This was a temporary place of worship and communication with God, set up outside the Israelite camp. It symbolizes God's presence and His willingness to meet with His people.

3. The Israelites
The people of Israel, who are in the wilderness after their exodus from Egypt. They observe Moses as he enters the Tent of Meeting, indicating their respect and anticipation of God's guidance.

4. The Camp
The location where the Israelites are settled during their journey through the wilderness. The camp represents the community of God's people.

5. The Presence of God
Although not a physical person or place, the presence of God is a significant event in this passage, as it is the focal point of Moses' visits to the Tent of Meeting.
Teaching Points
The Importance of Leadership
Moses' actions demonstrate the critical role of a godly leader who seeks God's guidance for the community. Leaders today should prioritize their relationship with God to effectively guide others.

Reverence for God's Presence
The Israelites' behavior shows a deep respect for God's presence. Believers should cultivate a similar reverence and anticipation for God's work in their lives.

The Role of Intercession
Moses' visits to the Tent of Meeting often involved interceding for the people. Christians are called to intercede for others, bringing their needs before God.

Community and Worship
The communal aspect of the Israelites watching Moses suggests the importance of corporate worship and seeking God together as a community.

Seeking God's Guidance
Just as Moses sought God's direction, believers should consistently seek God's guidance in their personal and communal lives.
Bible Study Questions
1. How does Moses' relationship with God in Exodus 33:8 inspire you to deepen your own relationship with God?

2. In what ways can you demonstrate reverence for God's presence in your daily life, similar to the Israelites' response?

3. How can you incorporate intercessory prayer into your spiritual practice, following Moses' example?

4. What are some practical ways you can encourage your community to seek God together, as the Israelites did?

5. Reflect on a time when you sought God's guidance. How did that experience shape your faith journey, and how can it encourage others?
Connections to Other Scriptures
Exodus 33:11
This verse describes how the Lord spoke to Moses face to face, as a man speaks to his friend, highlighting the unique relationship Moses had with God.

Numbers 12:7-8
This passage emphasizes Moses' faithfulness and the direct manner in which God communicated with him, contrasting with how God spoke to other prophets.

Hebrews 3:5
This New Testament reference acknowledges Moses' faithfulness in God's house, drawing a parallel to Christ's faithfulness.

Psalm 106:23
This verse recalls Moses' intercession for the Israelites, demonstrating his role as a mediator.
Mercy Vailed in JudgmentJ. Urquhart Exodus 33:1-11
A Nation in Garb of PenitenceJ. Orr Exodus 33:1-12
The Restoration to Divine Favour CompletedD. Young Exodus 33:1-23
A Fashionable SinChristian AgeExodus 33:4-8
Repentance of the IsraelitesC. Simon, M. A.Exodus 33:4-8
The Work of LentArthur Brooks.Exodus 33:4-8
People
Amorites, Canaanites, Hittites, Hivite, Hivites, Isaac, Jacob, Jebusites, Joshua, Moses, Nun, Perizzites
Places
Mount Horeb, Sinai
Topics
Arise, Door, Entered, Entrance, Entrances, Expectingly, Gaze, Got, Inside, Meeting, Opening, Pass, Rise, Rose, Stand, Stood, Tabernacle, Tent, Tent-door, Tents, Till, Watched, Watching, Whenever
Dictionary of Bible Themes
Exodus 33:7-8

     5578   tents

Exodus 33:7-11

     6606   access to God

Library
The Mediator's Threefold Prayer
'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. 13. Now therefore, I pray Thee, if I have found grace in Thy sight, show 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. 14. And He said, My presence shall go with thee, and I will give thee rest. 15. And he
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

June the Seventeenth the Invisible Presence
"Show me Thy glory." --EXODUS xxxiii. 12-23. Moses wist not what he asked. His speech was beyond his knowledge. The answer to his request would have consumed him. He asked for the blazing noon when as yet he could only bear the quiet shining of the dawn. The good Lord lets in the light as our eyes are able to bear it. The revelation is tempered to our growth. The pilgrim could bear a brightness in Beulah land that he could not have borne at the wicket-gate; and the brilliance of the entry into
John Henry Jowett—My Daily Meditation for the Circling Year

Election no Discouragement to Seeking Souls
However, whether we all of us agree to the doctrine that God is sovereign or not, is a very little matter to him, for he is so. De jure, by right, he should be so; de facto, as matter of fact, he is so. It is a fact, concerning which you have only to open your eyes and see that God acts as a sovereign in the dispensation of his grace. Our Saviour, when he wished to quote instances of this, spake on this wise: many widows there were in Israel in the time of Elias the prophet, but unto none of these
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 10: 1864

A view of God's Glory
THAT WAS A large request to make. He could not have asked for more: "I beseech thee, show me thy glory." Why, it is the greatest petition that man ever asked of God. It seems to me the greatest stretch of faith that I have either heard or read of. It was great faith which made Abraham go into the plain to offer up intercession for a guilty city like Sodom. It was vast faith which enabled Jacob to grasp the angel; it was mighty faith which enabled Elijah to rend the heavens and fetch down rain from
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 54: 1908

Of the Way to Attain Divine Union
Of the way to attain Divine Union It is impossible to attain Divine Union solely by the activity of meditation, or by the meltings of the affections, or even by the highest degree of luminous and distinctly-comprehended prayer. There are many reasons for this, the chief of which are as follow:-- First, According to Scripture "no man shall see God and live" (Exod. xxxiii. 20). Now all the exercises of discursive prayer, and even of active contemplation, while esteemed as the summit and end of the
Madame Guyon—A Short and Easy Method of Prayer

After the Preceding Ways, There Remains an after Way, Preparatory to Divine Union, in which Wisdom and Justice Make the Passive Purification of the Soul, All
It is impossible to attain divine union by the way of meditation alone, or even by the affections, or by any luminous or understood prayer. There are several reasons. These are the principal. First, according to Scripture, "No man shall see God and live" (Exod. xxxiii. 20). Now all discursive exercises of prayer, or even of active contemplation, regarded as an end, and not as a preparation for the passive, are exercises of life by which we cannot see God, that is, become united to Him. All that
Jeanne Marie Bouvières—A Short Method Of Prayer And Spiritual Torrents

Let us Now Examine the Conditions under which a Revelation May be Expected To...
2. Let us now examine the conditions under which a revelation may be expected to be given to the original recipients. It may be observed in the first place that a revelation must possess some distinctive character. Even, if it should turn out that there is no such thing in reality at all, at least the notion which we form in our minds must possess such points of difference as to distinguish it from all other notions. It appears needful to bear this in mind, obvious though it is, because there
Samuel John Jerram—Thoughts on a Revelation

Whence Also the Just of Old, Before the Incarnation of the Word...
18. Whence also the just of old, before the Incarnation of the Word, in this faith of Christ, and in this true righteousness, (which thing Christ is unto us,) were justified; believing this to come which we believe come: and they themselves by grace were saved through faith, not of themselves, but by the gift of God, not of works, lest haply they should be lifted up. [2679] For their good works did not come before God's mercy, but followed it. For to them was it said, and by them written, long ere
St. Augustine—On Patience

Ninteenth Lesson. I Go unto the Father!'
I go unto the Father!' Or, Power for Praying and Working. Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father. And whatsoever ye shall ask in my Name, that will I do.'--John xiv. 12, 13. AS the Saviour opened His public ministry with His disciples by the Sermon on the Mount, so He closes it by the Parting Address preserved to us by John. In both He speaks more than once of prayer.
Andrew Murray—With Christ in the School of Prayer

The Blessed Privilege of Seeing God Explained
They shall see God. Matthew 5:8 These words are linked to the former and they are a great incentive to heart-purity. The pure heart shall see the pure God. There is a double sight which the saints have of God. 1 In this life; that is, spiritually by the eye of faith. Faith sees God's glorious attributes in the glass of his Word. Faith beholds him showing forth himself through the lattice of his ordinances. Thus Moses saw him who was invisible (Hebrews 11:27). Believers see God's glory as it were
Thomas Watson—The Beatitudes: An Exposition of Matthew 5:1-12

Moses the Type of Christ.
"The Lord thy God will raise up unto thee a Prophet from the midst of thee, of thy brethren, like unto me; unto Him ye shall hearken."--Deut. xviii. 15. The history of Moses is valuable to Christians, not only as giving us a pattern of fidelity towards God, of great firmness, and great meekness, but also as affording us a type or figure of our Saviour Christ. No prophet arose in Israel like Moses, till Christ came, when the promise in the text was fulfilled--"The Lord thy God," says Moses, "shall
John Henry Newman—Parochial and Plain Sermons, Vol. VII

The Wonderful.
Isaiah ix:6. HIS name shall be called "Wonderful" (Isaiah ix:6). And long before Isaiah had uttered this divine prediction the angel of the Lord had announced his name to be Wonderful. As such He appeared to Manoah. And Manoah said unto the angel of Jehovah, What is thy name, that when thy sayings come to pass we may do thee honor. And the angel of Jehovah said unto Him "why askest thou thus after my name, seeing it is Wonderful" (margin, Judges xiii:17-18). This angel of Jehovah, the Person who
Arno Gaebelein—The Lord of Glory

Appendix viii. Rabbinic Traditions About Elijah, the Forerunner of the Messiah
To complete the evidence, presented in the text, as to the essential difference between the teaching of the ancient Synagogue about the Forerunner of the Messiah' and the history and mission of John the Baptist, as described in the New Testaments, we subjoin a full, though condensed, account of the earlier Rabbinic traditions about Elijah. Opinions differ as to the descent and birthplace of Elijah. According to some, he was from the land of Gilead (Bemid. R. 14), and of the tribe of Gad (Tanch. on
Alfred Edersheim—The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah

Epistle xxviii. To Augustine, Bishop of the Angli .
To Augustine, Bishop of the Angli [136] . Gregory to Augustine, &c. Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men of good will (Luke ii. 14); because a grain of wheat, falling into the earth, has died, that it might not reign in heaven alone; even He by whose death we live, by whose weakness we are made strong, by whose suffering we are rescued from suffering, through whose love we seek in Britain for brethren whom we knew not, by whose gift we find those whom without knowing them we sought.
Saint Gregory the Great—the Epistles of Saint Gregory the Great

The Personality of Power.
A Personally Conducted Journey. Everyone enjoys the pleasure of travel; but nearly all shrink back from its tiresomeness and drudgery. The transportation companies are constantly scheming to overcome this disagreeable side for both pleasure and business travel. One of the popular ways of pleasure travel of late is by means of personally conducted tours. A party is formed, often by the railroad company, and is accompanied by a special agent to attend to all the business matters of the trip. A variation
S.D. Gordon—Quiet Talks on Power

An Exposition on the First Ten Chapters of Genesis, and Part of the Eleventh
An unfinished commentary on the Bible, found among the author's papers after his death, in his own handwriting; and published in 1691, by Charles Doe, in a folio volume of the works of John Bunyan. ADVERTISEMENT BY THE EDITOR Being in company with an enlightened society of Protestant dissenters of the Baptist denomination, I observed to a doctor of divinity, who was advancing towards his seventieth year, that my time had been delightfully engaged with John Bunyan's commentary on Genesis. "What,"
John Bunyan—The Works of John Bunyan Volumes 1-3

The Great Commission Given.
(Time and Place Same as Last Section.) ^A Matt. XXVIII. 18-20; ^B Mark XVI. 15-18; ^C Luke XXIV. 46, 47. ^a 18 And Jesus came to them and spake unto them, saying, All authority hath been given unto me in heaven and on earth. ^b 15 And he said unto them, Go ye ^a therefore, ^b into all the world, and preach the gospel to the whole creation. ^a and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them into the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit: 20 teaching them to observe all things
J. W. McGarvey—The Four-Fold Gospel

Covenanting a Privilege of Believers.
Whatever attainment is made by any as distinguished from the wicked, or whatever gracious benefit is enjoyed, is a spiritual privilege. Adoption into the family of God is of this character. "He came unto his own, and his own received him not. But as many as received him, to them gave he power (margin, or, the right; or, privilege) to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name."[617] And every co-ordinate benefit is essentially so likewise. The evidence besides, that Covenanting
John Cunningham—The Ordinance of Covenanting

The Winsome Jesus.
The Face of Jesus: Jesus drew crowds, men, women, children, bad people, enemies--His personality--face--impress of experiences--the glory of God in that face, 2 Corinthians 4:6. Hebrews 1:3. The Music of God in the Voice of Jesus: the eye--Jesus' eyes, Luke 4:16-30. John 8:59. 10:31. 7:32, 45, 46. 18:6. Mark 10:32. 9:36. 10:13-16. Luke 19:48.--His voice, Matthew 26:30. personal touch, Matthew 8:3, 15. 9:29. 17:7. 20:34. Mark 1:41. 7:33. Luke 5:13. 22:51. (John 14:16-20). His presence irresistible.
S. D. Gordon—Quiet Talks about Jesus

The Angel of the Lord in the Pentateuch, and the Book of Joshua.
The New Testament distinguishes between the hidden God and the revealed God--the Son or Logos--who is connected with the former by oneness of nature, and who from everlasting, and even at the creation itself, filled up the immeasurable distance between the Creator and the creation;--who has been the Mediator in all God's relations to the world;--who at all times, and even before He became man in Christ, has been the light of [Pg 116] the world,--and to whom, specially, was committed the direction
Ernst Wilhelm Hengstenberg—Christology of the Old Testament

Jesus Calls Four Fishermen to Follow Him.
(Sea of Galilee, Near Capernaum.) ^A Matt. IV. 18-22; ^B Mark I. 16-20; ^C Luke V. 1-11. ^a 18 And walking ^b 16 And passing along by the sea of Galilee [This lake is a pear-shaped body of water, about twelve and a half miles long and about seven miles across at its widest place. It is 682 feet below sea level; its waters are fresh, clear and abounding in fish, and it is surrounded by hills and mountains, which rise from 600 to 1,000 feet above it. Its greatest depth is about 165 feet], he [Jesus]
J. W. McGarvey—The Four-Fold Gospel

The Mercy of God
The next attribute is God's goodness or mercy. Mercy is the result and effect of God's goodness. Psa 33:5. So then this is the next attribute, God's goodness or mercy. The most learned of the heathens thought they gave their god Jupiter two golden characters when they styled him good and great. Both these meet in God, goodness and greatness, majesty and mercy. God is essentially good in himself and relatively good to us. They are both put together in Psa 119:98. Thou art good, and doest good.' This
Thomas Watson—A Body of Divinity

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