Exodus 33 – Presence, Intercession, and the Glory of God
After the golden calf, God threatens to withdraw His presence. But Moses, standing as intercessor, pleads for mercy. This chapter unveils the tension between judgment and grace—and the beauty of friendship with God.
When Presence Means Everything
Exodus 33 is a powerful reminder that God’s presence is more valuable than His promises. After judgment, Moses stands in the gap again, and what follows is one of the most intimate conversations between God and man recorded in Scripture.
✔ God offers blessing but not His presence.
✔ Moses sets up the tent of meeting.
✔ God speaks to Moses as a friend.
✔ Moses pleads, “Show me Thy glory.”
📖 Key Verse: “If Thy presence go not with me, carry us not up hence.” – Exodus 33:15
🔎 More than a land, Israel needed the God of the land.
Exodus Chapter 33 Overview
Exodus 33:1–6 – The Consequence of Rebellion
📖 Exodus 33:1–3 – *”I will send an angel before thee… for I will not go up in the midst of thee… lest I consume thee in the way.”
🔎 Divine distance:
🔹 God promises the land and protection, but withdraws His presence—a chilling consequence of sin.
🔹 The people would still receive the promise, but without the intimacy. This reveals how rebellion fractures relationship.
➡️ Spiritual Insight: God’s blessings without His presence become hollow—it is intimacy, not inheritance, that sustains faith.
📖 Exodus 33:4–6 – *”When the people heard these evil tidings, they mourned… and no man did put on him his ornaments.”
🔎 Signs of repentance:
🔹 The people mourn—a sign they are beginning to grasp the weight of their sin.
🔹 Removing ornaments reflected humility—perhaps a reversal of the very gold used for the calf.
➡️ Prophetic Echo: In Revelation, end-time Babylon is clothed in jewels and luxury (Revelation 18:16)—but the true remnant strips off pride and returns to purity.
Exodus 33:7–11 – The Tent of Meeting and Divine Friendship
📖 Exodus 33:7 – *”Moses took the tabernacle, and pitched it without the camp… and called it the tabernacle of the congregation.”
🔎 Outside the camp:
🔹 This was a temporary “tent of meeting,” set apart from the people—signifying separation from sin and access to God.
🔹 It shows that intimacy with God requires intentional pursuit and a departure from compromise.
➡️ Christ Connection: Jesus also suffered and ministered “outside the gate” (Hebrews 13:12–13)—and we are called to go to Him there.
📖 Exodus 33:8–10 – *”All the people rose up… and looked after Moses… and the Lord talked with Moses.”
🔎 Reverent observance:
🔹 The people watched from a distance—a shift from rebellion to awe and longing.
🔹 God’s visible presence at the door of the tent affirmed Moses’ role and rekindled reverence.
➡️ Spiritual Insight: When one person seeks God with boldness, it often stirs repentance and reverence in others.
📖 Exodus 33:11 – *”And the Lord spake unto Moses face to face, as a man speaketh unto his friend.”
🔎 Intimate communion:
🔹 This idiom reflects the depth of relationship, not literal sight. Moses was God’s friend—trusted, heard, and known.
🔹 Joshua remained behind in the tent—hinting at a rising generation hungry for God’s presence.
➡️ Ministry Insight: Leadership that communes with God births disciples who linger in His presence.
Exodus 33:12–23 – The Cry for Glory
📖 Exodus 33:12–14 – *”Thou hast said, I know thee by name… My presence shall go with thee, and I will give thee rest.”
🔎 Personal affirmation:
🔹 Moses longs for reassurance—not just for the journey, but of God’s personal presence and approval.
🔹 God answers with comfort: His presence is not only promised, it brings rest—deep spiritual confidence.
➡️ Spiritual Insight: Rest is not merely the absence of toil—it is the presence of God walking with you.
📖 Exodus 33:15–17 – *”If Thy presence go not with me, carry us not up hence… so shall we be separated.”
🔎 Presence over promise:
🔹 Moses insists—God’s presence is the only thing that distinguishes Israel from the nations. Land, laws, or blessings are worthless without God Himself.
🔹 God responds by honoring Moses’ request—intimacy leads to divine favor.
➡️ Ministry Insight: Churches, families, and ministries are nothing without the Spirit of God dwelling within. Presence must be our non-negotiable pursuit.
📖 Exodus 33:18–23 – *”Show me Thy glory… I will make all my goodness pass before thee… but My face shall not be seen.”
🔎 A glimpse of glory:
🔹 Moses asks the ultimate: to see the full essence of God. God answers by revealing His character and goodness, but shields Moses from full exposure.
🔹 God’s glory is overwhelming—no man can see Him and live, yet He makes a way to reveal just enough.
➡️ Christ Connection: In Jesus, the invisible God is made visible (John 1:18; Colossians 1:15). The cleft in the rock foreshadows our safety in Christ, the only place from which we can see God’s glory.
Exodus Chapter 33 - Deeper Study
Overview: From Separation to Seeking
🔹 Timeframe: After the golden calf incident, before the renewal of the covenant.
🔹 Setting: Israel remains camped at Sinai in a state of tension and restoration.
🔹 Theme: God’s presence is essential—even when judgment looms.
The Presence of God – More Than a Feeling, A Covenant Necessity
God’s presence was never meant to be an occasional visitation—it was His dwelling among His people. In Exodus 33, the withdrawal of His presence is more terrifying than the loss of land or provision. Moses understood what many today forget: success without God is failure in disguise.
🔹 Presence Over Prosperity – God offers to send an angel, to give them the land—but not go Himself. Moses knows that if God does not walk with them, the journey is meaningless. This underscores that no promise can replace the Promiser.
🔹 Intimacy is Pursued – Moses sets up the tent outside the camp. God wasn’t being accessed on Israel’s terms. There is a cost to intimacy—it means coming away from compromise.
🔹 Friendship with God – Moses speaks with God “as a friend”—an expression of unmatched closeness. It wasn’t about position, but proximity and obedience. This foreshadows what Christ offers to us (John 15:15).
🔹 The Glory Is His Goodness – When Moses asks to see God’s glory, God responds by showing His character. His glory is not just light or power—but His mercy, truth, and goodness. Glory is who God is, not just what He does.
➡️ Final Insight: God may remove His visible blessings for a time—but if we seek Him, He will restore His presence. Let us hunger not for things—but for Him who is everything.
Key Takeaways
🔑 Blessings without God are empty.
🔑 True leadership intercedes, even after failure.
🔑 God honors honest pursuit and humble boldness.
Prophetic Patterns & Dual Fulfillment
🔮 Moses as intercessor – Points to Christ who mediates for us (Hebrews 7:25).
🔮 The tent outside the camp – Foreshadows Christ “without the gate” (Hebrews 13:12).
🔮 The glory of God hidden yet revealed – Echoed in Christ, the Word made flesh (John 1:14).
Historical & Cultural Context
📜 Tents of meeting – Separate from the tabernacle, these served as places for personal seeking of God before the full tabernacle was in operation.
📜 Face-to-face speech – An idiom for deep intimacy, not literal sight (see Exodus 33:20).
💡 Final Reflection: Is His Presence Enough for You?
Moses didn’t want the promised land without the Promiser. Do we?
📌 Do you value God’s gifts more than His presence?
📌 Will you pursue Him outside the camp, where others may not go?
📌 Are you willing to cry out, “Show me Thy glory”?
🚀 Let your heart hunger not just for blessing—but for the presence of the Living God.
The Command to Leave Sinai
Exo 33:1 And the LORD said unto Moses, Depart, and go up hence, thou and the people which thou hast brought up out of the land of Egypt, unto the land which I sware unto Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, saying, Unto thy seed will I give it:
Exo 33:2 And I will send an angel before thee; and I will drive out the Canaanite, the Amorite, and the Hittite, and the Perizzite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite:
Exo 33:3 Unto a land flowing with milk and honey: for I will not go up in the midst of thee; for thou art a stiffnecked people: lest I consume thee in the way.
Exo 33:4 And when the people heard these evil tidings, they mourned: and no man did put on him his ornaments.
Exo 33:5 For the LORD had said unto Moses, Say unto the children of Israel, Ye are a stiffnecked people: I will come up into the midst of thee in a moment, and consume thee: therefore now put off thy ornaments from thee, that I may know what to do unto thee.
Exo 33:6 And the children of Israel stripped themselves of their ornaments by the mount Horeb.
The Tent of Meeting
Exo 33:7 And Moses took the tabernacle, and pitched it without the camp, afar off from the camp, and called it the Tabernacle of the congregation. And it came to pass, that every one which sought the LORD went out unto the tabernacle of the congregation, which was without the camp.
Exo 33:8 And it came to pass, when Moses went out unto the tabernacle, that all the people rose up, and stood every man at his tent door, and looked after Moses, until he was gone into the tabernacle.
Exo 33:9 And it came to pass, as Moses entered into the tabernacle, the cloudy pillar descended, and stood at the door of the tabernacle, and the LORD talked with Moses.
Exo 33:10 And all the people saw the cloudy pillar stand at the tabernacle door: and all the people rose up and worshipped, every man in his tent door.
Exo 33:11 And the LORD spake unto Moses face to face, as a man speaketh unto his friend. And he turned again into the camp: but his servant Joshua, the son of Nun, a young man, departed not out of the tabernacle.
Moses’ Intercession
Exo 33:12 And Moses said unto the LORD, See, thou sayest unto me, Bring up this people: and thou hast not let me know whom thou wilt send with me. Yet thou hast said, I know thee by name, and thou hast also found grace in my sight.
Exo 33:13 Now therefore, I pray thee, if I have found grace in thy sight, shew me now thy way, that I may know thee, that I may find grace in thy sight: and consider that this nation is thy people.
Exo 33:14 And he said, My presence shall go with thee, and I will give thee rest.
Exo 33:15 And he said unto him, If thy presence go not with me, carry us not up hence.
Exo 33:16 For wherein shall it be known here that I and thy people have found grace in thy sight? is it not in that thou goest with us? so shall we be separated, I and thy people, from all the people that are upon the face of the earth.
Exo 33:17 And the LORD said unto Moses, I will do this thing also that thou hast spoken: for thou hast found grace in my sight, and I know thee by name.
Exo 33:18 And he said, I beseech thee, shew me thy glory.
Exo 33:19 And he said, I will make all my goodness pass before thee, and I will proclaim the name of the LORD before thee; and will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will shew mercy on whom I will shew mercy.
Exo 33:20 And he said, Thou canst not see my face: for there shall no man see me, and live.
Exo 33:21 And the LORD said, Behold, there is a place by me, and thou shalt stand upon a rock:
Exo 33:22 And it shall come to pass, while my glory passeth by, that I will put thee in a clift of the rock, and will cover thee with my hand while I pass by:
Exo 33:23 And I will take away mine hand, and thou shalt see my back parts: but my face shall not be seen.
Date Written
1446-1406 BC
Written By
Moses
Language
Hebrew
Verses
23