Daily Devotional-Exodus 33:1–13 Friday, December 26, 2025

Daily Devotional (Transcript)
Exodus 33:1–13
Friday, December 26, 2025

Speaker: Pastor John Chen
Transcribed & Edited by: Joseph Wang(Yufan)

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Peace to you, dear brothers and sisters.

By the grace of God, we come to a new day to study our daily devotional. Today’s passage is Exodus 33:1–13.

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Opening Prayer

O God, have mercy on us.
Lord, You know that we are a stiff-necked people, yet You have never treated us according to what our stubbornness deserves. Instead, You continue to draw us to Yourself with Your steadfast love.
Each morning You grant us ears to hear Your precious Word. Be with us today, lead us, and help us to know You and experience You more deeply.
We thank You for hearing our prayer.

In the name of Christ, Amen.

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Exodus 33 as a Turning Point

Exodus 33 marks a clear turning point in the narrative.

In chapter 32, Israel utterly failed. When Moses delayed on the mountain, the people turned to the golden calf. The result was chaos, judgment, and death. Everything seemed broken beyond repair.

So what happens next?

God Himself steps in to restore order.

This is already good news for us. We are very much like Israel: we know God’s will, we understand His commands, and yet we still manage to ruin things. When we fall under discipline because of our sin, who cleans up the mess? God does.

Exodus 33 is a chapter about divine mercy rebuilding what human sin destroyed.

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God Speaks, the People Respond (Exod. 33:1–6)

Verses 1–6 form two parallel sections:

• The LORD speaks → the people respond

• The LORD speaks again → the people respond again

This structure shows that, after the golden calf incident, Israel—at least for the moment—responds with fear and obedience.

God’s First Word (vv. 1–4)

The LORD commands Moses to lead the people onward, reminding him of the oath sworn to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. God reaffirms the promise of the land—a land flowing with milk and honey.

Yet there is a sobering qualification:

“I will not go up among you, lest I consume you on the way, for you are a stiff-necked people.”

God keeps His covenant promise, but His holy presence is withdrawn.

When the people hear this, they mourn. No one puts on ornaments. They understand that this is bad news—not because the land is lost, but because God’s presence is at risk.

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God’s Second Word (vv. 5–6)

The LORD speaks again:

“You are a stiff-necked people; if for a single moment I should go up among you, I would consume you. So now take off your ornaments, that I may know what to do with you.”

The people obey. They strip themselves of all ornaments from Mount Horeb onward. This is not cosmetic—it is an outward sign of repentance and reverence.

Here we see a tender, almost fatherly pattern:

• God speaks sternly

• The people grieve and obey

• God speaks again, leaving room for mercy

Though God’s words sound severe, His actions reveal patience and compassion. He is disciplining, not abandoning.

This directly contradicts the false idea that the God of the Old Testament is cruel and merciless. In reality, He is consistently gracious, even when His people repeatedly fail.

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The Tent of Meeting Outside the Camp (Exod. 33:7–11)

Verses 7–11 describe the tent of meeting, which at this point is not the later tabernacle described in Exodus 40. This is Moses’ own tent, set up outside the camp, far from Israel’s sinful center.

Anyone who seeks the LORD must go outside the camp to this tent.

When Moses enters:

• The pillar of cloud descends

• The LORD speaks with Moses

• The people stand and worship at their tent doors

Scripture says:

“The LORD used to speak to Moses face to face, as a man speaks to his friend.”

This does not mean Moses sees God’s essence. Rather, it describes the covenantal intimacy granted to Moses as mediator.

Joshua, Moses’ assistant, does not depart from the tent. Even here, God is quietly preparing the next generation of leadership.

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Christological Fulfillment

This scene clearly points to Christ.

• The tent is outside the camp → Christ suffers outside the city gate

• The mediator stands between God and a sinful people

• God’s presence dwells with His servant so the people are not destroyed

Hebrews explicitly tells us that Jesus suffered “outside the camp.” Moses’ tent anticipates the cross.

God can dwell with Moses—and later with Israel—only because Christ will bear their sin.

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Moses’ Intercession and a Theology of Grace (Exod. 33:12–13)

Now we reach Moses’ prayer.

Moses raises two concerns:

1. Who will go with me?

2. You say You know me by name—what does that mean?

God had said earlier, “I know you by name, and you have found favor in my sight.”

In Scripture, a person’s name represents the whole of their work and identity. Moses knows this cannot refer to his own merit. His name carries no weight apart from God’s grace.

So Moses responds:

“If I have found favor in Your sight, please show me now Your ways, that I may know You, in order to find favor in Your sight.”

This is not circular reasoning—it is the logic of grace.

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The Cycle of Redemption

Here is the pattern Moses reveals, which lies at the heart of Reformed theology:

1. God graciously accepts His servant (not because of works, but because of divine mercy)

2. The servant then seeks deeper knowledge of God’s ways

3. This knowledge leads to faithful obedience

4. God’s favor is displayed in a life shaped by His will

Moses is not trying to earn grace. He is responding to grace.

This is the same pattern we see in the gospel:

• We are justified by grace alone

• Then we pray: “Teach me Your ways”

• Then sanctification follows

Moses’ prayer in verse 13 should be the daily prayer of every believer:

“If I have found favor in Your sight, show me Your ways, that I may know You.”

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Closing Exhortation

We stop today at verse 13.

May God grant us hearts like Moses—hearts that long not merely for blessings or success, but for the knowledge of God Himself.

True favor before God flows from knowing His ways, loving His truth, and walking in obedience—not to earn salvation, but to glorify the One who has already saved us.

May we, as citizens of the coming new heavens and new earth, live lives shaped by God’s Word, bearing witness to Christ in this present age.

That is all for today. Thank you.