23 " Three times a year all your males are to appear before the Lord GOD , the God of Israel . 24 "For I will drive out nations before e you and enlarge your borders , and no man shall covet your land when you go up three times a year to appear before the Lord your God . 25 " You shall not offer the blood of My sacrifice with leavened bread , nor is the sacrifice of the Feast of the Passover to be left over until morning . 26 "You shall bring the very first of the first fruits of your soil into the house of the Lord your God . "Y ou shall not boil a young goat in its mother's milk ."
27 Then the Lord said to Moses , " Write down these words , for in accordance e with these words I have made a covenant with you and with Israel ."
28 So he was there with the Lord forty days and forty nights ; he did not eat bread or drink water . And he wrote on the tablets the words of the covenant , the Ten Commandments . 29 It came about when Moses was coming down from Mount Sinai (and the two tablets of the testimony were in Moses' hand as he was coming down from the mountain ), that Moses did not know that the skin of his face shone because of his speaking with Him. 30 So when Aaron and all the sons of Israel saw Moses , behold , the skin of his face shone , and they were afraid to come near him. 31 Then Moses called to them, and Aaron and all the rulers in the congregation returned to him; and Moses spoke to them. 32 Afterward all the sons of Israel came near , and he commanded them to do everything that the Lord had spoken to him on Mount Sinai . 33 When Moses had finished speaking with them, he put a veil over his face . 34 But whenever Moses went in before the Lord to speak with Him, he would take off the veil until he came out; and whenever he came out and spoke to the sons of Israel what he had been commanded , 35 the sons of Israel would see the face of Moses , that the skin of Moses' face shone . So Moses would replace the veil over his face until he went in to speak with Him.
Matthew Henry's Commentary on Exodus 34:23-46
Commentary on Exodus 34:18-27
(Read Exodus 34:18-27)
Once a week they must rest, even in ploughing time, and in harvest. All worldly business must give way to that holy rest; even harvest work will prosper the better, for the religious observance of the sabbath day in harvest time. We must show that we prefer our communion with God, and our duty to him, before the business or the joy of harvest. Thrice a year they must appear before the Lord God, the God of Israel. Canaan was a desirable land, and the neighbouring nations were greedy; yet God says, They shall not desire it. Let us check all sinful desires against God and his glory, in our hearts, and then trust him to check all sinful desires in the hearts of others against us. The way of duty is the way of safety. Those who venture for him never lose by him. Three feasts are here mentioned: 1. The Passover, in remembrance of the deliverance out of Egypt. 2. The feast of weeks, or the feast of Pentecost; added to it is the law of the first-fruits. 3. The feast of in-gathering, or the feast of Tabernacles. Moses is to write these words, that the people might know them better. We can never be enough thankful to God for the written word. God would make a covenant with Israel, in Moses as a mediator. Thus the covenant of grace is made with believers through Christ.
Commentary on Exodus 34:28-35
(Read Exodus 34:28-35)
Near and spiritual communion with God improves the graces of a renewed and holy character. Serious godliness puts a lustre upon a man's countenance, such as commands esteem and affection. The vail which Moses put on, marked the obscurity of that dispensation, compared with the gospel dispensation of the New Testament. It was also an emblem of the natural vail on the hearts of men respecting spiritual things. Also the vail that was and is upon the nation of Israel, which can only be taken away by the Spirit of the Lord showing to them Christ, as the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth. Fear and unbelief would put the vail before us, they would hinder our free approach to the mercy-seat above. We should spread our wants, temporal and spiritual, fully before our heavenly Father; we should tell him our hinderances, struggles, trails, and temptations; we should acknowledge our offences.