Interpretation: A Journal of

Between Text and Sermon

jr

CXO Cl US 3 3

S. Dean McBride, Jr.

^ut^or(s(20*2

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Union Presbyterian Seminary, Richmond, Virginia

Email: dmcbride@upsem.edu

IS THE LORD IN OUR MIDST OR NOT? Especially in the seasons of Advent and Christmas,
the church responds to this plaintive question from Exod 17:7 by welcoming Jesus the Christ as
Immanuel, God with us (cf. Matt 1:23; 28:20). But both the familiar answer, which is a generous
interpretation of the sign given to King Ahaz in Isaiah 7, and the import of the question itself are
illuminated by taking account of their larger context in biblical traditions.
Jewish and Christian Scriptures have no apparent interest in issues characteristic of GrecoRoman philosophical theologynamely, whether or not divine beings really exist and, if it is
considered likely that they do, the extent to which some of them should be recognized to act in
ways that inspire and can be influenced by human prayer and worship (e.g., Cicero, The Nature
o f the Gods). A reductive, minimalist Hellenistic theism may be what Paul refers to as servitude
to the elemental spirits (NRSV) or rudimentary forces, which are supposed to be residual in
the physical stuff of an otherwise demythologized universe (Gal 4:3, 8; Col 2:8, 20; cf. Wis
13:1-9). The vague spirituality professed by some today does not seem to be very far removed
from this. It reflects the modem sense of living in a vast, expanding, disenchanted universe
that mocks not only public religion but private belief in a sublime Divine Being who is both
transcendent and immanent (cf. Charles Taylor, A Secular Age, Belknap/Harvard University
Press, 2007, 1-54).
In contrast, as we know, the biblical Testaments portray an ordered universe in which the theological baseline is deliberate, discriminating divine providence. It is identified preeminently if not
exclusively with the sovereignty of the Creator who is more intimately revealed to Israel as the
LORD [YHWH], and whose judicious, responsive patronage of humankind is often expressed in
the New Testament with the metaphor Father. Accordingly, the characteristic questions that
engage scriptural theologiesand receive a rich variety of answersconcern the principal attributes, activities, purposes, and accessibility of this providential Deity. Does the LORD and
Father govern the cosmos and the nations of humankind only or primarily from a supernal throne,
dispensing justice and benefactions from a transcendent distance (e.g., Exod 2:25; 1 Kgs 8:27-30;
Psalm 93; Matt 6:9-10; Revelation 4)? Or, as conditions allow and circumstances may encourage,
does this lofty God also choose to draw near to worshippers, to be close at hand, to respond to
human needs in our midst? And, if the latter is so, as scriptural witnesses often attest, how is
Gods closeness manifest and perceived? Moreover, given human sinfulness and fragility, is there
any assurance that the divine presence will be reliably efficacious? These, it should be emphasized,
are theological questions at once metaphysical in scope, affecting the way people think about the
grand architecture and purpose of cosmic reality, and immediately practical, affecting the integrity
of personal faith and the way communal life is experienced.

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435

In the Pentateuch, Gods congenial immanence is introduced as an intentional narrative theme

in promises that God makes to be with Abrahams patriarchal successors in their journeys,
including the descent of Jacob and his family into Egypt (Gen 26:3,24; 28:15; 31:3; 46:2-4). Then,
some generations later, when Moses is called into service to win Israels release from Egyptian
bondage, he is reassured that the same ancestral Godwho speaks through the peculiar medium of
a burning bush and is now self-disclosed as the LORDwill be with him in his confrontation
with Pharaoh (Exod 3:12-15). The escape from Egypt that follows is orchestrated by the LORD
and implemented through the diligence of Moses (cf. Exod 14:3031 ; Deut 34:1012), and it establishes the ostensible basis for a covenantal formalization of the relationship between the LORD and
the reclaimed people of Israel (e.g., Exod 19:4-6; Deut 26:5-9). Nevertheless, and even as a direct
consequence of the exodus itself as a singular witness to elective divine providence (cf. Deut
4:34-35), the issue of the LORDs nurturing presence with Israel becomes urgent during the austere wilderness era (Exod 17:17, with the question posed above; cf. Deut 8:25). After another
singular experience, this time of Gods articulate though fearsome approach at the summit of Sinai/
Horeb (cf. Exod 19:9-23; Deut 4:32-33,36), the issue reaches crisis proportions, when the people,
in violation of the covenants principal stipulations (Exod 20:2-6), try to substantiate and celebrate
the presence of the divine deliverer in their midst, in the form of the golden calf. (Idolatry seeks to
anchor divine immanence but succeeds only in falsifying it.)
The extraordinary collocation of narrative segments in Exodus 32-34 brings the pentateuchal
reflections on divine transcendence and immanence into sharpest focus. (The theological principles
sketched here are elaborated and institutionalized in the rest of the Pentateuch and the Prophets.)
The collocation consists of brief, somewhat abruptly shifting scenes, beginning with the inauguration of the cult of the bull-calf while Moses is absent from the Israelite camp (32:1-6). It ends with
a report of Moses transfigured countenancehis resplendent face [panim]"when he returns to
the camp after having secured another covenant, to replace the one broken by the people in the calf
apostasy (34:29-35). Dialogue between the LORD and Moses continues through most of the intervening segments. These recount a series of intercessory negotiations that effectively redefine the
terms on which the covenantal bond can become acceptable and sealed anew and henceforth implemented, as Israel departs from the wilderness isolation of Sinai/Horeb and returns to the tumult of
historical existence among the worlds nations. What is at stake for each of the parties to the relationship is featured in the three paragraphs of Exodus 33 (w. 111,1216, and 1723 according to
the divisions of the traditional Hebrew text).
Exodus 33:1-11. Israel is despondent, its former celebration turned to mourning. Even though
Moses intercession has already gained for the people a reprieve and a renewal of Gods intent to
fulfill the promise of a national homeland for Abrahams heirs (32:30-34), they are to proceed
toward Canaan under the command of Moses and with an angelic surrogate as their vanguardbut
without Gods own indwelling presence [panim], which might destroy them (33:1-6). The peopie have become even more dependent on Moses than they were before. He is able to consult face
to face [panim el-panim] or presence to presence with the LORD on their behalf, but in the tent
of meeting that is pitched far outside the camp rather than in its midst, which underscores the
empathie as well as spatial separation between the recalcitrant, stiff-necked people and their
stem, sovereign God (33:7-11; cf. 32:910).
Exodus 33:12-16. Now the negotiation pivots on Moses role, not simply as intercessor or
mediator but as the personified conjunction between the people and the LORD. Moses invokes the
LORDs intimate knowledge of him, and the grace or favor [hen]" he has personally garnered
through his loyal service, in order to request a deeper, reciprocal knowledge of the LORDs

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Interpretation: A Journal o f Bible and Theology 66(4)

character and providential agenda (ways) regarding Israel. In doing so, Moses also affirms his
solidarity with the people. He insists that divine grace must embrace them as one (I and your
people) and that only the LORDS accompanying presence can unify them, distinguishing
Moses and Israel together from other nations. The LORD accedes, first in the matter of immanent
divine presence and then with regard to insight into Gods persona, which will become the substance of the promised presence.
Exodus 33:17-23. The theophanic imagery here is dramatic yet playful: even Moses, the trusted
human interlocutor who is being imprinted with superlative knowledge of Gods intrinsic goodness, can be allowed to see only the LORDs receding back and not the full frontal glory
of the divine face/presence. The proclamation of what informs the cryptic divine name,
the LORD [YHWH]" (cf. 3:14-15; 6:2-8), is nonetheless penetrating: I will be gracious to
whom I will be gracious [hannot et- aser ahori], and will show mercy on whom I will show mercy
[wrihamt et- aser arahem] (33:19).
To be sure, this first-person verbal formulation seems cautious, mysterious in its apparent redundancy. It will be parsed more programmatically in 34:6-7, where the LORD is identified using the
cognate nominal terms as God merciful and gracious [ el rahm whannn] an epithet that is
invoked often in Scripture (e.g., Neh 9:31; Ps 86:15; Joel 2:13; John4:2; Jas 5:11). Still, the verbal
self-identification in Exod 33:19 remains especially cogent in the context of renegotiating the covenant relationship. It emphasizes that the LORDs inner resources of grace and mercy are
dispensed in neither an indiscriminate nor capricious fashion, but rather as God chooses and calibrates to further Gods purposes. In treating Israels election, for example, Paul cites 33:19 because
it emphasizes divine discretion in the administration of justice and compassion (Rom 9:14-18).
Similarly, John Calvin makes extensive use of Exod 33:19 in support of his understanding of Gods
special providence; cf. Commentaries on the Four Last Books o f Moses Arranged in the Form o f
a Harmony, Vol. 3 (trans. Charles William Bingham; Eerdmans,1950), 377-81; see also Institutes
o f the Christian Religion, 1.11.3; 2.5.17; 3.11.11.
It is Moses, the persuasive intercessor, who brings his flawed fellow Israelites with him into the
renovated covenant that is enacted in Exod 34:1-28. Moses Israel must be saved, reconciled, and
sustained by divine grace, because the God of the covenant does not forsake justice. When rigorous
justice is correlated through grace with compassion, however, divine forbearance and forgiveness
may be sought in repentant worship (34:9; cf. Num 14:17-19; Jer 31:33-34; Mic 7:18-20; Heb
4:14-16).
The God with us whose redemptive presence we recognize in the personhood of Jesus the
Christ is not a new Deity, with a different providential agenda, but the same LORD, God merciful
and gracious, made known and accessible to Israel through Moses. What we celebrate during
Advent and Christmas is the assurance that we, too, may experience this divine immanence in our
midst. It comes to us as both a gracious gift through faith and a mandate to act with justice and
compassion for the healing of a sin-sick world that the Creator has not abandoned.

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