Exodus 33:14

14. My presence shall go Behold how Moses’s intercession prevails! In Exodus 33:3 the Lord had said, “I will not go up in the midst of thee;” but after the penitence of the people, and repeated seeking unto Jehovah in the tent of the congregation, and especially this earnest plea of Moses, the God of Israel is moved to compassion, and promises his presence . The shallow sceptic would fain see in such a representation a changeableness and weakness in the God of Israel unworthy the nature of deity . But the believer sees here an illustration of that wonderful condescension and mercy with which God compassionates the penitent sinner . The mode of illustration, in accord with all these earlier revelations, is anthropomorphic, but the lesson taught is the same as when, in Isaiah 54:7-8, Jehovah says: “For a small moment have I forsaken thee; but with great mercies will I gather thee . In a little wrath I hid my face from thee for a moment; but with everlasting kindness will I have mercy on thee, saith the Lord thy Redeemer.” Some writers have proposed an interrogative rendering for this verse: Shall my presence go, and shall I give them rest? But there appears no sufficient reason for this method of translation.