He
said, “I will make all my goodness pass before you, and will proclaim Yahweh’s name before you. I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show mercy on whom I will show mercy.”
Exodus 33:19
Exodus 33 [17.] Yahweh said to Moses, “I will do this thing also that you have spoken; for you have found favor in my sight, and I know you by name.”
Exodus 33 [18.] He said, “Please show me your glory.”
Exodus 33 [19.] He said, “I will make all my goodness pass before you, and will proclaim Yahweh’s name before you. I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show mercy on whom I will show mercy.” He said, “You cannot see my face, for man may not see me and live.” Yahweh also said, “Behold, there is a place by me, and you shall stand on the rock. It will happen, while my glory passes by, that I will put you in a cleft of the rock, and will cover you with my hand until I have passed by; then I will take away my hand, and you will see my back; but my face shall not be seen.”
Meaning:
This verse comes at one of the lowest and highest points in Israel’s journey. While Moses was on Mount Sinai receiving the Law, the people made a golden calf and worshiped it. When Moses came down and saw it, he broke the tablets of the covenant (Exodus 32:19). Yahweh was ready to send his people on without his presence, but Moses pleaded with him, and God agreed to go with them. Then Moses made a bold request: “Please show me your glory.” Exodus 33:19 is God’s answer.
- “I will make all my goodness pass before you”
Moses asked to see God’s glory; God promised to show him his goodness. The two belong together. God’s glory is not only his power and majesty but his good and generous character. In the next chapter the promise was fulfilled: Yahweh passed by and proclaimed, “Yahweh! Yahweh, a merciful and gracious God, slow to anger, and abundant in loving kindness and truth” (Exodus 34:6-7).
- “And will proclaim Yahweh’s name before you”
In the Bible a name reveals character. God would not only show Moses something; he would explain himself in words. Here God describes himself as the one who keeps covenant, forgives sin and stays faithful even after his people have failed.
- “I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious”
This sentence echoes the way God introduced his name at the burning bush, “I AM WHO I AM” (Exodus 3:14). It declares that God’s grace and mercy flow from his own free will. No one can demand them or earn them. Israel had just broken the covenant with the golden calf; if God was gracious to them, it was not because they deserved it but because he chose to be.
This also means God is free to be generous beyond what people expect. Jesus made the same point in the parable of the laborers in the vineyard. The master pays the late workers a full day’s wage and answers the complaint of the early workers, “Isn’t it lawful for me to do what I want to with what I own? Or is your eye evil, because I am good?” (Matthew 20:15).
- “And will show mercy on whom I will show mercy”
This is good news. Salvation does not depend on human effort but on God who has mercy. If mercy depended on our worthiness, no one would receive it.
- “You cannot see my face”
God protected Moses by placing him in a cleft of the rock and covering him with his hand until his glory had passed, allowing Moses to see only his back. No sinful person can bear the full sight of God. Yet the New Testament says that God’s glory was seen in Jesus: “We saw his glory, such glory as of the one and only Son of the Father, full of grace and truth” (John 1:14).
The Significance of Exodus 33:19
- Grace is God’s free gift
We cannot bargain with God or claim his mercy as a right. We can only receive it with thankfulness.
- God’s glory is his goodness
To know God is to know his kindness, mercy and faithfulness, most fully shown in Jesus Christ.
Cross-References:
Exodus 34:6: "Yahweh! Yahweh, a merciful and gracious God, slow to anger," The fulfilment of the promise to Moses.
Matthew 20:15: "Isn’t it lawful for me to do what I want to with what I own?" God’s freedom to be generous.
John 1:14: "full of grace and truth." God’s glory revealed in Jesus.
Conclusion: After the sin of the golden calf, Moses asked to see God’s glory. God answered that he would make all his goodness pass before him and proclaim his name, declaring, “I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show mercy on whom I will show mercy.” The verse teaches that God’s glory is his goodness, and that his grace and mercy are free gifts flowing from his own will, never earned, as Jesus’ parable of the vineyard workers also shows.
PIB Scriptures are derived from the World English Bible