Yer. 7-•0lel took the t&bemule. The tinnance of thie " tent of meeting," alternated " ta bernaclc •• proper wa.s not yet constructed. bl'tween the top of Sinai and the door of the (~ee chs. xxx,·.-xl.) And the word used is tent, descending ,-•hen Moses entered the tent nnl that properly rendered "tabernacle"- and rc11BCending when he quitted it. The vi~., miilkloon (eh. xu'i. 1); but the far more latter llllppoeition ie moet consonant with the common word '&hel, which meam "tent." previoUB statement (ver. 7) that " every one The proper tramlation would be, " MoeBII which eou~ht the Lord went out unto the took the tent." But the question at once tabernacle' (tent), for the people were at no ariaef'-'Wbat tent ? It ie suggest.ed that time allowed to approach the cloud. And the the article mav have the force of the Lord talked with K01-. Literally, "And possessil·e pronoun, and indicate that he talked with Moeee." The cloudy pillar, in took "his tent." (Compare Matt. ix. 10, and through which God me.de his /reeence where " the houee " undoubtedly me&1111 " hie felt, is here identified with God, an said to horu;e.") M~ took his own tent, pro- have conversed with Moees. bably e.,; the be,;t in the encampment, and Ver. 10.-And ell the people 1&,r . . • converted it to a sacred UBe, transferring hie m4 ell the people ron up. This is a own abode to another. Afar otrfrom the nmp. literal translation ; but it would make the The sacred and the profane mwrt not apprORCh eense clearer to the ordinary reader if the ea.eh other too cloeelv--an interva.l mnet be paaage were rendered-" And when all the &et between them. But the distance, evidently, people saw the cloudy pillar stand at the door was not great (ver. 10). The tabeniaole of of the tent, then all the people rose up," etc. the oongrega.tion. Rather, "the tent of Wonhipped. Literally, "bowed themselves meeting " or "of conference .........e., the t.ent down"-" me.de an obeisance," in token that in which he expected to meet and conv8T8e they recognised the presence of God. ,-·ith God. See the comment on eh. xxvii. 21. Ver. 11.-The Lord apa.ke unto ]1[01e1 fa.oe Every one whioh 10ught the Lord wem ont. to faoe, Ae one present-not a.s one at a Moses must have commanded this. The distance-" mouth to mouth," as we read in "tent •• we.,; u.ot to be a mere oratory for him- Nnm. x:.ii. 8-but not under any visible form self. but open to all Israelites. (see vers. 20, 23, and compare Dent. iv. 12, Ver. 8.-When X - went out .... all 15). He turned again. After each con- the people :rme up. Probably Moses "went ference, MOiies returned to the camp, where, out ,. at a set time, or at set times, each day ; no doubt, he had put up for himself another and the r,eople watched for his going, and tent, and where his presence was needed " ~ up, ' as a mark of respect and reverence. He left, however, his personal attendant They felt that he went to the tent mainly to ("minister"), Joshua, to watch and guard the pray for tJ.em. sacred strnctnre during bis absellce. It is Ver. 9.-A& :a- entered inio the taber- remarkable that the trust was committed to nacle. Bather, " When Moses was gone into Joshua, rather than to Aaron, or any of the the t.ent." The oloudy pillar d-ded. It is Levites. Probably the reason of this was, not qurte clear whether this wu done once that Joshna alone had had no part in the only, or whether the pillar, during the con- idolatry of the calf. (See eh. xxxii. 17.)
HOMILETICS. Yers. 9--11.-The f'IUJde of recovering G~s presence. Moses felt that he could not rest till he had obtained for the people the complete return of God's favour, and the assurance of his perpetu.el presence. But this was no easy task. The o:ffence given was so grievo111 that it could not be condoned at once. Even the penitence of the people had produced no more than a promise that uod would take the matter into his consideration, and deter- mine later what he would do to the people (ver. 5). Moses sought to hasten a favourable decision. It is well worth noting the means whereto he had recourse. These were- I. THE EBECTlON OF A BOUSE OF P&AYER. Moses called it " the tent of meeting" ; because he hoped that there God would be met with or would su:ffer himself to be eddr~-would let his people draw nigh to him. He erected it "without the camp," afar off-partly on account of the recent pollution of the camp-partly to separate and sunder it from seculJl.r sights and sounds. Intolerant of delay, he thought it better to t.a.k.e the best of existing structures, rather than wait till he could erect a new one. As his own tent was the best in the camp, he gave it, not without some self-sacrifice. II. THE RESORT OF THE PEOPLE TO THE BOUSE. "Every one which sought the Lord went out unw the tent" (ver. 7). Doubtless Moses urged the need of a.11 the people's seeking the Lord, turning to him, besieging him with their _prayers, importuning him. The!'e had been, su fa.r IU3 appears, no set times of prayer hitherto, and no set place of CII, liXXJII. 1-12.] 'J'IIE BOOK OF EXODUS. 351
prnycr. All h~d been left to individua.l feeling or convictio?. ;And the pmiple, we mn_y be sure, had lor the most part neglected prayer. In their difficulties they hn,l beeh content that Moses should pray for them (eh. xiv. 16; xv. 26; xvii. 4, 11, 12, etr,.). Now at length they had awoke to the need of personal religion; they had" 1nri'lme<l" and "put off their ornaments "; they-some of them, at any rate--" sought the Lord,'' and resorted to the " tent of meeting," in the hope of finding him there. Jll. HIS OWN FREQUENT RESORT TO IT, AND CONSTANT, EARNEST INTERCESSION. The narrative of verses 8-11 describes a. continua.I practice. Moses made it bis hahit to go forth from the camp to the "tent of meeting" at o. fixed hour ea.eh day-possibly more than once a day; and, when there, no doubt prayed to the Lord with all the fervour that we observe in the recorded prayer of the next section (vers. 12--16). "The effectual fervent prayer of a. righteous man a.vaileth much" (Jam. v. 16). The daily intercession, recorded in verses 8-11, culminated in the "wrestle with God," which obtained the gracious promise-" I will do this thing that thou hast spoken" (ver. 17). The general lesson taught is the might of prayer (1) for oneself; (2) for others. There is a. further particular lesson upon the value of a" house of prayer"-most appreciated, through the perversity of human nature, where least readily obtainable, least regarded where closest to men's doors and most a.cces~ible.