Exodus 33-34; Psalm 22:22-31; Acts 9

33:1-3 - God's Command to Leave Sinai, but without Him

• Leave Sinai, go conquer the land I will give you
  
• My angel will lead you, but I will not be among you, because I would consume you on the way for being stubborn. God's restraint, knowing his own power and his jealousy for his people.
  

33:4-11 - Past Procedure for Receiving God's Instructions

• Moses would meet God in a tent outside the camp, accompanied by Joshua.
• God would descend in the form of a cloud, and all the people would stand at the entrances of their tents until God and Moses finished speaking.
• Then Moses would return to the camp, but Joshua would stay at the tent.

33:12-17 - Moses' Intercession

• v. 16 - Moses' argument. "How will people know I (we) have found favor in your sight if you don't go with us?" In other words, if you don't go with us, you'll be just like other [local] gods!"
  
• God agrees for Moses' sake and promises to reveal himself to Moses.

33:19-23 - God's Promises

• I will make all my goodness and glory pass before you.
• I will proclaim before you the name YHWH.
• I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show mercy on whom I will show mercy. God limits his capacity to withstand sin and rebellious attitudes.
  

34:1-27 - Replacement Tablets and Renewal of Covenant

• On God's order, Moses cuts two new tablets, rises early the next morning, and goes back up to Mt. Sinai to meet God.
• The LORD declares himself and his character: merciful and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, forgiving iniquity BUT by no means clearing the guilty.
• God's promise: To drive out the Canaanites.
  
• God's requirements: No idols, keep feasts, sacrifices, the Sabbath, no leaven in sacrifices
• In this 40 days and nights, Moses writes the words on the tablets

34:28-35 - The Shining Face of Moses

• Moses did not know his face was shining.
  
• After he realized it, Moses veiled his face when talking with people after he had been with the LORD.

Psalm 22:22-31
Prophecy about Gentiles:

All the ends of the earth shall remember and turn to the LORD;
and all the families of the nations shall worship before him.
For dominion belongs to the LORD, and he rules over the nations.

Acts 9 - Conversion of Saul

• v. 1 - Saul still on a rampage. Stirred up - by death of Stephen? - for more persecution.
• v. 5 - Saul an unlikely candidate for conversion in our eyes, but not in God's.
• v. 10 - Ananias does not seem surprised to receive a direct message from God.
• v. 13 - Like Moses and other Old Testament faithfuls, Ananias starts with "But Lord...." and like with Moses, God says "Just go!"

9:5-31 Progression of Saul's Conversion

• 5 - Revelation
• 9,11 - Fasting and prayer
• 17 - Human messenger
• 18 - Sight and baptism
  
• 19 - Physical sustenance
• 20-22 - Proclaiming Jesus in the synagogues of Damascus, "proving" that Jesus was the Messiah
• 23-25 - Persecution and escape
• 26-30 - In Jerusalem, suspicion; Barnabas' defense of him; bold preaching; more persecution; escape to Tarsus, his hometown
• 31 - Meanwhile, the church in Judea, Galilee, and Samaria [See 1:8] had peace and was built up

9:32-42 Peter in Lydda & Joppa

• Heals Aeneas
• Raises Dorcas from the dead
• Seems to have been called to Joppa for that purpose. [See 5:15.]