Moses rose up early in the morning, and went up unto mount Sinai, as the Lord had commanded him, and took in his hand the two tables of stone. And the Lord descended in the cloud, and stood with him there, and proclaimed the name of the Lord. And the Lord passed by before him, and proclaimed, The Lord, The Lord God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth . . . . And Moses made haste, and bowed his head toward the earth, and worshipped. And he said, If now I have found grace in thy sight, O Lord, let my Lord, I pray thee, go among us; . . . And he said, Behold, I make a covenant: before all thy people I will do marvels, such as have not been done in all the earth, nor in any nation: and all the people among which thou art shall see the work of the Lord: . . . For thou shalt worship no other god.

Moses had earlier returned from his first sojourn on Mount Horeb with tablets containing the Ten Commandments. When he discovers his fellow Jews worshiping a golden idol, he breaks the tablets in anger. Now, after pleading with God on behalf of the people, the Hebrew leader is shown God’s presence (see 33:7–23). Then he returns to the Mount, where God assures Moses of His unbroken covenant with His children.

In Scripture, clouds often symbolize the presence of God. His cloud protects the Hebrews from Pharaoh’s army and guides them in the wilderness (see 13:21, 22; 14:19, 20). It appears at the completion of the Temple as well—and, in the New Testament, at Christ Jesus’ transfiguration and ascension (see I Kings 8:10, 11; Luke 9:34, 35, citation 12; Acts 1:9).