Oct 22
2
Old Testament Reading: Exodus 32
“When the people saw that Moses delayed to come down from the mountain, the people gathered themselves together to Aaron and said to him, ‘Up, make us gods who shall go before us. As for this Moses, the man who brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.’ So Aaron said to them, ‘Take off the rings of gold that are in the ears of your wives, your sons, and your daughters, and bring them to me.’ So all the people took off the rings of gold that were in their ears and brought them to Aaron. And he received the gold from their hand and fashioned it with a graving tool and made a golden calf. And they said, ‘These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt!’ When Aaron saw this, he built an altar before it. And Aaron made a proclamation and said, ‘Tomorrow shall be a feast to the LORD.’ And they rose up early the next day and offered burnt offerings and brought peace offerings. And the people sat down to eat and drink and rose up to play. And the LORD said to Moses, ‘Go down, for your people, whom you brought up out of the land of Egypt, have corrupted themselves. They have turned aside quickly out of the way that I commanded them. They have made for themselves a golden calf and have worshiped it and sacrificed to it and said, ‘These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt!’’ And the LORD said to Moses, ‘I have seen this people, and behold, it is a stiff-necked people. Now therefore let me alone, that my wrath may burn hot against them and I may consume them, in order that I may make a great nation of you.’ But Moses implored the LORD his God and said, ‘O LORD, why does your wrath burn hot against your people, whom you have brought out of the land of Egypt with great power and with a mighty hand? Why should the Egyptians say, ‘With evil intent did he bring them out, to kill them in the mountains and to consume them from the face of the earth’? Turn from your burning anger and relent from this disaster against your people. Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, your servants, to whom you swore by your own self, and said to them, ‘I will multiply your offspring as the stars of heaven, and all this land that I have promised I will give to your offspring, and they shall inherit it forever.’’ And the LORD relented from the disaster that he had spoken of bringing on his people. Then Moses turned and went down from the mountain with the two tablets of the testimony in his hand, tablets that were written on both sides; on the front and on the back they were written. The tablets were the work of God, and the writing was the writing of God, engraved on the tablets. When Joshua heard the noise of the people as they shouted, he said to Moses, ‘There is a noise of war in the camp.’ But he said, ‘It is not the sound of shouting for victory, or the sound of the cry of defeat, but the sound of singing that I hear.’ And as soon as he came near the camp and saw the calf and the dancing, Moses’ anger burned hot, and he threw the tablets out of his hands and broke them at the foot of the mountain. He took the calf that they had made and burned it with fire and ground it to powder and scattered it on the water and made the people of Israel drink it. And Moses said to Aaron, ‘What did this people do to you that you have brought such a great sin upon them?’ And Aaron said, ‘Let not the anger of my lord burn hot. You know the people, that they are set on evil. For they said to me, ‘Make us gods who shall go before us. As for this Moses, the man who brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.’ So I said to them, ‘Let any who have gold take it off.’ So they gave it to me, and I threw it into the fire, and out came this calf.’ And when Moses saw that the people had broken loose (for Aaron had let them break loose, to the derision of their enemies), then Moses stood in the gate of the camp and said, ‘Who is on the LORD’s side? Come to me.’ And all the sons of Levi gathered around him. And he said to them, ‘Thus says the LORD God of Israel, ‘Put your sword on your side each of you, and go to and fro from gate to gate throughout the camp, and each of you kill his brother and his companion and his neighbor.’’ And the sons of Levi did according to the word of Moses. And that day about three thousand men of the people fell. And Moses said, ‘Today you have been ordained for the service of the LORD, each one at the cost of his son and of his brother, so that he might bestow a blessing upon you this day.’ The next day Moses said to the people, ‘You have sinned a great sin. And now I will go up to the LORD; perhaps I can make atonement for your sin.’ So Moses returned to the LORD and said, ‘Alas, this people has sinned a great sin. They have made for themselves gods of gold. But now, if you will forgive their sin—but if not, please blot me out of your book that you have written.’ But the LORD said to Moses, ‘Whoever has sinned against me, I will blot out of my book. But now go, lead the people to the place about which I have spoken to you; behold, my angel shall go before you. Nevertheless, in the day when I visit, I will visit their sin upon them.’ Then the LORD sent a plague on the people, because they made the calf, the one that Aaron made.” (Exodus 32, ESV)
New Testament Reading: Romans 8:1–11
“There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death. For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God’s law; indeed, it cannot. Those who are in the flesh cannot please God. You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him. But if Christ is in you, although the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness. If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you.” (Romans 8:1–11, ESV)
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Please excuse any typos and misspellings within this manuscript. It has been published online for the benefit of the saints of Emmaus Reformed Baptist Church but without the benefit of proofreading.
Introduction
This story in Exodus 32 regarding Israel’s worship of the golden calf and the consequences that fell upon them as a result of their rebellion is very important.
The story is rather shocking, isn’t it? It’s almost unbelievable to think that Israel, having been redeemed from Egypt, led and fed in the wilderness, and spoken to by God at Sinai, would so quickly break the terms of the covenant they had just entered into! Think of all that the LORD had done for Israel. Consider the mighty works he had performed to deliver them from the Egyptians. Think of the way in which the LORD led Israel in the wilderness and provided for all of their need. Consider the law that he spoke to them. Consider the terms of the covenant that he made with them – the promise of blessing for obedience and the threat of curse for disobedience. And do not forget the response of the people when the covenant was confirmed. After Moses read the Book of the Covenant and in the hearing of the people, they said, “All that the LORD has spoken we will do, and we will be obedient” (Exodus 24:7, ESV). As I have said, it is rather shocking to consider all that the LORD had done for this people and to see that within 40 days of that covenant being confirmed, the people of Israel, or at least many within Israel, entered into full rebellion against God. Perhaps the most surprising thing about this story is that Aaron, the brother of Moses, and high priest of Isarel, was pressured to comply with their idolatrous cravings.
The story is truly shocking, but it is also a very important part of the story of redemption that is being told here in the book of Exodus. I view this episode as a kind of wake-up call or reality check. Consider again the marvelous things the LORD did for the Hebrews to redeem them. And consider especially the very glorious things that happened at Mt. Sinai when the LORD entered into covenant with Israel. The people saw God’s glory manifest. They heard his voice. They were confronted with his law. The seventy were even given a glimpse into heaven. A covenant was cut. And Moses was invited up into the presence of God to receive further instructions. These were very unusual and exceedingly marvelous events. But these events that followed – these events surrounding the idolatrous worship of the golden calf (or bull) – clarify some things. In this story, we learn a great deal about the sinfulness of man, the grace of God, and the nature of the covenant that God entered into with Israel in the days of Moses. In fact, I would like to consider this story with you today under these three headings: One, the sinfulness of man revealed. Two, the grace of God revealed. And three, the nature of the covenant that God entered into with Israel in the days of Moses.
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The Sinfulness Of Man Revealed
Let us, first of all, consider what this passage reveals concerning the sinfulness of fallen man. Above all, I want you to notice our propensity towards idolatry.
What is the first of the Ten Commandments? “You shall have no other gods before me.” (Exodus 20:3, ESV). This means, we are to have no other God at all. Only the LORD God is to be honored as God. And what is the second of the Ten Commandments? “You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. You shall not bow down to them or serve them…” (Exodus 20:4–5, ESV). Israel was not unaware of these commandments, for the LORD has spoken these words to them at Sinai. And the prohibition against idolatry was also reiterated to them through Moses. Exodus 20:22-24 says, “And the LORD said to Moses, “And the LORD said to Moses, ‘Thus you shall say to the people of Israel: ‘You have seen for yourselves that I have talked with you from heaven. You shall not make gods of silver to be with me, nor shall you make for yourselves gods of gold. An altar of earth you shall make for me and sacrifice on it your burnt offerings and your peace offerings, your sheep and your oxen. In every place where I cause my name to be remembered I will come to you and bless you” (Exodus 20:22–24, ESV). Israel knew all of this, and they replied, “All that the LORD has spoken we will do, and we will be obedient” (Exodus 24:7, ESV). But here, not more than 40 days after the covenant was confirmed, they are found rebelling against God in a most radical way, by violating the first and second commandments of God’s moral law.
How did it happen? 32:1 tells us. “When the people saw that Moses delayed to come down from the mountain, the people gathered themselves together to Aaron and said to him, ‘Up, make us gods who shall go before us. As for this Moses, the man who brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.’” (Exodus 32:1, ESV) Notice a few things about this opening verse.
One, it was the people of Israel who decided they wanted idols. We should not take this to mean that it was all of the people. Later we will learn that there were some who were guilty and some who were innocent in the matter. But I think it is right for us to imagine a very large number of people – certainly, it was a mass of people large enough to pressure Aaron to comply.
And this is the second thing that I want you to notice: Aaron, the high priest of Israel was complicit in the idolatrous rebellion. He did not lead the way but was pressured to make the idols. When the text says, “the people gathered themselves together to Aaron”, I think it is right for us to imagine them putting great pressure on him so that he probably feared for his life. “Up, make us gods who shall go before us”, they demanded, and Aaron complied. He instructed them to take the gold earrings from their wives, sons and daughters. He had the gold melted down and crafted a golden image – a calf (it was likely in the form of a young bull). After Aaron did the dastardly deed, the leaders from among the people said, “These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt!”
The third thing that I notice is the motivation behind the rebellion, namely, the desire for something visible, tangible, and controllable to represent God.
The demand, “make us gods who shall go before us”, must be interpreted in light of what we learned earlier about Israel being led out of Egypt by the LORD as a pillar of cloud by day, and a pillar of fire by night. Israel had been without that pilar while encamped at Sinai. There they saw the glory of God manifest on the top of Mt. Sinai. There they heard his voice, and they trembled. They requested that no further word be spoken to them, but that Moses would intercede between them and God from now on. Moses then was called up on the mountain. There the LORD spoke to him and gave him instructions for the building of the tabernacle, among other things. He was gone 40 days and 40 nights. The people grew impatient.
We should remember that these people – most of them Hebrews – were born and raised in Egypt. The Egyptians worshipped many gods, and they crafted idols to represent them. Here we see how affected the Hebrews were by the religious practices of the Egyptians. At this moment, many of them reverted back to what was comfortable for them. YHWH made them uncomfortable. The mediation of Moses brought them some comfort, but he was missing – “As for this Moses, the man who brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.” And so they pressured Aaron, the priest, to make a little idol for them – something visible, tangible, and controllable. They could not control YHWH. He was a consuming fire to them. He led the people of Israel according to his will. Moses, the priests, and the people were unable to influence him to go this way or that. What could they do except humbly follow his lead? But that golden calf was different. That “god” could be contained and controlled.
Think of the difference between YHWH and the golden calf. YHWH appeared to Moses in the bush that was burning yet not consumed and revealed himself as the great I AM, the Self Existent One, the Creator of all things seen and unseen, the Redeemer of Israel. Moses was made by YHWH. Moses was called to serve YHWH and speak and do all that YHWH told him to speak and do. And it was YHWH who made Israel. He made them in the sense that he created them and sustained their lives. And made them in that he redeemed them. They were slaves, and YHWH made a nation of them through redemption. They were bound, therefore, to worship and serve him, and to obey his voice.
Think now about the golden calf. That golden calf was not self-existent. No Aaron made it, and he made it out of preexisting material – gold. He formed and fashioned it for the people. And so that means that he, as a priest, could also control it on behalf of the people. “Aaron, Moses is gone. We do not know what happened to him. And we are finished with YHWH, his God. You are our priest now. And we would prefer it if you would make gods for us. Where shall we go next, Aaron? Where does the God which you have made say we should go next? Where will he lead us?”
Do you see the difference, brothers and sisters, between YHWH and this golden calf, and between Moses, the humble and faithful servant in God’s house, and Aaron (in this moment)? I trust that you are also able to see why idols are so very appealing to sinful men and women. Idols can be manipulated and controlled; idols are not threatening, for they are not the self-existent Creator, but the creation of sinful man.
The people were very wicked to rebel against God in this way, but the sin of Aarron is particularly disturbing. Now granted, the idol was not Aarons’s idea. But he was pressured by the people to compromise. I’m sure that he feared the people, and so he gave them what they wanted.
Verse 5 is very interesting. I think it reveals something about Aaron’s intentions. “When Aaron saw this”, that is when he saw the people take the idol he made and run headlong into polytheism, even claiming that these were the gods who brought them up out of Egypt , “he built an altar before it. And Aaron made a proclamation and said, ‘Tomorrow shall be a feast to the LORD’” (Exodus 32:5, ESV). It seems to me that Aaron’s intention was to give people an image to serve as a representation of YHWH. Perhaps he reasoned thus: “The people want an image. It wouldn’t be so bad for me to give them an image so long as they worship YHWH through the use of that image.” But did the people do with the image? They ran headlong into polytheistic idolatry, and even gave credit to these “gods” for their redemption from Egypt. In verse 5 we see Aaron scrambling to minimize the damage: “he built an altar before it. And Aaron made a proclamation and said, ‘Tomorrow shall be a feast to the LORD’”.
So then, I have these two observations to make concerning the sinfulness of man.
One, fallen men and women are prone to idolatry. That there is a God who is to be worshipped and served is plain to all who have reason. Yes, some have so degenerated into sin and folly that they deny the existence of God altogether, but in the history o the world, this is rare. The vast majority of people can plainly see that there is a God and that he is to be worshipped. But instead of worshiping the one true God, “they [exchange] the truth about God for a lie and [worship] and [serve] the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen” (Romans 1:25, ESV). Psalm 106:19-23 reflects on this episode in Israel’s history, saying, “They made a calf in Horeb and worshiped a metal image. They exchanged the glory of God for the image of an ox that eats grass. They forgot God, their Savior, who had done great things in Egypt, wondrous works in the land of Ham, and awesome deeds by the Red Sea. Therefore he said he would destroy them— had not Moses, his chosen one, stood in the breach before him, to turn away his wrath from destroying them” (Psalm 106:19–23, ESV). Sinful men and women are prone to idolatry. They know they are to worship God, but they would much prefer to worship a god that they have crafted – one that they can control – rather than submit themselves to the one true God who has made them. He is not a God to be controlled, but the one who controls all things, to whom we must bow the knee. Christian, I ask you, by way of application, is there any form of idolatry in your heart? Have you, in any way, rebelled against God’s revelation of himself in history, in Christ, and in the scriptures, to make an image of God for yourself – one that you are comfortable with, and one that you can control? Or have you indeed “put away all filthiness and rampant wickedness and [received] with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls” (James 1:21, ESV). I pray that you are humble before the Lord, and have received his most holy word.
My second observation concerning the sinfulness of man is this: religious leaders must be especially careful to not allow idolatry to slip into their own hearts, nor into the midst of God’s people. Aaron compromised out of fear. Or perhaps he compromised thinking that he could better control Israel through the idol he made. Whatever the motive, the results were devastating for the people. And though Aaron tried to preserve himself by playing this game of compromise, he’ looked very foolish in the end. When Moses came down the mountain he confronted Aaron, saying, “What did this people do to you that you have brought such a great sin upon them?’ And Aaron said, “Let not the anger of my lord burn hot. You know the people, that they are set on evil. For they said to me, ‘Make us gods who shall go before us. As for this Moses, the man who brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.’ So I said to them, ‘Let any who have gold take it off.’ So they gave it to me, and I threw it into the fire, and out came this calf” (Exodus 32:21–24, ESV). This exchange between Moses, the man of God, and Aaron, the priest of Israel, should sound familiar to you? Is it not an echo of God’s questioning of Adam, the priest of God, and his wife Eve, after they fell into sin? They, like Aaron the priest after them, shifted the blame and made pitiful excuses before the Lord. Aaron’s excuses were particularly pitiful. “ I threw [the gold] into the fire, and out came this calf”, he said. I see this as a warning to those who minister the Word in God’s temple today. We cannot toy with idolatry. We cannot bend our teaching concerning God and his word to us to please the itching ears of the world, or even of God’s people. We cannot compromise the truth of God’s word for the sake of self-preservation. The results will be disastrous both for the member and minister in the end.
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The Grace Of God Revealed
More could certainly be said regarding what this passage reveals concerning the sinfulness of man and our propensity towards idolatry. But for the sake of time, let us now turn our attention to the grace of God, for this passage does certainly reveal a great deal concerning God’s grace.
It was the LORD who made the announcement to Moses that the people had fallen into idolatry. The LORD had finished giving instructions to Moses up on the mountain when he said, “Go down, for your people, whom you brought up out of the land of Egypt, have corrupted themselves. They have turned aside quickly out of the way that I commanded them. They have made for themselves a golden calf and have worshiped it and sacrificed to it and said, ‘These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt!’’ And the LORD said to Moses, ‘I have seen this people, and behold, it is a stiff-necked people. Now therefore let me alone, that my wrath may burn hot against them and I may consume them, in order that I may make a great nation of you.’” (Exodus 32:7–10, ESV)
Notice a few things about this portion of the story:
One, the LORD referred to Isarel as “your people, whom you brought up out of the land of Egypt”, when he spoke to Moses. The LORD is here implying that he would be right to disown Israel for their sin.
Two, the LORD noted how quickly Israel had turned out of the way that he had commanded them. In other words, they had already broken the terms of the covenant he had made with them. It would have been right, therefore, for the curses of the covenant to befall them. The LORD said this to Isarel from the outset: “You yourselves have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles’ wings and brought you to myself. Now therefore, if you will indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possession among all peoples, for all the earth is mine; and you shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation’” (Exodus 19:4–6, ESV). It is here implied that “if” Israel does not obey and keep the covenant, the LORD would be right to cut them off.
Three, the LORD identified idolatry as the sin, and also spoke to the condition of the hearts of the Israelites, saying, “I have seen this people, and behold, it is a stiff-necked people.” Stiff-necked means stubborn and rebellious.
Four, the LORD threatened to annihilate Israel and to start fresh with Moses. “Now therefore let me alone, that my wrath may burn hot against them and I may consume them, in order that I may make a great nation of you.”
All of this is to be viewed as a kind of test for Moses, and also as an invitation for him to intercede. And as we will see, it would be through this threat of righteous judgment and the faithful intercession of Moses, that the marvelous grace of God would be shown forth.
What do I mean when I say that this was a test for Moses? Well, consider again the words of the LORD. “Now therefore let me alone, that my wrath may burn hot against them and I may consume them, in order that I may make a great nation of you” (Exodus 32:10, ESV). If you have been paying attention the story of Genesis and Exodus, you will immediately recognize that this is out of sync with what the LORD had promised to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. He promised to make a great nation out of Abraham, to give his descendants the land of Canaan, and bless the nations of the earth through them, through the Messiah that would immerge from them. Those promises were not yet fulfilled. We can see that as we read the narrative. Of course, the LORD knew that. But what would Moses say? Would he go along with it and say, “you know, these people are really difficult to deal with… And you know, maybe the LORD should start fresh with me… After all…” What would Moses say? We will soon find out.
And what do I mean when I say that this was an invitation for Moses to intercede? Well, here I am observing that in the scriptures, whenever the LORD reveals his “intentions” to pour out judgment on some people to his prophets or to some other servant of his, it is an invitation to that person to intercede on behalf of that people. In this way, Amos was invited to intercede on behalf of Israel asking the Lord to relent from his righteous judgments (Amos 7:1-6). In this way, Abraham was invited to intercede on behalf of Sodom (Genesis 18:22ff.). Isn’t that interesting? Abraham was invited by God to intercede on behalf of the nations, and Moses was invited by God to intercede on behalf of Israel. In a moment we will see that Moses, like Abraham before him, did very well.
Verse 11: “Moses implored the LORD his God and said, ‘O LORD, why does your wrath burn hot against your people, whom you have brought out of the land of Egypt with great power and with a mighty hand? Why should the Egyptians say, ‘With evil intent did he bring them out, to kill them in the mountains and to consume them from the face of the earth’? Turn from your burning anger and relent from this disaster against your people. Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, your servants, to whom you swore by your own self, and said to them, ‘I will multiply your offspring as the stars of heaven, and all this land that I have promised I will give to your offspring, and they shall inherit it forever.’’ And the LORD relented from the disaster that he had spoken of bringing on his people” (Exodus 32:11–14, ESV).
The LORD does not really relent or repent. With him “there is no variation or shadow due to change” (James 1:17, ESV). Moses himself says so in Numbers 23:19: “God is not man, that he should lie, or a son of man, that he should change his mind. Has he said, and will he not do it? Or has he spoken, and will he not fulfill it?” What we have here is the appearance of change… from Moses’ perspective. God threatened to judge but relented from pouring out his judgment because of Moses’ intercession. There is in this the appearance of repentance from the human perspective. But from the divine perspective all of this – the threat, the intercession, and the relenting – were the eternal and unchanging decree of God. Do our prayers change the eternal decree of God? Do our prayers change God’s mind? Certainly not! But through prayer, we are changed. And more than this, God had determined to accomplish his decree through our prayer, just as he did with Moses in the text under consideration.
Let us now briefly consider Moses’ prayer, for it is truly marvelous.
One, notice that Moses “implored” the LORD. That is a strong word. Moses made a strong and heartfelt plea to the LORD on behalf of Israel. Brothers and sisters, you and I are invited to come boldly before the throne of grace in Jesus name, to bring our desires before him, and to persistently entreated him on behalf of ourselves and others, as we submit ourselves to his sovereign will. Let us not squander this gift.
Two, Moses reminded the LORD (or better yet, acknowledged) that it was the LORD who brought Israel out of Egypt. It was not the work of Moses alone. Certainly, it was not the work of that bumb, deaf, and impotent idol that Aaron made. It was the LORD who did it, as Moses said, “O LORD, why does your wrath burn hot against your people, whom you have brought out of the land of Egypt with great power and with a mighty hand?”
Three, Moses expressed concern for the glory or reputation of the LORD amongst the nations “Why should the Egyptians say, ‘With evil intent did he bring them out, to kill them in the mountains and to consume them from the face of the earth’?” All of our intercessions should have as this as their leading concern, that God’s name be hallowed, that is to say, revered and honored, in all the earth.
Four – and I think this is so very importinat – Moses appealed for mercy, not on the basis of the covenant that the LORD had just entered into with Israel, but on the basis of the promises that were made in the covenant that God transacted with Abraham long before. Verse 12: “Turn from your burning anger and relent from this disaster against your people. Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, your servants, to whom you swore by your own self, and said to them, ‘I will multiply your offspring as the stars of heaven, and all this land that I have promised I will give to your offspring, and they shall inherit it forever.’”
Truth be told, Moses had no grounds to appeal to God for mercy and grace according to the terms of the covenant that the LORD had made with Israel at Sinai, for that covenant was a covenant of works, and the people of Israel had broken that covenant already. They forfeited the blessings, therefore. And the curses of the covenant were owed to them. The LORD would have done no wrong to cast them off forever according to the terms of that covenant.
In fact, this truth is signified breaking of the tablets of the testimony at the base of the mountain. “And as soon as he came near the camp and saw the calf and the dancing, Moses’ anger burned hot, and he threw the tablets out of his hands and broke them at the foot of the mountain” (Exodus 32:19, ESV). I suppose we might think that this was an accident – that Moses lost it and recklessly threw the tablets to the side in a furry. No! He threw them down intentionally. And I believe that he threw them down in a specific place, namely, right where the covenant had been confirmed with the people 40 days earlier. He did this to signify the breaking of the covenant before the people, and to remind them of the vows they had taken, and of the blood that had been splattered on them, to signify the penalty that was owed to them for their sin, namely death. The tablets were thrown down by Moses intentionally in that place to communicate to all that the covenant was broken, and they deserved God’s wrath.
It was at this point that Moses courageously confronted Aaron and the people. “He took the calf that they had made and burned it with fire and ground it to powder and scattered it on the water and made the people of Israel drink it” (Exodus 32:20, ESV). In this way, that idol would be ingested by the people and excreted by them, which was a very fitting end to that detestable thing. Moses did also command that the priests put to death with the sword all who participated in this rebellion and would not repent. Indeed, the priests had this responsibility under the Old Covenant. Like Adam, they were to keep the temple of God, and preserve the true worship of God. Pastors and elders have the same responsibility today. They do not wield the physical sword, but the word of God. Along with the members of the church, they wield the keys of the kingdom and have the authority welcome in and shut out of God’s kingdom and temple.
Back to Moses’ intercession. Moses appealed for mercy, not on the basis of the covenant that was made at Sinai. There were no grounds for mercy or grace to be found there, for that covenant was a covenant of works. Instead, Moses appealed to God for mercy and grace on the basis of the unconditional promises that were made to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. “Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, your servants, to whom you swore by your own self, and said to them, ‘I will multiply your offspring as the stars of heaven, and all this land that I have promised I will give to your offspring, and they shall inherit it forever.’” If you wish, we may state the matter in these terms: Moses appealed, not to the law, but to the gospel for mercy and grace. “And the LORD relented from the disaster that he had spoken of bringing on his people.”
After going down the mountain to deal with Aaron and Israel, he went back up. Verse 30: “The next day Moses said to the people, ‘You have sinned a great sin. And now I will go up to the LORD; perhaps I can make atonement for your sin” (Exodus 32:30, ESV). That word, “atonement” is significant.
Verse 31: “So Moses returned to the LORD and said, “Alas, this people has sinned a great sin. They have made for themselves gods of gold. But now, if you will forgive their sin—but if not, please blot me out of your book that you have written” (Exodus 32:31–32, ESV). Many commentators equate this “book” that Moses refers to with the “Lambs book of life” – that which contains the names of God’s elect. They then surmise that names can be blotted out of that book, that is, the Lambs book of life. I don’t think I agree. I’m open to being persuaded otherwise, but in my opinion, this book that Moses refers to is the book of the living. It is the book that contains a record of all who live on earth, and in this particular instance, all who were alive on earth in the kingdom of Israel. Kings keep books of those living in their kingdom. And here Moses refers to God’s book. When Moses said, but if you will not forgive their sin, “please blot me out of your book that you have written” (Exodus 32:31–32, ESV), he was offering his life up as a substitute for theirs. This was his attempt to make atonement.
The LORD rejected Moses’ proposal in part, saying, “Whoever has sinned against me, I will blot out of my book. But now go, lead the people to the place about which I have spoken to you; behold, my angel shall go before you. Nevertheless, in the day when I visit, I will visit their sin upon them.” (Exodus 32:33–34, ESV). That this “book” was a record of life on earth, and not eternal life in heaven (as the Lamb’s book of life is), is supported by the fact that the LORD said he would blot those who were guilty of the idolatry out of this book, and this he did by sending a plague (verse 35). But the LORD was merciful in that he did not cast off Israel. No, he punished the unrepentant idolaters with precision.
In this way, the mercy and grace of God were put on display. Did Israel deserve to die? Yes, according to the terms of the covenant that God made with them at Sinai, they deserved to be cut off. But God was merciful to them so that he might keep the promises he made to Abraham.
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The True Nature Of The Mosaic Covenant Revealed
Lastly, and very briefly, I will make a few observations about the nature of the Old Mosaic Covenant.
One, while it revealed God’s law it did not renew the hearts and minds of the members to make them willing and able to obey. But all who are partakers of the New Covenant have God’s law within them, written not on stone, but on their hearts.”(Jeremiah 31:33, ESV)
Two, while the Old Mosaic Covenant revealed God’s law, it could not provide for the forgiveness of sins before God. This is why Moses had to appeal to the promises previously made to Abraham for mercy. God was gracious to Israel under the Old Mosaic Covenant, not because of the terms of that covenant, but for the sake of the covenant of grace which was promised to Adam and Abraham long before.
Three, under the Old Mosaic Covenant, and through the law that was given to Israel in those days, sin would be magnified, and the need for Savior would be made much more apparent. Moses was not that Savior. Aaron was not that Savior. No, that Savior was still yet to come. Christ Jesus is his name. And he would be the one who would lay down his life to make atonement for the sins of his people.
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Conclusion
Brothers and sisters, we are members of the New Covenant in Christ’s blood, if we have faith in him. And as partakers of this New Covenant, we have new minds and new hearts. Through the regenerating work of the Holy Spirit, the moral law of God, which was written on stone in the days of Moses, is written upon our hearts to make us willing and able to do what God has commanded of us. This is why Christ has said, “you will know them by their fruits.” Those who belong to Christ under this New Covenant will bear fruit in keeping with repentance because of the regenerating work of the Spirit. Nevertheless, we confess that corruptions remain in us. The flesh wars against the Spirit. We are often tempted by the world, the Devil, and even these corruptions that remain in the flesh.
By God’s grace, let us be sure to keep our hearts pure. Let us flee from evil and cling to what is good. Let “Put to death… what is earthly in [us]: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. On account of these the wrath of God is coming. In these [we] too once walked, when [we] were living in them. But now [we] must put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk from [our] mouth[s]. Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator… “Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him” (Colossians 3:5–17, ESV).
