The Golden Calf
1 When the people saw that Moses was so long in coming down from the mountain, they gathered around Aaron and said, “Come, make us gods who will go before us. As for this fellow Moses who brought us up out of Egypt, we don’t know what has happened to him.” 2 Aaron answered them, “Take off the gold earrings that your wives, your sons and your daughters are wearing, and bring them to me.” 3 So all the people took off their earrings and brought them to Aaron. 4 He took what they handed him and made it into an idol cast in the shape of a calf, fashioning it with a tool. Then they said, “These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of Egypt.” 5 When Aaron saw this, he built an altar in front of the calf and announced, “Tomorrow there will be a festival to the Lord.” 6 So the next day the people rose early and sacrificed burnt offerings and presented fellowship offerings. Afterward they sat down to eat and drink and got up to indulge in revelry.
1. Wow what happened? How could they do such a thing?
Only days have passed since God had spoken from the mountain, giving Israel this commandment:
“You shall have no other gods before Me. You shall not make for yourself an idol, or any likeness of what is in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the water under the earth. You shall not worship them or serve them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, on the third and the fourth generations of those who hate Me” (Exod. 20:3-5).
“‘You shall not make other gods besides Me; gods of silver or gods of gold, you shall not make for yourselves” (Exod. 20:23).
They had agreed only a few days ago to do all that the Lord had spoken.
To these commandments, along with all the others, Israel repeatedly affirmed, “All the words which the Lord has spoken we will do!” (Exod. 24:3; cf. 24:7; 19:8).
It happened quickly.
The sin of the Israelites happened very soon after the Mosaic Covenant was ratified in Exodus chapter 24—sooner, in fact than 40 days. Moses had prepared the people for him to be gone for some time, and part of the forty days had passed. A good part of the forty days could not have passed before the people of Israel proposed that Aaron fashion an image. Making this idol involved the collection of the contributions of gold from the Israelites, melting it down, determining what form the idol would take, making a cast, and then tooling the roughly cast image. Since Moses was absent 40 days and the idol was completed by the time he returned, we must conclude that somewhat less than 40 days had elapsed when Israel practiced idolatry.
The absence of leadership is a contributing factor to Israel’s idolatry.
There is a direct, cause-effect relationship between the absence of leadership and the practice of idolatry. It is obvious that Moses is absent. He is on the mountain with God, gone for 40 days and nights (cf. 24:18). His absence gave the Israelites a pretext for taking action, and also the opportunity for doing so (Moses wasn’t there to stop them). Aaron, of course, was present, but he hardly deserves the title “leader” here. The seventy elders who ate the covenant meal in the presence of God, Whom they saw (24:9-11), are not so much as mentioned, and yet they are most likely in the camp. How could they not have exercised some leadership in this situation? Moses had given only Aaron and Hur authority to handle legal disputes (24:14), and even Hur’s name is not mentioned in chapter 32. Perhaps even more interesting, no leaders are named of the group which wanted an idol. In other places the rebel leaders are named (e.g. Num. 16:1-3), but in our text the only designation given is “the people” (32:1, 3, 6). The absence of leadership plays a significant role in the idolatry of Israel.
”The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil, is for good men to do nothing”, Jonathan Edwards
2. What was Aaron’s role in this rebellion?
Aaron just didn’t stand back and do nothing, it was by his instruction that the Golden Calf is made. The calf was probably similar to representations of the Egyptian bull-god Apis.
The hostility of the people plays a significant role in explaining the role which Aaron played in Israel’s sin.
The crowd which had “assembled about” Aaron was not a friendly group, gathering for small talk and making casual suggestions. The expression used here suggests that this was an angry, aggressive mob, whose presence Aaron perceived to be a threat to his safety, perhaps even his life. Given the actions of the Israelites before and after, Aaron was probably right to see this situation as one that was “dangerous to his health.”
There is a military motivation behind Israel’s demand to have a graven image.
What was it that the Israelites thought the graven “god” could do for them? I have concluded that there is a rather strong military factor here. Twice in our text, the expression, “who brought us up from the land of Egypt,” has occurred, the first time with regard to Moses (32:1), the second, with respect to the idol which was made (32:4). Moses led the Israelites out of Egypt. This victory was viewed as a military victory over the army of Pharaoh (cf. Exod. 15). The idol which the Israelites demanded was to serve as the nation’s military leader, which would lead them to victory over her enemies.
The Israelites had faced the Egyptians and won. They have also been opposed by Amalek at Rephedim (Exod. 17:8-16). They are now facing the conquest of Canaan, which is also a military matter. The people want a visible symbol, a kind of mascot god, which they can take before them as they proceed on to Canaan. Since Moses was not there to go before them, their idol will be their leader. The expression “to go before” definitely conveys the idea of leadership, and it has a military connotation: “The LORD your God who goes before you will Himself fight on your behalf, just as He did for you in Egypt before your eyes” (Deut. 1:30; cf. also Exod. 14:19; 23:23; 32:34). If the Israelites cannot look to Moses to lead them to victory, then they will have a “god” who will “go before them” as they march into Canaan, to possess it.
Aaron responded to “the people” by telling them to “tear off” the gold rings. This gold jewelry was undoubtedly Israel’s “wages” from the Egyptians (cf. 3:21-22; 12:35-36). This gold should also have been what was contributed for the construction of the tabernacle, rather than the golden idol (cf. Exod. 25:3). The expression, “tear off,” seems to suggest that what the Israelites did was a hasty, spontaneous, act. Spur of the moment decisions and actions are often suspect.
3. How did they come to “party time”?
Aaron tries to mix worship of God with his
idolatry. Paganism and Christianity. Haiti voodoo a mixture of Catholicism and African pagan worship.
This is one pretense that the Roman Catholics have for the idolatry in their image worship. Their high priest, the pope, collects the ornaments of the people, and makes an image, a crucifix, a madonna, etc. The people worship it; but the pope says it is only to keep God in remembrance. But of the whole God says, Thy people have corrupted themselves; and thus as they continue in their idolatry, they have forfeited the blessings of the Lord’s covenant. They are not God’s people, they are the pope’s people, and he is called “our holy father the pope.”
Aaron built an altar (32:5), just as Moses had (24:4). Aaron proclaimed a feast (a covenant meal?), a “feast to the Lord” (v. 5), just as there was a meal on Mt. Sinai (24:11). Israel’s early rising (v. 6) indicates the zeal with which this “worship” was pursued. Burnt offerings and peace offerings were sacrificed, too, (32:6), just as these had been sacrificed in chapter 24 (v. 5). All the people sat down to eat and to drink.
There was a very great difference between the “worship” of the people before the golden calf and that of the elders on the mountain. The people not only ate and drank, they “rose up to play” (32:6). This term “play” refers to illicit and immoral sex play. The same expression is used in Genesis 26:8, where Abimelech “looked out through a window, and saw, and behold, Isaac was caressing his wife Rebekah” (emphasis mine). Thus, this “worship” had turned into an orgy. And so another of the commandments, the prohibition of adultery, is most likely violated.
7 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Go down, because your people, whom you brought up out of Egypt, have become corrupt. 8 They have been quick to turn away from what I commanded them and have made themselves an idol cast in the shape of a calf. They have bowed down to it and sacrificed to it and have said, ‘These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of Egypt.’ 9 ”I have seen these people,” the Lord said to Moses, “and they are a stiff-necked people. 10 Now leave me alone so that my anger may burn against them and that I may destroy them. Then I will make you into a great nation.” 11 But Moses sought the favor of the Lord his God. “O Lord,” he said, “why should your anger burn against your people, whom you brought out of Egypt with great power and a mighty hand? 12 Why should the Egyptians say, ‘It was with evil intent that he brought them out, to kill them in the mountains and to wipe them off the face of the earth’? Turn from your fierce anger; relent and do not bring disaster on your people. 13 Remember your servants Abraham, Isaac and Israel, to whom you swore by your own self: ‘I will make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and I will give your descendants all this land I promised them, and it will be their inheritance forever.’” 14 Then the Lord relented and did not bring on his people the disaster he had threatened.
4. Was God going to destroy the Hebrews? Does God change His mind?
The plans for the tabernacle have been given to Moses, along with the two tablets of stone, on which the commandments have been written by the finger of God (31:18). Knowing all that has been going on in Moses’ absence, God told Moses to go down to the people. Before Moses departed from God’s presence, God first diagnosed Israel’s condition, and then threatened judgment which Israel richly deserved. God gave Moses a three-fold description of the sin of the Israelites. The first two characterize the sin which the nation has just committed. These are expressed in the past tense “have corrupted themselves” (v. 7); “have quickly turned aside” (v. 8). The third term focuses on the root problem, the spiritual condition of the nation which has produced these symptomatic sins seen in chapter 32.
By worshipping this idol, Israel has violated the covenant they just made with God, and have thus “corrupted”70 themselves. They are not the “holy nation” which God had set them apart to be (cp. 19:5-6). Furthermore, they have “quickly turned aside” from the way which God had shown they should walk and live, the “way” declared by the commandments. The nation had not only corrupted themselves by their disobedience, they had done so quickly. God’s words here are intended to convey the great danger which Israel is now in. But they are also intended to produce something different than destruction which is not only suggested by the outcome of the story, but is also implied by the words themselves.
If God had intended to wipe Israel out, what reason was there for Him to tell Moses about it, and then send Him down to the people? God tells of judgment in advance so as to afford an opportunity for men to repent. Furthermore, the words, “let Me alone,” suggest to Moses that if he did not leave God alone, the people would not be destroyed. The inference is that if Moses did intercede for Israel, God would likely turn His wrath from His people.
Finally, Moses knew that God’s threatened action (of destroying Israel) and His offer to Moses (of making a new nation through him) would have been inconsistent with His character and His covenant with Israel. The Egyptians would have taken pleasure in the fact that the Israelites were destroyed, which was precisely what they had attempted to do (cf. Exod. 1:8-22). The character of God would have been demeaned, for God would not have kept His promises to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. The Messiah could not come through Moses, for he was of the tribe of Levi, while Messiah must come through Judah (compare Exodus 2:1-2 with Genesis 49:10). Thus, the words which God spoke were intended to stimulate Moses to intercede for his people, and thus to bring about forgiveness.
The Lord changed His mind about the harm. Moses’ appeal for God to change His mind, to relent, succeeded because God had only threatened judgment, not decreed it. A divine intention is not an unchangeable divine decree. Decrees or sworn declarations or categorical statements of not changing or relenting are unconditional and bind the speaker to the stated course of action regardless of the circumstances or reactions of the listeners. Intentions retain a conditional element and do not necessarily bind the speaker to a stated course of action.
Notice how God is speaking of your people … these people. By not calling Israel “my people” God indicates that he is disowning them for breaking his covenant with them . This was a real temptation to Moses. God is saying, “Moses, I will use you like I used Abraham, and I will make of you a great nation, and I will still be able to make good my covenant with Abraham.
Then Moses tells the Lord, “You brought Your people out of the land of Egypt, but suppose that You do not take them into the land. The Egyptians would say that You were able to lead them out of Egypt but not able to take them into the land. They are Your people, Lord. You promised to bring them into the land.”
Next, Moses gives God a third reason for turning aside from His wrath against the Israelites.
Moses continues, “Lord, remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel; You made a promise to them. You promised to multiply their seed and give them a land.”
When Moses prayed like that, it moved the arm of God.
15 Moses turned and went down the mountain with the two tablets of the Testimony in his hands. They were inscribed on both sides, front and back. 16 The tablets were the work of God; the writing was the writing of God, engraved on the tablets. 17 When Joshua heard the noise of the people shouting, he said to Moses, “There is the sound of war in the camp.” 18 Moses replied:
“It is not the sound of victory, it is not the sound of defeat; it is the sound of singing that I hear.”
19 When Moses approached the camp and saw the calf and the dancing, his anger burned and he threw the tablets out of his hands, breaking them to pieces at the foot of the mountain.
5. What did the broken tablets represent?
The people had broken the laws of God, which they had recently agreed to keep? The breaking of a covenant, which normally meant death to the breaker.
20 And he took the calf they had made and burned it in the fire; then he ground it to powder, scattered it on the water and made the Israelites drink it.
6. Why make them drink the mixture of water and golden calf powder?
Remember “they sat down to eat and drink and got up to indulge in revelry.” Moses was so angry, it’s like he was saying, “so you want to drink, I’ll give you something to drink”. I’ll bet they got sick after drinking it. Kind of reminds me of getting my mouth washed out with soap.
21 He said to Aaron, “What did these people do to you, that you led them into such great sin?” 22 ”Do not be angry, my lord,” Aaron answered. “You know how prone these people are to evil. 23 They said to me, ‘Make us gods who will go before us. As for this fellow Moses who brought us up out of Egypt, we don’t know what has happened to him.’ 24 So I told them, ‘Whoever has any gold jewelry, take it off.’ Then they gave me the gold, and I threw it into the fire, and out came this calf!”
7. Sounds like a good story to me? Right?
In his desperation, Aaron blamed the people, but the Lord held him accountable. Only through Moses’ intercession was Aaron spared. out came this calf. Aaron could hardly have thought that Moses would believe such an incredible story.
In affect he is blaming Moses, “you took so long that they thought you were dead, and then those people, you know how they are, and then the fire, they just put in gold and this calf jumped out.”
25 Moses saw that the people were running wild and that Aaron had let them get out of control and so become a laughingstock to their enemies.
They weren’t just having a harmless little wine sipping dinner. They were having a drunken naked orgy.
26 So he stood at the entrance to the camp and said, “Whoever is for the Lord, come to me.” And all the Levites rallied to him. 27 Then he said to them, “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘Each man strap a sword to his side. Go back and forth through the camp from one end to the other, each killing his brother and friend and neighbor.’” 28 The Levites did as Moses commanded, and that day about three thousand of the people died.
8. Isn’t that a little harsh?
Only the tribe of Levi responded to the call to take action in response to this situation which demanded judgment be inflicted. They had understood that neutrality could not exist in the open confrontation between good and evil. Family and national ties were superseded by submission to the Lord to do His will, which in this situation was to wield the sword of God’s judgment to preserve His honor and glory. They apparently killed those who persisted in idolatry and immorality.
It is time for Moses to move in with extreme surgery. When you have cancer, you want to try to get rid of it. If it means cutting away half of your body, you want to get rid of it. Sin is an awful cancer, and God uses extreme surgery in this case by slaying those who were guilty. Those that were guilty were slain, and that cleaned up the camp pretty well. Many people are apt to say that this was brutal. Look at it this way. Was it better to cut out the cancer now and save the nation or let the cancer grow and destroy the nation? Think of the men, women, and children in the camp who were not guilty. If the men who had led Israel into idolatry had been allowed to live, the nation would never have entered the Promised Land.
29 Then Moses said, “You have been set apart to the Lord today, for you were against your own sons and brothers, and he has blessed you this day.” 30 The next day Moses said to the people, “You have committed a great sin. But now I will go up to the Lord; perhaps I can make atonement for your sin.” 31 So Moses went back to the Lord and said, “Oh, what a great sin these people have committed! They have made themselves gods of gold. 32 But now, please forgive their sin–but if not, then blot me out of the book you have written.”
9. How is Moses in this case a picture of Christ?
He is offering himself for the sins of the people. By making
urgent intercession before God, as the mediator God had appointed between himself and Israel. No sacrifice that Israel or Moses might bring could atone for this sin. But Moses so identified himself with Israel that he made his own death the condition for God’s destruction of the nation. Jesus Christ, the great Mediator, offered himself on the cross to make atonement for his people.
An atonement covered up sin. That is the way sin was handled before Jesus Christ came to earth and died on the Cross. After the Cross, sin is removed.
33 The Lord replied to Moses, “Whoever has sinned against me I will blot out of my book. 34 Now go, lead the people to the place I spoke of, and my angel will go before you. However, when the time comes for me to punish, I will punish them for their sin.” 35 And the Lord struck the people with a plague because of what they did with the calf Aaron had made.
10. Can we be blotted out of the book?
blot me out. Whoever has sinned … I will blot out. Moses’ gracious offer is refused, because the individuals who sin are responsible for their own sin. What is this? Confession. If you want to get along with God, you will have to agree with Him about sin. Sin is sin and it must be confessed. It does not matter who you are, either. These are God’s chosen people, the children of Israel, and Moses says, “We have sinned!” Israel had sinned a great sin and made gods of gold. Moses spelled out the sin before God. And, friends, when we confess our sin to God, we should spell it out. Tell God exactly what it is.
He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment; and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life, but I will confess his name before my Father, and before his angels. Rev 3:5 (KJV)
The beast that thou sawest was, and is not; and shall ascend out of the bottomless pit, and go into perdition: and they that dwell on the earth shall wonder, whose names were not written in the book of life from the foundation of the world, when they behold the beast that was, and is not, and yet is. Rev 17:8 (KJV)
Is it possible for you to be in the Book of Life and then have your name blotted out? Can you lose your salvation? If that is true, then the Lord Jesus should not have said, “And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand” (John 10:28). Again and again throughout Scripture we have the assurance given to us of our salvation.
Dr. John Walvoord’s book The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which is a very good explanation of what is meant in this verse:
Some have indicated that there is no explicit statement here that anybody will have his name blotted out, but rather the promise that his name will not be blotted out because of his faith in Christ. The implication, however, is that such is a possibility. On the basis of this some have considered the book of life not as the roll of those who are saved but rather a list of those for whom Christ died, that is, all humanity who have possessed physical life. As they come to maturity and are faced with the responsibility of accepting or rejecting Christ, their names are blotted out if they fail to receive Jesus Christ as Saviour; whereas those who do accept Christ as Saviour are confirmed in their position in the book of life, and their names are confessed before the Father and the heavenly angels.
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1 When the people saw that Moses was so long in coming down from the mountain, they gathered around Aaron and said, “Come, make us gods who will go before us. As for this fellow Moses who brought us up out of Egypt, we don’t know what has happened to him.” 2 Aaron answered them, “Take off the gold earrings that your wives, your sons and your daughters are wearing, and bring them to me.” 3 So all the people took off their earrings and brought them to Aaron. 4 He took what they handed him and made it into an idol cast in the shape of a calf, fashioning it with a tool. Then they said, “These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of Egypt.” 5 When Aaron saw this, he built an altar in front of the calf and announced, “Tomorrow there will be a festival to the Lord.” 6 So the next day the people rose early and sacrificed burnt offerings and presented fellowship offerings. Afterward they sat down to eat and drink and got up to indulge in revelry.1. Wow what happened? How could they do such a thing?
Only days have passed since God had spoken from the mountain, giving Israel this commandment:
“You shall have no other gods before Me. You shall not make for yourself an idol, or any likeness of what is in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the water under the earth. You shall not worship them or serve them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, on the third and the fourth generations of those who hate Me” (Exod. 20:3-5).
“‘You shall not make other gods besides Me; gods of silver or gods of gold, you shall not make for yourselves” (Exod. 20:23).
They had agreed only a few days ago to do all that the Lord had spoken.
To these commandments, along with all the others, Israel repeatedly affirmed, “All the words which the Lord has spoken we will do!” (Exod. 24:3; cf. 24:7; 19:8).
It happened quickly.
The sin of the Israelites happened very soon after the Mosaic Covenant was ratified in Exodus chapter 24—sooner, in fact than 40 days. Moses had prepared the people for him to be gone for some time, and part of the forty days had passed. A good part of the forty days could not have passed before the people of Israel proposed that Aaron fashion an image. Making this idol involved the collection of the contributions of gold from the Israelites, melting it down, determining what form the idol would take, making a cast, and then tooling the roughly cast image. Since Moses was absent 40 days and the idol was completed by the time he returned, we must conclude that somewhat less than 40 days had elapsed when Israel practiced idolatry.
The absence of leadership is a contributing factor to Israel’s idolatry.
There is a direct, cause-effect relationship between the absence of leadership and the practice of idolatry. It is obvious that Moses is absent. He is on the mountain with God, gone for 40 days and nights (cf. 24:18). His absence gave the Israelites a pretext for taking action, and also the opportunity for doing so (Moses wasn’t there to stop them). Aaron, of course, was present, but he hardly deserves the title “leader” here. The seventy elders who ate the covenant meal in the presence of God, Whom they saw (24:9-11), are not so much as mentioned, and yet they are most likely in the camp. How could they not have exercised some leadership in this situation? Moses had given only Aaron and Hur authority to handle legal disputes (24:14), and even Hur’s name is not mentioned in chapter 32. Perhaps even more interesting, no leaders are named of the group which wanted an idol. In other places the rebel leaders are named (e.g. Num. 16:1-3), but in our text the only designation given is “the people” (32:1, 3, 6). The absence of leadership plays a significant role in the idolatry of Israel.
”The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil, is for good men to do nothing”, Jonathan Edwards
2. What was Aaron’s role in this rebellion?
Aaron just didn’t stand back and do nothing, it was by his instruction that the Golden Calf is made. The calf was probably similar to representations of the Egyptian bull-god Apis.The hostility of the people plays a significant role in explaining the role which Aaron played in Israel’s sin.
The crowd which had “assembled about” Aaron was not a friendly group, gathering for small talk and making casual suggestions. The expression used here suggests that this was an angry, aggressive mob, whose presence Aaron perceived to be a threat to his safety, perhaps even his life. Given the actions of the Israelites before and after, Aaron was probably right to see this situation as one that was “dangerous to his health.”
There is a military motivation behind Israel’s demand to have a graven image.
What was it that the Israelites thought the graven “god” could do for them? I have concluded that there is a rather strong military factor here. Twice in our text, the expression, “who brought us up from the land of Egypt,” has occurred, the first time with regard to Moses (32:1), the second, with respect to the idol which was made (32:4). Moses led the Israelites out of Egypt. This victory was viewed as a military victory over the army of Pharaoh (cf. Exod. 15). The idol which the Israelites demanded was to serve as the nation’s military leader, which would lead them to victory over her enemies.
The Israelites had faced the Egyptians and won. They have also been opposed by Amalek at Rephedim (Exod. 17:8-16). They are now facing the conquest of Canaan, which is also a military matter. The people want a visible symbol, a kind of mascot god, which they can take before them as they proceed on to Canaan. Since Moses was not there to go before them, their idol will be their leader. The expression “to go before” definitely conveys the idea of leadership, and it has a military connotation: “The LORD your God who goes before you will Himself fight on your behalf, just as He did for you in Egypt before your eyes” (Deut. 1:30; cf. also Exod. 14:19; 23:23; 32:34). If the Israelites cannot look to Moses to lead them to victory, then they will have a “god” who will “go before them” as they march into Canaan, to possess it.
Aaron responded to “the people” by telling them to “tear off” the gold rings. This gold jewelry was undoubtedly Israel’s “wages” from the Egyptians (cf. 3:21-22; 12:35-36). This gold should also have been what was contributed for the construction of the tabernacle, rather than the golden idol (cf. Exod. 25:3). The expression, “tear off,” seems to suggest that what the Israelites did was a hasty, spontaneous, act. Spur of the moment decisions and actions are often suspect.
3. How did they come to “party time”?
This is one pretense that the Roman Catholics have for the idolatry in their image worship. Their high priest, the pope, collects the ornaments of the people, and makes an image, a crucifix, a madonna, etc. The people worship it; but the pope says it is only to keep God in remembrance. But of the whole God says, Thy people have corrupted themselves; and thus as they continue in their idolatry, they have forfeited the blessings of the Lord’s covenant. They are not God’s people, they are the pope’s people, and he is called “our holy father the pope.”
Aaron built an altar (32:5), just as Moses had (24:4). Aaron proclaimed a feast (a covenant meal?), a “feast to the Lord” (v. 5), just as there was a meal on Mt. Sinai (24:11). Israel’s early rising (v. 6) indicates the zeal with which this “worship” was pursued. Burnt offerings and peace offerings were sacrificed, too, (32:6), just as these had been sacrificed in chapter 24 (v. 5). All the people sat down to eat and to drink.
There was a very great difference between the “worship” of the people before the golden calf and that of the elders on the mountain. The people not only ate and drank, they “rose up to play” (32:6). This term “play” refers to illicit and immoral sex play. The same expression is used in Genesis 26:8, where Abimelech “looked out through a window, and saw, and behold, Isaac was caressing his wife Rebekah” (emphasis mine). Thus, this “worship” had turned into an orgy. And so another of the commandments, the prohibition of adultery, is most likely violated.
7 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Go down, because your people, whom you brought up out of Egypt, have become corrupt. 8 They have been quick to turn away from what I commanded them and have made themselves an idol cast in the shape of a calf. They have bowed down to it and sacrificed to it and have said, ‘These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of Egypt.’ 9 ”I have seen these people,” the Lord said to Moses, “and they are a stiff-necked people. 10 Now leave me alone so that my anger may burn against them and that I may destroy them. Then I will make you into a great nation.” 11 But Moses sought the favor of the Lord his God. “O Lord,” he said, “why should your anger burn against your people, whom you brought out of Egypt with great power and a mighty hand? 12 Why should the Egyptians say, ‘It was with evil intent that he brought them out, to kill them in the mountains and to wipe them off the face of the earth’? Turn from your fierce anger; relent and do not bring disaster on your people. 13 Remember your servants Abraham, Isaac and Israel, to whom you swore by your own self: ‘I will make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and I will give your descendants all this land I promised them, and it will be their inheritance forever.’” 14 Then the Lord relented and did not bring on his people the disaster he had threatened.
4. Was God going to destroy the Hebrews? Does God change His mind?
The plans for the tabernacle have been given to Moses, along with the two tablets of stone, on which the commandments have been written by the finger of God (31:18). Knowing all that has been going on in Moses’ absence, God told Moses to go down to the people. Before Moses departed from God’s presence, God first diagnosed Israel’s condition, and then threatened judgment which Israel richly deserved. God gave Moses a three-fold description of the sin of the Israelites. The first two characterize the sin which the nation has just committed. These are expressed in the past tense “have corrupted themselves” (v. 7); “have quickly turned aside” (v. 8). The third term focuses on the root problem, the spiritual condition of the nation which has produced these symptomatic sins seen in chapter 32.
By worshipping this idol, Israel has violated the covenant they just made with God, and have thus “corrupted”70 themselves. They are not the “holy nation” which God had set them apart to be (cp. 19:5-6). Furthermore, they have “quickly turned aside” from the way which God had shown they should walk and live, the “way” declared by the commandments. The nation had not only corrupted themselves by their disobedience, they had done so quickly. God’s words here are intended to convey the great danger which Israel is now in. But they are also intended to produce something different than destruction which is not only suggested by the outcome of the story, but is also implied by the words themselves.
If God had intended to wipe Israel out, what reason was there for Him to tell Moses about it, and then send Him down to the people? God tells of judgment in advance so as to afford an opportunity for men to repent. Furthermore, the words, “let Me alone,” suggest to Moses that if he did not leave God alone, the people would not be destroyed. The inference is that if Moses did intercede for Israel, God would likely turn His wrath from His people.
Finally, Moses knew that God’s threatened action (of destroying Israel) and His offer to Moses (of making a new nation through him) would have been inconsistent with His character and His covenant with Israel. The Egyptians would have taken pleasure in the fact that the Israelites were destroyed, which was precisely what they had attempted to do (cf. Exod. 1:8-22). The character of God would have been demeaned, for God would not have kept His promises to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. The Messiah could not come through Moses, for he was of the tribe of Levi, while Messiah must come through Judah (compare Exodus 2:1-2 with Genesis 49:10). Thus, the words which God spoke were intended to stimulate Moses to intercede for his people, and thus to bring about forgiveness.
The Lord changed His mind about the harm. Moses’ appeal for God to change His mind, to relent, succeeded because God had only threatened judgment, not decreed it. A divine intention is not an unchangeable divine decree. Decrees or sworn declarations or categorical statements of not changing or relenting are unconditional and bind the speaker to the stated course of action regardless of the circumstances or reactions of the listeners. Intentions retain a conditional element and do not necessarily bind the speaker to a stated course of action.
Notice how God is speaking of your people … these people. By not calling Israel “my people” God indicates that he is disowning them for breaking his covenant with them . This was a real temptation to Moses. God is saying, “Moses, I will use you like I used Abraham, and I will make of you a great nation, and I will still be able to make good my covenant with Abraham.
Then Moses tells the Lord, “You brought Your people out of the land of Egypt, but suppose that You do not take them into the land. The Egyptians would say that You were able to lead them out of Egypt but not able to take them into the land. They are Your people, Lord. You promised to bring them into the land.”
Next, Moses gives God a third reason for turning aside from His wrath against the Israelites.
Moses continues, “Lord, remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel; You made a promise to them. You promised to multiply their seed and give them a land.”
When Moses prayed like that, it moved the arm of God.
15 Moses turned and went down the mountain with the two tablets of the Testimony in his hands. They were inscribed on both sides, front and back. 16 The tablets were the work of God; the writing was the writing of God, engraved on the tablets. 17 When Joshua heard the noise of the people shouting, he said to Moses, “There is the sound of war in the camp.” 18 Moses replied:
“It is not the sound of victory, it is not the sound of defeat; it is the sound of singing that I hear.”
19 When Moses approached the camp and saw the calf and the dancing, his anger burned and he threw the tablets out of his hands, breaking them to pieces at the foot of the mountain.
5. What did the broken tablets represent?
The people had broken the laws of God, which they had recently agreed to keep? The breaking of a covenant, which normally meant death to the breaker.
20 And he took the calf they had made and burned it in the fire; then he ground it to powder, scattered it on the water and made the Israelites drink it.
6. Why make them drink the mixture of water and golden calf powder?
Remember “they sat down to eat and drink and got up to indulge in revelry.” Moses was so angry, it’s like he was saying, “so you want to drink, I’ll give you something to drink”. I’ll bet they got sick after drinking it. Kind of reminds me of getting my mouth washed out with soap.21 He said to Aaron, “What did these people do to you, that you led them into such great sin?” 22 ”Do not be angry, my lord,” Aaron answered. “You know how prone these people are to evil. 23 They said to me, ‘Make us gods who will go before us. As for this fellow Moses who brought us up out of Egypt, we don’t know what has happened to him.’ 24 So I told them, ‘Whoever has any gold jewelry, take it off.’ Then they gave me the gold, and I threw it into the fire, and out came this calf!”
7. Sounds like a good story to me? Right?
In his desperation, Aaron blamed the people, but the Lord held him accountable. Only through Moses’ intercession was Aaron spared. out came this calf. Aaron could hardly have thought that Moses would believe such an incredible story.
In affect he is blaming Moses, “you took so long that they thought you were dead, and then those people, you know how they are, and then the fire, they just put in gold and this calf jumped out.”
25 Moses saw that the people were running wild and that Aaron had let them get out of control and so become a laughingstock to their enemies.
They weren’t just having a harmless little wine sipping dinner. They were having a drunken naked orgy.
26 So he stood at the entrance to the camp and said, “Whoever is for the Lord, come to me.” And all the Levites rallied to him. 27 Then he said to them, “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘Each man strap a sword to his side. Go back and forth through the camp from one end to the other, each killing his brother and friend and neighbor.’” 28 The Levites did as Moses commanded, and that day about three thousand of the people died. 8. Isn’t that a little harsh?
Only the tribe of Levi responded to the call to take action in response to this situation which demanded judgment be inflicted. They had understood that neutrality could not exist in the open confrontation between good and evil. Family and national ties were superseded by submission to the Lord to do His will, which in this situation was to wield the sword of God’s judgment to preserve His honor and glory. They apparently killed those who persisted in idolatry and immorality.
It is time for Moses to move in with extreme surgery. When you have cancer, you want to try to get rid of it. If it means cutting away half of your body, you want to get rid of it. Sin is an awful cancer, and God uses extreme surgery in this case by slaying those who were guilty. Those that were guilty were slain, and that cleaned up the camp pretty well. Many people are apt to say that this was brutal. Look at it this way. Was it better to cut out the cancer now and save the nation or let the cancer grow and destroy the nation? Think of the men, women, and children in the camp who were not guilty. If the men who had led Israel into idolatry had been allowed to live, the nation would never have entered the Promised Land.
29 Then Moses said, “You have been set apart to the Lord today, for you were against your own sons and brothers, and he has blessed you this day.” 30 The next day Moses said to the people, “You have committed a great sin. But now I will go up to the Lord; perhaps I can make atonement for your sin.” 31 So Moses went back to the Lord and said, “Oh, what a great sin these people have committed! They have made themselves gods of gold. 32 But now, please forgive their sin–but if not, then blot me out of the book you have written.”
9. How is Moses in this case a picture of Christ?
He is offering himself for the sins of the people. By making
An atonement covered up sin. That is the way sin was handled before Jesus Christ came to earth and died on the Cross. After the Cross, sin is removed.
33 The Lord replied to Moses, “Whoever has sinned against me I will blot out of my book. 34 Now go, lead the people to the place I spoke of, and my angel will go before you. However, when the time comes for me to punish, I will punish them for their sin.” 35 And the Lord struck the people with a plague because of what they did with the calf Aaron had made.
10. Can we be blotted out of the book?
blot me out. Whoever has sinned … I will blot out. Moses’ gracious offer is refused, because the individuals who sin are responsible for their own sin. What is this? Confession. If you want to get along with God, you will have to agree with Him about sin. Sin is sin and it must be confessed. It does not matter who you are, either. These are God’s chosen people, the children of Israel, and Moses says, “We have sinned!” Israel had sinned a great sin and made gods of gold. Moses spelled out the sin before God. And, friends, when we confess our sin to God, we should spell it out. Tell God exactly what it is.
He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment; and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life, but I will confess his name before my Father, and before his angels. Rev 3:5 (KJV)
The beast that thou sawest was, and is not; and shall ascend out of the bottomless pit, and go into perdition: and they that dwell on the earth shall wonder, whose names were not written in the book of life from the foundation of the world, when they behold the beast that was, and is not, and yet is. Rev 17:8 (KJV)
Is it possible for you to be in the Book of Life and then have your name blotted out? Can you lose your salvation? If that is true, then the Lord Jesus should not have said, “And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand” (John 10:28). Again and again throughout Scripture we have the assurance given to us of our salvation. Dr. John Walvoord’s book The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which is a very good explanation of what is meant in this verse:
Some have indicated that there is no explicit statement here that anybody will have his name blotted out, but rather the promise that his name will not be blotted out because of his faith in Christ. The implication, however, is that such is a possibility. On the basis of this some have considered the book of life not as the roll of those who are saved but rather a list of those for whom Christ died, that is, all humanity who have possessed physical life. As they come to maturity and are faced with the responsibility of accepting or rejecting Christ, their names are blotted out if they fail to receive Jesus Christ as Saviour; whereas those who do accept Christ as Saviour are confirmed in their position in the book of life, and their names are confessed before the Father and the heavenly angels.
- NIVSN……………….NIV Study Notes.
- JVM ………………….J Vernon McGee,
- ACC ………………… Adam Clarke’s Commentary
- BN ……………………Barnes Notes
- WBC………….…….Wycliffe Bible Commentary
- CN ……….…………..Constables Notes
- IC……………….…….Ironside Commentary
- NET…………….…….Net Bible Study Notes.
- JFB……………………Jamieson Fausset Brown Commentary
- VWS………………….Vincent Word Studies
- CMM………………..Commentary on Matthew and Mark
- BDB……………..….Barclay’s Daily Study Bible (NT)
- Darby……………….John Darby’s Synopsis of the OT and NT
- Johnson……………Johnson’s Notes on the New Testament.
- NTCMM…………..The New Testament Commentary: Matthew and Mark.
- EHS………………….Expositions of the Holy Scriptures
- CPP…………………The Complete Pulpit Commentary
- SBC…………………..Sermon Bible Commentary
- K&D…………………Keil and Deilitzsch Commentary on the OT
- EBC……………….…Expositors Bible Commentary
- CBSC……………….Cambridge Bible for Schools and College
- GC……………………Guzik Commentary
- RD…………………..Robert Deffinbaugh
- NSB …………………The Nelson Study Bible
- MHC…………………Matthew Henry Commentary
- ESVN……………..….ESV Study Bible Notes
- MSBN……………….MacArthur NASB Study Notes
- CSTTB………………..Chuck Smith Through the Bible
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