Answers Bible Curriculum 2nd Edition Unit 6 Lesson 58
For this week in Sunday school, we’re looking at how Israel turned to worship a golden calf right after receiving God’s covenant at Sinai. How did Israel so easily commit this heinous breach of covenant? Why didn’t God destroy Israel as God desired to do? And are we worshipping idols today while telling ourselves that we’re acceptably worshipping the true God?
Our text for this lesson is Exodus 32:1-35.
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look at how God’s grand purposes for all of time and eternity were unfolding even in these first few books of the Bible last time we were together we looked at Israel’s arrival at Mount Sinai and their reception of God’s covenant God’s law and the Ten Commandments we saw that the Ten Commandments are really a summary or an introduction to the rest of the law that God gave to Israel I saw that conformity to these commands involved both the heart and the outward behavior one could not simply keep the Ten Commandments externally we also saw that Israel committed itself to obeying those commands as part of keeping covenant with God they said all that the Lord has commanded we will do multiple times they said that day however we will see how quickly Israel breaks covenant with Yahweh and that is they commit idolatry against their Redeemer today’s lesson is all about the Golden Calf incident and how God punishes idolatry now this is another well-known account from the Bible so I urge you to give your full attention so that you don’t miss anything of what God intended to communicate from this passage and that you might be properly affected and transformed by it let’s investigate what happened how God in response showed forth both wrath and mercy and then think about how are we to apply this account today well let’s pray and then we’ll get into it holy God God of the universe God in heaven you have revealed yourself to us in your scriptures you of course revealed yourself to a certain degree in all creation none of us can deny that you are God and that you deserve our medians we we are all at fault when we turn to idols yet God you’ve given us this words that we might know you in a fuller way so help us to know you help me to be able to explain this well and God give us under standing convict us encourage us as we read about what happened with Israel during this time in Jesus name Amen now my main passage today is gonna be X is 32 but before we get there please turn to Exodus 24 just want to give you a little bit of a backdrop for what we’re about to see X is 24 this is the last time Israel sees Moses before he disappears on the mountain Exodus 24 verses 12 to 18 I’ll just read this we won’t really analyze it Exodus 24 verses 12 to 18 the elders visual just had a covenant meal in the presence of Yahweh seeing its glory in a limited way and here’s what it says now the Lord that is Yahweh said to Moses come up to me on the mountain and remain there and I will give you the stone tablets with the law and the commandment which I have written for their instruction so Moses arose with Joshua his servant and Moses went up to the mountain of God but to the elders he said wait here for us until we were returned to you and behold Aaron and Hur are with you whoever has a legal matter let him approach them and Moses went up to the mountain and the cloud covered the mountain the glory of Yahweh rested on Mount Sinai and a cloud covered it for six days on the seventh day he called to Moses from the midst of the cloud and to the eyes of the sons of Israel the appearance the glory of God way was like a consuming fire on the mountaintop Moses entered the midst of the cloud as he went up to the mountain and Moses was on the mountain forty days and forty nights so here’s the picture Moses disappears into the cloud on the mountain it’s burning with fire or appears to be because the glory of the Lord and now let’s turn X’s 30 to approximately 40 days later X is 32 we’re gonna read the entire passage today but we’re just going to take the first section of it right now we’ll do it in three sections X is 32 verses 1 to 6 that’s where we’ll start so along with me here’s what God’s Word says now when the people saw that Moses laid come down from the mountain people assembled about Aaron and said to him come make us a God who will go before us as for this Moses the man who brought us up from the land of Egypt we do not know what has become of him Aaron said to them tear off the gold rings to Charlie the ears of your wives your sons and your daughters and bring them to me and all the people tore off the gold rings which were in their ears and brought them to Aaron he took this from their hand and fashioned it with a graving tool and made it into a molten calf and they said this is your God o Israel who brought you up from the land of Egypt now when Aaron saw this he built an altar before it and Aaron made a proclamation and said tomorrow shall be a feast to Yahweh so the next day they rose early and offered burnt offerings and brought peace offerings and the people sat down to eat to end to drink and rose up to play well let’s observe this first section notice of the people of Israel they approached Aaron in verse 1 and they asked Aaron to make for them a God to go before them and we say wait a second doesn’t is you already have a God to go before them to lead to provide for them well not a made God not a God whose form they can see and understand there’s also in verse 1 what they say about Moses he’s m.i.a and they don’t expect him back anytime soon we don’t know it wasn’t they come at me and there was Aaron’s response in verse 2 he doesn’t say my brother’s do not sin by making this request instead he says bring me all your gold earrings bring me all your gold earrings now where would Israel remember they were previously enslaved they were oppressed people where would they have gotten all these gold earrings that’s right it would have been when they right before they left the plundering of the Egyptians that God accomplished for them giving them favor causing the Egyptians to fear Israel and look highly upon them that’s how they received these gold earrings now Aaron says give me all those gold earrings notice when Aaron does with the gold in verse 4 he fashions it with a tool into a molten calf now the term calf here it could also be understood as young bold or young ox but we traditionally call it a golden calf but why a bull why this animal the Bulls in oxen were certainly thought of at that time as very strong animals they were great symbols of strength and a young animal is full of life and vitality or virility notably there were many bovine that is cow type deities in Egypt including the very popular god APIs and the popular goddess Hathor Hathor we’ve seen before so they Aron makes a bowl and when the people see the image notice what they say to one another in verse 4 they said this is your God o Israel who brought you up from the land of Egypt I’ll catch that they’re saying this is Yahweh wait a second didn’t you always say something about making images even of him maybe in the second commandment do not make an image of anything that you see and the heavens are on the earth or in the sea now notice the beginning of verse 5 what Aaron does next is in response to this declaration for the people they’re all telling one another hey this is our God this is the God who brought us up what does Aaron do he builds an altar before this golden bull and he became Zin the next day will be a feast to Yahweh and we see the feast commence in verse 6 seems to start out all right they’re offering burnt offerings and peace offerings and then they sit down to eat and drink and the last phrase it says they rose up to play now this word for play here comes from the Hebrew root referring to laughter actually it’s usage is interesting the same verb is used in Genesis 1914 to describe how Lots sons-in-law thought that he was joking about the imminent fire of judgment coming down on sadi verb also appears in Genesis 26 8 describe Isaac sporting with his wife and King Abimelech sees that he’s like that’s not your sister that’s your wife also appears in judges 1625 described blinded Sampson being made to entertain the Philistines to amuse them so you can see a little bit of a range of this work what does play mean here now someone said it refers to sexual indulgence the phrase can include sensual behavior and promiscuity but that understanding is too narrow actually without getting into it first contains 10 verses 7 and 8 which refers to this event it differentiates it from a later event which was focused primarily on immorality it says don’t do what they did around the Golden Calf and also don’t do what they did later with immorality so there seems to be a distinction between those events so I think we should understood this idea of rising up to play is just general revelry basically it’s a party it’s a big party in the camp but just as the God and the worship of that God really imitates the surrounding Nations and what they did with their gods at that time well so will the party this is not just some great feast righteous feast we’re gonna see just how unrestrained the people’s behavior becomes so here we have verses what is in our passage now let’s ask a few interpretation questions about what we just read first who’s really in charge here Aaron is abstence ibly in charge but is he really in charge no who’s leading here the people it’s the people and their cravings whatever they want Aaron does he’s just following their be and this is really sad because you think about Aaron’s role as leader this is a privileged position an exalted position and you gave it to God did God raised up Aaron along with Moses as a leader of Israel and this is the way that your hands leading another question why is the request to make us a God to go before us why is that actually a nonsensical request I mean think about it how can it be a God if you have to make it right or how can it go before you if you’re the one who has to drag it around I mean this is the same kind of critiques that the Bible is constantly offering against those who go after idols not only is it an offense to God but it’s it’s senseless it’s useless these idols can’t do anything you’re taking a piece of wood you’re taking some gold or some metal may fashion into an image and you bow down to it it’s the most ridiculous thing and yet this is still true today not only with idols that people make as images but idols that we have that we make in our hearts they can’t do anything for you but they are in defense another question what is so tragic about the people using their earrings to make this golden calf yeah really yes that’s exactly right boys said what was meant to be a gift from God for the people to enjoy and to honor God with they’ve actually used to file themselves dishonor God and bring harm upon themselves they’ve used the very gift of God to pursue an idol and isn’t this always what idolatry does this is the same compare this is the same issue that God brings up with Israel later in the Book of Ezekiel a very famous passage in Ezekiel 16 where god’s describing his history with israel his relationship with israel and he says it’s like i found you as an abandoned baby on the side of the road that nobody wanted you didn’t even have your umbilical cord cut but I cleaned you I I took care of you i i’m nourished you i beautified you I gave you clothes I gave you jewelry you became a young woman you became beautiful and I married you and then what did you do you took all the things I gave you and you use them to pursue other lovers you took all the things I gave you and you use them to pursue false gods and idols and that’s exactly what’s happening here and of course that’s still true today what the idols that we are faced with and that the people the world are faced with what are they doing they’re taking the various things that God has given them so that they would turn to God and they using them to pursue idols we even do this as Christians I mean think about some of the blessings that God has given you your time your health your family your money your circumstances things that God has given so that you may serve Him how are you using those are you in fact using them to pursue idols it’s the same kind of egregious offence and tragedy that we’re seeing right here in our passage well another question for now are the people really worshiping Yahweh are they worshiping a different it’s not yeah it’s not really Yahweh is it this is a different God they call it the god who’s delivered them from Egypt they even refer to it as Yahweh but this is not Yahweh you see worshiping God true worship of God is more than getting the right name Yahweh is not a God who can be represented by a bowl or a calf nor can he be honored by an indulgent feast their understanding of this God is it’s not the true God and this is why even today we can say those who say they worship God Hey you know it’s the same God or I I wish of Jesus too but if they don’t really know Jesus they don’t really know God they don’t actually worship Him they worship to whatever degree they are able to worship they worship a different God a false god actually an idol for those who don’t know Jesus when they worship Jesus it’s a Jesus of their own making it’s not the Jesus of the scriptures it’s a God from their own imagination and it is an offense to God now we sometimes to even think about the Jewish people would say oh you know it’s the same God they just haven’t really understood about God the Son well because they don’t really know the true God it is not the same guy they have they’ve come to worship a different God even though it’s the same name and we can fall into the same kind of trap ourselves can’t we we think that we’re worshiping the true God we think we really love God but if we’re actually we don’t truly know him or if we’re walking in sin is it actually a God her own imagination and it’s so easy for us to do this because the God who actually is it makes us uncomfortable so often I’ve been reading a book recently a book that’s just an exploration of theology and the author was saying that so so many times we take the God of the scriptures and we want to reduce the something that’s a little bit more comfortable a little bit more in our control and as soon as we do that we’re no longer really dealing with the God who is but this is what I doll she does and this is something that we can even fall into his Christian’s Danny I think I saw your hand did you want to say something right very true Danny you’re noting the previous chapters God has been laying out very precisely he’s been describing this is who I am and this is how you worship me this is how you walk before me then Moses is beginning to relate these things to Israel but even what he’s related so far Israel is just totally disregarding here you must know that God who is and you must come to him in a prescribed way and yet art because of our sinful flesh and because of our unregenerate hearts apart from the Lord we are constantly wanting to rebel against what God has revealed against himself a revealed about himself and we want to come to God in our own way but of course what we do that we’re not really coming to the true God now what does God think of all this I mean the people are committing idolatry though they say they’re worshiping Yahweh but does God say to himself well they’re a little off in their method but their hearts are in the right place or as long as they were sincere I don’t mind how they come to me or worship me well let’s a look how God responds in the next section look at Exodus 32 verses 7 to 14 this is God’s reaction to the people’s worship X is 32 verse 7 then you always spoke to Moses go down at once for your people whom you brought up in the land of Egypt have corrupted themselves they have quickly turned aside from the way which I commanded them they have made for themselves a molten calf and have worshipped it no sacrifice to it and said this is your God o visual who brought you up from the land of Egypt Yahweh said to Moses I have seen these people and behold they are an obstinate people now then let me alone then my anger may burn against them and that I may destroy them and I will make of you a great patient then Moses entreated Yahweh his God and said o Yahweh why does your anger burn against your people whom you have brought up from the land of Egypt with great power and with a mighty hand why should the Egyptians speak saying where the evil intent he brought them out to kill them in the mountains and to destroy them from the face of the earth turn from your burning anger and change your mind about doing harm to your people remember Abraham Isaac and Israel your servants to whom you swore by yourself and said to them I will multiply your descendants as the stars of the heavens and all the land and all this land on which I have spoken I will give to your descendants and they shall inherit it forever so he always changed his mind about the harm which he said he would do to his people I feel like this is this is such a dramatic scene right here I can tell it’s affecting me a little bit but let’s observe this section notice how Moses learns what it sure has done God tells them in verses 7 8 and what’s striking about how God describes Israel to Moses in the beginning in verse 7 how does he refer to Israel yes she says your people whom you have brought up from the land of you did as you can see the Lord is distancing himself from Israel and notice what else God says about is show he says they have corrupted themselves verse 7 they’ve directly violated several the Ten Commandments and have shown themselves to be corrupt first aid they’ve quickly turned aside from God’s commands and was it not quick I mean this is less than two months after they received God’s covenant and they’ve affirmed that they would keep the Ten Commandments this is less than two months and God says verse nine they are an obstinate people literally stiff necked initials already demonstrated themselves to be obstinate we saw them in the wilderness God says don’t do this they did it God says where I’m going to test you with this they failed the test they keep on departing from Yahweh even though he’s done all these wonderful things for them and continues to do so they are an obstinate people God says and so notice his intention that he expressed in verse seven he says I’m just gonna destroy them all let my anger burn I’m gonna restart with you Moses notice though that phrase he says now then let me alone did God really want Moses to leave him alone because if so why did God tell Moses what God is about to do I mean if God really just wanted to destroy them all why not just do it telling Moses about it gets Moses a chance to speak to God and intervene nobody you know that’s exactly what Moses attempts to do verses 11 to 14 we see Moses asking God change his mind change his mind and spare Israel by the way where have we seen almost this same situation occur before God says I’m about to do something I’m gonna let you know about it then somebody said wait let me proceed it’s in this what Abraham experienced with God right before Sodom was destroyed God says am I gonna hide from Abraham I’m about to do Sodom is a wicked City I’m gonna go down and investigate and if it’s that as bad as I hear it is I’m gonna die I’m gonna judge it neighbor him says Lord when you destroy the righteous along with the wicked please for the sake of the righteous will you spare it and he has that that conversation with God similar is happening here God tells what about tells Moses what God’s about to do and Moses has a chance to intervene and look what Moses asks God he says change your mind regarding this annihilation of Israel don’t destroy them and notice the reason that Moses is crystal heaven he says they are your people whom you brought up from the land of Egypt so it takes the language that God uses in verse 7 and reverses it he says they’re your people God you chose them you delivered them and in verse 12 he says the magician’s don’t malign your name if they discover you destroyed the people in the wilderness you deliver them willing to destroy them and then verse 13 remember the promises you gave to Abraham Isaac and Jacob you said he’d multiply the people he said you’d given them a land God hears these reasons for Moses and amazingly God relents I was this intercession is successful verse 14 says God changed his mind it changed his mind about the harm he intended to do to Israel let’s ask some interpretation questions now why is God’s announced intention to destroy Israel an appropriate reaction from God’s their sin I think oh this is a little bit of an overreaction isn’t it not at all why is this totally approval would God be justified in destroying Israel yes he would why right sorry I say it again right so as the sovereign God as the holy God it is right for him to require exclusive worship and again that’s evident even from the creation and yet Israel hasn’t even has it even more explicitly declared to them God said in Exodus 20 in the second commandment verses 4 and 5 specifically if you make an idol and serve it I will judge you I’ll repeat the verses for you Exodus 20 verses 4 & 5 you shall not make for yourself an idol or an 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 Yahweh your God am a jealous God visiting the iniquity of the father’s on the children on the third and the fourth generations of those who hate me but showing loving-kindness to thousands to those who love me and keep my Commandments it is totally right it is totally deserved for the righteous God to just destroy Israel here they know what they’re doing in a sense and for God to be faithful to himself he would do that you know we often quote and I said this before we often quote 2nd Timothy 2:13 as a comfort to ourselves 2nd Timothy 2:13 says if we are faithless he remains faithful for he cannot deny himself and that is a comfort for a member it also means that God is faithful to judge because that’s what the 1st right before it and 2nd Timothy 2 says 2nd Timothy 2:12 if we endure we also will reign with him if we deny him he also will deny us and then if we were faithless he remains faithful for he cannot deny himself God will be faithful to himself he is a holy a just righteous God full of indignation against sin and so when we turn to that persistent net God will be faithful you will judge and he will chase ischial knows this they’ve seen the terms of the Covenant they firmed that they will obey it and they have not they’ve broken the Covenant and deserve to be judged why though does God grant Moses request for mercy on Israel clearly they deserve to be judged yeah John yeah that’s certainly part of it right he has promises to keep God is also a faithful God and he’s made certain promises to Abraham Isaac and Jacob and God has a turn if I destroyed them all and Moses brings this up it’s not consistent with the promises I’ve made in the past and we can even point specifically God’s made certain promises about a descendant of the tribe of Judah becoming King and if all the descendants of the tribe of Judah are destroyed that’s not really gonna happen you restart with Moses you don’t have Juna anymore so there are some promises that God still has to keep but why else why else does God show mercy yeah Duane right so as you’re saying Twain goz reputation is at stake for his own state and for his own name he determines to show mercy this is again as you said Wayne this is one of the reasons that Moses brings up think about your name Oh God so ultimately God does this for himself before his own sake Steve what are you gonna say right yeah and that’s the other huge part of it he is a god of Wrath and justice and yet he’s also God of mercy no one can say oh because you’re God of mercy show me mercy I deserve it I demand it you can’t God has mercy on whom he has mercy and yet God sees fit so often to show mercy to those who don’t deserve it and he determines to do so here partly also because he loves Moses Moses is favored in God’s sight Moses has received mercy from God and so when Moses makes this request God says for your sake Moses for my own sake for the sake of the patriarchs I will listen and I will relent and he chooses not to judge Israel as Israel deserves by the way don’t miss the inside here about even our own request to God Moses frames these his requests and the reasons all in terms of God this is for your sake and we ought really ought to pray the same way now don’t don’t misunderstand I’m not saying we should try to manipulate God and be like hey you know God if you do this for me you know this is really gonna work out for you and as a way to try and indulge our fleshly cravings but really if we’re to be praying in the will of God and in the name of Jesus we should be seeking the good of the Lord I mean anything that is good for God is the greatest good in the universe it ultimately turns out to be for our good so when we look at a situation we should be looking for God would this glorify you would this be pleasing to you if so because is what you’re committed to that’s what that’s what you deserve and that’s the greatest good for us all then do that how many times in the scriptures do we see people appealing to God in that way God remember your servants so that you can be glorified God deliver me from this trouble so that you can show yourself to be the savior who you are God won’t you save this person and display your mercy or God won’t you not allow this evil to go and punish and display your holiness and justice we ought to appeal to God on the basis of even his own glory and actually that works as a check for some of our prayers because if we can’t pray for something to result in God’s glory honestly truly well we need to change our requests now here’s another thought this text is explicit in saying and showing that God changed his mind regarding Israel but wait a second how can God change his mind when we’ve already seen he’s immutable he’s a God who does not change and first samuel 1529 says explicitly this is God speaking the glory of Israel will not lie or change his mind for he is not a man that he should change his mind wait a second he changed his mind here how can that be how can God say I don’t change my mind and yet right here it clearly is change his mind this is a question we’ve seen before what’s the answer go ahead right okay so that’s one way to to frame it to describe it that we’re looking at the apparent complexity of God’s will where he can will or desire something which does not end up ultimately being fulfilled because it is not part of his eternal decree I think Roy I saw your hand as well right okay so that’s part of it too God isn’t changes standard and his character doesn’t change his nature doesn’t change I mean that’s what many of those other passages are emphasizing when God says they don’t change but to bring in what Danny was saying before and I also repeat that comment you said that this is a teaching time for Moses I think yes this is this is also being used in a very instructive way I think the basic way to answer this question of how can it be that God says I don’t change my mind and I do change my mind is that they’re two senses of God changing his mind and in one sense God does change his mind he was genuinely intent upon a course of action and then embarks upon a different course of action and that’s based off of Moses intercession if Moses hadn’t made the request that Moses did then God would have destroyed all Israel for their idolatry this was not a joke this was not pretend from God yet another sense God never changed his mind because he had always suddenly determined that Moses would do just that since eternity God had ordained all events including Israel’s flagrant rebellion with the golden calf God ordained that God ordained Moses as intercession and God ordained his own changing of his plan to destroy them in anger now again God is not acting or pretending yet God always knew that the outcome would be mercy and not annihilation now this may be difficult for us to understand fully but we’re dealing with the sovereign and infinite God he can have a will that works like this he’s both inside time and outside of time he has a a dynamic relationship with his people where he’s he can proclaim one thing and then when they change he acts in a different way and yet everything that happens has always been sovereignly decreed so once since God changes his mind in another sense he doesn’t change his mind now consider the implication of this for your own prayers because what do we often say to ourselves especially when we come more acquainted with what the Bible says and what is called reformed theology we say well God is sovereign why pray well yes God is sovereign and everything is eternally decreed yet if you don’t pray certain things won’t happen because God determined that the means of things happening will be your prayers even momentous events and momentous changes in the world they depend on your prayers a I thought they depend on God’s sovereign will yes but God is using your prayers you sitter a whole people was spared from annihilation because one person prayed to God they say well he was a special person he’s a man just like us isn’t that James Point at the end of his book says the righteous prayer or the prayer of a righteous man affects much he’s just a man like us and you’re considered the effect of his prayers consider the effect of your prayers the potential effect because God says I will respond to the prayers of those whom I have set my love upon yes even you and even me our prayers matter because in a sense they change the mind of God or rather they fulfill what God has always decreed so both are true now initials been spared from instant annihilation but their revelry is continuing something needs to be done so let’s see what happens next what Moses does in the last section we’re gonna look at X is 32 verses 15 to 35 X is 32 starting in verse 15 going to the end of the chapter then Moses turned and went down from the mountain with the two tablets of the testimony in his hand tablets which were written on both sides they were written on one side and the other the tablets were God’s work and they’re riding with God’s riding engraved on the tablets now when Josh were heard the sound of the people as they shouted they said to Moses there’s a sound of war in the camp but he said it’s not the sound of the cry of triumph it wasn’t the sound of the cry of defeat but the sound of singing I hear came about as soon as Moses came here to camp and he saw the calf and the dancing Moses anger burned and he threw the tablets from his hands and shattered them at the foot of the mountain took the calf which they had made and burned it with fire and ground it to powder and scattered it over the surface of the water and made the sons of Israel drink it then Moses said to Aaron what did these people do to you but you have brought such a great sin upon them Aaron said to Noah the anger of my Lord burn you know the people yourself that they are prone to evil for they said to me make a god for us who will go before us for this Moses the man who brought us up from the land of Egypt we do not know what has become of him I said to them whoever has any gold let them tear it off so they gave it to me and I threw it into the fire and now came this calf now when Moses saw that the people were out of control for Aaron had let them get out of control to be a division among their enemies then Moses stood in the gate of the camp and said whoever is for Yahweh come to me and all the sons of Levi gathered together to him he said to them thus says Yahweh the God of Israel every man if you put his sword upon his thigh and go back and forth from gate to gate in the camp and kill every man his neighbor and every man his friend and every man or every man his brother every man has a friend and every man his neighbor so the sons of Levi did as Moses instructed and about 3,000 men of the people fell that day then Moses said dedicate yourselves today to the Yahweh for every man has been against his son and against his brother in order that he may bestow a blessing upon you today on the next day Moses said to the people you yourselves have committed a great sin and now I’m going up to Yahweh perhaps I can make atonement for your sin and Moses returned to Yahweh and said alas this people has committed a great sin and they have made a God of gold for themselves but now if you will forgive their sin and if not please block me out from your book which you have written he always said to Moses whoever is sin against me I will block him out of my book but go now lead the people where I told you behold my angel shall go before you nevertheless in the day when i punish i will punish them for their sin then you always smote the people because of what they did with the calf which aaron had made that’s observed this last section notice in verse 16 that Moses goes down with the two tablets at the testimony they have God’s riding on both sides Moses meets up again with Joshua and he reports what sounds like war in the camp now think about what ancient warfare sounds like how would you describe it yeah lots of screaming yelling it’s chaos it’s loud you got the banging sword again shield people charging agonized cries all this mixed together in this this cacophony Joshua says that’s what it sounds like in Israel right now mixed in with singing and music verse 19 when Moses sees the golden calf notice if throws down his tablets and anger and are shattered against the ground what to do now Moses priority one get rid of that calf notice in verse 20 is this he does so in a pretty poignant way it burns it grinds it to powder mixes it with water it makes the people drink it priority to confront Erin thinking verses 21 to 24 how does Erin explain his behavior with this golden calf that’s right who or what does he blame says the people yeah you know it’s the people man you know they’re so prone to evil they basically made me do it what else does he blame the fire like parts of the scriptures he says I just threw it in the fire and this calf came out not sure if you thought that was really something Moses would believe but listen our Erin is not taking responsibility again he’s demonstrating some pretty weak leadership but got rid of the calf confronted Aaron what’s next restore order among the people like a verse 25 notice assess that Aaron had let the people get out of control so they’re engaging in this continued unrestrained behavior probably including drunkenness probably including a morality people are just letting their passions run wild and verse 25 also says it’s kind of a little parenthetical Israel had become through this a division among their enemies people will mock Israel and mock Israel’s God based on how Israel’s acting right now so notice what Moses does in verse 26 he stands in the gate a one end of the camp and he calls for anyone in Israel ready to act on behalf of God and turns out the tribe of Levi rallies to Moses and verse 27 got or Moses calls on the Levites to go from end to end in the camp and kill their brothers friends and neighbors they do so according to verse 28 it says three thousand initial were killed this is the first time we’ve seen people initial dying as a result of sin this is significant and three thousand men in verse 29 Moses tells the people in light of what happened they need to dedicate themselves to Yahweh and maybe they can obtain a blessing from Yahweh and with this with order restored Moses shifts to his last priority which is intercede for the people verse 30 notice Moses tells the people they’ve committed a great sin perhaps Moses will make atonement be able to make atonement for them Moses then goes up again to God and notice what Moses prays to God in verses 31 to 32 he confesses the people’s sin verse 31 he asks for God’s forgiveness verse 32 and then this interesting statement in verse 32 says if not if you’re if you won’t grant them forgiveness or if you can’t grant them for getting this blot me out from your book which you have written it might be asking hey wait what book now this is an idiomatic expression referring to the book of the living don’t connect it to the book of life necessarily in Revelation maybe using the term in a different way that’s the book of eternal life this is more local to Israelite context the book of the living those who are alive if you’re blotted out from the book you die so Moses is saying if you won’t forgive them then put me to death they say well what exactly is Moses suggest now come back to that we get a clue though in what God says in response in verses 33 and 34 verse 33 God says I will blot out that is I will put to death people for their own sin that’s what I’m gonna do Moses verse 34 as for you Moses lead the people on as my angel goes before you and now notice verse 35 it says then you always smote the people because of what they did with the calf now this is a really interesting statement the word smoke here is the Hebrew word for striking smiting striking it can refer to just physically being hit but often use metaphorically in the scriptures especially for describing God sending a plague say God smote them with a plague or struck them with a plague and this is actually why if you have the ESV the NIV or even the King James translation of this passage verse 35 they all use wording that indicates God sent a plague among the people however the word smote or smite it can refer to setbacks besides plays even in a metaphorical way if one suffers death or suffers defeat or suffers illness for instance those can all be referred to as being smoke by God so is verse 35 describing a new punishment from God people died earlier but now here’s a plague from God well there’s also a grammatical wrinkle here to not get too technical there Burke format verse 35 in Hebrew is one often used to indicate sequence this happened and then this happened this is why the new American Standard translates the beginning of verse 35 as then the Lord smote the word then they’re indicating that sequence sequence would mean that this is a new act from God however it is possible that the verb form instead of indicating sequence could indicate result result of what’s already happened so that is to say the people suffered loss earlier in the passage 3,000 died thus Israel as a result can consider themselves smote by God struck by God actually in his commentary on this John Calvin takes this view that this is not a new event this is just summarizing or giving the consequence of what has already taken place so how should we understand verse 35 well we’ll come back to that that’s an interpretation question and let’s move to interpretation now but we need to look at some other questions before we consider how to understand verse 35 here’s my first question here why does Moses throw down the tablets do you just upset and said you know what now what’s really going on there yeah JaJuan yeah I think that’s absolutely it I mean if we say that Moses just upset he you’d say having a little temper tantrum I mean that’s that’s God’s covenant that’s recorded by the finger of God that’s pretty that’s pretty bad no I think this is rather he’s come to the camp he sees what they’ve done and he says you know what this is exactly what they’ve done they’ve broken the Covenant so I’m literally gonna break it in front of them I think that’s the best way to understand it why though another question why does Moses do what he does with the calf he burns it grinds it down mixes it with water and adds that he would drink it it’s pretty intense just for the sake of time I’ll maybe fill in some thoughts on this question I think multiple things are being stated shown through those actions first of all he’s saying you people are responsible you made this calf yeah Aaron made it but you’re the one who caused him to make it now you drink the calf this was your act second is chosen that their idolatry is heinous doesn’t say you know what you did wrong but let’s take this gold melt it down and we’ll make some more earrings no he says no what this is trash now because of what you’ve done this does not deserve to be repurposed this just means it should be obliterated because idolatry is an offense to God but I also think you can see some contempt for idolatry here this is supposedly a God that they worshipped but he destroys it pulverizes it then has them drinking this this great being that you are worshiping this God so to speak now it’s just dust it’s just something that’s gonna become waste as it goes through your digestive system this was the god that you were worshiping you can see some contempt for idolatry and Moses’s action and this is this is still true all these things are true of idols even today now another important clarification what exactly is Moses calling the Levites to do as we might think okay is he just saying go and go don’t kill your fame and closest friends or find some random Israelites and kill them I don’t think so the text says the people were out of control so likely the Levites they were going through the camp to re-establish order and control they were to cause the people to stop their idolatrous revelry and for those who wouldn’t to put them to death we do see a similar situation at numbers 25 where people at that time they join with some idolatrous inhabit since the land in an immoral feast and they again go out of control and God says you need to put to death the people who are perpetrating this and continuing in this and that’s exactly what Israel does we have a apparently similar situation here God is through Moses calling on the people visual put to death those who are persisting in this idolatry who will not come back under control and that’s what they do in 3000 3000 Israel are killed by the way this was not some unjustified vigilante justice God actually rewards the Levites later for their demonstrated zeal here this is why they become the tribe chosen to service the tabernacle I says you did a right thing by respondent Moses and they destroyed those who are persisting in idolatry another question why did Israel need intercession again in verse 30 didn’t Yahweh already relent from judgment well God hadn’t relented from instant annihilation but not necessarily all judgment it may have been that God’s mercy was temporary Asia would certainly need a more comprehensive forgiveness and covering once all the dust had settled or assassin to play into the tabernacle system that will be inaugurated now how should we understand Moses’s plea about being blotted out in verse 32 what do you think one way we could understand it is Moses being like if you’re not then just kill me because life stinks but we can see a foreshadowing of Christ and you know Moses making the Christ for us okay very interesting comment but just let me tease out something a little bit more so what is Moses offering God that’s right I think that’s the way to understand it he’s saying if you won’t forgive them then kill me instead if you say that I know what someone has to die then kill me instead of Israel and I think there certainly is a parallel with Christ in some some measure this is the same kind of mediation that we see with Christ or the desire expressed by Moses is certainly consistent with what Christ will do in the future and it’s actually very similar to what even Paul expresses in the New Testament you remember in Romans nine Paul says I could wish myself accursed separate from Christ for the sake of my brethren I would I could wish to be destroyed and Damned forever if it means that the people of Israel might be saying and I think the reason why we see this parallel between Paul and Moses and Christ in terms of this kind of intercession is that this is the heart of god this is what righteousness and love does it seeks to save and to seed for the sake of others Moses is seeking to do that for his people and this is quite amazing what does this show us about Moses attitude towards the people of Israel that’s right Moses loves his people they’ve complained against him they’ve shown themselves to be stubborn and sinful but he loves them they are his brethren and he wants to see them saved and this is just like Paul and of course this is just like Jesus Christ and Jesus Christ an even greater way but God does not accept Moses’s offer though he does accept Christ offer in a sense it would think about him in terms of offer so why why the difference why does he accept Christ as a substitute but not Moses or even Paul certainly is because there are different calibers of substitutes aren’t they Moses and Paul they can’t do what Christ did even though that’s a righteous desire they are sinners they are mere men they cannot become a perfect sacrifice to save someone from the wrath of God but Christ can the Christ did because he’s the son of God who lived a perfectly righteous life and then died the death that could absorb entirely the wrath of God for sin in his people so Moses couldn’t do what Christ would do nevertheless that mark of intercessory love that should be consistent in all of God’s people even us today Moses is demonstrating that now verse 35 come back to this question is it describing a separate plague was there another judgment or was this just a summary statement I think this is a pretty tough question to answer and there are certainly good interpreters to go both ways I’ve leaned on the side that this is a summary statement and not another plague and the reason is a plague of sorts has already taken place in this passage the Levites have killed 3,000 men usually god only sends one judgment per sinful episode so I think this is just a summary statement also this report comes at the end of this section of narrative which makes sense for a summary statement and less sense for another significant act another major development like God sending a plague but I meant that is a difficult question answer I’m running short on time but let me go through a few other questions why did you ask for a knight I mean they had God why do they want an idol I said fear uncertainty they hadn’t seen Moses for a while been 40 days where’s God where’s Moses there’s an impatience hey man we want to get that Promised Land let’s get a guy let’s get a leader going maybe those played a role but ultimately I think this is just evil cravings of the heart why do they end up in unrestrained behavior because they are craving it their flesh is craving sinful indulgences and so they’re looking for a God that will justify that and believe this is why Paul brings up this episode in 1st Corinthians 10 may remember a few weeks ago when I was preaching there at Calvary I mentioned that passage that context is people eating meat sacrificed to idols and Paul says look that is your Christian Liberty but if you’re gonna exercise that Liberty as a way to just indulge your flesh and not care about your brethren you know what you’re acting just like the people of Israel they were just looking to indulge their flesh and that’s why God kept judging them that’s why they got involved in complaining and idolatry and immorality because they loved sin and they loved – fitting the desires to flesh and that’s like that comment from the New Testament I think helps to inform helps to help us to see what’s really motivating Israel in seeking this golden calf I can to say how we were afraid now it was the lust of their heart now of course this event is recording the scripture the fact that it happened and the record of it it’s given to show us who God is and what does God display about himself in this passage fundamentally God is a jealous God God is a holy God he will not allow the motion that rightly belongs to him be given to some false god or idol even if it bears the same name as God if it’s not God he hates it he isn’t arranged over it he is jealous and rightly because he deserves all worship and honor we see God does not accept false or synchronistic worship God is wrathful against idolatry God is faithful but God is also merciful God accepts intercession even the requests of those he loves we also see that people even we ourselves we need forgiveness and atonement to protect us from God’s wrath I get idolatry is let’s face it have all of us been idolaters before Christ and even after Christ have we not fallen into idolatry what he need an intercessor and one better than Moses and of course God has provided such in Christ so we’re now already thinking and throughout the lesson I’ve been pointing you to certain applications so I hope that you’ll take time today and this week to think more through those applications let me just summarize three realms of application I think that you should continue to think about how should this passage transform you transform us number one beware the jealousy of God God said in exodus 20 when he gave the Ten Commandment said he is jealous and he meant it and we see it here so if we’re being nonchalant about idols in our lives we need to pay attention in this passage God was willing to destroy even the people who call upon him who said they were worshiping him but in fact we’re using the gifts of God to serve idols what we dared to do the same well we continue to do the same in light of God declaring this passage to us beware the jealousy of God number two recognize your need for a mediator already broach this topic but you’ve been an idolatry so of i that’s why we need someone to mediate for us like moses did but better than moses did and of course that only happens through jesus christ only he can cover the sin of your idolatry and clothed you with his righteousness so are you covered do you have him as a mediator and think about how lovely his mediation is as your great high priest not only to secure you save you from God’s wrath by that once for all sacrifice but to continue to intercede for you I don’t know if you think about this but he is your high priest continually before the Father praying for you Hebrews talks about how he is sympathetic and when you are tempted he intercedes for you in such a way that you will have exactly what you need to overcome that temptation what love from our Lord Jesus Christ do you love the Lord because of his mediation for you and then number three intercede for those around you we see the righteousness of Moses in secret intercede for his brethren what about us do we look to intercede for sinners that we know do we pray for them to God and do we speak to them on God’s behalf they needed to session and you know what so did the people at Calvary your brothers and sisters need intercession they need you to pray for them they need you to talk to them this is what God’s people do this is reflecting the righteous heart of God Christ the Son of God is a mediator and intercessor is people are gonna reflect that so you intercede for sinners and do you intercede for your brother that should be a mark of God’s alright one a couple of minutes over I apologize about that that’s it for this week next week we go back a little bit and look at God’s instructions for the tabernacle a crisis has been averted God will continue in fellowship with his people but how’s it gonna work how can a holy God dwell in the midst of a sinful people well the sacrificial Tabernacle system it’s gonna go a long way to explaining how that’s going to work so look forward talking to you about that next time let’s close in prayer Lord this word deserves more time of meditation so I pray that you would grant it to your people or do we need to recognize and live in such a way then that it shows that you are jealous God and that we we will not serve another idol along with you or in place of you God forgive us for where we have done that that caused us to follow after you and we thank you for Jesus Christ who’s the only one who could save us from the wrath that our idolatry has deserved the Lord lead us after you to worship only in Jesus name Amen I think you all see again