Exodus 32:12, commentary and pictures

Moses pleaded with God to turn from fierce anger and relent from destroying His people when wrath threatened to consume them for the idolatry at Sinai. He urged that to slay them in the mountains would let Egypt and the watching nations claim He led them out only for mischief, triumph over Israel and dishonor His name as unable to bring them to the promised land. He set before God His own mighty deliverance and His oath sworn by Himself to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob to multiply their seed and give them the land forever. He refused to consent to their destruction for the sake of his own advancement, valuing their preservation and God's honor above becoming father of a greater nation. The Lord listened to that earnest unselfish pleading, spared Israel and gave opportunity to repent, leaving a pattern for humble determined intercession that seeks God's glory and the salvation of perishing souls.

Historical Setting at Sinai

The plea belongs to Israel's idolatry at Sinai while Moses was absent on the mount with Joshua in the cloud of thick darkness with lightnings of the divine presence, receiving God's written law during forty days which Israel had pledged to obey. During that waiting time Israel was to meditate on the law of God they had heard and prepare for further revelation, but when the people saw that Moses delayed to come down they became discontented, careless, inattentive and lawless, and their unbelief began to reveal itself in a marked manner. The impatient mixed multitude, eager to reach the land flowing with milk and honey, had lost sight that it was promised only on condition of obedience, and led the waiting time away from meditation on the law. It was at the very foot of Sinai, while God was writing the law, that Israel denied loyalty to Jehovah in open defiance and daring insult and blasphemy.

Feeling helpless without Moses they returned to Egyptian superstition, and at the suggestion of those who had practiced it in Egypt demanded gods of gold. They made a calf in imitation of the Egyptian ox or calf as a symbol of deity to represent God and to go before them in the place of Moses, and bowed before a golden image. God had given no similitude of Himself and had prohibited any material representation, and had established faith in Himself as the invisible all-powerful Helper by the miracles in Egypt and at the Red Sea, by the pillar of cloud and fire, and by the revealing of His glory on Sinai with the cloud of the Presence still before them, yet they turned back in their hearts to the idolatry of Egypt and represented the glory of the invisible God by the similitude of an ox. Satan led them into this idolatry to overthrow God's law and to cause their ruin, expecting God to divorce Israel and devote them to destruction, and thus to secure the extinction of the seed of Abraham that was to preserve the knowledge of the living God and through whom Christ the true seed was to come and conquer Satan, thereby thwarting God's purposes.

Aaron, left in charge of the people while Moses was on the mount receiving the tables of stone written with the finger of God, proved an unfaithful leader who failed to carry them through the crisis of severe temptation to idolatry and united with them in carrying out their plans. He could have checked the evil by standing for the right irrespective of consequences, unswervingly maintaining his own allegiance to God, citing the people to the perils of Sinai, and reminding them of their solemn covenant to obey God's law. Instead his compliance with the desires of the people and the calm assurance with which he carried out their plans emboldened them to go to greater lengths in sin than had before entered their minds. His first concession to wrong desires allowed revelry and idolatry to take hold, and the resulting course could not be stopped until stern, decisive measures were taken.

God proved and tested Moses by calling Israel a stiff-necked thy people, disowning them, threatening wrath to consume them, and offering to release Moses from laborious, soul-trying leadership and to make a great nation of Moses instead. Leading that rebellious people through to the promised land was laborious and soul-trying work, for the children of Israel, especially the mixed multitude, were continually disposed to rebel and by their works provoke Him to destroy them, and they would murmur against Moses in difficulty and grieve him by continual rebellion. Moses was thus put to the proof of his perseverance, faithfulness and love for such an erring and ungrateful people, and was offered the choice of being made a great nation in their place. He would not receive the choice proffered him and would not consent to Israel's destruction.

Words of Moses' Plea

Moses besought God for pardon, asking Him to turn from His fierce wrath and relent from the threatened evil, harm and disaster against His people, that they not be destroyed or blotted out. His plea was that Israel be spared after its idolatry and given opportunity to repent rather than be consumed.

He argued that destroying Israel would give the Egyptians occasion to speak and charge that God had brought the people out of Egypt with evil intent and for mischief, only to slay them in the mountains and in the wilderness and to consume them from the face of the earth. The Egyptians and the surrounding nations had already heard of the wonderful deliverance and were anxiously watching with fear to see what Israel's God would do for them. If God destroyed a people so signally honored, those nations would triumph over Israel, deride the Hebrew God as unable to lead them to sacrifice and to the promised land, and dishonor Him without considering Israel's sin, bringing reproach upon His name.

He further pleaded God's own mighty deliverance wrought with great power and a mighty hand, and His promise to bring the people to the promised land. He set before God the oath sworn by Himself to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, to Israel, to multiply their seed as the stars of heaven and to give them the land forever to inherit. In this he humbly disclaimed leadership, insisted that Israel are God's own people brought out of Egypt by God alone, identified them as His, and presented himself as only God's instrument.

Moses' Selfless Love

Moses would not consent to Israel's destruction when God disowned them as thy people, threatened to consume them for calf worship, and proved and tested him by offering to release him from the laborious, soul-trying work of leading a rebellious, murmuring people and mixed multitude continually disposed to rebel and provoke destruction. He refused to receive the choice proffered him to be made a great nation in their place and to be called father of a greater nation than Israel, refusing to give them up and choosing to continue bearing the burden of leadership. He valued the prosperity of God's chosen people more highly than a great name for himself or personal advancement from their ruin.

He put Israel's preservation and God's name, honor, glory and concern among the nations ahead of his own advancement, interceding for their salvation with disinterested devotion rather than selfish interest. He identified Israel as God's own people brought out by God alone and presented himself as only God's instrument, appealing to God's mighty deliverance and promise to bring them to the promised land. His earnest plea that their destruction would be misunderstood sought their preservation and God's honor, and led to their being spared opportunity to repent.

His timidity was lost in deep interest and love for those for whom so much had been done, and he carried the burden of Israel with overwhelming responsibility and bore their fate as his own. When the people sinned and dishonored God by worshiping the golden calf, he suffered keen remorse as if himself guilty, though their murmuring and blame weighed heavily on him, and he realized the terrible result if God gave them up to darkness and impenitence. He would not leave the mountain until his plea was heard and his request for pardon and forgiveness was granted, praying from sincerity and unselfish purpose in intimate communion with the Most High, face to face as a man speaks to his friend, that favor would be restored and the token of His presence would continue to direct their journeyings. He loved them to the point of offering his own life and asking to be blotted from God's book of life rather than see them perish, and time and again through such intercession the disobedient people so wonderfully and miraculously delivered were spared.

He prayed with firm faith and determined purpose, and his perseverance, faithfulness, simplicity of heart and integrity proved his love for an erring and ungrateful people. The Lord listened to that unselfish pleading, regarded his prayer, and was pleased with his faithfulness.

God's Merciful Response

The Lord heard the earnest, unselfish pleading to turn from fierce anger and not bring threatened disaster upon His people, repented of the evil He had thought to do, granted forgiveness, spared Israel from being destroyed or blotted out, and gave them opportunity to repent. His appeal prevailed because it was offered with perseverance, faithfulness, firm faith, determined purpose, simplicity of heart and integrity, which pleased God and was regarded with favor. In sparing them He committed to Moses as a faithful shepherd the charge of leading His people through to the promised land.

In that sparing both justice and mercy were shown, for God maintained His law while allowing freedom of choice and opportunity to repent. Only those who persisted in rebellion and stubbornly ranged themselves on Satan's side were cut off, while the humbled and repentant were mercifully pardoned. Prompt punishment restrained further corruption, protected Israel from enemies, and taught that sin must not be left unpunished.

The same intercession kept Aaron from being slain for his unfaithfulness in the crisis. Left in charge while the tables of stone were being received, he had failed to carry the people through severe temptation and had united with them in carrying out their plans, for which God would certainly have slain him. Moses pleaded in his behalf, Aaron was spared, and his repentance made pardon possible.

The history stands as a perpetual testimony to the guilt and punishment of idolatry and to the justice and long-suffering mercy of God. Its consequences of displeasure, broken ranks and missing people should leave a lasting warning against ingratitude and disobedience.

Pattern for Intercessory Prayer

Exodus 32:12 presents prayer as a humble but determined appeal grounded in faith and concern for God's glory and the people's salvation. Moses pleaded that Israel be spared, arguing that the Egyptians might wrongly conclude God had brought the people out of Egypt only to destroy them in the mountains, identifying Israel as God's own people and asking Him to turn from fierce anger and not bring this disaster upon them. That plea came from sincerity and unselfish purpose and entered into intimate communion with the Most High, face to face as a man speaks with his friend. He had carried the burden of Israel with overwhelming responsibility, and when the people sinned in worshiping the golden calf and dishonoring God he suffered keen remorse as if he himself were guilty, realizing the terrible result if God gave them up to darkness and impenitence. He therefore prayed that God's favor would be restored to His people and that the token of His presence would continue to direct their journeyings.

It is the pattern for pleading for perishing, tempted, sinful souls in need of help and salvation. Such intercession must be offered with calm, strong, unchanging trust in Jesus, with no selfish interest coming between God and the soul, since selfish interest would counterwork the effort for the tempted and sinful one. God cooperates with such pleading efforts and answers prayer for perishing souls, though Satan will not give up his prey without a desperate struggle.

It is an example of earnest intercession for people in danger that brings their case before God rather than abandoning them. God's people should so plead with Him for the erring despite their errors, imperfections, and sins, recalling that God brought Israel out of Egypt and asking Him not to let the Egyptians claim He brought them out in order to destroy them. Appealing to the consequence for God's name among the Egyptians and asking God to turn from fierce wrath, it stands as a model for persistent prayer and effort to save a wayward soul. That compassionate spirit calls for helping fellow believers in difficulty rather than adding to their burden through criticism, exemplifying mercy toward those who have done wrong. After pleading for the erring people in God's presence, the intercessor returns to confront the sin and defend God's honor before them.

Warning and Responsibility Today

The golden-calf apostasy stands as a direct example for God's people today, for what was pled in Exodus 32:12 after Israel worshiped the calf applies beyond Sinai. The same searching scrutiny that rested on Israel rests now on the present church in its idolatry. That idolatry includes the danger found in pleasure seeking, especially among the youth, and the church must be weaned from its idols in order to be purified and made white and tried.

The plea turns on God's honor before the watching nations, for Moses disclaims his own leadership and insists Israel are God's own people brought out of Egypt with great power and a mighty hand. The Egyptians and surrounding nations had already heard of the wonderful deliverance and were watching with anxious fear to see what Israel's God would do. If He destroyed Israel they would triumph over Israel and dishonor Him, charging that He led His people out not to sacrifice but with evil intent to slay them in the mountains and wilderness and consume them from the earth, without considering Israel's sin. To destroy a people so signally honored would thus bring reproach upon His name. Hence the verse teaches the great responsibility resting on those whom God has highly honored to make His name a praise in the earth, to guard with care against the sin that calls down His judgments and causes His name to be reproached by the ungodly.

The sparing of Aaron belongs to the same warning, for while Moses was on the mount receiving the tables of stone written with the finger of God, Aaron was left in charge and proved an unfaithful leader in the crisis of severe temptation to idolatry. He failed to carry the people through, united with them in carrying out their plans, and for that unfaithfulness God would certainly have slain him. Moses interceded in his behalf and Aaron was spared, his preservation coming through intercession and opening the way for repentance and pardon. That history warns those entrusted as guardians of youth to trust God, to fear offending Him, and to learn wisdom so as to act faithfully in emergency as true shepherds.