Exodus 32:13, commentary and pictures

Moses pleads with God to remember His servants Abraham, Isaac and Israel and the oath He swore by Himself to multiply their descendants as the stars of heaven and give them all the promised land to inherit forever.
He offers this plea while Israel is worshiping the golden calf and breaking the law just given, with Moses still on the mount communing with God.
He presents that sworn covenant promise as the ground for sparing Israel, trusting God to keep His word to the patriarchs.
God was testing him by threatening to consume rebellious Israel and offering to make a great nation of Moses alone, but Moses refuses ease and personal honor, counting the people and God's glory dearer than becoming father of a mighty nation.
God listens to this unselfish, persevering intercession, relents from the disaster He had thought to do and spares Israel, giving a pattern of disinterested pleading for sinful souls that God still answers.

Setting at Sinai

The verse belongs to Israel's golden-calf idolatry while Moses was on the mount in the cloud with lightnings of the divine presence, communing with God and receiving the tables written with the finger of God. During that waiting time the people had opportunity to meditate on the law they had heard and to prepare their hearts for further revelation. When Moses delayed coming down they became discontented, careless, inattentive and lawless, and their unbelief was markedly revealed.

Led by the impatient mixed multitude who wanted to reach the land flowing with milk and honey promised only on condition of obedience, the helpless people without Moses returned to Egyptian superstition and desired an image to represent God and to go before them in place of Moses. At the suggestion of those who had practiced idolatry they made and worshiped a calf like the ox or calf regarded as a symbol of deity in Egypt. God had given no similitude of Himself and had prohibited any material representation, and the miracles in Egypt and at the Red Sea were meant to establish faith in Him as the invisible all-powerful Helper and only true God. Desire for visible manifestation had already been granted in the pillar of cloud and of fire and in His glory revealed on Sinai, with the cloud still before them.

Aaron had been entrusted to guard the congregation and left in charge, but as an unfaithful general he yielded to the people's demands, united with their plans, and led them into sin. Even an initial concession against God's commands set revelry and idolatry in motion until decisive measures were taken. He could have prevented the apostasy by courage to stand for the right irrespective of consequences, by unswerving allegiance to God, by pointing the people to the perils of Sinai, and by reminding them of their solemn covenant to obey the law. Instead his compliance with their desires 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.

The plea was offered while the people were turning to shameful error and breaking the law recently given. God's presence among the people did not depend on Moses being with them.

Covenant Oath Recalled

The plea is Moses asking God to remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, His servants, to whom He swore by His own self, and to remember what He said to them. The oath thus recalled is that He would multiply their seed as the stars of heaven and give all the promised land He had spoken of to their seed to inherit forever. One account gives the names as Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, with the same promise that their descendants would multiply and inherit the promised land.

Moses holds up that sworn covenant promise as the ground for sparing Israel after its idolatry, trusting God to keep His word. He asks God to remember His commitment to the patriarchs and to keep His promise to multiply their descendants and give them the land. Destroying them would mean abandoning that promise.

Unselfish Intercession Heard

Moses prayed when his faith was tried by the threat to consume stiff-necked, rebellious, disobedient Israel and by the proffer to release Moses, let Israel go, and make a great nation of Moses alone instead. In that proposal God was proving and testing him, testing his perseverance, faithfulness, love, simplicity of heart and integrity for an erring ungrateful people, knowing that leading them through to the promised land was laborious and soul-trying work. He understood the words Let me alone not to forbid prayer but to encourage it, implying that only his prayers could save Israel. He would not consent to Israel's destruction, would not receive the offer to become head of a great nation, and would not give the people up but returned and interceded for them, choosing to continue bearing the burden of leading them.

He refused ease and honor, counting the prosperity of God's chosen people dearer than personal honor, dearer than a great name, and dearer than becoming father of a mighty nation greater than Israel; his timidity was lost in deep interest and love for those he had led, with no selfish motive and no desire for self-exaltation. He pleaded that Israel belongs to God and is God's people, whom God brought out of Egypt with great power and a mighty hand and for whom so much had been done, and he prayed with firm faith and determined purpose, unwilling to give up a people whose deliverance had been spread among all nations who were watching what God would do. He was driven by concern for God's glory, name, mercy and preservation, arguing that destroying Israel would mean abandoning the promise and bring reproach on God's name. The overwhelming thought was that the Egyptians and other watching heathen nations would triumph over Israel and reproach God, saying He brought them out for mischief to slay them in the mountains and consume them from the earth and was not able to lead them to the promised land, especially if He destroyed Israel to exalt Moses.

His love led him even to offer that his own posterity might become the great nation instead, to pray that his own name be blotted from the book of life rather than leave the people to perish, and to be willing to give his own life rather than see destroyed the people God had wonderfully and miraculously delivered. He would not leave the mount until God heard his intercession and granted his request to pardon the people, crying earnestly day and night. God listened to, regarded, and heard this unselfish prayer, relented from the evil and disaster He had thought to do, promised to spare Israel, promised that His presence would go with him, graciously gave Israel another opportunity, and did not arbitrarily destroy them but gave them a chance. The appeal recalls God's sworn commitment to the patriarchs to multiply their descendants like the stars and give them the promised land as an inheritance forever, and the Lord relents from the threatened judgment. Having proved Moses and found faithfulness, nobly endured trial, simplicity of heart, integrity, and the burden of God's people upon him, God committed to him as a faithful shepherd the charge of leading the people through to the promised land.

The prayer shows the intimate communion with the Most High that man may enjoy, with God speaking to Moses face to face as a friend because He read sincerity and unselfish purpose in his servant's heart. Moses had carried Israel's burden with overwhelming responsibility, suffered keen remorse over their great dishonor in worshiping the calf as if he himself were guilty, feared the consequences if God left them to darkness and impenitence, and pressed for restoration of God's favor to His people.

Seed, Justice and Aaron

The oath to Abraham and his descendants carried a purpose beyond their own survival, for the promised seed through that line was to preserve the knowledge of the living God, and through that same line the true Seed was to come and conquer Satan. Satan understood this design and sought the destruction of Israel at Sinai to thwart it. God therefore spared the people as a nation in answer to the appeal to His sworn promise, while those who stubbornly joined the rebellion were cut off.

That sparing was mercy, but mercy did not set justice aside. The appeal belongs to the apostasy at Sinai when Moses pleaded the covenant promises, and in that same history the people were given opportunity to repent. Those who persisted in rebellion were punished, and those who stubbornly joined it were cut off, in order to protect Israel and others from greater ruin.

In that crisis Moses also interposed for Aaron, and his intercession was the reason Aaron was spared from being slain. While Moses was on the mountain communing with God and receiving the tables of stone, Aaron had been entrusted to guard the congregation and left in charge of the people. He proved an unfaithful general who failed to carry them through severe temptation, yielded to their demand for gods when they lost faith, united with them in carrying out their plans, and led them into sin. His unfaithfulness deserved death, and God would certainly have slain him had Moses not interceded in his behalf before returning to confront the people's sin. Aaron repented and was pardoned, and the prayer that appealed to God to remember the oath to Abraham, Isaac, and Israel to multiply their descendants and give them the land as an inheritance is thus connected with God sparing Aaron.

Example for Intercessors Today

Moses pleading for rebellious Israel is the pattern for pleading for perishing, tempted, sinful souls in need of help and salvation. Intercession offered without selfish interest coming between God and the soul, with calm, strong, unchanging trust in Jesus, is met by Jesus cooperating with the effort and by God answering the prayer. This holds even though Satan will not give up his prey without a desperate struggle.

The verse means disinterested self-devotion that seeks God's glory and the forgiveness of the people rather than self, accusation, or contention. It points to Moses crying earnestly to God day and night for sinful Israel, pleading the oath to Abraham, Isaac, and Israel to multiply their seed and give them the land forever, so that God would exalt His own name among the nations by sparing them. It holds up Moses as an example of faith in God and compassion for those who have done wrong and for the people despite their errors, imperfections, and sins.

As the Lord then looked upon idolatrous Israel, so He now looks upon His church cherishing idols. He calls its members to be weaned from idols and to show the converting power of truth. They are to do this so they may be among the number purified and made white and tried and have their names found written in the book.

The history warns those acting as guardians of youth to trust God, walk tremblingly for fear of offending Him, and learn from the Great Teacher the wisdom and tact to act rightly in emergency as true shepherds watching for souls.