Moses Pleading With God Alone on a MountainBible World
32:14Exodus 32:14
And the LORD repented of the evil which he thought to do unto his people.
God turned aside from destroying Israel for worshiping the golden calf at Sinai and spared the people in answer to Moses' prayer. The threat came while the people, weary of waiting for Moses on the mount, demanded and worshiped a calf in imitation of the gods of Egypt in open defiance of the covenant they had just pledged to obey. Moses refused to let Israel perish and to become a great nation himself, but out of unselfish love pleaded that they were God's people, that He had brought them from Egypt with great power, that the Egyptians would reproach His name if He slew them, and that He had sworn to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob to multiply their seed and give them the land forever. In mercy He gave them room to turn back and pardoned the humbled and repentant, including Aaron whose life was spared through Moses' intercession, yet He then cut off those who persisted in rebellion. So the verse teaches that God will cooperate with calm, unselfish, compassionate prayer for tempted and perishing souls, offered with unwavering trust and with no selfish interest between God and the soul.
Sinai Apostasy and Threat
The repenting spoken of belongs to Israel's idolatry at Sinai while Moses was absent forty days on the mount in the cloud of darkness receiving the tables of stone, the written law, and directions and the pattern for the sanctuary and ark, after the people had promised to do all the words of the Lord, the covenant had been sealed with blood, and Moses and the leaders had gone up and seen God. During that waiting time Israel had opportunity to meditate on the law they had heard and prepare for further revelation, but they became careless, inattentive, lawless and discontented when Moses did not come down. Especially the mixed multitude grew impatient to reach the land flowing with milk and honey promised only on condition of obedience and were determined to wait no longer for Moses. Feeling helpless without their leader, the people returned in their hearts to old superstitions and demanded some image to represent God and to go before them in place of Moses. At the suggestion of those who had practiced it in Egypt they made and worshiped a calf after the ox or calf regarded by the Egyptians as a symbol of deity, in imitation of the gods of Egypt.
That calf worship was open defiance of commands they had pledged to obey. God had given no similitude of Himself and had prohibited any material representation. He had established faith in Himself as the invisible, all-powerful Helper and only true God by mighty miracles in Egypt and at the Red Sea, by the pillar of cloud and fire, and by revealing 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. Aaron, left in charge of the people, failed to stand for the right irrespective of consequences and to lead them through severe temptation. He did not oppose the wrongdoing, cite them to the perils of Sinai, or remind them of their solemn covenant to obey His law, but united with their plans and calmly carried them out. That compliance allowed revelry and idolatry to take hold and emboldened the people to go to greater lengths in sin than had before entered their minds, so that stern, decisive measures were required to stop the harmful course. He proved an unfaithful general who failed to carry the people through the crisis, and certainly would have been slain had Moses not interceded in his behalf.
God threatened to consume stiff-necked Israel for the golden calf, disowned them as His people, and offered to make a great nation of Moses alone. This was not arbitrary destruction but a proving and testing of Moses' perseverance, faithfulness, love, simplicity of heart and integrity toward a laborious, soul-trying work. God saw that Israel, especially the mixed multitude, were continually disposed to rebel and by their works provoke Him to destroy them. He knew they would murmur against Moses in difficulty and grieve him by continual rebellion on the way to the promised land.
Behind the crisis Satan led Israel to deny loyalty to Jehovah, demand gods of gold, and bow before a golden image. His plan was that their degradation and blasphemy would cause God to divorce them and devote them to destruction. By that destruction he intended to extinguish the seed of Abraham that was to preserve the knowledge of the living God and bring the true Seed who would conquer Satan.
Intercession That Turned Wrath
God's command to leave Him alone was not a ban on prayer but an encouragement to intercede, declaring that nothing but Moses' prayers could save Israel and that He would spare them if entreated, and Moses discerned hope where there was only wrath. He would not consent to be released while Israel was destroyed, would not give the nation up, and refused ease, honor, and a great name for himself as father of a greater nation. He valued the prosperity of God's chosen people above self-exaltation and personal honor, choosing to keep bearing the burden of leading an erring, ungrateful people from deep interest and love with no selfish motive and with firm faith and determined purpose. The offer to make a great nation of Moses alone was a proving and testing of his perseverance, faithfulness, love, simplicity of heart and integrity toward a laborious, soul-trying work, for Israel, especially the mixed multitude, were continually disposed to rebel and provoke destruction and would murmur against Moses in difficulty and grieve him by continual rebellion on the way to the promised land.
He besought God for His people by pleading what God had already done in bringing them out of Egypt with great power and a mighty hand, insisting they were God's people, not his. He pleaded for God's honor before the Egyptians and surrounding nations who anxiously watched what the God of Israel would do, lest they triumph and reproach Him by saying He brought them out for mischief to slay them in the mountains and consume them from the earth because He was not able to bring them to the promised land. He pleaded God's oath by Himself to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob or Israel to multiply their seed as the stars of heaven and give them the land to inherit forever.
The Lord listened to that unselfish prayer, was pleased with Moses' faithfulness, and relented from the disaster, fierce wrath, and harm He had said He would bring. He promised to spare the people, graciously spared them, gave them another opportunity and freedom to turn back before punishment was carried out, and granted the request for pardon before Moses left the mount to rebuke the people, with His presence and care continuing even as they had sinned. God recognized Moses' sincere, unselfish concern, communed with him as a friend, and committed to him as a faithful shepherd the charge of leading the people through to the promised land. Moses then returned from God's presence carrying their burden, fearing God would abandon them to darkness and impenitence, seeking restored favor and God's continuing presence to guide them, and came to vindicate God's honor and confront the people's sin.
Moses' intervention also spared Aaron from the death his betrayal of sacred trust deserved, for Aaron as unfaithful general left in charge while Moses received the tables of stone had failed to carry the people through severe temptation and had united with their plans, and he certainly would have been slain had Moses not interceded for him. Upon repentance Aaron was pardoned and his life was spared. God's mercy did not cancel justice: He defeated the plan to divorce and devote the whole people to destruction by not destroying them all, mercifully pardoning the humbled and repentant, but He allowed freedom to repent and then cut off those who persisted in rebellion and stubbornly ranged themselves on Satan's side, leaving broken ranks and missing people. That prompt punishment protected Israel from further corruption and danger, showed mercy even to transgressors by stopping them from continuing in evil, and stands as perpetual testimony to the guilt and punishment of idolatry and to His justice and long-suffering mercy.
Mercy, Justice, and Prayer
The same searching gaze that threatened to consume stiff-necked Israel for the golden calf and to make a great nation of Moses alone still rests on professed believers today who cherish idols while enjoying great blessings with the living oracles opened before them. As Moses pleaded what had already been done in bringing them out of Egypt with great power and a mighty hand, pleaded for divine honor before the Egyptians lest they say He led them out for mischief to slay them in the mountains and consume them from the earth, and pleaded the oath sworn by Himself to Abraham and Isaac and Israel to multiply their seed as the stars of heaven and give them the land to inherit forever, until the Lord turned from the harm He had purposed and spared them, so now His people must be weaned from idols and be purified and made white and tried, that their names may be found written in the book and they may be delivered. Israel's calf worship brought divine displeasure and punishment that left broken ranks and missing people, and that experience should teach faithful obedience and avoidance of repeating rebellion.
The turning from threatened judgment after Moses pleaded despite the people's errors, imperfections, and sins means that God will cooperate with efforts for tempted, sinful, perishing souls in need of help and salvation. He will answer prayer that pleads for them as Moses pleaded, even though Satan will not give up his prey without a desperate struggle. That prevailing plea is offered with calm, strong, unchanging trust in Jesus, with faith in God joined to compassion for those who have done wrong, and with no selfish interest coming between God and the soul. Moses' earnest intercession after the calf worship, pleading for reversal of the decision to destroy them, was heard so that the threatened destruction was spared and judgment relented.
Such intercession shows the importance of pleading with God for those entrusted to one's care, and it illustrates His willingness to listen and to continue with them.
God turned aside from destroying Israel for worshiping the golden calf at Sinai and spared the people in answer to Moses' prayer. The threat came while the people, weary of waiting for Moses on the mount, demanded and worshiped a calf in imitation of the gods of Egypt in open defiance of the covenant they had just pledged to obey. Moses refused to let Israel perish and to become a great nation himself, but out of unselfish love pleaded that they were God's people, that He had brought them from Egypt with great power, that the Egyptians would reproach His name if He slew them, and that He had sworn to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob to multiply their seed and give them the land forever. In mercy He gave them room to turn back and pardoned the humbled and repentant, including Aaron whose life was spared through Moses' intercession, yet He then cut off those who persisted in rebellion. So the verse teaches that God will cooperate with calm, unselfish, compassionate prayer for tempted and perishing souls, offered with unwavering trust and with no selfish interest between God and the soul.
Sinai Apostasy and Threat
The repenting spoken of belongs to Israel's idolatry at Sinai while Moses was absent forty days on the mount in the cloud of darkness receiving the tables of stone, the written law, and directions and the pattern for the sanctuary and ark, after the people had promised to do all the words of the Lord, the covenant had been sealed with blood, and Moses and the leaders had gone up and seen God. During that waiting time Israel had opportunity to meditate on the law they had heard and prepare for further revelation, but they became careless, inattentive, lawless and discontented when Moses did not come down. Especially the mixed multitude grew impatient to reach the land flowing with milk and honey promised only on condition of obedience and were determined to wait no longer for Moses. Feeling helpless without their leader, the people returned in their hearts to old superstitions and demanded some image to represent God and to go before them in place of Moses. At the suggestion of those who had practiced it in Egypt they made and worshiped a calf after the ox or calf regarded by the Egyptians as a symbol of deity, in imitation of the gods of Egypt.
That calf worship was open defiance of commands they had pledged to obey. God had given no similitude of Himself and had prohibited any material representation. He had established faith in Himself as the invisible, all-powerful Helper and only true God by mighty miracles in Egypt and at the Red Sea, by the pillar of cloud and fire, and by revealing 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. Aaron, left in charge of the people, failed to stand for the right irrespective of consequences and to lead them through severe temptation. He did not oppose the wrongdoing, cite them to the perils of Sinai, or remind them of their solemn covenant to obey His law, but united with their plans and calmly carried them out. That compliance allowed revelry and idolatry to take hold and emboldened the people to go to greater lengths in sin than had before entered their minds, so that stern, decisive measures were required to stop the harmful course. He proved an unfaithful general who failed to carry the people through the crisis, and certainly would have been slain had Moses not interceded in his behalf.
God threatened to consume stiff-necked Israel for the golden calf, disowned them as His people, and offered to make a great nation of Moses alone. This was not arbitrary destruction but a proving and testing of Moses' perseverance, faithfulness, love, simplicity of heart and integrity toward a laborious, soul-trying work. God saw that Israel, especially the mixed multitude, were continually disposed to rebel and by their works provoke Him to destroy them. He knew they would murmur against Moses in difficulty and grieve him by continual rebellion on the way to the promised land.
Behind the crisis Satan led Israel to deny loyalty to Jehovah, demand gods of gold, and bow before a golden image. His plan was that their degradation and blasphemy would cause God to divorce them and devote them to destruction. By that destruction he intended to extinguish the seed of Abraham that was to preserve the knowledge of the living God and bring the true Seed who would conquer Satan.
Intercession That Turned Wrath
God's command to leave Him alone was not a ban on prayer but an encouragement to intercede, declaring that nothing but Moses' prayers could save Israel and that He would spare them if entreated, and Moses discerned hope where there was only wrath. He would not consent to be released while Israel was destroyed, would not give the nation up, and refused ease, honor, and a great name for himself as father of a greater nation. He valued the prosperity of God's chosen people above self-exaltation and personal honor, choosing to keep bearing the burden of leading an erring, ungrateful people from deep interest and love with no selfish motive and with firm faith and determined purpose. The offer to make a great nation of Moses alone was a proving and testing of his perseverance, faithfulness, love, simplicity of heart and integrity toward a laborious, soul-trying work, for Israel, especially the mixed multitude, were continually disposed to rebel and provoke destruction and would murmur against Moses in difficulty and grieve him by continual rebellion on the way to the promised land.
He besought God for His people by pleading what God had already done in bringing them out of Egypt with great power and a mighty hand, insisting they were God's people, not his. He pleaded for God's honor before the Egyptians and surrounding nations who anxiously watched what the God of Israel would do, lest they triumph and reproach Him by saying He brought them out for mischief to slay them in the mountains and consume them from the earth because He was not able to bring them to the promised land. He pleaded God's oath by Himself to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob or Israel to multiply their seed as the stars of heaven and give them the land to inherit forever.
The Lord listened to that unselfish prayer, was pleased with Moses' faithfulness, and relented from the disaster, fierce wrath, and harm He had said He would bring. He promised to spare the people, graciously spared them, gave them another opportunity and freedom to turn back before punishment was carried out, and granted the request for pardon before Moses left the mount to rebuke the people, with His presence and care continuing even as they had sinned. God recognized Moses' sincere, unselfish concern, communed with him as a friend, and committed to him as a faithful shepherd the charge of leading the people through to the promised land. Moses then returned from God's presence carrying their burden, fearing God would abandon them to darkness and impenitence, seeking restored favor and God's continuing presence to guide them, and came to vindicate God's honor and confront the people's sin.
Moses' intervention also spared Aaron from the death his betrayal of sacred trust deserved, for Aaron as unfaithful general left in charge while Moses received the tables of stone had failed to carry the people through severe temptation and had united with their plans, and he certainly would have been slain had Moses not interceded for him. Upon repentance Aaron was pardoned and his life was spared. God's mercy did not cancel justice: He defeated the plan to divorce and devote the whole people to destruction by not destroying them all, mercifully pardoning the humbled and repentant, but He allowed freedom to repent and then cut off those who persisted in rebellion and stubbornly ranged themselves on Satan's side, leaving broken ranks and missing people. That prompt punishment protected Israel from further corruption and danger, showed mercy even to transgressors by stopping them from continuing in evil, and stands as perpetual testimony to the guilt and punishment of idolatry and to His justice and long-suffering mercy.
Mercy, Justice, and Prayer
The same searching gaze that threatened to consume stiff-necked Israel for the golden calf and to make a great nation of Moses alone still rests on professed believers today who cherish idols while enjoying great blessings with the living oracles opened before them. As Moses pleaded what had already been done in bringing them out of Egypt with great power and a mighty hand, pleaded for divine honor before the Egyptians lest they say He led them out for mischief to slay them in the mountains and consume them from the earth, and pleaded the oath sworn by Himself to Abraham and Isaac and Israel to multiply their seed as the stars of heaven and give them the land to inherit forever, until the Lord turned from the harm He had purposed and spared them, so now His people must be weaned from idols and be purified and made white and tried, that their names may be found written in the book and they may be delivered. Israel's calf worship brought divine displeasure and punishment that left broken ranks and missing people, and that experience should teach faithful obedience and avoidance of repeating rebellion.
The turning from threatened judgment after Moses pleaded despite the people's errors, imperfections, and sins means that God will cooperate with efforts for tempted, sinful, perishing souls in need of help and salvation. He will answer prayer that pleads for them as Moses pleaded, even though Satan will not give up his prey without a desperate struggle. That prevailing plea is offered with calm, strong, unchanging trust in Jesus, with faith in God joined to compassion for those who have done wrong, and with no selfish interest coming between God and the soul. Moses' earnest intercession after the calf worship, pleading for reversal of the decision to destroy them, was heard so that the threatened destruction was spared and judgment relented.
Such intercession shows the importance of pleading with God for those entrusted to one's care, and it illustrates His willingness to listen and to continue with them.