Moses Pleading With God Alone on a MountainBible World
32:31Exodus 32:31
And Moses returned unto the LORD, and said, Oh, this people have sinned a great sin, and have made them gods of gold.
Moses returned to the Lord after the worship of the golden calf and after punishment fell on the unrepentant, openly confessing that the people had sinned a great sin in making gods of gold. His confession did not excuse their guilt but led into earnest intercession, pleading for forgiveness and offering his own name to be blotted from God's book rather than see Israel destroyed. His burden and self-sacrificing love illustrate Christ's love and mediation for sinners, though he could not bear their guilt as Christ did. God answered that the sinner, not an innocent substitute, is blotted from the book of records in heaven, renewing the promise of His Angel to lead while warning that the sin would still be visited with punishment. That great sin is pardoned and remembered no more against those who repent and obey thereafter, but love no less than justice demanded swift judgment on persistent rebels to maintain divine government and to save the many.
The Sin at Sinai
The confession is of the worship of the golden calf while Moses was on Mount Sinai with the cloud of the divine presence still in view, receiving the stone tables from God. Impatient to move toward Canaan and unwilling to wait for Moses, especially the mixed multitude, the people became careless, inattentive and lawless instead of meditating on the law they had heard and humbling their hearts for further revelation. Feeling helpless without their leader they returned to Egyptian superstition and desired a visible image to represent God and to go before them in the place of Moses. At the suggestion of those who had practiced ox or calf worship in Egypt, they made and worshiped a calf, representing the glory of the invisible God by the similitude of an ox. God had given no likeness 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. Desire for a visible manifestation had already been granted in the pillar of cloud and fire and in the revealing of his glory on Sinai.
The making of gods of gold was a great, grave and aggravated sin. It was the work of man put in place of sincere devotion to the living God, openly defying God's law and breaking the covenant the people had so recently made with him. The sin was treason against a King who had loaded the people with benefits and whose authority they had voluntarily pledged themselves to obey. It was an offense against the Angel who was leading Israel that brought marks of God's displeasure in broken ranks and missing numbers. The deliverance from Egypt and God's power shown along the journey should have given lasting faith and closed every expression of ingratitude, and the experience of the calf should have made an impression never to be effaced to be redeemed by faithful obedience. But the people overlooked blessings received in times of greatest danger, let fear of want and danger outweigh them, charged their hardships to Moses, and returned to discontent, murmuring and rebellion.
Aaron failed to stand firmly for what he knew to be right and yielded to the people's insubordination and idolatrous plans, giving way while Moses was on the mountain and allowing revelry and idolatry to begin. In contrast Moses felt his own weakness under the great work committed to him and had God ever as his counselor. Aaron could have prevented the apostasy if he had had courage to stand for the right irrespective of consequences. If he had unswervingly maintained his own allegiance, pointed the people to the perils of Sinai and reminded them of their solemn covenant to obey God's law the evil would have been checked, but 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. Thus one concession against God's commands let idolatry spread until decisive action was taken.
Moses confronted Israel with their great sin and pointed to the broken tables of stone as representing that they had thus broken the covenant. He inquired of Aaron what the people had done to him that he had brought this great sin upon them. God did not reprove Moses for breaking the tables but was very angry with Aaron and would have destroyed him and would have slain him had it not been for the special intercessions of Moses in his behalf.
Moses' Confession and Intercession
After the idolatry, after the slaying of the unrepentant idolaters and after the punishment of the openly rebellious, Moses told the distressed people he would go up to the Lord to make an atonement for their sin and then returned to the Lord and plainly and openly acknowledged that the people have sinned a great sin in making gods of gold. His confession did not excuse or lessen their guilt but recognized the seriousness and aggravated character of idolatry and rebellion, humbly placing himself and Israel on God's mercy and relying on God's mercy as he pleaded for God to forgive and spare them. The sin could not be removed by sacrifices and offerings alone; sincere repentance and humility were necessary. His confession led into earnest intercession in which he brought the sinful people before God and before the mercy seat, carrying their burden and refusing to separate himself from them, combining compassion for the erring with clear recognition of the offense.
He asked God to forgive them, with a pause after asking forgiveness that showed the greatness of the request, and offered that if God would not forgive them his own name be blotted or erased from God's written book. He was willing to be blotted out with erring Israel rather than endure seeing them destroyed and seeing the fullness of God's wrath come upon the people for whom he wrought such wonders. He stood between Israel and God's anger when God proposed destroying the people and making Moses a great nation, pleading for Israel to be forgiven and asking God to turn from his anger. Though naturally diffident, slow of speech, hesitating and self-distrustful, his sense of inability and his realization of inability for the work drove him to God for the people under his leadership, and he became eloquent in prayer and in beseeching God for them, with mercy ruling his leadership.
His greatness came from the divine revelation and commission given to him, and his merciful, wholly unselfish leadership with no thread of selfishness is the sentiment of every soul entrusted with responsibility for souls who strives to do the will of God, with the same kindness, patience, long-suffering and gentleness with a trusting heart given to those who now move forward under Christ's command. The verse means intimate communion with the Most High in intercessory prayer, with God speaking to Moses face to face as a man speaks to a friend because He read sincerity and unselfish purpose in his servant's heart, and Moses would not cease pleading for a sight of God's glory, which God caused to pass before him. Moses was speaking to the Lord Jesus Christ, who had pledged Himself for the propitiation for the sins of the world and who gave Himself as a propitiation, and his prayer unveiled the depth of his love for his people in a spirit of love and compassion that God honored.
His burden for the people is compared to Christ's sorrow and compassion for Jerusalem, and his plea shows his deep love for Israel and illustrates Christ's love and mediation for the sinful race and for sinners and for sinful humanity, though Moses could not bear the transgressors' guilt as Christ did. Though he carried the burden of their sin he felt remorse and suffered keen remorse over their sin as if he himself were guilty, with an overwhelming weight of responsibility and a pressing realization of the terrible darkness and impenitence that would result if God gave them up, fearing the consequences if they remain hardened and impenitent. His prayer entrusted himself and the people to God and sought His presence and help, seeking restoration of God's favor and the continuance of the token of God's presence to direct their journeyings and to separate him and Israel from all peoples on the earth.
God's Answer and Justice
God's book is the book of records in heaven where every name is recorded and acts, sins and obedience are faithfully written, and sins against God are recorded there. To be blotted or erased from that book is to be unforgiven and devoted to destruction when sin is too grievous to pardon. God answers Moses that those who sin against Him will be erased, that the sinner and not an innocent substitute is blotted from His book.
He refuses to let Moses suffer for his backsliding people, declaring that whoever has sinned against Him will be blotted out, for the righteous must not suffer for the guilt of the sinner and do not bear the guilt of the sinner. He renews the promise that His Angel will lead the people, while warning that their sin will still bring punishment and will be visited upon them in the day of visitation, bringing a plague upon the people. Forgiveness after the golden calf is conditional: if the people so mercifully spared are obedient thereafter and humbled and repentant, if they repent with repentance which needeth not to be repented of and serve God and honor His name, that great sin will be remembered no more against them and pardoned and blotted from His book.
But if when tempted they pursue the same course, show no strength to resist temptation, repeat their evil work, murmur and complain and stubbornly persist in rebellion, God will visit their sin upon them and place those sins to their account as unforgiven. The sin could not be removed by sacrifices and offerings alone; sincere repentance and humility were necessary. That the divine government might be maintained, justice must be visited upon the traitors, and love no less than justice demanded that judgment should be inflicted, with the history of the sin standing as a testimony to idolatry's guilt and punishment and to God's justice and long-suffering mercy.
God is guardian as well as sovereign of His people, and He cuts off those determined upon rebellion that they may not lead others to ruin, while even here mercy was displayed, for while He maintained His law He granted freedom of choice and opportunity for repentance to all, and only those who persisted in rebellion were cut off. Unless punishment had been speedily visited, the same results seen after sparing Cain and the corruption that demanded the flood would have been seen again, and the earth would have become as corrupt as in the days of Noah, and had these transgressors been spared, evils greater than resulted from sparing Cain would have followed. It was mercy that thousands should suffer to prevent the necessity of visiting judgment upon millions, and in order to save the many He must punish the few. As the people had cast off allegiance to God they had forfeited divine protection and the whole nation was exposed to enemies, and had not the evil been promptly put away they would soon have fallen a prey to their numerous and powerful foes.
It was necessary for the good of Israel and as a lesson to all succeeding generations that crime should be promptly punished, and it was also mercy to the sinners themselves to be cut short in their evil course, for had their lives been spared the same spirit that led them to rebel would have been manifested in hatred and strife until they destroyed one another, so crime was punished with swift and terrible severity in love to the world, in love to Israel, and even to the transgressors. God's promise to Israel still stands notwithstanding their perversity, and the verses mark one of the many crises that come to God's people, in which everyone must acknowledge the Lord God of hosts, and must not harden the heart against the Lord but humble it, warning God's people not to repeat Israel's transgression.
Moses returned to the Lord after the worship of the golden calf and after punishment fell on the unrepentant, openly confessing that the people had sinned a great sin in making gods of gold. His confession did not excuse their guilt but led into earnest intercession, pleading for forgiveness and offering his own name to be blotted from God's book rather than see Israel destroyed. His burden and self-sacrificing love illustrate Christ's love and mediation for sinners, though he could not bear their guilt as Christ did. God answered that the sinner, not an innocent substitute, is blotted from the book of records in heaven, renewing the promise of His Angel to lead while warning that the sin would still be visited with punishment. That great sin is pardoned and remembered no more against those who repent and obey thereafter, but love no less than justice demanded swift judgment on persistent rebels to maintain divine government and to save the many.
The Sin at Sinai
The confession is of the worship of the golden calf while Moses was on Mount Sinai with the cloud of the divine presence still in view, receiving the stone tables from God. Impatient to move toward Canaan and unwilling to wait for Moses, especially the mixed multitude, the people became careless, inattentive and lawless instead of meditating on the law they had heard and humbling their hearts for further revelation. Feeling helpless without their leader they returned to Egyptian superstition and desired a visible image to represent God and to go before them in the place of Moses. At the suggestion of those who had practiced ox or calf worship in Egypt, they made and worshiped a calf, representing the glory of the invisible God by the similitude of an ox. God had given no likeness 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. Desire for a visible manifestation had already been granted in the pillar of cloud and fire and in the revealing of his glory on Sinai.
The making of gods of gold was a great, grave and aggravated sin. It was the work of man put in place of sincere devotion to the living God, openly defying God's law and breaking the covenant the people had so recently made with him. The sin was treason against a King who had loaded the people with benefits and whose authority they had voluntarily pledged themselves to obey. It was an offense against the Angel who was leading Israel that brought marks of God's displeasure in broken ranks and missing numbers. The deliverance from Egypt and God's power shown along the journey should have given lasting faith and closed every expression of ingratitude, and the experience of the calf should have made an impression never to be effaced to be redeemed by faithful obedience. But the people overlooked blessings received in times of greatest danger, let fear of want and danger outweigh them, charged their hardships to Moses, and returned to discontent, murmuring and rebellion.
Aaron failed to stand firmly for what he knew to be right and yielded to the people's insubordination and idolatrous plans, giving way while Moses was on the mountain and allowing revelry and idolatry to begin. In contrast Moses felt his own weakness under the great work committed to him and had God ever as his counselor. Aaron could have prevented the apostasy if he had had courage to stand for the right irrespective of consequences. If he had unswervingly maintained his own allegiance, pointed the people to the perils of Sinai and reminded them of their solemn covenant to obey God's law the evil would have been checked, but 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. Thus one concession against God's commands let idolatry spread until decisive action was taken.
Moses confronted Israel with their great sin and pointed to the broken tables of stone as representing that they had thus broken the covenant. He inquired of Aaron what the people had done to him that he had brought this great sin upon them. God did not reprove Moses for breaking the tables but was very angry with Aaron and would have destroyed him and would have slain him had it not been for the special intercessions of Moses in his behalf.
Moses' Confession and Intercession
After the idolatry, after the slaying of the unrepentant idolaters and after the punishment of the openly rebellious, Moses told the distressed people he would go up to the Lord to make an atonement for their sin and then returned to the Lord and plainly and openly acknowledged that the people have sinned a great sin in making gods of gold. His confession did not excuse or lessen their guilt but recognized the seriousness and aggravated character of idolatry and rebellion, humbly placing himself and Israel on God's mercy and relying on God's mercy as he pleaded for God to forgive and spare them. The sin could not be removed by sacrifices and offerings alone; sincere repentance and humility were necessary. His confession led into earnest intercession in which he brought the sinful people before God and before the mercy seat, carrying their burden and refusing to separate himself from them, combining compassion for the erring with clear recognition of the offense.
He asked God to forgive them, with a pause after asking forgiveness that showed the greatness of the request, and offered that if God would not forgive them his own name be blotted or erased from God's written book. He was willing to be blotted out with erring Israel rather than endure seeing them destroyed and seeing the fullness of God's wrath come upon the people for whom he wrought such wonders. He stood between Israel and God's anger when God proposed destroying the people and making Moses a great nation, pleading for Israel to be forgiven and asking God to turn from his anger. Though naturally diffident, slow of speech, hesitating and self-distrustful, his sense of inability and his realization of inability for the work drove him to God for the people under his leadership, and he became eloquent in prayer and in beseeching God for them, with mercy ruling his leadership.
His greatness came from the divine revelation and commission given to him, and his merciful, wholly unselfish leadership with no thread of selfishness is the sentiment of every soul entrusted with responsibility for souls who strives to do the will of God, with the same kindness, patience, long-suffering and gentleness with a trusting heart given to those who now move forward under Christ's command. The verse means intimate communion with the Most High in intercessory prayer, with God speaking to Moses face to face as a man speaks to a friend because He read sincerity and unselfish purpose in his servant's heart, and Moses would not cease pleading for a sight of God's glory, which God caused to pass before him. Moses was speaking to the Lord Jesus Christ, who had pledged Himself for the propitiation for the sins of the world and who gave Himself as a propitiation, and his prayer unveiled the depth of his love for his people in a spirit of love and compassion that God honored.
His burden for the people is compared to Christ's sorrow and compassion for Jerusalem, and his plea shows his deep love for Israel and illustrates Christ's love and mediation for the sinful race and for sinners and for sinful humanity, though Moses could not bear the transgressors' guilt as Christ did. Though he carried the burden of their sin he felt remorse and suffered keen remorse over their sin as if he himself were guilty, with an overwhelming weight of responsibility and a pressing realization of the terrible darkness and impenitence that would result if God gave them up, fearing the consequences if they remain hardened and impenitent. His prayer entrusted himself and the people to God and sought His presence and help, seeking restoration of God's favor and the continuance of the token of God's presence to direct their journeyings and to separate him and Israel from all peoples on the earth.
God's Answer and Justice
God's book is the book of records in heaven where every name is recorded and acts, sins and obedience are faithfully written, and sins against God are recorded there. To be blotted or erased from that book is to be unforgiven and devoted to destruction when sin is too grievous to pardon. God answers Moses that those who sin against Him will be erased, that the sinner and not an innocent substitute is blotted from His book.
He refuses to let Moses suffer for his backsliding people, declaring that whoever has sinned against Him will be blotted out, for the righteous must not suffer for the guilt of the sinner and do not bear the guilt of the sinner. He renews the promise that His Angel will lead the people, while warning that their sin will still bring punishment and will be visited upon them in the day of visitation, bringing a plague upon the people. Forgiveness after the golden calf is conditional: if the people so mercifully spared are obedient thereafter and humbled and repentant, if they repent with repentance which needeth not to be repented of and serve God and honor His name, that great sin will be remembered no more against them and pardoned and blotted from His book.
But if when tempted they pursue the same course, show no strength to resist temptation, repeat their evil work, murmur and complain and stubbornly persist in rebellion, God will visit their sin upon them and place those sins to their account as unforgiven. The sin could not be removed by sacrifices and offerings alone; sincere repentance and humility were necessary. That the divine government might be maintained, justice must be visited upon the traitors, and love no less than justice demanded that judgment should be inflicted, with the history of the sin standing as a testimony to idolatry's guilt and punishment and to God's justice and long-suffering mercy.
God is guardian as well as sovereign of His people, and He cuts off those determined upon rebellion that they may not lead others to ruin, while even here mercy was displayed, for while He maintained His law He granted freedom of choice and opportunity for repentance to all, and only those who persisted in rebellion were cut off. Unless punishment had been speedily visited, the same results seen after sparing Cain and the corruption that demanded the flood would have been seen again, and the earth would have become as corrupt as in the days of Noah, and had these transgressors been spared, evils greater than resulted from sparing Cain would have followed. It was mercy that thousands should suffer to prevent the necessity of visiting judgment upon millions, and in order to save the many He must punish the few. As the people had cast off allegiance to God they had forfeited divine protection and the whole nation was exposed to enemies, and had not the evil been promptly put away they would soon have fallen a prey to their numerous and powerful foes.
It was necessary for the good of Israel and as a lesson to all succeeding generations that crime should be promptly punished, and it was also mercy to the sinners themselves to be cut short in their evil course, for had their lives been spared the same spirit that led them to rebel would have been manifested in hatred and strife until they destroyed one another, so crime was punished with swift and terrible severity in love to the world, in love to Israel, and even to the transgressors. God's promise to Israel still stands notwithstanding their perversity, and the verses mark one of the many crises that come to God's people, in which everyone must acknowledge the Lord God of hosts, and must not harden the heart against the Lord but humble it, warning God's people not to repeat Israel's transgression.