EXODUS LESSON 55


    We will begin this lesson with Exodus 32:15  "And Moses turned,
and went down from the mount, and the two tables of the testimony
[were] in his hand: the tables [were] written on both their sides; on
the one side and on the other [were] they written."

    Moses, after pleading for the lives of the children of Israel,
quickly went down the mountain to stop them from doing these things
that were so displeasing to God.  The two stone tablets were carried in
both of his hands.  They had carvings on both sides of each one.  They
had been done by the hand of God.  These were the sacred laws that God
intended to give the Israelites.

    Exodus 32:16 "And the tables [were] the work of God, and the
writing [was] the writing of God, graven upon the tables."

    This was not some message that God had given Moses and Moses wrote
them down. This was altogether done by God. This was very similar
writing to the time when God's hand wrote on the wall in the book of
Daniel, chapter 5, verse 5.

    Exodus 32:17 "And when Joshua heard the noise of the people as
they shouted, he said unto Moses, [There is] a noise of war in the
camp."

    Joshua had not been in the camp and did not realize what happened.
He had been waiting at a distance for Moses to come down the mountain.
All of this shouting, and dancing, and carrying on in front of this false
god had worked them up into such a frenzy that it probably did sound like
war.

    Exodus 32:18 "And he said, [It is] not the voice of [them that]
shout for mastery, neither [is it] the voice of [them that] cry for
being overcome: [but] the noise of [them that] sing do I hear."

    Moses already knew that it was not war. God told him what was
going on before he pled for them. Moses didn't really realize how bad
it was, until he saw it for himself. This was just a drunken orgy
that was going on.

    Exodus 32:19  "And it came to pass, as soon as he came nigh unto
the camp, that he saw the calf, and the dancing: and Moses' anger
waxed hot, and he cast the tables out of his hands, and brake them
beneath the mount."

    Moses had never dreamed that the sin was so great. Moses suddenly
realized how unworthy these children of Israel were to receive these
tablets of commandments. In his anger, he threw them down and broke
them. We need a few like Moses in our churches today.  Some of the
things that are being done and said should anger those who truly love
God. This teaching of false doctrines in the church is our golden
calf. The entertainment that some churches call worship borders on the
very type of revelry that angered Moses, here. There is far too much
pleasing of the flesh going on in churches, today. God is a holy God.
Where is the respect and reverence for Almighty God? Take a good look
at your church today. If God came to visit, would He feel comfortable?
We must have a healthy, godly fear of Almighty God. There are far too
many ministers of God who are compromising to please someone in the
congregation. Don't be an Aaron, more eager to please the people than
to please God. Be a Moses who would not tolerate the world in the
church.

    Exodus 32:20 "And he took the calf which they had made, and burnt
[it] in the fire, and ground [it] to powder, and strawed [it] upon the
water, and made the children of Israel drink [of it]."

    The very first thing Moses did was destroy this idol. I see Moses
as a very strong man, and he could easily break this idol apart. The
fire had to be pretty hot to melt the gold.  Probably, it was around
1,945 degrees Farenheit. He wasn't even satisfied to have melted it.
He then ground it into dust and strew it over the water. An idol
cannot even save itself. Just the fact that Moses
could go in and destroy this false god shows just how powerless it really
was. I believe this drinking of the contaminated water shows that we taste
of our sins, even if God does forgive us.

    Exodus 32:21 "And Moses said unto Aaron, What did this people unto
thee, that thou hast brought so great a sin upon them?"

    This was correct for Moses to jump on Aaron. Moses had left the
people in Aaron's care. They did not force Aaron on threat of death to
make this idol. Aaron, perhaps, was put upon in filling their wishes to
furnish a visible god for them to follow. A leader should be strong
enough to tell them no. It wasn't their idea to make the golden calf.
That was Aaron's idea, all by himself. Moses went to the root of the
problem (Aaron), before he approached the people with their sins.

    Exodus 32:22 "And Aaron said, Let not the anger of my lord wax
hot: thou knowest the people, that they [are set] on mischief."
Exodus 32:23 "For they said unto me, Make us gods, which shall go
before us: for [as for] this Moses, the man that brought us up out of
the land of Egypt, we wot not what is become of him."

    We see the guilt and humiliation of Aaron. He calls Moses lord. He was
saying, you are my boss, and you know how dead set on committing sin these people are. He was telling Moses that he was afraid of them. He was
not being a leader, at all. He was trying to please the congregation. 
Does that sound familiar in the church today? Most of the preachers are preaching to itching ears, preaching what the people want to hear. The 
job of the pastor is to preach the Word, whether the people want to hear it,
or not. In II Timothy 4:1 "I charge [thee] therefore before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead at his appearing and his kingdom;" II Timothy 4:2 "Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season;reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine." II Timothy 4:3 
"For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears;" II Timothy 4:4 "And they shall turn away [their] ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables."

    Exodus 32:24 "And I said unto them, Whosoever hath any gold, let
them break [it] off. So they gave [it] me: then I cast it into the
fire, and there came out this calf."

    Now Aaron had added a lie to his other sin. One sin usually
requires another to try to cover up the first sin. This really was a
half truth. They did bring the gold to Aaron, but Aaron graved it.

    Exodus 32:25  "And when Moses saw that the people [were] naked;
(for Aaron had made them naked unto [their] shame among their
enemies:)"  Exodus 32:26 "Then Moses stood in the gate of the camp,
and said, Who [is] on the LORD'S side? [let him come] unto me. And all
the sons of Levi gathered themselves together unto him."

    Moses saw that this orgy was still going on.  He had already
gotten rid of the idol, and he had already reprimanded Aaron, and now
he turns to the idolators. Their nakedness, whether physical or not,
was a shame. I really believe this nakedness was physical.  Many idol
worship services contained sensual activity. Aaron was truly responsible, because he made the calf that started all of this. Now Moses was trying to separate those who were involved, and called those who worshipped the Lord
to come to him, so that the idol worshippers would be separated out. There 
are actually some churches today involved in sensual services, and God is calling His people to come out of them. The sons of Levi loved God and came
to Moses. The next verse shows the purpose for the separation. God was
going to destroy these wicked through the actions of Moses.

    Exodus 32:27 "And he said unto them, Thus saith the LORD God of
Israel, Put every man his sword by his side, [and] go in and out from
gate to gate throughout the camp, and slay every man his brother, and
every man his companion, and every man his neighbour." Exodus 32:28
"And the children of Levi did according to the word of Moses: and
there fell of the people that day about three thousand men."

    What this said was go throughout this group of people and anyone you 
find reveling, kill them. They were told that even if they were related 
to the person, they were to kill them, if they were involved in this idolatry. These Levites, in a sense, had been called to serve God in this. Moses was acting in behalf of God ("Thus saith the LORD God of Israel"). Three thousand men were killed.

    Exodus 32:29 "For Moses had said, Consecrate yourselves today to
the LORD, even every man upon his son, and upon his brother; that he
may bestow upon you a blessing this day."

    Their faithfulness in carrying out these orders that Moses gave
them in behalf of God, would be like a dedication to God.  They would
receive a priestly position with God by their faithfulness and the stand 
they took for God. If you take a stand for God, you will be richly blessed 
of God.

    Exodus 32:30  "And it came to pass on the morrow, that Moses said
unto the people, Ye have sinned a great sin: and now I will go up unto
the LORD; peradventure I shall make an atonement for your sin."

    As we said before, Moses felt responsible for these people.  He
was their advocate with the Father, just as our advocate with the
Father is Jesus Christ. Moses did not cover up the fact that they had
committed a terrible sin. He would try to seek God's forgiveness
for them. Moses would try to atone for their sins. Moses would now go
back up the mountain to meet with God. We see in this, also, that this
seems to be a more serious sin than some sins, because Moses called it
a great sin.

    Exodus 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 told God of their evil, but God already knew. The first
place of forgiveness is to admit your sin. Moses was admitting it for
the people.

    Exodus 32:32 "Yet now, if thou wilt forgive their sin; and if not,
blot me, I pray thee, out of thy book which thou hast written."

    Here we see Moses offered to be the substitute for these people,
if God had to have vengeance.  We see, here, one of the first mentions
of God having a book. This is the book of life. Moses offered God the
option. Moses was willing, if necessary, to give his life for these
sinful people to save them.

    Exodus 32:33 "And the LORD said unto Moses, Whosoever hath sinned
against me, him will I blot out of my book."

    God did not allow Moses to be the substitute.  God spoke of
judgement here.  Each person would be judged separately.  Each person
is responsible for his own actions.

    Exodus 32:34 "Therefore now go, lead the people unto [the place]
of which I have spoken unto thee: behold, mine Angel shall go before
thee: nevertheless in the day when I visit I will visit their sin upon
them." Exodus 32:35 "And the LORD plagued the people, because they
made the calf, which Aaron made."

    God was still angry about this terrible sin.  He would not bless
those who were unfaithful to Him.  He was sending an Angel in His
stead. Plagues would descend on those who were involved in this sin
against God's person. This plague could possibly have been part of the
reason why this generation did not enter the promised land.





                          Exodus 55 Questions


1.  What was Moses carrying in his hands as he came down the mountain?
2.  How were they written?
3.  Who was the writer of the law on the stones?
4.  Where was another mention of the handwriting of God?
5.  What did Joshua think was going on in the camp?
6.  What did Moses tell Joshua the noise was?
7.  What feeling did Moses have when he saw the golden calf?
8.  What did Moses do?
9.  What is the golden calf of our day?
10. What attitude must we have toward God?
11. Which do we need today in our churches?  An Aaron or a Moses?
12. What did Moses do to the calf?
13. What was meant by them drinking this powdered calf of gold?
14. What was Moses' first attack on?
15. What did the destruction of this idol show these people?
16. Where was Moses' next attack?
17. What did Moses ask Aaron?
18. What feeble excuse did Aaron make?
19. Who did Aaron blame?
20. How did he add to his sin?
21. What was Aaron really trying to do?
22. How does that resemble our churches today?
23. What lie did Aaron tell?
24. When Moses saw that they were --------, he stood in the gate.
25. Who did Moses call to him?
26. What did Moses tell those on the side of the Lord to do?
27. How many died?
28. Who came to Moses?
29. As they did what Moses said, what happened to the Levites?
30. What did Moses tell the people about their sins?
31. What would Moses try to do for them?
32. Would God accept it?
33. Who was responsible for sin?
34. What did God tell them that He would no longer do?
35. What was Moses' brave offer to God?
36. God brought a --------- on them.