Day 28 – A Year in the Bible – Exodus 32-34
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EXODUS 32 – THE GOLDEN CALF
When the People Saw that Moses Delayed
And when the people saw that Moses delayed to come down out of the mount, the people gathered themselves together unto Aaron, and said unto him, Up, 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 – Exodus 32:1
Fourteen Steps in Aaron’s Backsliding
1. He listened to the people in their criticism of Moses (Ex. 32:1).
2. Went along with the seditious mob for fear of being unpopular (Ex. 32:1,22).
3. Agreed with them to make an idol (Ex. 32:2).
4. Received gold from the people to make an idol (Ex. 32:4).
5. Made a golden calf to worship.
6. Built an altar before it (Ex. 32:5).
7. Made a proclamation of a feast to it, calling it Jehovah.
8. Sacrificed to it (Ex. 32:6).
9. Sanctioned licentious eating, drinking, singing, dancing, honoring the idol (Ex. 32:6,19).
10. Worshiped the calf (Ex. 32:8).
11. Claimed the calf was God who led them out of Egypt.
12. Laid the blame of sin upon others (Ex. 32:21-23).
13. Lied about making the calf (Ex. 32:24).
14. Exposed the whole nation to the wrath of God and their enemies (Ex. 32:11-14,25).
(Taken from Dake Study Bible Notes)
Play
And they rose up early on the morrow, and offered burnt offerings, and brought peace offerings; and the people sat down to eat and to drink, and rose up to play. – Exodus 32:6
Play – from the Hebrew: tsachaq (H6711), “to laugh outright in merriment or scorn; to sport; mock; play the whore.” It is translated “play.”
Singing and Dancing
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. 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. 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. – Exodus 32:17-19
Six Religious Activities of Israel
1. Making preparation for worship (Ex. 32:1-4)
2. Proclamation of worship (Ex. 32:5)
3. Gathering for worship (Ex. 32:6)
4. Offerings burnt and peace offerings
5. Eating and drinking the sacrifices and drink offerings
6. Singing, dancing, shouting (Ex. 32:17-19)
(Taken from Dake Study Bible Notes)
Some of these activities could be lawfully carried on in worship to God, but not to idols. This shows that outward manifestations of worship, sacrifices of gold and other valuables, shouting, dancing, and singing in themselves are no proof of a spiritual experience with God.
Repentance
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. And Moses returned unto the LORD, and said, Oh, this people have sinned a great sin, and have made them gods of gold. Yet now, if thou wilt forgive their sin–; and if not, blot me, I pray thee, out of thy book which thou hast written. And the LORD said unto Moses, Whosoever hath sinned against me, him will I blot out of my book. 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. And the LORD plagued the people, because they made the calf, which Aaron made. – Exodus 32:30-35
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EXODUS 33 – IF THY PRESENCE GO NOT WITH ME
If I have Found Grace in Thy Sight
And the Lord spake unto Moses face to face, as a man speaketh unto his friend. And he turned again into the camp: but his servant Joshua, the son of Nun, a young man, departed not out of the tabernacle. And Moses said unto the Lord, See, thou sayest unto me, Bring up this people: and thou hast not let me know whom thou wilt send with me. Yet thou hast said, I know thee by name, and thou hast also found grace in my sight. Now therefore, I pray thee, if I have found grace in thy sight, shew me now thy way, that I may know thee, that I may find grace in thy sight: and consider that this nation is thy people. And he said, My presence shall go with thee, and I will give thee rest. And he said unto him, If thy presence go not with me, carry us not up hence. For wherein shall it be known here that I and thy people have found grace in thy sight? is it not that thou goest with us? so shall we be separated, I and thy people, from all the people that are upon the face of the earth. – Exodus 33:11-16
Oh God, You know me by name, and You have extended grace to me over and over. Oh Lord, if I have found favor in Your sight today, will You extend Your grace once more and teach me Your ways? Will You tell me what You would have me to know so that I may know more about You, Lord? I want to know You, and I want to know Your ways and continue to find grace in Your sight. God, I am lonely in this place, and I need You to go with me. If not You, who will go with me? Oh Lord, draw me close to You and help me through this day. Give me FIRE and help me to live a HOLY life and a life free of regret and offense.
And God says to me as He said to Moses – My Presence shall go with thee (Melissa), and I will give thee (Melissa) rest.
Thank You, Father. I love You, my Good, Good Father, and Your beautiful Son Jesus. I adore You, wise and comforting Holy Ghost. Thank You for teaching me Your ways this morning through prayer and Your Word and Your still small voice. Thank You for Your rest.
I Beseech Thee, Shew Me Thy Glory
And the LORD said unto Moses, I will do this thing also that thou hast spoken: for thou hast found grace in my sight, and I know thee by name. And he said, I beseech thee, shew me thy glory. And he said, I will make all my goodness pass before thee, and I will proclaim the name of the LORD before thee; and will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will shew mercy on whom I will shew mercy. And he said, Thou canst not see my face: for there shall no man see me, and live. And the LORD said, Behold, there is a place by me, and thou shalt stand upon a rock: and it shall come to pass, while my glory passeth by, that I will put thee in a clift of the rock, and will cover thee with my hand while I pass by: and I will take away mine hand, and thou shalt see my back parts: but my face shall not be seen. – Exodus 33:17-23
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EXODUS 34 – THE LORD PASSED BY BEFORE HIM
God Reveals Himself
And the Lord descended in the cloud, and stood with him there, and proclaimed the name of the Lord. And the Lord passed by before him, and proclaimed, The Lord, The Lord God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, Keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and that will by no means clear the guilty; visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the children’s children, unto the third and to the fourth generation. – Exodus 34:5-7
I have never seen something in today’s passages of Exodus. The Lord stood with Moses, and the Lord proclaimed His Name and who He was to Moses…and so to us. Yes, we should declare His Names back to Him and this dying world, but first, He has declared them to us. He is the Lord God, Merciful, Gracious, Longsuffering, abundant in Goodness, abundant in Truth, Forgiving, Just.
Proclaim – to announce or declare officially or formally; to make known publicly or openly
God Warns
Take heed to thyself, lest thou make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land whither thou goest, lest it be for a snare in the midst of thee: – Exodus 34:12
God instructs the children of Israel to be careful entering into new lands; to be careful not to come into agreements with the inhabitants of the land in ways that might change their beliefs of the laws God gave them. This is a good warning for us as well. We should be careful when establishing core relationships. Whether it sounds “politically correct” or not, those we spend the most time with have the most influence on us…whether that group is a work group, a social group, or family.
Heed – to give careful attention to
Snare – anything serving to entrap or entangle; a device for capturing small game; to catch or involve by trickery or wile.
God’s Presence Changes Us
And it came to pass, when Moses came down from mount Sinai with the two tables of testimony in Moses’ hand, when he came down from the mount, that Moses wist not that the skin of his face shone while he talked with him. And when Aaron and all the children of Israel saw Moses, behold, the skin of his face shone; and they were afraid to come nigh him. – Exodus 34:29-30
God was concerned that the Israelites would spend time with the inhabitants of the land and be changed. In the same type of way, when we spend time with others, we are changed. When we spend time in the Presence of God, we are changed. He changes us, and the people around us can see the change, just like the children of Israel could see Moses face shining with the Glory of God. There is only one way we can truly be carriers of the Light and that is to spend time in the Presence of the Light of the World. His Name is Jesus!
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