As I was reading my Bible this week, I read through Exodus. Here we see in Exodus 32 that the Israelites get impatient with Moses (who is currently receiving the ten commandments).

“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

We all know what happens next, Aaron gets everyone to bring him every scrap of gold that they have, and made them a molten calf, with the Israelites saying “These be thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt.” (Exodus 32:4b).

I find it funny how within the first four verses of this chapter, the Israelites seem to have forgotten who really brought them out of the land of Egypt – God.

God tells Moses on the mount “They have turned aside quickly out of the way which I commanded them: they have made them a molten calf, and have worshipped it, and have sacrificed thereunto, and said, These be thy gods, O Israel, which have brought thee up out of the land of Egypt. And the Lord said unto Moses, I have seen this people, and, behold, it is a stiffnecked people: Now therefore let me alone, that my wrath may wax hot against them, and that I may consume them: and I will make of thee a great nation.” (Exodus 32:8-10).

Moses sought the Lord and instantly asks God to reconsider and spare the Israelites. Verse 14 tells us that “the Lord repented of the evil which he thought to do unto his people.” This doesn’t mean that God makes mistakes, though, even though the text uses the word repent. This whole scene just shows us God’s swift judgement, and then His mercy to people who don’t deserve it.

Moses then goes down the mountain, with the ten commandments in his hand, meeting Joshua (who had waited for him a partial way down the mountain) and continuing to the Israelite camp. When Moses sees what was done, Exodus 32:19 tells us how Moses’ anger waxed hot against the Israelites, and he broke the ten commandments in his anger. He then took the golden calf, ground it into powder, and made the Israelites drink it. Then, Moses asks Aaron who’s brilliant idea this was (paraphrasing here), and Aaron automatically blames the Israelites in verse 22, saying “thou knowest the people, that they are set on mischief.”

Moses then takes things into his own hand, and this part is often skipped in Sunday School lessons. Verses 26-28 tell us that Moses stood in the gate of the Israelite camp and asked who was on the Lord’s side, and all of the sons of Levi stepped forward. “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. And the children of Levi did according to the word of Moses: and there fell of the people that day about three thousand men.”

But wait…didn’t Moses ask God to spare lives? Why did three thousand people just die at the hand of the Levites? The next chapter deals with the Israelites’ consequences of their sin, so it makes sense that the people who died were the ones who rebelled, who thought they were 100% in the right, and were not going to repent of their sin. This shows us that death is the penalty for sin (which Romans 6:23 repeats). God offered forgiveness to the Israelites for creating and worshipping a false god, right after He delivered them from the Egyptians. Those who refused this forgiveness died.

Every one of us has sinned, just like the Israelites in Exodus 32. God has also offered us forgiveness for our sins, we just need to accept the gift of salvation, and not be rebellious to it…that path only ends in death.

What did you study this week?

If you are not 100% sure that you’ll go to Heaven when you die, now is the time to repent and put your trust in Jesus Christ. If you have any questions or doubts about your salvation, click here to learn how you can be saved!

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