Good afternoon, everyone!
Today, I read Exodus 30-32.
And this is where it starts to get interesting again.
Okay, so I don't find reading through all the Old Testament laws riveting. Leviticus is going to be fun. And just wait until we get to Numbers!
Sorry. I will try to make an honest effort to write something about everything I read, though some days I may not have much to say.
But today, I have something to say.
So, in the first two chapters, God gives Moses more laws and instructions, and then:
Exodus 31:18 - When He had finished speaking with him upon Mount Sinai, He gave Moses the two tablets of the testimony, tablets of stone, written by the finger of God.
Two tablets of stone, written by God's own hand. That's amazing!
But the Israelites don't care about how amazing that is right now. They are too busy convincing Aaron that Moses might be dead, and that he needs to take charge.
Which would be fine if Aaron had said something like "Don't worry. Wait a little longer." Or even "Trust God. If Moses doesn't come back by the end of the week, I will entreat God to see what we should do."
He did none of those things.
He did nothing that he should have done.
And maybe I'm being a little hard on him because of what happens next. But just wait until you read this.
Exodus 32:1-6 - Now when the people saw that Moses delayed to come down from the mountain, the people assembled about Aaron and said to him, "Come, make us a god who will go before us; as for this Moses, the man who brought us up from the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him." Aaron said to them, "Tear off the gold rings which are n the ears of your wives, your sons, and your daughters, and bring them to me."
So they did. Now, I want to take a moment to point out something.
It doesn't say Moses was delayed, but that Moses delayed. And maybe that's just my translation, but it reminds me of how I feel in God's presence. The thought of going out and facing people, or leading people, or teaching people, sometimes makes me want to cry. But when it's just me and God, everything makes sense, and I am at peace. Even when the world is in chaos.
Imagine how Moses must have felt. Yes, he was getting instruction from God, but he had all these people to lead. All this responsibility. And I'm not saying he was shirking his duty, but do you think maybe he stayed in God's presence as long as he could?
In fact, God tells him to go back down the mountain. But we'll get there.
So, the people bring Aaron their gold, and this is what he does with it:
Exodus 32:4-6 - He took this from their hand, and fashioned it with a graving tool and made it into a molten calf; and they said, "This is your god, O Israel, who brought you up from the land of Egypt." Now when Aaron saw this, he built an altar before it; and Aaron made a proclamation and said, "Tomorrow shall be a feast to the Lord." So the next day they rose early and offered burnt offerings, and brought peace offerings; and the people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to play.
Uh oh. Now they're in trouble.
In Exodus 32:7-11, God tells Moses what the Israelites have done, and orders him away so that His anger can burn against the Israelites and He may destroy them. But Moses pleads with God, he intercedes with God for his people, and the Lord changed His mind.
This amazes me. Just like with Abraham's entreaties for Sodom.
Moses interceded for his people.
Now, Jesus intercedes for us. We are His people, and He talks to God about us, interceding for us, so that God's wrath is not kindled against us.
Now, Moses gets down the mountain and actually sees what the people are doing, and he gets angry. So angry, in fact, that he throws the stone tablets, which had the actual writing of God on them, to the ground, where they shatter. My Bible actually says shatter.
Then, he does something that I find interesting. In a weird sort of way.
He destroys the calf and grinds it into powder, which he mixes with the water and makes the Israelites drink it. Yep. Drink it.
Then, Moses has a bigger problem. The Israelites have gotten out of control with corruption. So he calls for all of those faithful to God, and then tells them to kill the others.
About 3,000 were killed. Then, Moses returns to God to entreat him to forgive the nation of Israel.
And God says this:
Exodus 32:33-35 - The Lord said to Moses, "Whoever has sinned against Me, I will blot him out of My book. But go now, lead the people where I told you. Behold, My angel shall go before you; nevertheless in the day when I punish, I will punish them for their sin." Then the Lord smote the people, because of what they did with the calf which Aaron had made.
Now, that's a heavy note.
Romans 6:23 - For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
The only thing sin leads to is death. And in the Old Testament, before Jesus came to be the ultimate, complete, and perfect sacrifice, sometimes that was literal.
Something that I find very interesting about the Old Testament is how often the Israelites messed up. How often they disobeyed or forgot God.
And somehow, that gives me hope. I am not alone. Sometimes I mess up, and now, Jesus is my intercessor. That does not give me the right to do evil, nor does it mean I can do whatever I want with no consequences, but it does mean that death does not have to be my end. Jesus bore my sin on the cross, and because of His sacrifice, I can look forward to eternal life with my Lord.
I hope you learned something from this post along with me.
Until tomorrow. I'll be continuing the Israelites exodus in Exodus 33-35.
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