Now when the people saw that Moses delayed coming down from the mountain (Exodus 32:1)
Moses was gone for forty days (Exodus 24:18). The Lord allowed Moses to return after a delay. The children of Israel could not handle the delay in the coming of Moses and they stumbled. I believe there is a hint here at the second coming of the Lord. It might be delayed. This should not make us stumble either.
The people gathered together to Aaron, and said to him (Exodus 32:1)
This is a perfect example of where the will of the people is not always the will of God.
Come, make us gods that shall go before us (Exodus 32:1)
They wanted a god ‘with a face’, like the nations around them.
and the people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to play. (Exodus 32:6)
There is a strong hint of sexual immorality here
And the LORD said to Moses, “Go, get down! For your people whom you brought out of the land of Egypt have corrupted themselves. (Exodus 32:7)
In this God suggested to Moses that He had or was about to disown Israel.
Then Moses pleaded with the LORD his God (Exodus 32:11)
Moses’ prayer was not long but it was strong. “It is not the length, but the strength of prayer that appeals to heaven.”
So it was, as soon as he came near the camp, that he saw the calf and the dancing. So Moses’ anger became hot, and he cast the tablets out of his hands and broke them at the foot of the mountain. (Exodus 32:19)
Moses had to deal with anger all his life. In anger, he killed an Egyptian (Exodus 2:11-12). In anger, he broke the tablets written by the finger of God. In anger, he beat the rock God commanded him to speak to (Numbers 20:10-11). This last display of anger kept Moses out of the Promised Land.
Now when Moses saw that the people were unrestrained (for Aaron had not restrained them, to their shame among their enemies) (Exodus 32:25)
Aaron is a typical example of a weak leader
Then Moses told the Levites, “Today you have ordained yourselves for the service of the Lord, for you obeyed him even though it meant killing your own sons and brothers. Today you have earned a blessing.” (Exodus 32:29)
Obedience to God’s will always cost you something.
Chapters
- Chapter 1
- Chapter 2
- Chapter 3
- Chapter 4
- Chapter 5
- Chapter 6
- Chapter 7
- Chapter 8
- Chapter 9
- Chapter 10
- Chapter 11
- Chapter 12
- Chapter 13
- Chapter 14
- Chapter 15
- Chapter 16
- Chapter 17
- Chapter 18
- Chapter 19
- Chapter 20
- Chapter 21
- Chapter 22
- Chapter 23
- Chapter 24
- Chapter 25
- Chapter 26
- Chapter 27
- Chapter 28
- Chapter 29
- Chapter 30
- Chapter 31
- Chapter 32
- Chapter 33
- Chapter 34
- Chapter 35
- Chapter 36
- Chapter 37
- Chapter 38
- Chapter 39
- Chapter 40