A
Broken Heart and a Shinning Face
Exodus
32-34
May 2,
2010
In February of 1879, in the Church of the Holy Trinity
in Philadelphia,
the well-known Anglican minister Phillip Brooks gave a series of lectures later
published as The Influence of Jesus.
In his third lecture, he made this statement about serving
God:
To be a
true minister to men is always to accept new happiness and new distress, both of
them forever deepening and entering into closer and more inseparable union with
each other the more profound and spiritual ministry becomes. The man who gives himself to other men can
never be a wholly sad man; but no more can he be a man of unclouded gladness
either.
In chapters 32-34, we see a perfect example of this
principle illustrated in the life of Moses.
Try to imagine the joy and gladness of spending special time alone with
God. Imagine the personal relationship
formed between Moses and God there on the mountain. Then, imagine coming down the mountain with
the 10 Commandments in your hands, written by the very finger of God and that
being interrupted by the disappointment by the very people you went to the
mountain to represent. This was one of
the most heart-breaking experiences of Moses entire career, and yet it brought
out the best in Moses, which is what always happens when we love God and live by
faith.
Guilt,
Grace, and Glory
Guilt:
God’s people break the Law (32:1 – 33:11)
At least three times during the months at Sinai, the
Jewish people had promised to obey whatever God told them to do (19:8; 24:3,7; 20:19). The Lord
knew that it wasn’t in their hearts to keep their promises (Deut. 5:28-29), and
the tragedy of the golden calf proved Him right.
The
great sin (32:1-6)
Moses called what they did “a great sin” and that was
putting it mildly. It was a great sin because of who committed
it: the nation of Israel, the chosen people of God, His
special treasure. It was a great sin
because of when and where they committed it: at Mt. Sinai after they had heard God’s Law
declared and seen God’s glory revealed.
They had promised to obey God’s Law, but in making a golden calf and
indulging in a sensual celebration, the nation broke the first, second, and
seventh commandments. It was a great sin because of what they had
already experienced of the power and mercy of God: the judgments
against Egypt, the
deliverance at the Red Sea, the provision of
food and water, and the gracious leading of God by the pillar of cloud and
fire. What they did was rebel against
the goodness of God. It is no wonder
their sin provoked God’s anger (Deut. 9:11-12).
Something we need to note here: impatience is often the
cause of impulsive actions that are sinful.
Israel didn’t know how to live by
faith and trust God regardless of where their leader was. Whether Moses was with them or away from
them, they criticized him and ignored what he had taught them. This was NOT Moses fault! His brother, Aaron and the tribal leaders
were to blame because they did NOT immediately turn to God for help and warn the
people what would happen. Aaron and
Hur had authority from Moses to lead in his absence
(24:14), and though they were men who had seen God’s mighty acts, they failed
God and Moses. Instead of restraining
the people, Aaron went along with them and gratified the desires of their sinful
hearts. And then he offered a feeble
excuse and tried to blame the people (32:22-24), BUT God knew better. God always knows. God was so angry that He would have killed
Aaron and the people had Moses not interceded (Deut. 9:20).
Here is another good point. Israel’s lust for idols was born in
Egypt and still worked in their
hearts. And Aaron fed their sinful
appetite by giving them what they thought they wanted. I’m setting here now, trying not to climb up
on my “soap box” but I don’t think I can pass this up without saying
something. I have recently come across
the statement, “meeting the felt needs of people” but we are living in a nation
and in a time when it seem that the people don’t really know what they need and
their wants are all messed up. What
American needs is simple: she needs to go back to God. OK, I’ll get down now.
The nation of Israel thought they needed an idol,
but what they really7 needed was faith in their great God who had revealed
Himself so powerfully to them.
Israel exchanged the glory of the
true and living God for the image of an animal, which means they acted like the
heathen nations around them. Note how
they rose early to sin but not to pray.
Who does that sound like?
Remember the National Day of Prayer?
The
Great Test (32:7-14)
In leadership, the difficult experiences with our people
either make us or break us, and Moses was about to be tested. I think I would have failed this test. Note what God called the people: “your people
whom you brought out of Egypt”. I would have said something like, “Hold on
God! These are not my people, they are
Your people”, but not Moses. While he did say that, he said it in a much
nicer way. Moses reminded God of the
covenants He had made with their forefathers to bless, multiply, and give them
their land (Gen. 12:1-3). Moses did
exactly what God intended for him to do.
Moses did really love these people, as sinful as they
were. Note that Moses was concerned
about God’s reputation. It took me a
while but I finally reached a point in my life where my concern was not to
embarrass my earthly father but to make him look good and make him proud of
me. Moses wanted God to look good, to be
glorified through him and the people.
Note here that Moses uses human terms to describe divine
actions, like “God repented”. The Hebrew
word means “to grieve, to be sorry” as in Genesis
6:6 and 1 Samuel
15:29. It describes
God’s change of approach in dealing with His people. God’s character does not change, but God does
respond to the prayers and confession of His people.
The
Great Discipline (32:15 – 33:11)
God in His grace forgives our sins, but God in His
government allows sin to work out its terrible consequences in our lives. We definitely reap what we sow (Gal.
6:7-8). There are so many little lessons
here, let me share just a few.
Note
Moses discipline of the people (32:15-29). Joshua, who would one day take Moses place,
joins Moses. This is a learning
experience for Joshua. Moses was angry
but note that it was tempered with love.
Even the breaking of the tablets is symbolic of Israel’s
breaking of the covenant and the discipline they would face. Note that Moses first confronted Aaron before
he confronted the people. The privilege
of leadership brings with it both responsibility and accountability. Billy Sunday once said that an excuse was the
skin of a reason stuffed with a lie, and Aaron’s feeble excuse was just
that.
Then comes the big question, “Who is on the Lord’s
side?” What were these people
thinking? Duh? Remember that
they were caught in the midst of a drunken orgy. Here was the chance for all
Israel to repent and reaffirm their
commit-ment to the Lord, but only the Levites
responded to the call. The Levites then
killed all those who were involved in the sexual sins which was about 3,000 men.
Moses then destroyed the calf and making the people
drink from the creek where he had thrown the dust of the calf. He made the people face up to what they had
done. Moses then returned to the
mountain for another forty days of fasting and praying for the people. Moses there offered God his life for the
people. God would punish the people in
His own way and His own time. Had the
people known all that Moses endured for their sake, maybe they would have
appreciated him more but I doubt it. Such is the price of faithful spiritual
leadership. Remember that about your
preacher.
Now God
disciplines the people (32:35-33:11).
God’s first
discipline was to send a plague among the people, but we are not told how many
were killed. The Levites had killed
3,000 men who were engaged in idolatrous worship and immoral practices, but God
knew who all the guilty people were.
Sometimes God passes the sentence of judgment immediately but then delays
executing the penalty. However, whether
in the OT or the NT, “there is a sin leading to death” (1 John 5:16-17).
The second judgment was to refuse to go before them as
they marched to the Promised Land (33:1-6).
God would keep the covenant promises He had made to their forefathers but
instead of going before them in the person of His Son, the Angel of the Lord
(23:20-23), He would appoint an angel to accompany them. And the reason< “You are a stiff-necked
people” (32:9; 33:3,5). A stubborn people can only be
disciplined. Better that God depart from
them than that He come suddenly upon them and destroy them!
The third judgment was to move Moses “tent of meeting”
to a site outside the camp, where he would personally meet with God. This was a special tent that Moses used when
he wanted to consult with God. God
graciously met with Moses and spoke with him face-to-face, the way friends talk
together (Num. 12:1-8; Deut. 34:10).
Sin is always costly, and Israel’s sin had not only led to the
death of thousands of people, but it had robbed the nation of the presence of
God in the camp and on their pilgrim journey to the Promised Land. As Charles Spurgeon said, “God never permits
His people to sin successfully”.