Moses has been spending time on the mountain talking to God, and the people below are getting restless. Here is an easy way to see which people in the OT had a heart for God, and which ones did not. After a time had passed, the people waiting for Moses got impatient, wondering what had become of him. So they told Aaron to make them a golden calf to worship. They couldn't even wait for Moses to return. Contrast that with the amount of time the patriarchs would wait - Abraham waited 100 years for his first born. Jacob worked for Laban for 14 years just to marry his wife. Those who have a heart for the Lord wait on the Lord.
Moses intercedes on behalf of the people again, begging God for mercy to spare them from worshiping the calf.
In a somewhat humorous vein, Aaron puts forth what is quite possibly the 2nd worst excuse known to man (right behind the ever popular "wasn't me" defense):
31:23-24 For they said to me, ‘Make us gods that shall go before us; as for this Moses, the man who brought us out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.’ And I said to them, ‘Whoever has any gold, let them break it off.’ So they gave it to me, and I cast it into the fire, and this calf came out.”
I put the gold in, the calf popped out. Brilliant!
But on a serious note, in the midst of all this it was the sons of Levi who refused to participate in the violation of God's law. As such, they eventually became the tribe of priests.
33:17-23
So the LORD said to Moses, “I will also do this thing that you have spoken; for you have found grace in My sight, and I know you by name.”
And he said, “Please, show me Your glory.”
Then He said, “I will make all My goodness pass before you, and I will proclaim the name of the LORD before you. I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion.” 20 But He said, “You cannot see My face; for no man shall see Me, and live.” And the LORD said, “Here is a place by Me, and you shall stand on the rock. So it shall be, while My glory passes by, that I will put you in the cleft of the rock, and will cover you with My hand while I pass by. Then I will take away My hand, and you shall see My back; but My face shall not be seen.”
I especially like this passage because you can see that Moses has a passion to know God in a more intimate way, and God honors his heart's desire. It also establishes the nature of God's sovereignty in whom He chooses to save. It also communicates the fact that God's holiness falling on the sinner means death; but by God's act alone can he cover man's sin with himself, and thus when God sees man, he sees Himself. The sinner is spared.
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a little on the side, but did you check to see if the original Hebrew implied that it was God or Jesus that passed Moses by. I would guess that it was God. and Jesus the first time that Moses encountered God on the mountain.
ReplyDeletealso, i really like v. 17 where God says "i know you by name". it speaks to the fact that God is an individual, personal God and thus we can approach Him just as we are. He desires to have a relationship with each of us.