Bible Commentaries

At the beginning of chapter 32, our thoughts are carried from the mount, where God communed with Moses, to the plain where the people were encamped during his absence. We can well imagine that as the forty days drew toward their close they became restive. They had seen him disappear into the cloud on the crest of Sinai and to them it seemed as though he was gone from them for ever. Tested as they were in this way, they showed very plainly that they walked by sight and not by faith. Moses had at least been a visible leader, though already a rebellious and unbelieving spirit in regard to him had been manifested. They had not the faith which would have made the unseen Jehovah a reality to them.

Consequently they desired a visible something which should represent the invisible before their eyes. They had been familiar with the veneration of bulls and calves in the depraved idolatry of Egypt. Aaron weakly acquiesced. The ears of the people, which should have been used to hearken to the Word of God, were adorned with gold rings like the ears of the heathen, and these were taken to make the golden calf, which they saluted as though it were a god.

Verse Exodus 32:5 shows that in some way the unseen Jehovah was to be represented by the visible calf — so they thought. Now it is a fact that among the heathen the visible idol does represent an unseen power as 1 Corinthians 10:20 shows. The idol is nothing, but the power it represents is that of a demon. Hence if any power was behind the golden calf, it was of a Satanic kind and not of God.

In this crisis Aaron appears in a very unfavourable light. He had not had the schooling that Moses had endured during the 40 years in the backside of the desert, and hence he was less in touch with God, and more influenced by the wishes of the people, who began to attribute their miraculous deliverance from Egypt to the calf. By instituting an altar and sacrifices he did indeed attempt to give the festivities the semblance of a feast to the Lord. But it was something that he devised out of his own heart and not a feast ordained by the Lord.

The real character of what ensued is indicated in verse Exodus 32:6. "The people sat down to eat and to drink, and rose up to play." This is quoted in 1 Corinthians 10:7 as a proof that they were idolaters, and a later verse in our chapter (verse Exodus 32:5) indicates how such idolatry at once degenerates into licentiousness and obscenity.

Do we wonder at such a warning being needed by the church at Corinth? But if we know how sodden Corinth was with these evils, we are not surprised; nor shall we be surprised that we need the warning today, if we realize how full the present world is of idolatry of a subtle nature. For what is the chief good, to which all the peoples of the earth hope to arrive? It is summed up in the words of the parable; to have, "much goods laid up for many years," so that they may say to themselves, "take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry" (Luke 12:19). These words are almost identical with what we have just read in verse Exodus 32:6. The Lord stigmatized the attitude of the rich fool of Luke 12:1-59 as covetousness, and in Colossians 3:5 the Apostle Paul writes, "covetousness which is idolatry."

The programme of the rich fool was: plenty of leisure, plenty to eat and drink in spite of slacking as to work, plenty of fun and pleasure to fill up the hours of leisure. This is precisely the ideal dangled before mankind today. If attained, it means idolatry. As Christians may we have grace to mortify our members which are on the earth, one of which is this covetousness which is idolatry. Israel enjoyed these "pleasures of sin" for a very brief season, until Moses reappeared; a man who, rather than enjoy them, had chosen to "suffer affliction with the people of God." (Hebrews 11:25).

The forty days were expired, and God sent Moses back to the people, revealing to him first how they had corrupted themselves and utterly broken the law in its most fundamental requirement. Verses Exodus 32:7-10 indicate the completeness of the collapse of the people under the law, that so light-heartedly they had undertaken to keep in all its details. They had revealed themselves to be a stiff-necked people, subject to death and the hot wrath of God. Everything had been lost, and God disowned them, speaking of them to Moses as "thy people," and not "My people," as He had spoken of them to Pharaoh in Egypt.

So fully had they placed themselves under the death sentence that God spoke of removing them entirely, and of raising up a new and great nation from Moses himself. He had already set aside the old world and started afresh in Noah and his sons. Again He had turned from the idolatrous world and started afresh with Abraham and Isaac, the child of promise. He could have done the same thing in principle the third time, starting afresh with progeny derived from Moses.

In verses Exodus 32:11-13 we have the reply of Moses, which is very fine, and reveals him indeed as, "very meek, above all the men which were upon the face of the earth" (Numbers 12:3). Here was an offer at which the natural heart of man would have jumped — an offer which would have given Moses a place of extraordinary prominence and renown. Yet Moses besought the Lord against it. He insisted that after all the children of Israel were not his people but Jehovah's people. This comes out in verse Exodus 32:11.

In verse Exodus 32:12 he displays his zeal for the name of the Lord, lest it should have its glory dimmed in the minds of the Egyptians. They had felt the mighty power of the arm of the Lord in the deliverance of His people. Were they now to hear that those that had been acknowledged as His people were likewise destroyed? The proposed act of judgment would be right; but would it have the appearance of being right in the eyes of men?

In verse Exodus 32:13 we have a third thing of great significance. Moses, the servant of God through whom the law was given, falls back, not on the law covenant — all was lost on that basis — but on the unconditional covenant made much earlier with Abraham, Isaac, and Israel — using that name, and not Jacob, the name after the flesh. By an instinct divinely given, Moses in his plea forsook law for grace. On that ground his plea prevailed, in keeping with what is stated in Galatians 3:17, "the covenant, that was confirmed before of God in Christ, the law, which was four hundred and thirty years after, cannot disannul, that it should make the promise of none effect."

So the Lord "repented" of the proposed evil, and this statement does not in any way clash with Romans 11:29, but rather confirms it. When it is a question of God's gifts and calling, which are according to His purpose, no change of mind is possible. When it is a question of His ways with sinful men, they vary in detail, though ultimately all achieve His purpose. God tested Abraham, telling him to offer up Isaac, but when he had fully responded, God cancelled the order, having reached His purpose. Similarly here, He tested Moses by this proposal, so attractive to a self-seeking mind, and the test completed, He turned from the proposal and reverted to the ancient covenant which was the expression of His purpose.

In keeping with God's command Moses descended from the mount, meeting Joshua on his way down, and having the two tables of stone in his hand. The tables themselves were the work of God, and the testimony inscribed on them was the writing of God. In the coming day under the new covenant the law will be written in the hearts of the people. At the present time the Spirit of God is writing not the law but Christ upon the hearts of those who receive the Gospel. But here God's righteous demands on men were inscribed on stone.

Hence, bearing in mind the condition of things in Israel, we see at once that the tables of the testimony brought a ministration of condemnation and death. Approaching the camp in its dreadful state, Moses instinctively felt this, and he broke the tables before he came amongst the people. We read that, "Moses' anger waxed hot," so, directly he saw the evil for himself, he shared the Divine anger, which was made known to us in verse Exodus 32:10.

Moses had pleaded for the people and they were not to be destroyed, but the very man who had acted as intercessor on their behalf, now acted in a governmental way to bring home to them the bitterness of their sin. He burnt the golden calf and then ground it to powder — a humiliating end for the supposed "god," that brought them up from Egypt! And not only this. He also mixed the burnt dust with water and made the people drink their "god," instead of drinking in honour of it, as they had been doing.

The chemical process involved in doing this unusual thing was known to the Egyptians, and Moses, we must remember, was "learned in all the wisdom of the Egyptians," and so knew well how to do it. There was, we are told, an ironic suitability about this punishment inflicted upon them, since gold thus treated and made into a drink has a most nauseous taste. In this literal and material way the people had brought home to them the filthiness and bitterness of their great sin.

The chief weight of the sin lay upon Aaron, and his attempted defence was feeble in the extreme. He attempted to remove the blame from himself and put it upon the people. When sin first entered, Adam attempted to put the blame on to Eve, as we saw in Genesis 3:12. The same thing in principle appears now that we have reached the first and greatest sin under the law. Moreover he attempted to minimize his sin, as we see in verse Exodus 32:24. He did indeed cast the gold into the fire, but, as verse Exodus 32:4 recorded the calf was not only "molten," but also he "fashioned it with a graving tool." By telling a half truth he tried to disguise the whole truth.

In Hebrews 3:5 we read "Moses verily was faithful in all His house, as a servant," and though this is not stated specifically of the incident we are considering, it was exemplified here in a striking way. The calf was a direct challenge to the supremacy and glory of God. Moses fresh from the presence of Jehovah was altogether on His side in the controversy, and he challenged all the people to declare themselves. They had been dancing round the calf: now let them gather round Moses, and thus declare themselves as on the side of Jehovah. To this challenge the sons of Levi responded.

The sin was of so drastic a character that judgment was inevitable. They were now under the law, and, "the law worketh wrath" (Romans 4:15). The sons of Levi, who had cleared themselves from the evil, were chosen to execute a limited judgment as a token of the judgment that lay upon all, and about three thousand men died. They had to consecrate themselves to the Lord in this way, for the claims of God are supreme. In Matthew 10:37, we find a similar claim made by the Lord Jesus, though He was revealing grace and not law.

Only in Galatians 3:19 is Moses spoken of as a mediator, yet in verse Exodus 32:30 we see him formally taking his place as such. In consequence we see at once the contrast between him and the Lord Jesus, who is "the Mediator of a better covenant" (Hebrews 8:6). Moses realized that nothing short of an atonement for the sin was needed, and he proposed to go up to the Lord and offer himself; such was his fervent love to his erring people. His plea was for the forgiveness of the sin, and if not that he instead of the nation might be blotted out of the Divine Book. But he was only able to undertake the office with "Peradventure" on his lips. How great the contrast between this and what we have in 1 Timothy 2:5, 1 Timothy 2:6.

Moses, though so eminent and faithful a servant, was not a perfect man, but himself a sinner. The words of the Lord, which are recorded in verse Exodus 32:33, reminded him that consequently he himself was liable to be blotted out of the book and hence he could not stand as a ransom for anybody else. The true Mediator, "the Man Christ Jesus," has given Himself a ransom, not merely for the one sin of one people but for "ALL." The efficacy of His ransom is guaranteed by the fact that He is God as well as Man.

The answer of the Lord nevertheless assured Moses that He would act in forbearance toward the erring people and lead them onward by His Angel, as He had originally promised in chapter Exodus 23:20-23, though His governmental judgment would still further come upon them. This came to pass, as verse Exodus 32:35 records, though details of the plague are not given.

Exodus 33:1-23 opens with the command that the people prepare themselves to go forward to the land, which was to be theirs, not because they deserved it under the law, but because of the unconditional covenant that had been given originally to Abraham. God would still act on their behalf, driving out the nations before them and bringing them in, but this would be done by the Angel. On Sinai God was in their midst in a special way. Henceforward He would be amongst them by His Angel. His presence in a more immediate way might involve judgment upon them. Verses Exodus 32:4-6, show how near they had been to complete destruction, and how their only becoming attitude was to stand mourning in the presence of God, and stripped of all that they might imagine beautified them.

Verses Exodus 32:7-11, record how Moses took an action, which was endorsed by the Lord, though there is no record of it having been commanded by Him. He took a tent and pitched it outside and afar off from the camp, calling it the tent of the congregation. We must remember that Moses had only just come down from the mount, having received the instructions as to making the Tabernacle, and there had been as yet no time for its construction. The word used here is not the one indicating the tabernacle proper, but rather the outer covering, as we saw when reading Exodus 26:1-37. Yet God honoured the action of Moses and placed the pillar of cloud on this tent outside the camp.

The significance of all this must have been plain to the people. If any of them sought the Lord, outside the camp they had to go, in order to find Him, for they had forfeited His presence by their sin. Communion between Jehovah and Moses was not broken, for he had not participated in their sin. To him God spoke face to face on a friendly basis, but they could only witness this and not in any way participate. Joshua was with Moses in this, for he too had not been involved in the transgression.

This withdrawal from the camp was only provisional and in order to impress on the people the gravity of their sin. Presently normal conditions were restored, and when the Tabernacle was made it stood in the midst of the camp. The reference in Hebrews 13:13 is not to this incident but to the law of the sin offering. The "camp" out of which the Hebrew believers were to go forth was not one which they were to re-enter long after. The rejected Christ, slain as the sin offering, has been "outside the camp" for nineteen centuries, and we are to be outside with Him, and not return to it.

We are now permitted to hear the terms of this "face to face" speaking between Moses and the Lord, and we can at once perceive that the Lord did deal with him as with a friend. As we read verses Exodus 33:12-23 we may well have our hearts stirred: especially so as we remember how much closer is the relationship of children and sons into which we are brought. In result, the friendship into which we may enter, as given by our Lord in John 15:13-16 is of an even more intimate character.

Moses is emboldened not only to intercede for the people but also to request for himself a more definite knowledge of what he might expect in the way of the Divine leadership, and in the understanding of the way that was decreed. In verse Exodus 33:14 we have the answer to the first part of his request.

Jehovah promised that His presence should go with him, and in that fact fear was to be allayed and rest was to be found. The next verses show how fully Moses realized that to have the presence of God with them was the all-essential thing without which they could not go forward, nor could their special place as the people called out from amongst the nations be maintained. Their subsequent history fully bore this out. As they departed from the Lord, so they lost their separated place, and the departure of the glory from the midst of the city, recorded in Ezekiel, was the commencement of the long epoch during which they have been dispersed among the nations. Yet even so they have never lost their identity, and ultimately, restored by mercy, Jehovah will be in their midst, so that the name of the Jerusalem in the coming age will be, Jehovah-shammah "the Lord is there" (Ezekiel 48:35).

The first request, then, of Moses was, "Show me now Thy way," and this was granted, as we read in Psalms 103:7, "He made known His ways unto Moses, His acts unto the children of Israel." The people saw the wonderful things He did but Moses was permitted to know the end God was pursuing in the doing of them. But when Moses made his second request, "I beseech Thee show me Thy glory," he met with a refusal. He was permitted to see the "back parts" of the Lord but not His "face," for no man could see that and live. Moses was only to see God when He had passed by as it were, and thus discern Him in the way He had taken.

How great is the contrast when we come to the New Testament. We open John's Gospel and we read, "We beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father." We pass on to the Epistles to read of, "the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ" (2 Corinthians 4:6). The Christian today is given to know something of the "glory," as well as of the "acts" and the "way." It is delightful to know that though Moses could not then see the glory, he did see it in the face of Jesus when he was with Him on the Mount of Transfiguration. And then he knew right well what it would cost the Saviour to make that glory available for him and for us all, for he spoke of His decease.

For the time being Moses had to be content to know the goodness and the name of the Lord, and in connection with that His grace and His mercy were displayed. Here we have the statement which Paul quotes in Romans 9:15, "I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy;" and by this is declared the sovereignty of God. The point is that Israel had lost everything on the basis of strict law, and yet God elected to show mercy and continue with them. Israel had therefore no ground for objecting to God choosing to show mercy to Gentiles in these Gospel days. From the days of the golden calf they owed their own existence to the mercy of God.

Though this was so, they were still left under the law which had been given, and hence,. as we open Exodus 34:1-35, we find that Moses was to hew two tables of stone like the first and again come up with them to the top of the mount, that God might write the words on them as He had done before. As on the first occasion so again, no man was permitted to come near, and even flocks and herds were to be kept from the mount. The holiness of God was emphasized once more, but this time in harmonious connection with His mercy.

If we meditate quietly for a little upon verses Exodus 33:6-7, we shall be repaid. Here are brought together features of the Divine character which we now know quite well, but to Moses they might have seemed to be in many respects at variance one with the other. He might have desired to ask, If He is abundant in truth as well as goodness, how can He be gracious to a people such as we have proved ourselves to be? Or again, How can He rightly forgive iniquity and transgressions, if He will by no means clear he guilty, and even visit the sins of the fathers on the children? Centuries later the Psalmist, writing as a prophet, anticipated the happy millennial day, when it shall be said that, "Mercy and truth are met together; righteousness and peace have kissed each other" (Psalms 85:10). But even so, there was no full display of "grace and truth" until they "came by Jesus Christ" (John 1:17) and were harmonized by His death and resurrection.

As some find difficulty in the latter part of verse Exodus 33:7 it may be well to remark that God is here indicating how He deals with men on earth in His holy government. When it is a question of His judgment for eternity, the dead will be dealt with "according to their works" (Revelation 20:12, Revelation 20:13) and there is no thought of a child bearing the sin of his father. In speaking to Moses, God was not dealing with the issues of eternity, but with His government of Israel under the law in the light of His mercy that had just been declared. In the working out of God's government in this world, the way in which the iniquity of a father adversely affects his children is a fact too obvious for any of us to overlook. The laws of heredity, which God has ordained, are very real.

As these things were made known to Moses he was deeply affected, as we see in verses Exodus 33:8-9. He worshipped in the recognition of God's grace, first toward himself and then toward the people, and once more he sought pardon in the confession of their sin and stiff-necked spirit. It is good for us to see that a sense of grace does not lead to the minimizing of sin. The reverse is indeed the fact. It is in the presence of grace that sin in its gravity is fully declared, as is shown by the Lord's words, recorded in John 15:24.

In response to this confession and plea of Moses, God declared a fresh covenant, in which He pledged Himself to work wonders, which would manifest His power in the sight of His people, though He did not reveal what the nature of these wonders would be. What we do see in the rest of this chapter is that this fresh covenant was of a subsidiary nature, and did not in any wise cancel or modify the covenant of law which had just been established, since certain enactments of the law are freshly enforced.

We can well understand what is ordered in verses Exodus 33:11-17. The people had just fallen into the great sin of making the molten calf. The idea of this they had evidently brought up with them out of Egypt. God was going to drive out before them the nations of Canaan, that were sodden with forms of idolatry even worse than those of Egypt, hence the most complete separation from those peoples, from their gods, their altars and images, was enjoined. They themselves and all that pertained to their idolatrous worship were to be destroyed. God had entered into covenant with Israel, hence they were not to make any covenant with those nations.

In verses 18-26, we have certain details of the law recapitulated. It is not easy to discern the connection between the various items specified but we can see that if they observed them the rights of Jehovah their God would be safeguarded, on the one hand, and on the other, they would be a nation quite distinct in their observances, and thus marked off from other peoples. In verse 24 there is one statement which they had not previously heard. If they obeyed the command that their males should leave their homes to appear before the Lord thrice every year, God guaranteed the safety of their land and homes during their absence. What the wise man states in Proverbs 16:7, would thus be verified, and if they took God at His word all fear would be removed.

Again Moses was on the mount in the presence of God for forty days and forty nights, miraculously sustained without food or drink. Again the ten commandments were written on tables of stone and committed to the hands of Moses, so that he might bring them down to the people. Verse 29 records how he came down. In his hand he had the tables of stone: in his face there was a reflection of the glory, and, though not mentioned here, we know he also possessed "the patterns of things in the heavens" (Hebrews 9:23), which had been entrusted to him. The commandments made their full demand upon all the people and were plain for all to see. The full significance of the "patterns" was doubtless veiled to them, but we know they set forth God's way of meeting all the guilt which the law revealed.

Still the glory that shone in the face of Moses was connected with the law's demands, and therefore it bought fear to Aaron and the children of Israel. The significance of this episode is expounded to us in 2 Corinthians 3:6-18. The glory in the face of Moses was connected with a ministration of death and of condemnation, and hence he had to place a veil on his face, when in the presence of the people, though before the Lord he did not need it. In contrast to this, we know the glory of God — and not merely a reflection of it — in the face of Jesus Christ, and no veil is needed, for that glory speaks to us of life and liberty and not of condemnation and death.

The glory in the face of Moses was not something inherent in himself; indeed he was unconscious of it at first. Moreover presently it faded - it was "done away" (2 Corinthians 3:11). Here again we see the contrast, for the glory in the face of Jesus abides for ever. And further, it has a transforming effect on those who by faith behold it, whereas the glory in the face of Moses only produced fear.

Moses faithfully conveyed the Divine commands to the people, as we are told in the opening verses of Exodus 35:1-35, and particularly he impressed upon them the rest that was to be observed on the sabbath day. Not even a fire was to be kindled in all their homes. Being the sign of the covenant, there was to be a strict observance of it.

The rest of this chapter is taken up with the recital of all the materials that were commanded of God for the construction of the tabernacle and all its furniture; then form verse Exodus 33:20-23 we are told how very willingly the people responded to the orders they received. It is emphasized that every man and every woman had a part in the offering, and that what they gave or did was a willing service.

Then from verse 30 to the end of the chapter, we get the two men whom God had chosen pointed out to the people, with the plain intimation that the skill they now possessed to carry out the intricate work involved, was not their own but given to them of God.

In both these things we may find encouragement for ourselves. For the work of God today the same two things are needed — first the willing heart, and then the skill. Both are the gift of God, and in our day the skill expresses itself in the prophets and evangelists and pastors and teachers, of whom we read in Ephesians 4:11. These gifts are given, not for the construction of a tabernacle, but "for the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ." God's work still has the character of building up; for to "edify" is to build.

We now have four chapters (Exodus 36:1-38; Exodus 37:1-29; Exodus 38:1-31; Exodus 39:1-43), which are occupied with the record of how the Divine instructions were carried out under the hand of Bezaleel and Aholiab, who were the workmen specially commissioned. As the substance of these chapters has already been before us we shall content ourselves with just picking out details here and there.

First, let us notice verse Exodus 33:5 of chapter 36. When God moves in the hearts of men He can produce a response worthy of Himself. The people brought as their offering not merely what was wanted, but "much more than enough." We see something similar, and indeed even surpassing it, in 2 Corinthians 8:1-5. The Macedonian saints were "in a great trial of affliction;" that is to say, passing through wilderness experiences, and yet they gave "to their power," and even "beyond their power," exceeding the hopes of the Apostle, for they, "first gave their own selves to the Lord." It is not surprising that a response produced by the grace of God goes beyond that produced under the law fine though it might be.

Exodus 37:1-29. If these chapters be compared with the earlier chapters, small added details may be discovered; such as the fact that both the cherubim were of one piece with the mercy seat, illustrating the fact that where the blood of sacrifice is, there the demands of righteousness and of mercy are satisfied together.

Further, the order in which the various articles are mentioned is not as before. Then it was according to spiritual significance, now just in the order in which we should consider them, working from within to without.

Then in the latter part of Exodus 38:1-31, the sum of the tabernacle is given by the hand of Ithamar the priest, and the weights of gold and silver used is specified. As to this our reactions may well be two-fold. First to wonder that so much was available seeing the wilderness surroundings of the people; but second, that what was used was as nothing compared with the immense stores that were laid up by David for the temple which Solomon was able to build. Yet all the time it was true that, "The Most High dwelleth not in temples made with hands" (Acts 7:48).

In Exodus 39:1-43 we have details of the making of the priestly garments for Aaron and his sons; and then at the end of that chapter we learn how everything that had been made was presented before Moses for his inspection. All had to pass his eye, for he had received most stringent instructions on the mount that all must be made exactly according to the pattern entrusted to him. Moses saw that it was so, and blessed the people.

Should we today be any less careful to observe all the instructions afforded in the New Testament as to our behaviour, whether individually or as in the assembly of God? To ask this question is surely sufficient. The answer is obvious.