Bible Commentaries

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge

Exodus 32

Clinging to a Counterfeit Cross
Introduction

1  The people, in the absence of Moses, cause Aaron to make a calf.
7  God informs Moses, who intercedes for Israel, and prevails.
15  Moses comes down with the tables.
19  He breaks them.
20  He destroys the calf.
22  Aaron's excuse for himself.
25  Moses causes the idolaters to be slain.
30  He prays for the people.
Verse 1

And when the people saw that Moses delayed to come down out of the mount, the people gathered themselves together unto Aaron, and said unto him, Up, make us gods, which shall go before us; for as for this Moses, the man that brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we wot not what is become of him.
A. M. 2513. B.C. 1491. An. Ex. Is. 1. Ab. delayed
24:18, Deuteronomy 9:9, Matthew 24:43, 2 Peter 3:4
Up
Genesis 19:14, 44:4, Joshua 7:13
make
20:3-5, Deuteronomy 4:15-18, Acts 7:40, 17:29, 19:26
which shall
13:21, 33:3,14,15
the man
7,11, 14:11, 16:3, Hosea 12:13, Micah 6:4
we wot
Genesis 21:26, 39:8, 44:15, Matthew 24:48, 2 Peter 3:4
Verse 2

And Aaron said unto them, Break off the golden earrings, which are in the ears of your wives, of your sons, and of your daughters, and bring them unto me.
12:35,36, Genesis 24:22,47, Judges 8:24-27, Ezekiel 16:11,12,17, Hosea 2:8
Verse 3

And all the people brake off the golden earrings which were in their ears, and brought them unto Aaron.
Judges 17:3,4, Isaiah 40:19,20, 46:6, Jeremiah 10:9
Verse 4

And he received them at their hand, and fashioned it with a graving tool, after he had made it a molten calf: and they said, These be thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt.
fashioned
20:23, Deuteronomy 9:16, Psalms 106:19-21, Isaiah 44:9,10, 46:6, Acts 7:41, 17:29
a graving
28:9,11
calf
1 Kings 12:28,32, 2 Kings 10:29, 2 Chronicles 11:15, 13:8, Hosea 8:4,5, 10:5, 13:2
These
8, Judges 17:3,4, Nehemiah 9:18, Isaiah 40:18,19, Romans 1:21-23
which brought
1,8, 20:2
Verse 5

And when Aaron saw it, he built an altar before it; and Aaron made proclamation, and said, To morrow is a feast to the LORD.
Aaron
1 Samuel 14:35, 2 Kings 16:11, Hosea 8:11,14
made proclamation
Leviticus 23:2,4,21,37, 1 Kings 21:9, 2 Kings 10:20, 2 Chronicles 30:5
a feast
4, 10:9, 12:14, 1 Kings 12:32,33, 1 Corinthians 5:8
Verse 6

And they rose up early on the morrow, and offered burnt offerings, and brought peace offerings; and the people sat down to eat and to drink, and rose up to play.
offered
24:4,5
sat down
No doubt at this feast they sacrificed after the manner of the Egyptians.
Numbers 25:2, Judges 16:23-25, Amos 2:8, 8:10, Acts 7:41,42, 1 Corinthians 10:7, Revelation 11:10
Verse 7

And the LORD said unto Moses, Go, get thee down; for thy people, which thou broughtest out of the land of Egypt, have corrupted themselves:
Go
19:24, 33:1, Deuteronomy 9:12, Daniel 9:24
thy people
1,11
corrupted
Genesis 6:11,12, Deuteronomy 4:16, 32:5, Judges 2:19, Hosea 9:9
Verse 8

They have turned aside quickly out of the way which I commanded them: they have made them a molten calf, and have worshipped it, and have sacrificed thereunto, and said, These be thy gods, O Israel, which have brought thee up out of the land of Egypt.
have turned
Deuteronomy 9:16, Judges 2:17
which I
20:3,4,23
These be
4, 1 Kings 12:28
Verse 9

And the LORD said unto Moses, I have seen this people, and, behold, it is a stiffnecked people:
I have seen
Deuteronomy 9:13, Jeremiah 13:27, Hosea 6:10
a stiff-necked
33:3,5, 34:9, Deuteronomy 9:6,13, 10:16, 31:27, 2 Chronicles 30:8, Nehemiah 9:17, Psalms 78:8, Proverbs 29:1, Isaiah 48:4, Zechariah 7:11,12, Acts 7:51
Verse 10

Now therefore let me alone, that my wrath may wax hot against them, and that I may consume them: and I will make of thee a great nation.
let me alone
Genesis 18:32,33, 32:26-28, Numbers 14:19,20, 16:22,45-48, Deuteronomy 9:14,19, Jeremiah 14:11, 15:1, James 5:16
my wrath
11,19, 22:24
and I will
Numbers 14:12, Deuteronomy 9:14,19
Verse 11

And Moses besought the LORD his God, and said, LORD, why doth thy wrath wax hot against thy people, which thou hast brought forth out of the land of Egypt with great power, and with a mighty hand?
besought
Deuteronomy 9:18-20,26-29, Psalms 106:23
the Lord his God
Heb. the face of the Lord. why doth.
Numbers 11:11, 16:22, Deuteronomy 9:18-20, Psalms 74:1,2, Isaiah 63:17, Jeremiah 12:1,2
which thou
Verse 12

Wherefore should the Egyptians speak, and say, For mischief did he bring them out, to slay them in the mountains, and to consume them from the face of the earth? Turn from thy fierce wrath, and repent of this evil against thy people.
should
Numbers 14:13-16, Deuteronomy 9:28, 32:26,27, Joshua 7:9, Psalms 74:18, 79:9,10, Ezekiel 20:9,14,22
Turn from
Deuteronomy 13:17, Joshua 7:26, Ezra 10:14, Psalms 78:38, 85:3
repent
14, Genesis 6:6, Deuteronomy 32:36, Psalms 90:13, 106:45, Amos 7:3,6, Jonah 3:9, Zechariah 8:14
Verse 13

Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, thy servants, to whom thou swarest by thine own self, and saidst unto them, I will multiply your seed as the stars of heaven, and all this land that I have spoken of will I give unto your seed, and they shall inherit it for ever.
Remember
Leviticus 26:42, Deuteronomy 7:8, 9:27, Luke 1:54,55
to whom
Genesis 22:16, 26:3,4, Hebrews 6:13
I will multiply
Genesis 12:2,7, 13:15,16, 15:5,7,18, 26:4, 28:13,14, 35:11,12, 48:16
Verse 14

And the LORD repented of the evil which he thought to do unto his people.
Deuteronomy 32:26, 2 Samuel 24:16, 1 Chronicles 21:15, Psalms 106:45, Jeremiah 18:8, 26:13,19, Joel 2:13, Jonah 3:10, 4:2
Verse 15

And Moses turned, and went down from the mount, and the two tables of the testimony were in his hand: the tables were written on both their sides; on the one side and on the other were they written.
turned
24:18, Deuteronomy 9:15
the testimony
16:34, 40:20, Deuteronomy 5:22, Psalms 19:7
written
Revelation 5:1
Verse 16

And the tables were the work of God, and the writing was the writing of God, graven upon the tables.
31:18, 34:1,4, Deuteronomy 9:9-11,15, 10:1, 2 Corinthians 3:3,7, Hebrews 8:10
Verse 17

And when Joshua heard the noise of the people as they shouted, he said unto Moses, There is a noise of war in the camp.
Joshua
17:9, 24:13
they shouted
18, Ezra 3:11-13, Psalms 47:1
There is a noise
Joshua 6:5,10,16,20, Judges 15:14, 1 Samuel 4:5,6, 17:20,52, Job 39:25, Jeremiah 51:14, Amos 1:14, 2:2
Verse 18

And he said, It is not the voice of them that shout for mastery, neither is it the voice of them that cry for being overcome: but the noise of them that sing do I hear.
being overcome
Heb. weakness. but the.
15:1-18, Daniel 5:4,23
Verse 19

And it came to pass, as soon as he came nigh unto the camp, that he saw the calf, and the dancing: and Moses' anger waxed hot, and he cast the tables out of his hands, and brake them beneath the mount.
he saw
4-6, Deuteronomy 9:16,17
the dancing
15:20, 2 Samuel 6:14, Lamentations 5:15
anger
11, Numbers 12:3, Matthew 5:22, Mark 3:5, 10:14, Ephesians 4:26
brake them
Deuteronomy 9:17, 27:26, Jeremiah 31:32, Zechariah 11:10,11,14
Verse 20

And he took the calf which they had made, and burnt it in the fire, and ground it to powder, and strawed it upon the water, and made the children of Israel drink of it.
took the calf
How truly contemptible must the object of their idolatry appear, when they were obliged to drink their god, reduced to powder, and strewed on the water! Some have asked, how gold, the most ductile and ponderous of all metals, could have been stamped into dust, and strewed on the water. In De 9:21, this is fully explained. I took, says Moses, your sin, the calf which ye had made, and burnt it with fire; that is, melted it down, probably into ingots or gross plates, and stamped it, beat it into thin laminæ, something like our gold leaf, and ground it very small, even until it was as small as dust, which might be very easily done by the action of the hands, when beat into thin plates or leaves as the original words ekkoth, and dak, imply.
Deuteronomy 7:5,25, 9:21, 2 Kings 23:6,15
made the
Proverbs 1:31, 14:14
Verse 21

And Moses said unto Aaron, What did this people unto thee, that thou hast brought so great a sin upon them?
Genesis 20:9, 26:10, Deuteronomy 13:6-8, 1 Samuel 26:19, Joshua 7:19-26, 1 Kings 14:16, 21:22, 2 Kings 21:9-11
Verse 22

And Aaron said, Let not the anger of my lord wax hot: thou knowest the people, that they are set on mischief.
knowest
14:11, 15:24, 16:2-4,20,28, 17:2-4, Deuteronomy 9:7,24
that they are
Deuteronomy 31:27, 1 Samuel 15:24, Psalms 36:4, Proverbs 4:16
Verse 23

For they said unto me, Make us gods, which shall go before us: for as for this Moses, the man that brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we wot not what is become of him.
1-4,8
Verse 24

And I said unto them, Whosoever hath any gold, let them break it off. So they gave it me: then I cast it into the fire, and there came out this calf.
So they
4, Genesis 3:12,13, Luke 10:29, Romans 3:10
Verse 25

And when Moses saw that the people were naked; (for Aaron had made them naked unto their shame among their enemies:)
naked
The term naked may mean either that they were unarmed and defenceless, or ashamed from the consciousness of guilt.
33:4-6, Genesis 3:10, Isaiah 47:3, Hosea 2:3, Micah 1:11, Revelation 3:17,18, 16:15
Aaron
Deuteronomy 9:20, 2 Chronicles 28:19
shame
Ezekiel 16:63, Daniel 12:2, Romans 6:21
their enemies
Heb. those that rose up against them.
Verse 26

Then Moses stood in the gate of the camp, and said, Who is on the LORD'S side? let him come unto me. And all the sons of Levi gathered themselves together unto him.
Who is on
Joshua 5:13, 2 Samuel 20:11, 2 Kings 9:32, Matthew 12:30
Verse 27

And he said unto them, Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, Put every man his sword by his side, and go in and out from gate to gate throughout the camp, and slay every man his brother, and every man his companion, and every man his neighbour.
slay every man
26,29, Numbers 25:5,7-12, Deuteronomy 33:8,9, Luke 14:26, 2 Corinthians 5:16
Verse 28

And the children of Levi did according to the word of Moses: and there fell of the people that day about three thousand men.
children
Deuteronomy 33:9, Malachi 2:4-6
there fell
Numbers 16:32-35,41, 1 Corinthians 10:8, Hebrews 2:2,3
Verse 29

For Moses had said, Consecrate yourselves to day to the LORD, even every man upon his son, and upon his brother; that he may bestow upon you a blessing this day.
Moses
Numbers 25:11-13, Deuteronomy 13:6-11, 33:9,10, 1 Samuel 15:18-22, Proverbs 21:3, Joel 2:12-14, Zechariah 13:3, Matthew 10:37
Consecrate
Heb. fill your hands.
Verse 30

And it came to pass on the morrow, that Moses said unto the people, Ye have sinned a great sin: and now I will go up unto the LORD; peradventure I shall make an atonement for your sin.
Ye have
31, 1 Samuel 2:17, 12:20,23, 2 Samuel 12:9, 2 Kings 17:21, Luke 7:47, 15:18
peradventure
2 Samuel 16:12, Amos 5:15, Jonah 3:9, 2 Timothy 2:25
an atonement
32, Numbers 16:47, 25:13, Job 42:7,8, Romans 9:3, Galatians 3:13, James 5:16
Verse 31

And Moses returned unto the LORD, and said, Oh, this people have sinned a great sin, and have made them gods of gold.
returned
34:28, Deuteronomy 9:18,19
sinned
30, Ezra 9:6,7,15, Nehemiah 9:33, Daniel 9:5,8,11
made
20:4,23
Verse 32

Yet now, if thou wilt forgive their sin--; and if not, blot me, I pray thee, out of thy book which thou hast written.
if thou
Numbers 14:19, Daniel 9:18,19, Amos 7:2, Luke 23:34
blot me
Allusion may be made to the registry of births, in which those born of a particular tribe were entered in the list of their respective families under that tribe. This was the book of life; and when any died, his name might be considered as blotted out of this list. But as Moses addressed the Lord, he undoubtedly referred, by faith, to the book of God's remembrance.
10, Deuteronomy 9:14, 25:19, 29:20, Psalms 56:8, 69:28, 139:16, Ezekiel 13:9, Daniel 12:1, Romans 9:3, Philippians 4:3, Revelation 3:5, 17:8, 21:27, 22:19
Verse 33

And the LORD said unto Moses, Whosoever hath sinned against me, him will I blot out of my book.
sinned
Leviticus 23:30, Psalms 69:28, Ezekiel 18:4
my book
Psalms 109:13,14, Philippians 4:3, Revelation 13:8, 20:12
Verse 34

Therefore now go, lead the people unto the place of which I have spoken unto thee: behold, mine Angel shall go before thee: nevertheless in the day when I visit I will visit their sin upon them.
mine Angel
23:20, 33:2,14,15, Numbers 20:16, Isaiah 63:9
the day
20:5, Numbers 14:27-30, Deuteronomy 32:35, Jeremiah 5:9,29, Amos 3:14, Matthew 23:35, Romans 2:4-6
Verse 35

And the LORD plagued the people, because they made the calf, which Aaron made.
25, 2 Samuel 12:9,10, Matthew 27:3-7, Acts 1:18, 7:41

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