The Second Book of Moses, called Exodus
Exodus 32
Chapter XXXII · Vol. I, pp. 348–352
1 The people, in the absence of Moses, cause Aaron to make a calf. 7 God is angered thereby. 11 At the entreaty of Moses he is appeased. 15 Moses cometh down with the tables. 19 He breaketh them. 20 He destroyeth the calf. 21 Aaron's excuse for himself. 25 Moses causeth the idolaters to be slain. 30 He prayeth for the people.
1 AND when the a people saw that Moses b delayed to come down out of the mount, the people gathered themselves together unto Aaron, and said unto him, c 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 Most of them, ver. 3, 26. 1 Co. 10. 7.
b ch. 24. 18. Mat. 24. 48.
c Ac. 7. 40. Is. 41. 6, 7; 44. 9-20; 46. 1, 2, 6, 7. Je. 10. 3, 4, 9, 11, 13. Eze. 20. 7, 8. ch. 20. 3, 4. They wanted a visible representation of God; and it was made in the form of a calf or ox, in imitation of the Egyptians, who for many ages worshipped one of these animals for a deity.
2 And Aaron said unto them, Break off d the golden ear-rings which are in the ears of your wives, of your sons, and of your daughters, and bring them unto me.
d ch. 12. 35, 36. Eze. 16. 11, 12, 17.
3 And e all the people brake off the golden ear-rings which were in their ears, and brought them unto Aaron.
A.M. 2513. B.C. 1491.
e Is. 46.6. Ho. 2.8. Eze. 16.17.
4 Andf he received them at their hand; and fashioned it with a graving tool, after he had made it a molten calf:7 and they said, These be thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt.8
f 1 Ki. 12.28. Ps. 106.19-21. Ne. 9.18. Ro. 1.23. Eze. 20.8. Ac. 7.41. Am. 5.25.
7 The calf was intended not as a deity, but as a representation of JEHOVAH.
8 The Israelites did not intend to break the first commandment. They still believed in, and sought to worship, Jehovah. But they had been long taught to look for a visible manifestation of God—some person or thing embodying, or supposed to embody, his glory and power. Moses was such to them hitherto. He was gone. They desired something in his place. The Hebrew word translated 'gods' in the first and fourth verses is Elohim, the usual name of 'God,' and was used by the Israelites in that sense. Their meaning was, 'Make us God,' i.e. something which will represent and embody God. And Aaron said, 'This is thy God, O Israel, which brought thee up,' i.e. it is intended to represent him. This was a flagrant breach of the second commandment, though not of the first.—P.
5 And when Aaron saw it, g he built an altar before it; and Aaron made proclamation, and said, h To-morrow is a feast to the LORD.9
6 And i 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.
i Ac. 7.41. Le. 17.7. 1 Co. 10.7. ver. 18, 19.
7 And the LORD said unto Moses, k Go, get thee down; for thy people, which thou broughtest out of the land of Egypt, have corrupted themselves:
k De. 9.8, 12; 32.5. Ge. 6.11-13. ch. 33.1. God, as it were, renounces his relation to them, and calls them Moses' people, to prompt him to the greater solicitude for their preservation and welfare.
8 Theyl 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.
l Ps. 106.13. ch. 19.8; 24.7; ver. 4. 1 Ki. 12.28, with ch. 20.3, 4.
9 And the LORD said unto Moses, m I have seen this people, and, behold, it is a stiff-necked people:
m ch. 33.3; 34.9. De. 9.6, 13; 10.16; 31.27. Pr. 29.1. Is. 48.4. Je. 7.26; 16.19. Eze. 20.43, 44. Ne. 9.17, 29. Ac. 7.51. Ho. 4.16. Je. 5.3, 5.
10 Now therefore n 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.
11 Ando Moses besought the LORD1 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?
o Ps. 10.1; 44.24; 106.23. De. 9.18, 25, 26, 29. Ge. 18.23-32. Is. 64.12.
1 Heb. the face of the LORD.
12 Whereforep 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 q repent of this evil against thy people.
p Nu. 14.13-16. Jos. 7.9. De. 9.28; 32.27.
q ver. 14. Ge. 6.6. Ps. 90.13; 135.14; 106.44, 45. De. 32.36.
13 Rememberr 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, s and all this land that I have spoken of will I give unto your seed, and they shall inherit it for ever.
14 And the LORD t repented of the evil which he thought to do unto his people.2
t Ps. 106.44, 45; 78.38. Jonah 3.10. ver. 12, 28.
2 God, trying Moses in his office of mediator, as he tried Abraham in his relation of father, had said, ver. 10, 'Let me alone, that I may consume them,' as truly their sin deserved. Moses, faithful to his office of mediator, does not 'let God alone,' but intercedes for them, as Christ does for sinners. God therefore 'repented' of the evil which he thought to do, that is, changed not his mind, for God is not a man that he should change, 1 Sa. 15.29, but changed his relative decision, his decision without a mediator, to his decision having a mediator.—C.
15 And Moses turned, and u went down from the mount, and the two tables of x 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.
u ch. 24.18. De. 9.15.
16 And the y tables were the work of God, and the writing was the writing of God, graven upon the tables.
x The moral law, ch. 16.34; 25.21; 30.6, 36; 31.18; 34.29. Ps. 78.5. Is. 8.16, 20.
y ch. 31.18; 34.1. De. 9.10; 10.2, 4. 2 Co. 3.3, 7.
17 And when z Joshua heard. the noise of the people as they shouted, he said unto Moses, There is a noise of war in the camp.
z ch. 17.9; 24.13.
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;3 but the a noise of them that sing do I hear.4
3 Heb. weakness.
a ver. 6, 19. 1 Co. 10.7.
4 There is a characteristic evidence of historic verity in the different opinions of Joshua and Moses. Joshua, the warrior, hears the voice of war; Moses, the religious legislator, hears the voice of singing.—C.
19 And it came to pass, as soon as he came nigh unto the camp, that b he saw the calf, and the dancing; and Moses' c anger waxed hot, and he cast the tables out of his hands, and brake them beneath the mount.5
20 Andd he took the calf which they had made, and burnt it in the fire,6 and ground it to powder, and strewed it upon the water, and made the children of Israel drink of it.
d De. 9.21; 7.5, 25. Pr. 14.14. ver. 34. Je. 2.17, 19; 4.18; 5.25.
6 How Moses could burn gold, has been a chemical question, puzzling to commentators. The most probable solution is, that the calf, like the contents of the tabernacle, was wood, overlaid with gold. The wood was therefore burned, and the gold plates ground to powder; which, commingled with the charcoal, was strewed on the water which the people were required to drink. What a rebuke to idolatry!—C.
21 And Moses said unto Aaron, What did this people unto thee, that thou hast brought so great a sin upon them?
22 And Aaron said, Let not the anger of my lord wax hot: thou knowest the people, that they e are set on mischief.
23 Forf 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.
f ver. 1-4, 8.
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 g there came out this calf.7
g Col. 3.9. Zec. 8.16. Ge. 3.12, 13. See ver. 3, 4.
7 Aaron is not telling a falsehood to excuse his fault, but abbreviating the narrative to spare the waste of time. He cast the gold into the fire, and there came out (of the mould) the calf.—C.
25 And when Moses saw that the people were h naked, (for Aaron had made them naked unto their i shame among their8 enemies,)9
h ch. 33.4, 5. Ge. 3.10. 2 Ch. 28.19. Re. 3.18; 16.15.
i Ro. 2.23, 24; 6.21.
8 Heb. those that rose up against them.
9 The sense probably is: 'And when Moses saw that the people were broken loose (from all restraint, from all obedience, from all morality), for Aaron had (by making the calf) been the cause of their breaking loose, so that they would become objects of scorn to their enemies.' Jehovah, who had led them and protected them, they had now dishonoured; he would therefore lead them no longer.—P.
26 Then Moses stood in the gate of the camp, and said, k Who is on the LORD's side? let him come unto me. And l all the sons of Levi gathered themselves together unto him.
k 2 Ki. 9.32.
l Many, De. 9.20; 33.8, 9. Mal. 2.5, 6.
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 m his brother, and every man his companion, and every man his neighbour.
28 And the children of Levi did according to the word of Moses: and there fell of the people that day about three thousand n men.
A.M. 2513. B.C. 1491.
n Ringleaders in sin, ver. 30.
29 For Moses had 9 said, o Consecrate1 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.
9 Or, and Moses said, consecrate yourselves to-day to the LORD, because every man hath been against his son, and against his brother, &c.
o 1 Sa. 15.22. De. 13.6-9; 33.9, 10. Pr. 21.3. Zec. 13.3.
1 Heb. fill your hands.
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 p go up unto the LORD; peradventure I shall make an atonement for your sin.
p 1 Sa. 12.23; 14.6. 2 Sa. 16.12. Am. 5.15.
31 And Moses q returned unto the LORD, and said, Oh this people have sinned r a great sin, and have made them gods of gold!
q ch. 34.28. De. 9.18.
32 Yet s now, if thou wilt forgive their sin—; and if not, t blot me, I pray thee, out of thy book which thou hast written.2
t Ps. 69.28; 87.6. Ge. 7.4. De. 9.14; 25.19; 29.20. Ro. 9.3. Eze. 13.9, with Is. 4.3.
2 God, to test and evidence his mediatorial qualifications, had offered to Moses, ver. 10, to make him a great nation; but that honour he resigns, nay deprecates, for the sake of the poor ungrateful people whom he was sent to deliver, and prays that rather than be aggrandized by the rejection of the nation, he may be blotted, not out of the book of life, but out of the book of national genealogy, honour, and possession. C.—This noble self-devotion of the greatest of Old Testament worthies has no parallel, except in the case of the greatest of New Testament worthies—Paul. His language in Ro. 9.3 bears a striking resemblance to this passage.—P.
33 And the LORD said unto Moses, u Whosoever hath sinned against me, him will I blot out of my book.
34 Therefore now x 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 v visit their sin upon them.
x Is. 59.1, 2. ch. 23.20.
y ch. 20.5. Je. 5.9, 29; 9.9; 6.15; 23.2. Le. 18.25. Ps. 59.5; 89.32. 2 Sa. 12.10. Ho. 2.13; 8.13. Am. 3.14. Pr. 13.21.
35 And the LORD plagued the people, because they z made the calf, which Aaron made.3
z 2 Sa. 12.9. Ac. 7.42. See ver. 1-5.
3 The people made the calf by their order, Aaron by his act.—C.
Notes
Ver. 9. Stiff-necked signifies stubborn and disobedient, like unruly or unbroken bullocks, that will not submit their neck to the yoke.
Ver. 19. Moses brake the tables, not in rage, but in holy zeal, to mark that their sin might justly provoke God to give up his covenant-relation to them, and deprive them of his precious laws.
Ver. 25. They were deprived of their innocency, and of the favour and protection of their God, exposed to danger, and stained with the reproach of inconstancy among their enemies.
Ver. 29. This holy service, for the Lord's honour, prepared them for their sacred office.
Ver. 30. [Moses acted with extraordinary courage, determination, and wisdom. He divided the people into two sections—those who declared for Jehovah, and those who persevered in rebellion. Among the latter he sent the armed Levites with orders to kill, not all absolutely, but all the ringleaders, and all who would not submit to God's authority. They were to spare neither friend nor relative. P.]
Ver. 32. God hath his book of unfailing remembrance, Re. 20. 12; his book of special providential care and regard, Ps. 56. 8; 139. 16; 69. 28; 87. 6; and his book of all who believe to everlasting life, Da. 12. 1; Lu. 10. 20; Phi. 4. 3; Re. 3. 5; 13. 8; 20. 12. Moses does not here wish that he might be reprobated, accursed, or damned, rather than his people should perish; but refuses to survive them, or to have his seed raised up in their stead.
Reflections.—It is highly necessary that magistrates and ministers should attend to their charges closely, lest their absence occasion mischief: for those who reckon God's counsels slow, readily rush headlong into ruin by their own; and most men are much readier to serve the devil than God, and to sacrifice one lust, pride itself not excepted, for the promotion of another still more sottish and absurd. Yea, even after the most solemn transactions with God, men quickly and fearfully stumble into sin; and the choicest saints are too apt to follow a multitude to do evil. But surely it is highly shameful when professed Christians imitate these idolaters in their mad revelling and mirth! All our wickedness is obvious and odious before God. And let professors of the true religion beware how they so corrupt themselves, lest God be ashamed to acknowledge them as his people! What a mercy is it for a guilty nation when they have powerful intercessors at the throne of grace! They have to do with a gracious God, who takes pleasure to repent himself of the evil. Holy zeal for God, when prudently manifested on proper occasions, is highly becoming: but backsliders in heart shall be filled with their own ways, and have their idols broken before their eyes. And O, what misery and shame do good men bring on nations by joining them in their wickedness! The best excuse which they can make for their conduct is pitiful and absurd; and therefore it deeply concerns all men, in an evil day, to know whether they be on the Lord's side or on that of his enemies. It is both necessary, honourable, and useful, to employ the strictest impartiality in the matters of God, and to use the most earnest intercessions with God to avert, even for a time, his exact justice from falling upon a nation which is ripened for destruction. And we have here the greatest encouragement to expect a gracious answer to our prayers.