After studying through the several chapters of instructions that Yahweh gave to Moses regarding the building and design of the tabernacle, our previous text brought our attention to what the Israelites were doing at the foot of Mount Sinai while Moses was meeting with God. Sadly, even while God was giving his prophet the plans for the tent where He would dwell in the midst of His newly redeemed people, they were already turning aside from the covenant that they promised to keep. They gathered around Aaron and demanded that he make an idol for them, and though Aaron apparently tried to pretend that the golden calf represented Yahweh, both he and the Israelites were fully guilty of violating the First and Second Commandments. Although God said that He ready to consume Israel in His wrath, Moses interceded for the people, and the LORD relented from His anger.

Yet that is not the end of the incident of the golden calf. Although Moses’ initial intercession stayed the wrath of God from falling upon the Israelites, the people had still committed a great sin that could not be simply overlooked. Thus, while the immediate danger of God’s fiery judgment was no longer overhead, the remainder of chapter 32 deals with the ongoing consequence of Israel’s idolatry.

A BROKEN COVENANT // VERSES 15-20

Even though we already know what the Israelites have been doing, the suspense of the passage is raised again by slowly taking us down the mountain with Moses and Joshua.

Then Moses turned and went down from the mountain with the two tablets of the testimony in his hand, tablets that were written on both sides; on the front and on the back they were written. The tablets were the work of God, and the writing was the writing of God, engraved on the tablets. When Joshua heard the noise of the people as they shouted, he said to Moses, “There is a noise of war in the camp.” But he said, “It is not the sound of shouting for victory, or the sound of the cry of defeat, but the sound of singing that I hear.”

These four verses force us to wait in suspense over what will happen when Moses encounters the people. Verses 15-16 linger over the tablets that Moses carried with him down the mountain, reminding us as explicitly as possible that these were the work of God and written by God Himself. As one commentator notes, these tablets were the most precious and valuable items on earth, and they were the written documentation of God’s covenant with Israel. A covenant that the people had already broken.

Verses 17-18 then linger on the noise that Moses and Joshua hear coming down the mountain. Even though the people were supposedly having a feast to Yahweh (at least that is what Aaron told himself), Joshua mistakes the noise of their feasting for the sounds of war. But Moses points out that the noise is neither of defeat nor victory; it is the sound of partying. As Ryken notes, “the Israelites were singing to an image of a grass-eating, milk-producing, moo-sounding cow. Someone would almost have to be drunk to worship such a deity, and the Israelites probably were.”

Indeed, the description of Israel as making noise reminds me of C. S. Lewis’ thought on noise through the mouth of the demon Screwtape:

Music and silence—how I detest them both! How thankful we should be that ever since our Father entered Hell—though longer ago than humans, reckoning in light years, could express—no square inch of infernal space and no moment of infernal time has been surrendered to either of those abominable forces, but all has been occupied by Noise—Noise, the grand dynamism, the audible expression of all that is exultant, ruthless, and virile—Noise which alone defends us from silly qualms, despairing scruples, and impossible desires. We will make the whole universe a noise in the end. We have already made great strides in this direction as regards the Earth. The melodies and silences of Heaven will be shouted down in the end. But I admit we are not yet loud enough, or anything like it. Research is in progress.

Verse 19 then describes the bursting of the dam.

And as soon as he came near the camp and saw the calf and the dancing, Moses’ anger burned hot, and he threw the tablets out of his hands and broke them at the foot of the mountain. He took the calf that they had made and burned it with fire and ground it to powder and scattered it on the water and made the people of Israel drink it.

Even though the LORD had already told Moses what was happening at the foot of the mountain, the prophet’s anger was kindled whenever he saw it with his own eyes. Moses then takes two immediate actions. First, he threw the tablets to the ground and broke them in front of the people. Since Moses is not rebuked for this action, we can safely assume that Moses was not being controlled by his anger, which would have been sinful. Rather, as Stuart argues, “Moses’ breaking of the tablets was an important symbolic act done carefully, deliberately, and openly for the benefit of the Israelites… It was a reasoned, overt act demonstrating a fact (the covenant had been broken) and warning of a consequence (divine wrath—far worse than the anger of Moses)” (677). Furthermore, Ryken comments that:

By breaking the tablets, Moses showed that the Israelites had broken the whole law. The Bible says that “whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it” (Jas. 2:10). Actually, the Israelites stumbled at more than one point. But the principle still applies: By worshiping the golden calf, they had broken the whole law of God.

Second, Moses destroyed the golden calf, which all of Israel is blamed for making. Again, Moses’ actions here do not indicate that he was blind with rage. Instead, he burned the idol with fire, ground up the charred remains into powder, and scattered them into Israel’s water source so that the people would be drinking their own false god. Stuart points out that Moses probably did not have all of Israel line up to drink from the water; rather, by scattering it over their water source, every time they got a drink of water they were drinking the golden calf. This all was a means of thoroughly polluting the gold used for the golden calf. It was burned to disfigurement, ground into dust, and drunk.

But what is the next logical implication of what became of the golden calf? The god that they were just worshiping literally became a part of their excrement.

If that seems undignified and offensive, that is precisely the point. Sin, particularly idolatry, is undignified and offensive to the Holy One. Also, this is not the last time that the Bible leaves us to make such an implication. The wicked Queen Jezebel died by fall from a window and being eaten by dogs. Thus, the once seemingly great queen may very well have ended up fouling the sandal of some poor Israelite. This is a strong warning to we whose hearts are idol factories. In 1 Kings 11:4, false gods are referred to using the same word that is translated as vanity all through Ecclesiastes. Idols are nothings, and as Psalm 115:8 warns, “those who make them become like them; so do all who trust in them.”

A COWARDLY PRIEST // VERSES 21-24

In these verses, Moses confronts Aaron, who was clearly supposed to be in charge of the people while Moses was upon the mountain, and he does so with only one question: What did the people do to you that you have brought such a great sin upon them? Notice that the careful wording of this question shows that Moses knew, whether through revelation or simply intuition, where the fault lay. He knew that the people were at fault somehow for pressing Aaron into making the golden calf. However, he is by no means excusing Aaron, for he places the blame squarely on Aaron for bringing such a great sin upon them.

What then is Aaron’s answer?

And Aaron said, “Let not the anger of my lord burn hot. You know the people, that they are set on evil. For they said to me, ‘Make us gods who shall go before us. As for this Moses, the man who brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.’ So I said to them, ‘Let any who have gold take it off.’ So they gave it to me, and I threw it into the fire, and out came this calf.”

Everything that Aaron says in verses 22-23 is technically true. He says that the people are set on evil, and that is sadly true. He recounts their demand for false gods to go before them, which is also true. Yet his initial words hint at the blame-shifting that will come in verse 24. Though Aaron was the older brother, he called Moses my lord, which may seem like a moment of humility and reverence. However, it is more likely a continuation of Aaron’s cowardice, and his plea for Moses to soften his anger indicates that he does not view this as Moses does, as a great sin.

But by the time we reach verse 24, Aaron is fully blame-shifting and attempting to soften the truth. First, he did not tell the Israelites, “Let any who have gold take it off.” He told the men of Israel to take the earrings from their wives and children. Second, he made it seem as though he had no hand in shaping the gold into the image of a calf, but that it just miraculously came out in the form of a calf. There are some who read this as a contradiction of verse 4, which said that Aaron “fashioned it with an engraving tool,” and it is. But it is not a biblical contradiction; it is simply telling us the lie that Aaron told Moses.

Aaron here is an example of the negative for us. He is a model of what not to do whenever we are confronted with our sin. First, we should not attempt to minimize our sin, as Aaron did. Second, we should not attempt to cover up or shift the blame of our sin, as Aaron also did. In 1 John 1:8-10, the apostle gives us similar instruction. Verses 8 and 10 warn us against being like Aaron in this text, while verse 9 gives us the proper action to take regarding our sin:

If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.

A BLOODY ORDINATION // VERSES 25-30

Verse 25 sets us up for the next action of Moses: And when Moses saw that the people had broken loose (for Aaron had let them break loose, to the derision of their enemies)… While Aaron attempted to shift the blame onto the people and even onto the fire, Moses still held Aaron properly responsible as the one in authority over them. The people descended into pagan partying because Aaron had let them do so.

Sadly, this failure of both Aaron and the people would lead to God’s people being derided by their enemies, and that is all too common today as well. One of the most tragic effects of a Christian’s sin is the often the derision that brings from those who oppose Christianity.

Moses’ vision of the people in their sin leads him to his third action against the Israelites:

then Moses stood in the gate of the camp and said, “Who is on the LORD’s side? Come to me.” And all the sons of Levi gathered around him.

Moses began with a very important question: “Who is on Yahweh’s side? Come to me.” By displaying that he was himself on Yahweh’s side, Moses was modeling what Aaron ought to have done. Even if Moses stood alone at the gate, he was prepared to stand with the LORD against the entire nation if need be.

But notice that he also gave an opportunity for the Israelites to stand beside him, which only the Levites took advantage of. Although some commentators suggest that the Levites also abstained from worshiping the golden calf, it seems more likely that they were idolaters just like the rest of Israel, but when called by Moses to stand on the side of the LORD, they repented of their former sin. In this way, the Levites are a picture of Christians today. Just as the Levites were just as sinful as the rest of Israel, Christians today are just as guilty of sin as anyone else. Indeed, Paul said that God saved him, even though he put God’s people death, in order to use him as an example of God’s mercy and grace. That is also Paul’s theme in 1 Corinthians 1 as well. God very seldom chooses the best and brightest but instead uses the weak and foolish for His purposes. Instead, like the Levites, Christians are marked by repenting of sin and standing with Christ, the greater Moses and Yahweh made flesh.

And he said to them, “Thus says the LORD God of Israel, ‘Put your sword on your side each of you, and go to and fro from gate to gate throughout the camp, and each of you kill his brother and his companion and his neighbor.’” And the sons of Levi did according to the word of Moses. And that day about three thousand men of the people fell. And Moses said, “Today you have been ordained for the service of the LORD, each one at the cost of his son and of his brother, so that he might bestow a blessing upon you this day.”

Again, Moses did not issue this command while blinded with rage. In fact, the command did not come from Him at all. The frequent phrase of the prophets, thus says the LORD, emphasizes that this was a direct order from Yahweh. The Levites were simply obeying Moses; they were obeying the true God of Israel. Indeed, the fact that Yahweh still refers to Himself as the God of Israel is a glimmer of hope in the midst of this very blood judgment. Even though they had broken His covenant, Yahweh had not abandoned Israel. Indeed, the fact that only three thousand men were killed signals that this was an act of discipline rather than wholesale destruction.

The question is why God gave this horrible duty to the Levites. If he had wanted to, God could have punished the people all by himself. Instead he gave the Levites the power to carry out summary executions, which they loyally exercised. The Levites obeyed God by putting unrepentant sinners to death. And they were commended for this. After they had finished their grim work, “Moses said, ‘You have been set apart to the Lord today, for you were against your own sons and brothers, and he has blessed you this day’” (v. 29). Because of their unflinching obedience and unrelenting opposition to sin, God consecrated the Levites for his sacred ministry.

A PRAYER & A PLAGUE // VERSES 31-35

With three thousand Israelites now slain by the Levites at the LORD’s command, our text moves onto the next day, where Moses resolves now to stay God’s anger once more.

The next day Moses said to the people, “You have sinned a great sin. And now I will go up to the LORD; perhaps I can make atonement for your sin.” So Moses returned to the LORD and said, “Alas, this people has sinned a great sin. They have made for themselves gods of gold. But now, if you will forgive their sin—but if not, please blot me out of your book that you have written.” But the Lord said to Moses, “Whoever has sinned against me, I will blot out of my book. But now go, lead the people to the place about which I have spoken to you; behold, my angel shall go before you. Nevertheless, in the day when I visit, I will visit their sin upon them.” Then the LORD sent a plague on the people, because they made the calf, the one that Aaron made.

Notice that our text does not end on a cheerful note. Moses intercedes for the people, but God seems to deny His prayer, affirming that He will still judge Israel for their sin and even though He will still send them into Canaan, He will evidently not go with them, lest He visit their sin upon them. The chapter then ends with Yahweh sending a plague upon the Israel and again emphasizing that Aaron did indeed make the golden calf.

All of this is for good reason. The overall theme of these verses is that Israel had committed a great sin. But they did not understand the greatness of their sin, so the broken tablets, their being forced to drink their idol, and the death of three thousand Israelites were all intended to teach Israel the severity of their sin. They same is still true of us today. Like Aaron and the Israelites, we tend to want God to simply pass over our sins as though they were harmless mistakes. God’s acts of discipline, therefore, are very often intended to teach us this very lesson: that all sin is great. All is a rejection and rebellion against the Lord of Glory Himself; thus, there is no such thing as a little sin.

Moses alone in all the earth understood this. Perhaps Moses waited until the next day to ascend Sinai because he was thinking over what he could possibly say to the LORD. But whatever the time, Moses came up with a plan, a sorrowful and terrible plan, a plan that none of the Israelites could possibly understand. He told the people, You have sinned a great sin. And now I will go up to the LORD; perhaps I can make atonement for your sin. He hoped to find a way to atone for Israel’s great sin, that is, Moses wanted to satisfy God’s righteousness and altogether justified anger. How did he think to do that?

So Moses returned to the LORD and said, “Alas, this people has sinned a great sin. They have made for themselves gods of gold. But now, if you will forgive their sin—but if not, please blot me out of your book that you have written.”

There is some debate as to what book Moses is referring to. Is he speaking of God’s book of all who are living or of God’s book of life containing the names of all who are eternally His? Ryken answers this question, saying:

Either way, the point is really the same. Whether he was thinking in terms of earthly life or eternal life, Moses was willing to die for his people. This seems all the more remarkable when we remember that God had offered to destroy everyone else and start over with Moses (Exod. 32:10). But Moses said, “Look, if you have to destroy somebody, destroy me, Lord, but save my people!” Or to put it more provocatively, Moses was willing to be damned if only Israel could be saved.

Like Paul with his fellow Jews, Moses was willing to be cut off from God in order to save his people. Yet however noble Moses’ intension was, the LORD turned it down. The stark reality is that Moses’ own life as a substitution could not have paid the debt of even this single great sin that Israel had committed; how much less the other sins that they have committed and would still yet committed! Moses, who was himself a sinful man, could not make atonement. He could not give himself in order to satisfy God’s justice. That is why our text ends with the LORD bringing a plague upon Israel.

For us, however, the end of the story is much better. Though you and I are no less sinful and idolatrous than the Israelites and no less prone to make light of or excuse our sin than Aaron, we have One who is greater than Moses who has made atonement for our sins. Being both eternal God and the only sinless man, Jesus alone was fit and able to give Himself as a perfect and lasting atonement for all of the sins of all His people. And that is precisely what He did, not upon Sinai, but upon the hill of Golgotha. Not within the cloud of God’s glory, but under the heavy weight of God’s divine wrath. Upon the cross, Christ became a curse Himself to liberate us from the curse of sin, to bear the full penalty of our sins Himself, and to impute to us His perfect righteousness.

Therefore, as we come to the Table of our King, let us give thanks that Christ has indeed put an end to all our sin, that He has paid the divine penalty, that He has made once for all atonement. As we eat this bread and drink this cup, we cast our minds back to the cross, where sword of judgment struck Christ in our place, so that we may taste and see the goodness of God through Him.