"A Covenant Appeal" Exodus 32:9-14

Introduction:

The children of Israel left Egypt on that original Passover with silver and gold given to them by the Egyptians.

This was just as the Lord had told Abraham it would happen back in Genesis 15:13-15.

The Lord told of their slavery, His judgement resulting in their deliverance and that the people would leave with great possessions.

But the deliverance of God took them into a dessert and out of the situation that they had grown used to in Egypt.

In our text this morning the people are at the base of Mt. Sinai and there is a serious problem that the Lord has with His people. In verses 9-10 He addresses the problem to Moses in verse 9-10. Look back at your text to verses 9-10.

I. The Problem (9-10).

The issue arose when Moses was on the mountain in the presence of God getting the Lord’s instruction contained in the Law. It was instruction regarding the building of the tabernacle as well as the moral law code.

God had inscribed into stone tablets by His own finger the original 10 Commandments. Moses would have these in hand when he began his descent down the mountain to eventually confront the people.

The people were becoming disenchanted with life in the wilderness and the absence of Moses, so they wanted Aaron to fashion a golden calf for them to worship. So Aaron took their precious metals and melted them down to fashion a golden calf as an idol for the people.

It is no mistake that Aaron made a young bull calf as an idol. Bulls were a symbol of strength in ancient pagan religions. Even the false god Apis in the Egyptian pantheon of gods was thought to be the god of fertility and was depicted as a bull-god.

But where would slaves get the gold and silver to fashion such gods? Remember they were given the plunder by the Egyptians so they would have had such things in their possession.

Once Aaron had done all of this he declared that this is the god who brought them out of their bondage in Egypt.

The he built an altar before the golden calf and declared that the next day would be a day of feasting to the “Lord”.

Funny isn’t it how Aaron connects what he fashioned by his own making and then connected their deliverance to it and he even went so far as to refer to it as “Yahweh”.

Of course the Lord puts all of this before Moses and confronts him with the sins of the people. Notice that the Lord even identifies the people with Moses instead of Himself and He even attributes their deliverance to Moses in verse 7.

The Lord calls them a “stiff-necked people” denoting their unwillingness to bow in submission to Him, they are a people of pride and rebellion.

And the Lord is ready to wipe them all out to start over with Moses in verse 10. The Lord promises to begin again starting with Moses and making a great nation out of Moses.

Just imagine the Lord will hit the reset button on the Abrahamic covenant and start again with Moses. All of His providential workings and promises to the tribes of Israel all discarded because of the impulses of their sinful nature. But Moses doesn’t entertain this for a second but instead he makes a plea before God in verses 11-13 that makes two foundational arguments that both are at the heart of God’s glorification in nature.

The first foundational argument is seen in verse 11-12 and it deals with the reputation of God. Look back at your text:

II. The Plea (11-13).

A. The Reputation of God (11-12).

Moses argues that if the Lord wipes the people out that the Egyptians would hear of it and think that God only delivered them to bring the out into the wilderness to wipe them off the face of the earth.

Remember that one of the reasons God was delivering His people out of Egypt was to glorify Himself before the Nations in conquering the world super-power of the day along with their false gods.

The second foundational argument is seen in verse 13. Look back at your text:

B. The Promises of God (13).

Moses argues that there are covenant promises to be considered. There is a context to the covenant promises of God that extended from the promise made to Abraham and ratified with Isaac and Israel, which was a reference to Jacob.

There is a history to God’s covenant promises that Moses is appealing to on behalf of the people of Isreal. This would be the people of the 12 tribes of Israel, the descendants of Jacob.

Both of theses foundational arguments that Moses pleas before the Lord beg the question of God’s sovereignty in making His eternal decrees and providentially carry them out.

If God knows the future then wouldn’t he have known what was going to take place? When He foretold of these events to Abraham, did the Lord not know that this would happen? Did the Lord not know that some of the treasure that they plundered from Egypt would be melted down and be used to fashion a golden calf as an idol?

Is there a loop hole in the omniscience of God? How could a God that is all knowing not know what these people would do?

Some say that this proves that God doesn’t know the future. It seems obvious if God was ready to wipe the people out and start with plan B. (Letter to Jessica).

Christian I would say that there is no loophole in the omniscience of God. Instead I would argue that God knew what would happen and He was using all of these events to reveal to His ultimate glory as He carries out His ultimate purpose in redemption. Look back at the Purpose of God in verse 14:

III. The Purpose of God (14).

The purpose of God is seen in the display of His mercy in relenting and turning from His wrath against the people.

Moses stands in between the wrath of God and the people as a mediator between God and man. The role of Moses is key here and make no mistake that the Lord is displaying the truth of His coming covenant fulfillment using the drama of these events at Mount Sinai that are taking place.

God knew they would do this because He decreed the role of Moses as a mediator to be on display before the people for generations to come. We have to understand that God’s decree of redemption and His providential purpose are not in conflict. But what is the purpose of God in this? It is all about Christ. Look at Deuteronomy 18:18-19:

Deuteronomy 18:18–19 “18 I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their brothers. And I will put my words in his mouth, and he shall speak to them all that I command him. 19 And whoever will not listen to my words that he shall speak in my name, I myself will require it of him.”

Moses is displaying in dramatic fashion theological truths concerning the Messiah to come. The Messiah of God will speak for God and He will be the mediator between God and man that all people are to look to. But there are more similarities than just being a mediator.

Both escaped being killed as infants; both lived for a time in Egypt and both came out of Egypt; both brought about the liberation of the people of God (Moses liberation from slavery in Egypt and Jesus from being in bondage to sin); both passed through water (Moses through the Red Sea and Jesus through the water of baptism); Moses spent 40 years in the wilderness and Jesus spent 40 days in the wilderness; Moses fasted for 40 days and nights and so did Jesus; Moses gave the Law from the mountain and Jesus gave the central core of His teaching from a mountain also, the sermon on the mount; Moses glowed with the radiance of the glory of God on the mountain and Jesus glowed on the mountain of transfiguration.

Christ centered theology is being depicted in the story of the whole of the Old Testament because Christ is the radiant center of the glory of God in redemption. And as such He is the core of all that God is doing in creation and providence. If we fail to realize this we will redesign what God has made and what God is doing to fit us and what we determine, even in the way we practice our Christianity.

Conclusion:

To have the infinite and eternal, all knowing God to relent because He scraps plan A to start again with plan B would be a dilemma of biblical proportions. How can a Holy God relent in His punishment of the wicked without compromising the absolute nature of His righteousness and justice.

This presents an apparent contradiction to the very character of God’s nature and being. He can only do this when the core of the radiance of His glory is all about Christ.

John 1:14 “14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.” Colossians 1:15 “15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation.” Colossians 2:9 “9 For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily,”

Christian God wants us to see the glory of Christ this morning and always! Because regardless of your struggles this morning whether it be with trials from the world or internal battles with your sin, regardless of what wilderness your are in, we must be captivated with Christ in all of His glory in our journey.

And specifically in His death, burial and resurrection. Because Christian in Christ is not only our identity but in Christ the dilemma is resolved. God upholds His justice by Christ as our substitute taking the just wrath of God upon Himself. And He holds out mercy and grace on the basis of Christ and by doing that His holiness and righteousness is not compromised.

Come to Him Christian. Our God is mighty and full of grace and mercy to His covenant people. Confess and receive of Him in Christ

This is how Moses made it in his wilderness too. Hebrews 11:27 tells us what the walk of faith was like foe Moses “27 By faith he left Egypt, not being afraid of the anger of the king, for he endured as seeing him who is invisible.”

Unbeliever believe the gospel. You need a mediator and there is only one that is acceptable before God, the man Christ Jesus. Let’s Pray!