A Dying Man for Dying Men

A Dying Man for Dying Men Exodus 32:1-14 George Whitfield (1714-1770) [Preachers] will be men who have learned what it is to die to self, to human aims and personal ambitions; men who are willing to be ‘fools for Christ’s sake’, who will bear reproach and falsehood, who will labor and suffer, and whose supreme desire will be, not to gain earth’s accolades, but to win the Master’s [approval] when they appear before His awesome judgment seat. They will be men who will preach with broken hearts and tear-filled eyes, and upon whose ministries God will grant an extraordinary effusion of the Holy Spirit, and who will witness ‘signs and wonders following’ in the transformation of multitudes of human lives. Context 1. “All that the LORD has spoken, we will do” (19:8); “All the words that the LORD has spoken, we will do” (24:3); “All that the LORD has spoken, we will do, and we will be obedient” (24:7). 2. “Wait here for us until we return to you. And behold, Aaron and Hur are with you. Whoever has a dispute, let him go to them” (24:14). 3. God then gives a 7-chapter monologue specifically covering the religion of Israel. Horrific Rebellion (32:1-6) 1. Inverse: the new religion would be man-made 2. Dismissive: “this Moses”; while eating God’s manna, they turned their back on God. 3. Polytheistic – “Up, make us gods who will (plural) go before us” and “And they said, ‘These are your gods …’” 4. Costly – God had required nothing of the people so far, now they generously offer the gold that God miraculously provided for them Horrific Rebellion (32:1-6) 5. Idolatrous: • • • Aaron tries to pull back from polytheism to simple idolatry (one idol whom he identifies as Yahweh), but he is no longer in charge) Golden Calf better understood as “golden bull” Engraving Tool – in violation of God’s commands for altars 6. Farcical: the people choose to engage in a lie; it’s a deliberate fiction to be free from God’s uniqueness 7. Syncretistic: Aaron attempts to weave together the new Golden Bull religion with the very ceremonies the LORD had made. 8. Immoral: “rose up to play,” see Genesis 26:8; 39:14-17 God’s Burning Anger 1. God threatens to disown them – “who you brought up … this people” 2. God threatens to destroy the people outright – the language deliberately evokes Genesis 8 and Genesis 18-19 3. God challenges Moses to stand in the gap and, thus, leaves open the possibility to mercy. God’s Intercessor 1. Moses from the start is interceding for the people – when God says, “leave me alone” the idea is that Moses was already interceding. 2. Moses’s intercession is excessively urgent, to the point of personal weakness 3. Moses’s has intercession has 3 main arguments: • • • Remember your past deliverance Remember your reputation Remember your promises Reflections 1. For Unbelievers: “For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus” (1 Timothy 2:5). 2. For Believers: “I sought for a man among them who should build up the wall and stand in the breach before me for the land, that I should not destroy it, but I found none” (Ezekiel 22:30).