Exodus 32-35

Exodus 32

Exodus 32 (NKJV)

1 Now when the people saw that Moses delayed coming down from the mountain, the people gathered together to Aaron, and said to him, “Come, make us gods that shall go before us; for 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.”

2 And Aaron said to them, “Break off the golden earrings which are in the ears of your wives, your sons, and your daughters, and bring them to me.”

3 So all the people broke off the golden earrings which were in their ears, and brought them to Aaron.

4 And he received the gold from their hand, and he fashioned it with an engraving tool, and made a molded calf. Then they said, “This is your god, O Israel, that brought you out of the land of Egypt!”

5 So when Aaron saw it, he built an altar before it. And Aaron made a proclamation and said, “Tomorrow is a feast to the Lord.”

Two types of preachers in this World.

Moses’: those who go to the Mountain of God and by staying in the presence of God in prayer receive revelation of who he is and hear his truth and know his ways and bring that down to the people.

Aarons: Those who never climb the Mountain of God but rather take the desires of the people and fashion a god in the likeness of those desires.

2 Timothy 4:2-4 “2 Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching. 3 For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; 4 and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables.”

6 Then they rose early on the next day, offered burnt offerings, and brought peace offerings; and the people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to play.

7 And the Lord said to Moses, “Go, get down! For your people whom you brought out of the land of Egypt have corrupted themselves.

8 They have turned aside quickly out of the way which I commanded them. They have made themselves a molded calf, and worshiped it and sacrificed to it, and said, ‘This is your god, O Israel, that brought you out of the land of Egypt!’ ”

9 And the Lord said to Moses, “I have seen this people, and indeed it is a stiff-necked people!

10 Now therefore, let Me alone, that My wrath may burn hot against them and I may consume them. And I will make of you a great nation.”

11 Then Moses pleaded with the Lord his God, and said: “Lord, why does Your wrath burn hot against Your people whom You have brought out of the land of Egypt with great power and with a mighty hand?

12 Why should the Egyptians speak, and say, ‘He brought them out to harm them, to kill them in the mountains, and to consume them from the face of the earth’? Turn from Your fierce wrath, and relent from this harm to Your people.

13 Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, Your servants, to whom You swore by Your own self, and said to them, ‘I will multiply your descendants as the stars of heaven; and all this land that I have spoken of I give to your descendants, and they shall inherit it forever.’ ”

The true heart of a Shepherd, pleading for Mercy for the people that have gone astray

14 So the Lord relented from the harm which He said He would do to His people.

15 And Moses turned and went down from the mountain, and the two tablets of the Testimony were in his hand. The tablets were written on both sides; on the one side and on the other they were written.

16 Now the tablets were the work of God, and the writing was the writing of God engraved on the tablets.

17 And when Joshua heard the noise of the people as they shouted, he said to Moses, “There is a noise of war in the camp.”

18 But he said: “It is not the noise of the shout of victory, Nor the noise of the cry of defeat, But the sound of singing I hear.”

19 So it was, as soon as he came near the camp, that he saw the calf and the dancing. So Moses’ anger became hot, and he cast the tablets out of his hands and broke them at the foot of the mountain.

20 Then he took the calf which they had made, burned it in the fire, and ground it to powder; and he scattered it on the water and made the children of Israel drink it.

21 And Moses said to Aaron, “What did this people do to you that you have brought so great a sin upon them?”

22 So Aaron said, “Do not let the anger of my lord become hot. You know the people, that they are set on evil.

23 For they said to me, ‘Make us gods that shall go before us; as for this Moses, the man who brought us out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.’

24 And I said to them, ‘Whoever has any gold, let them break it off.’ So they gave it to me, and I cast it into the fire, and this calf came out.”

Aaron had brought such a great sin upon them by making a god in the likeness of their desires.

In other words, i just gave the people what they wanted to hear, i told them about a God that they wanted to hear not about the true God.

25 Now when Moses saw that the people were unrestrained (for Aaron had not restrained them, to their shame among their enemies),

He did not restrain their evil desires but rather accomodated for it.

People who are unrestrained are laughing stock in the sight of the enemy which is the devil.

26 then Moses stood in the entrance of the camp, and said, “Whoever is on the Lord’s side—come to me!” And all the sons of Levi gathered themselves together to him.

27 And he said to them, “Thus says the Lord God of Israel: ‘Let every man put his sword on his side, and go in and out from entrance to entrance throughout the camp, and let every man kill his brother, every man his companion, and every man his neighbor.’ ”

28 So the sons of Levi did according to the word of Moses. And about three thousand men of the people fell that day.

29 Then Moses said, “Consecrate yourselves today to the Lord, that He may bestow on you a blessing this day, for every man has opposed his son and his brother.”

30 Now it came to pass on the next day that Moses said to the people, “You have committed a great sin. So now I will go up to the Lord; perhaps I can make atonement for your sin.”

This is the heart of a shepherd and an Intecessor

31 Then Moses returned to the Lord and said, “Oh, these people have committed a great sin, and have made for themselves a god of gold!

32 Yet now, if You will forgive their sin—but if not, I pray, blot me out of Your book which You have written.”

The heart of a shepherd willing to sacrifice himself for the sheep, and also an intercessor willing to plead for those who have gone astray and are lost at the cost of his own soul.

33 And the Lord said to Moses, “Whoever has sinned against Me, I will blot him out of My book.

34 Now therefore, go, lead the people to the place of which I have spoken to you. Behold, My Angel shall go before you. Nevertheless, in the day when I visit for punishment, I will visit punishment upon them for their sin.”

35 So the Lord plagued the people because of what they did with the calf which Aaron made.

Exodus 33

Exodus 33 (NKJV)

1 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Depart and go up from here, you and the people whom you have brought out of the land of Egypt, to the land of which I swore to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, saying, ‘To your descendants I will give it.’

2 And I will send My Angel before you, and I will drive out the Canaanite and the Amorite and the Hittite and the Perizzite and the Hivite and the Jebusite.

3 Go up to a land flowing with milk and honey; for I will not go up in your midst, lest I consume you on the way, for you are a stiff-necked people.”

4 And when the people heard this bad news, they mourned, and no one put on his ornaments.

5 For the Lord had said to Moses, “Say to the children of Israel, ‘You are a stiff-necked people. I could come up into your midst in one moment and consume you. Now therefore, take off your ornaments, that I may know what to do to you.’ ”

6 So the children of Israel stripped themselves of their ornaments by Mount Horeb.

We see God’s displeasure with ornaments (jewellery), and so the people stripped themselves of their ornaments.

7 Moses took his tent and pitched it outside the camp, far from the camp, and called it the tabernacle of meeting. And it came to pass that everyone who sought the Lord went out to the tabernacle of meeting which was outside the camp.

8 So it was, whenever Moses went out to the tabernacle, that all the people rose, and each man stood at his tent door and watched Moses until he had gone into the tabernacle.

9 And it came to pass, when Moses entered the tabernacle, that the pillar of cloud descended and stood at the door of the tabernacle, and the Lord talked with Moses.

10 All the people saw the pillar of cloud standing at the tabernacle door, and all the people rose and worshiped, each man in his tent door.

11 So the Lord spoke to Moses face to face, as a man speaks to his friend. And he would return to the camp, but his servant Joshua the son of Nun, a young man, did not depart from the tabernacle.

12 Then Moses said to the Lord, “See, You say to me, ‘Bring up this people.’ But You have not let me know whom You will send with me. Yet You have said, ‘I know you by name, and you have also found grace in My sight.’

13 Now therefore, I pray, if I have found grace in Your sight, show me now Your way, that I may know You and that I may find grace in Your sight. And consider that this nation is Your people.”

God will show his ways to those whom he wishes to know him and that will be a symbol of his favor upon their lives.

The fact that God is revealing to us the mystery of his will and his ways that he has not revealed to anyother people is a sign of his favor upon his people.

14 And He said, “My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.”

15 Then he said to Him, “If Your Presence does not go with us, do not bring us up from here.

16 For how then will it be known that Your people and I have found grace in Your sight, except You go with us? So we shall be separate, Your people and I, from all the people who are upon the face of the earth.”

It is the presence of God that separates God’s people from all other peoples.

His people must realise that the most important thing is that God’s presence is with his people.

Wondering in the wilderness without the presence of God or even living in the promise land without the presence of God is meaningless.

17 So the Lord said to Moses, “I will also do this thing that you have spoken; for you have found grace in My sight, and I know you by name.”

18 And he said, “Please, show me Your glory.”

19 Then He said, “I will make all My goodness pass before you, and I will proclaim the name of the Lord before you. I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion.”

20 But He said, “You cannot see My face; for no man shall see Me, and live.”

21 And the Lord said, “Here is a place by Me, and you shall stand on the rock.

22 So it shall be, while My glory passes by, that I will put you in the cleft of the rock, and will cover you with My hand while I pass by.

23 Then I will take away My hand, and you shall see My back; but My face shall not be seen.”

This is not to be seen as literal, in the sense that Moses saw the literal back of God.God is a Spirit and no one has seen God at any time according to NT> John 1:18, 1 Tim 6:16.

This is anthropomorphisms:- s the attribution of human characteristics to nonhuman entities, objects, or concept

the bibel is filled with uses human characteristics to describe God and his work ,

“My hands have laid the foundation of the earth”

“ he has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand and marked of the heavens by the span”

“the Heaven is my throne and the earth is my footstool

Moses spoke to God “face to face” this is anthropomorphism.

In this case Moses would not see God’s perfect Glory “his face” but rather a deem reflection of his glory (his back), as obscure image.

Exodus 34

Exodus 34 (NKJV)

1 And the Lord said to Moses, “Cut two tablets of stone like the first ones, and I will write on these tablets the words that were on the first tablets which you broke.

2 So be ready in the morning, and come up in the morning to Mount Sinai, and present yourself to Me there on the top of the mountain.

3 And no man shall come up with you, and let no man be seen throughout all the mountain; let neither flocks nor herds feed before that mountain.”

4 So he cut two tablets of stone like the first ones. Then Moses rose early in the morning and went up Mount Sinai, as the Lord had commanded him; and he took in his hand the two tablets of stone.

5 Now the Lord descended in the cloud and stood with him there, and proclaimed the name of the Lord.

6 And the Lord passed before him and proclaimed, “The Lord, the Lord God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abounding in goodness and truth,

7 keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, by no means clearing the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children and the children’s children to the third and the fourth generation.”

8 So Moses made haste and bowed his head toward the earth, and worshiped.

9 Then he said, “If now I have found grace in Your sight, O Lord, let my Lord, I pray, go among us, even though we are a stiff-necked people; and pardon our iniquity and our sin, and take us as Your inheritance.”

Notice how he uses the word “We” and “our” instead of “they”. H represented the people and numbered himself among them when pleading their case before God, that is what an intecessor does.

10 And He said: “Behold, I make a covenant. Before all your people I will do marvels such as have not been done in all the earth, nor in any nation; and all the people among whom you are shall see the work of the Lord. For it is an awesome thing that I will do with you.

11 Observe what I command you this day. Behold, I am driving out from before you the Amorite and the Canaanite and the Hittite and the Perizzite and the Hivite and the Jebusite.

12 Take heed to yourself, lest you make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land where you are going, lest it be a snare in your midst.

13 But you shall destroy their altars, break their sacred pillars, and cut down their wooden images

14 (for you shall worship no other god, for the Lord, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God),

15 lest you make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land, and they play the harlot with their gods and make sacrifice to their gods, and one of them invites you and you eat of his sacrifice,

16 and you take of his daughters for your sons, and his daughters play the harlot with their gods and make your sons play the harlot with their gods.

17 “You shall make no molded gods for yourselves.

18 “The Feast of Unleavened Bread you shall keep. Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread, as I commanded you, in the appointed time of the month of Abib; for in the month of Abib you came out from Egypt.

19 “All that open the womb are Mine, and every male firstborn among your livestock, whether ox or sheep.

20 But the firstborn of a donkey you shall redeem with a lamb. And if you will not redeem him, then you shall break his neck. All the firstborn of your sons you shall redeem. “And none shall appear before Me empty-handed.

21 “Six days you shall work, but on the seventh day you shall rest; in plowing time and in harvest you shall rest.

22 “And you shall observe the Feast of Weeks, of the firstfruits of wheat harvest, and the Feast of Ingathering at the year’s end.

23 “Three times in the year all your men shall appear before the Lord, the Lord God of Israel.

24 For I will cast out the nations before you and enlarge your borders; neither will any man covet your land when you go up to appear before the Lord your God three times in the year.

25 “You shall not offer the blood of My sacrifice with leaven, nor shall the sacrifice of the Feast of the Passover be left until morning.

26 “The first of the firstfruits of your land you shall bring to the house of the Lord your God. You shall not boil a young goat in its mother’s milk.”

27 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Write these words, for according to the tenor of these words I have made a covenant with you and with Israel.”

28 So he was there with the Lord forty days and forty nights; he neither ate bread nor drank water. And He wrote on the tablets the words of the covenant, the Ten Commandments.

29 Now it was so, when Moses came down from Mount Sinai (and the two tablets of the Testimony were in Moses’ hand when he came down from the mountain), that Moses did not know that the skin of his face shone while he talked with Him.

30 So when Aaron and all the children of Israel saw Moses, behold, the skin of his face shone, and they were afraid to come near him.

31 Then Moses called to them, and Aaron and all the rulers of the congregation returned to him; and Moses talked with them.

32 Afterward all the children of Israel came near, and he gave them as commandments all that the Lord had spoken with him on Mount Sinai.

33 And when Moses had finished speaking with them, he put a veil on his face.

34 But whenever Moses went in before the Lord to speak with Him, he would take the veil off until he came out; and he would come out and speak to the children of Israel whatever he had been commanded.

35 And whenever the children of Israel saw the face of Moses, that the skin of Moses’ face shone, then Moses would put the veil on his face again, until he went in to speak with Him.

Exodus 35

Exodus 35 (NKJV)

1 Then Moses gathered all the congregation of the children of Israel together, and said to them, “These are the words which the Lord has commanded you to do:

2 Work shall be done for six days, but the seventh day shall be a holy day for you, a Sabbath of rest to the Lord. Whoever does any work on it shall be put to death.

3 You shall kindle no fire throughout your dwellings on the Sabbath day.”

4 And Moses spoke to all the congregation of the children of Israel, saying, “This is the thing which the Lord commanded, saying:

5 ‘Take from among you an offering to the Lord. Whoever is of a willing heart, let him bring it as an offering to the Lord: gold, silver, and bronze;

6 blue, purple, and scarlet thread, fine linen, and goats’ hair;

7 ram skins dyed red, badger skins, and acacia wood;

8 oil for the light, and spices for the anointing oil and for the sweet incense;

9 onyx stones, and stones to be set in the ephod and in the breastplate.

10 ‘All who are gifted artisans among you shall come and make all that the Lord has commanded:

11 the tabernacle, its tent, its covering, its clasps, its boards, its bars, its pillars, and its sockets;

12 the ark and its poles, with the mercy seat, and the veil of the covering;

13 the table and its poles, all its utensils, and the showbread;

14 also the lampstand for the light, its utensils, its lamps, and the oil for the light;

15 the incense altar, its poles, the anointing oil, the sweet incense, and the screen for the door at the entrance of the tabernacle;

16 the altar of burnt offering with its bronze grating, its poles, all its utensils, and the laver and its base;

17 the hangings of the court, its pillars, their sockets, and the screen for the gate of the court;

18 the pegs of the tabernacle, the pegs of the court, and their cords;

19 the garments of ministry, for ministering in the holy place—the holy garments for Aaron the priest and the garments of his sons, to minister as priests.’ ”

20 And all the congregation of the children of Israel departed from the presence of Moses.

21 Then everyone came whose heart was stirred, and everyone whose spirit was willing, and they brought the Lord’s offering for the work of the tabernacle of meeting, for all its service, and for the holy garments.

22 They came, both men and women, as many as had a willing heart, and brought earrings and nose rings, rings and necklaces, all jewelry of gold, that is, every man who made an offering of gold to the Lord.

These are the ornaments that they had taken from the land of Egypt,

God did not give it to them to wear it- for he commanded them to take at of at Mount horeb- nor to make it an idol. It was rather given to them for this hour, that they may offer it up to for the work of the Lord.

God does not give use wealth so that it may become our idol, neither is it given to for our enjoyment but rather it is primarily given for the work of the Lord. Our enjoyment is secondary.

23 And every man, with whom was found blue, purple, and scarlet thread, fine linen, goats’ hair, red skins of rams, and badger skins, brought them.

24 Everyone who offered an offering of silver or bronze brought the Lord’s offering. And everyone with whom was found acacia wood for any work of the service, brought it.

25 All the women who were gifted artisans spun yarn with their hands, and brought what they had spun, of blue, purple, and scarlet, and fine linen.

26 And all the women whose hearts stirred with wisdom spun yarn of goats’ hair.

27 The rulers brought onyx stones, and the stones to be set in the ephod and in the breastplate,

28 and spices and oil for the light, for the anointing oil, and for the sweet incense.

29 The children of Israel brought a freewill offering to the Lord, all the men and women whose hearts were willing to bring material for all kinds of work which the Lord, by the hand of Moses, had commanded to be done.

30 And Moses said to the children of Israel, “See, the Lord has called by name Bezalel the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah;

31 and He has filled him with the Spirit of God, in wisdom and understanding, in knowledge and all manner of workmanship,

32 to design artistic works, to work in gold and silver and bronze,

33 in cutting jewels for setting, in carving wood, and to work in all manner of artistic workmanship.

34 “And He has put in his heart the ability to teach, in him and Aholiab the son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan.

35 He has filled them with skill to do all manner of work of the engraver and the designer and the tapestry maker, in blue, purple, and scarlet thread, and fine linen, and of the weaver—those who do every work and those who design artistic works.