The second half of Exodus chapter 32 begins with Moses finally reaching the camp of the Israelites at the base of the mountain and after being in the presence of Holy God, he is confronted with the ugliness of man. “When Moses…saw the calf and the dancing, his anger burned and he threw the tablets breaking them into pieces at the foot of the mountain“. Often we compare our sin to those around us and conclude, “I’m not as bad as that one”, but compared to God’s Righteousness, our sin is disgusting. The Israelites have literally broken every commandment and Moses dramatically makes that point. Next, Moses takes the golden calf, “burned it in the fire… ground it into powder… scattered it on the water and made the Israelites drink it“. They would be reminded of just how worthless this ‘god’ of their own creation was while being eliminated with their waste. Then Moses said to Aaron, “What did these people do to you that you led them in such great sin?” All Aaron can say is, “You know how evil they are“. Aaron claims, “they gave me their jewelry and I threw it into the fire and out came this calf“. It wasn’t MY fault, it just happened- the same excuse we use today to excuse our sin.
Moses saw that the people were running wild and he stood in the entrance of the camp and said, “Whoever is for the Lord, come to me” and all the Levites rallied to him. Moses said to them, “This is what the Lord God of Israel says, Each man strap a sword to his side…go back and forth through the camp… killing his brother and friend and neighbor“. The Levites did as Moses commanded and that day about three thousand of the people died. Moses explained, “You have been set apart for the Lord today for you were against your brothers and sons and He has blessed you“. What a radical way to deal with sin and what a horrific scene this must have been. Moses declares, “You have committed a great sin, but I will go to the Lord and perhaps I can make atonement for your sin“. Moses comes before the Lord and makes a plea beyond my comprehension, “please forgive their sin- but if not, then blot me out also of the book You have written“. Moses tells God if He cannot forgive the people, then he will willingly be condemned with them. Perhaps Moses understood God’s mercy, but this is not a request that was made lightly. God answers, “Go and lead the people to the place I spoke of, and My angel will go before you. However, when the time comes, I will punish them for their sin“.
Moses brought the Law, but he was unable to make atonement for sin. But through the Law comes the knowledge of sin. Hebrews chapter 10 reminds us that we can either trust in perfectly following the Law, or trust in the atonement of Christ on the cross. “Anyone who has set aside the Law of Moses dies without mercy in the testimony of two or three witnesses“. In contrast, “We have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all“. Romans 6:14 shouts to all who have accepted Christ as Savior, “For sin shall no longer be master over you, for you are not under the Law, but grace“. And God’s grace is a free gift to anyone that believes. “For it is by grace you have been saved through faith; it is a gift of God; not a result of works that anyone should boast” (Ephesians 2:8-9). Each of us must choose to be judged according to God’s Law, or God’s grace. I choose GRACE!