Exodus 32-34
Exodus 32-34; Psalm 119.33-56
The previous chapters of Exodus have portrayed God’s jealousy in a ‘positive’ light. But when God’s covenant partners forget His goodness, grow impatient, and act unfaithfully, God’s jealousy takes on a corrective tone. Yet the LORD does not discipline His people arbitrarily; He reprimands them within the covenant framework—that their behavior would more accurately reflect His call on their lives.
When Aaron and Israel constructed the golden calf, they were acting out several ‘causative’ sins:
- Lack of patience. Ex 32.1 records that the people were unsettled and ready to move on—and Moses’ delay on Mt Sinai was impeding their progress. Theirs was a temporal concern, and they said of their leader “We don’t know what has happened to him!”
- Forgetting God’s holiness (contra Ps 119.33-56). Despite Aaron’s excuse in 32.24, “When I threw it (gold) into the fire, out came this calf!” he and Israel designed the object of their worship. It is difficult to imagine how those who witnessed the terrifying presence of God on Mt Sinai could so quickly attribute the plagues and the exodus to an ornate bovine (cf. 32.2-4)!
- Desire for immoral festival pleasures. It is interesting to note Israel’s quick descent into sexual sin once they stripped themselves of the restraint that comes with reverence for a Holy God (32.5-6)
These actions elicited God’s jealousy for His own in the same way a husband is jealous for a wife who gives herself a day-pass for unfaithfulness. Rightly then, Moses felt God’s pain and implemented a purification strategy to cleanse Israel of those who were a pollutant among the people (32.25-29). Moses’ intercession in 32.11-14 shows that He was faithful as God’s covenant partner, and later he prayed: “Oh, this people has committed a great sin; they have made for themselves a god of gold. Now if You would only forgive their sin. But if not, please erase me from the book You have written” (32.31-32). While God recognized Moses’ pleas and did not destroy the entire population (32.10), He did not immediately affirm that He would accompany the people to the Promised Land (33.3-5).
Even though these events had proven costly for Israel, the bulk of Ex 32-33 reinforces the belief that God’s word of rebuke is never His final word—to those who reform their ways. From 33.7-34.35 the text illustrates God’s grace to those who repented:
- The pillar of cloud, indicating God’s presence, remained over the tent of meeting—a phenomena that elicited the worship of the people (33.7-11)
- God affirmed that He would personally accompany His people to Canaan, a pledge He confirmed by showing Moses His glory (33.12-23)
- God again came upon Mt Sinai, reissuing of the stone tablets and covenant stipulations (34.1-28)
- Moses’ face was illuminated, confirming for the people that their leader had a special relationship with God (34.29-35)
Followed down the storyline of Scripture, the scenes of Ex 32-34 are informative for the authority of spiritual leaders, and the ethical regulation provided by the community of the church. These chapters climax with the shining face of Moses—God’s affirmation that He had given Moses the authority of the Law to regulate the behavior of the people. The apostle Paul took courage from this when his new covenant authority was being questioned by the Corinthians; they were unimpressed with such a weak figure (cf. 2 Cor 10.1-6). Concerning his authority—and the work of the Spirit in all believers in the new covenant—he wrote:
“Now if the ministry of death, chiseled in letters on stones, came with glory, so that the sons of Israel were not able to look directly at Moses’ face because of the glory from his face—a fading glory—how will the ministry of the Spirit not be more glorious? For if the ministry of condemnation had glory, the ministry of righteousness overflows with even more glory. In fact, what had been glorious is not glorious in this case because of the glory that surpasses it. For if what was fading away was glorious, what endures will be even more glorious.
Therefore having such a hope, we use great boldness—not like Moses, who used to put a veil over his face so that the sons of Israel could not look at the end of what was fading away. But their minds were closed. For to this day, at the reading of the old covenant, the same veil remains; it is not lifted, because it is set aside only in Christ. However, to this day, whenever Moses is read, a veil lies over their hearts, but whenever a person turns to the Lord, the veil is removed. Now the Lord is the Spirit; and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. We all, with unveiled faces, are reflecting the glory of the Lord and are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory; this is from the Lord who is the Spirit” (2 Cor 3.7-18).
*For a complete list of references, please see scripturestoryline.com