God Renews His Covenant
Our text:
Exodus Chapters 32-34
We should ask ourselves, can we feel God working behind the scenes in our lives?
The work of God is universal. Though it involves us in every way we may not be able to see it most of the time. In our own lives we have a small view of what is happening in the universe and to be honest we spend a lot of time in the valleys and just cannot see over the mountain that is before us. What we should see is that Jehovah God is in control and our job is to concentrate on the small part He has given us to do. What God does may sometimes be puzzling to us BUT we must remember God does not see the part we play as small. God sees the part we play as essential!
Hell is hot and many are caught in the Devil's snare every day. We cannot save anyone, only God can do that. We are the sower of the seed, the fishermen that cast the hook, we are the friend of the lost though he be our enemy. Our job is to be these things and trust that God still does what He has always done, To Have Mercy On Us to Salvation. Every fisherman will backlash his reel on occassion and we will need God to straighten it out!
He will only do this through His Son Jesus!
Before the Tabernacle is even constructed the Holy Spirit decided we needed to know what took place with Israel while Moses was getting the instructions to build the Tabernacle. The New Nation of Israel had already agreed to God's new two party covenant and God wants us to see their failure. God does not hide sin in His Bible but it is hard to imagine that God's people would sink so low in "Sin" and so fast.
You know just as soon as you commit your self to the Lord, Satan will come calling, to try to trip you up if he can. Before the Tabernacle has been built, this Nation of Israel would build "Idols".
The Bible says:
Ecc 7:29 Lo, this only have I found, that God hath made man upright; but they have sought out many inventions.
It had not been but a few days since these very same people had met the Lord at Mount Sinai. (Chapter 19)
In Chapter 24:3 we heard them say these words:
"All the words which the LORD hath said will we do"
This vow of the people was ratified in a legal form:
Exo 24:7 And he took the book of the covenant, and read in the audience of the people: and they said, All that the LORD hath said will we do, and be obedient.
You see they put it in writing. They could not now declare that they did not know.
We must not be fooled God keeps accurate records! At the White Throne of "Judgment" we see the phrase
"and the dead were judged out of those things [which were written in the books], according to their works"
We can miss this day of the "White Throne Judgment" if we will decide now while we are alive to accept the gift of Salvation Our Lord offers us in this time of "Grace". There is only one book we need to be in for sure and that is "The Lamb's Book Of Life".
It is only after these things that The Lord calls Moses up to the top of the Mount:
Exo 24:12 And the LORD said unto Moses, Come up to me into the mount, and be there: and I will give thee tables of stone, and a law, and commandments which I have written; that thou mayest teach them.
The very first deacon of the early church, Stephen never forgot this day and we should remember it also:
Act 7:37 This is that Moses, which said unto the children of Israel, A prophet shall the Lord your God raise up unto you of your brethren, like unto me; him shall ye hear.
Act 7:38 This is he, that was in the church in the wilderness with the angel which spake to him in the mount Sina, and with our fathers: who received the lively oracles to give unto us:
Act 7:39 To whom our fathers would not obey, but thrust him from them, and in their hearts turned back again into Egypt,
Act 7:40 Saying unto Aaron, Make us gods to go before us: for as for this Moses, which brought us out of the land of Egypt, we wot not what is become of him.
Act 7:41 And they made a calf in those days, and offered sacrifice unto the idol, and rejoiced in the works of their own hands.
Act 7:42 Then God turned, and gave them up to worship the host of heaven; as it is written in the book of the prophets, O ye house of Israel, have ye offered to me slain beasts and sacrifices by the space of forty years in the wilderness?
Act 7:43 Yea, ye took up the tabernacle of Moloch, and the star of your god Remphan, figures which ye made to worship them: and I will carry you away beyond Babylon.
We can see just how deep in sin this "New Nation" would sink without getting close to the Lord Our God.
There has been many of our own children offered up to "false idols" in our day and most never come back to Jehovah God.
We can never stop God's plan but we can be left out of God's plan and that means some one else will get a blessing for what we choose to ignore.
Let's Begin:
*****Our Text:
Exo 32:1 And when the people saw that Moses delayed to come down out of the mount, the people gathered themselves together unto Aaron, and said unto him, Up, make us gods, which shall go before us; for as for this Moses, the man that brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we wot not what is become of him.
Exo 32:2 And Aaron said unto them, Break off the golden earrings, which are in the ears of your wives, of your sons, and of your daughters, and bring them unto me.
Exo 32:3 And all the people brake off the golden earrings which were in their ears, and brought them unto Aaron.
Exo 32:4 And he received them at their hand, and fashioned it with a graving tool, after he had made it a molten calf: and they said, These be thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt.
Exo 32:5 And when Aaron saw it, he built an altar before it; and Aaron made proclamation, and said, To morrow is a feast to the LORD.
Exo 32:6 And they rose up early on the morrow, and offered burnt offerings, and brought peace offerings; and the people sat down to eat and to drink, and rose up to play.
Exo 32:7 And the LORD said unto Moses, Go, get thee down; for thy people, which thou broughtest out of the land of Egypt, have corrupted themselves:
Exo 32:8 They have turned aside quickly out of the way which I commanded them: they have made them a molten calf, and have worshipped it, and have sacrificed thereunto, and said, These be thy gods, O Israel, which have brought thee up out of the land of Egypt.
Exo 32:9 And the LORD said unto Moses, I have seen this people, and, behold, it is a stiffnecked people:
Exo 32:10 Now therefore let me alone, that my wrath may wax hot against them, and that I may consume them: and I will make of thee a great nation.
There are three main things we will see in this chapter:
1.) We will see the "Idol":
What is an Idol?
An idol is any image, any form, or any thing that represents an object of worship to us. This is anything we set our affections on and indulge in that gets between us and Our Lord.
2.) We will see an "Intercessor":
An "Intercessor" is one that mediates, one who pleads for another person in an attempt to reconcile the differences between two parties.
3.) We will see "The Punishment":
That's any punishment that comes as a direct result of our failures. Israel had not taken their "Covenant with God very serious.
How do we match up in these things.
A.) Do we take the Word of God seriously?
B.) Do we wonder why we suffer when we ignore the Word of God?
C.) Do we wonder why our nation seems to be losing favor in the eyes of God.
D.) Have we truly ask Jesus to be Our Intercessor to reconcile us to a Holy God?
Thank God for Our Intercessor, Our Mediator, Our Great High Priest, Jesus Christ.
These children of Israel were not mad at Moses for being gone for forty days. God had not stopped feeding them. God had not stopped providing their water and meeting all their needs.
They had simply cast away their allegiance to Jehovah. Their "Hearts" had left their "First Love".
What did Jesus say to the Church at Ephesus:
Rev 2:4 Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love.
They just simply did not appreciate what Moses had done for them and Moses was God's man.
Do we ever wonder just how does Jesus feels when we fail Him? We know Our Lord can be "grieved".
It's hard to get a smile out of some one we have let down!
Let's hit a little closer home. When we fail in the things of Our Own Church knowing we have such a loving Pastor and the work He put's into it, HOW DO YOU THINK HE FEELS. DO WE REALLY APPRECIATE WHAT HE DOES FOR THIS CHURCH?
This not Sam Duncan's church, This Is God's Church and we are all in this together!
When we let down our Pastor we have let down God's man just as Israel did.
We see that Israel had deliberately ignored the very first commandment. "Thou shalt have no other god's before me"
We as Christians must not lust after things we can see. We must stay focused on the "Invisible God" for we can still see His Creation and if you have been sealed with the Holy Ghost you know His Truth.
Heb 11:1 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.
We know that Israel had served false gods in Egypt and they were still in that sinful flesh:
Jos 24:14 Now therefore fear the LORD, and serve him in sincerity and in truth: and put away the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the flood, and in Egypt; and serve ye the LORD.
You know these words of Joshua still hold true today. We must put away the things we left behind and have a Holy Fear of Our Lord in sincerity and truth.
Our Lord God only expects one kind of worship!
Jesus Christ tells us:
Joh 4:23 But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him.
Joh 4:24 God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.
We must realize that if it was time to properly worship Our Lord at this day at the well in Samaria, then it is certainly time to do it right now in these last days.
We know that Israel at this time were only redeemed in "type" and the biggest majority of them had no "faith":
The proof is in the words of Moses:
Deu 32:20 And he(God) said, I will hide my face from them, I will see what their end shall be: for they are a very froward generation, children in whom is no faith.
But Paul tells the early church:
1Co 10:6 Now these things were our examples, to the intent we should not lust after evil things, as they also lusted.
There is only one way to avoid these things. We must be filled with the Lord Jesus Christ:
Rom 13:14 But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof.
If we open our eyes we can truly see that when the church does not worship in Spirit and Truth then it becomes the "Synagogue" of Satan and Our Lord will be outside knocking at the "door" to see if we let Him back in.
*****What was the response of Aaron:
God had kept Moses away from this nation of Israel for forty days and we said in a previous lesson that the number forty was the number of "testing". Now it was not only Moses that was being tested at this time for he was with Jehovah God but also the Nation of Israel including their future High Priest.
Israel was being tested at this time and we can see that they failed. We can just look around and we can see America is failing while Jesus is in Heaven also.
And You know while Our Lord is away from us and in Heaven at this time, we can be sure we are going to go through some test and hopefully we can turn that test into a Testimony.
When we pray the "sinners prayer" we are making a vow to God to uphold His principles. How good do we keep that vow. If you are like me, you fail every day. Thank God for His "Grace".
My life was a mess and I pray that Christ will make my life into a "Message" for others to see.
We can also say the this was a time of testing for Aaron.
While Moses was being instructed on how to make Aaron the first High Priest, Aaron was building a golden idol to a false God. We can see that Aaron's life was a mess at this time also.
It would be good to point out that this golden calf with the upturned horns did not just represent an idol of false worship but it represented an entire worship system.
This idol was a representation of the false "moon god", Apis to the Egyptians, but the upturn horns represent the crescent moon. Now we do not have to look far in our day to see a certain religion that is represented by the "crescent moon".
The full circle, two upturned horns, represent the "sun god", the "moon god" and on the horizon the "morning star".
This was the triune worship of Egypt when Israel was a slave and this is the false religion that spread to Mesopotamia and what we see in the Book of Revelation as the Babylonian system.
Rev 18:2 And he cried mightily with a strong voice, saying, [Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and is become the habitation of devils], and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird.
Nehemiah referred to this false idol:
Neh 9:18 Yea, when they had made them a molten calf, and said, This is thy God that brought thee up out of Egypt, and had wrought great provocations;
The Psalmist referred to this false idol:
Psa 106:19 They made a calf in Horeb, and worshipped the molten image.
Psa 106:20 Thus they changed their glory into the similitude of an ox that eateth grass.
Psa 106:21 They forgat God their saviour, which had done great things in Egypt;
The very first deacon of the early church, Stephen referred to this idol:
Act 7:43 Yea, ye took up the tabernacle of Moloch, and the star of your god Remphan, figures which ye made to worship them: and I will carry you away beyond Babylon.
This was open "Apostasy" to Our Lord and all those that would have us all under one umbrella of worship in our day are asking the Christian to be in "Open Apostasy" to Jehovah God.
The world may be going that way but we are not a part of this world:
1Jn 4:4 Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world.
1Jn 4:5 They are of the world: therefore speak they of the world, and the world heareth them.
1Jn 4:6 We are of God: he that knoweth God heareth us; he that is not of God heareth not us. Hereby know we the spirit of truth, and the spirit of error.
Watch how these things only get worse:
*****Aaron now erects an altar:
Just as today we try to hide the sin of our idolatry by insincere worship of the Living God.
It doesn't even stop there. Now Aaron wants to make a new feast day. How can we ask Our Lord to sanctify our own inventions of worship. If we look around all these things are going on before our very eyes even in our own communities and certainly in our own nation which at one time was considered a Christian Nation.
When we worship our idols in the name of Jesus Christ we have sunk about as low as we can go!
There is nothing in this world that can cleanse us from our filth but the Shed Blood of Jesus. We must be washed in the Word of God to live in this "Sin Sick" world.
We can see that offerings were made on this altar but none of them were described as "Sin Offerings". Just like today in our world, people see sin as a "cupcake" instead of what it is a "Viper" a "Serpent" a "Poison" that is killing this world we live in.
*****"and the people sat down to eat and to drink, and rose up to play"
After these people had presented themselves to the "Altar" in false confession, they immediately went back to the ways they had in Egypt and indulged in the "lust of the flesh".
Israel had now certainly broken their covenant with God and disowned the "One" that had "Delivered" them from "Bondage".
They were just having some fun and not worried about the consequences but is this not what is being taught in our world today "if it feels good do it"!
God told Moses these were his people (Verse 7 "thy people"). We see God gave these people to Moses.
They had turned aside from the ways of God. We see this all to often even in our own church where people confess of salvation and go right back to the world they lived in before they knew God.
Can we grieve Our Creator, you know we can.
*****We will next see the Intercessor.
*****Our Text:
Exo 32:11 And Moses besought the LORD his God, and said, LORD, why doth thy wrath wax hot against thy people, which thou hast brought forth out of the land of Egypt with great power, and with a mighty hand?
Exo 32:12 Wherefore should the Egyptians speak, and say, For mischief did he bring them out, to slay them in the mountains, and to consume them from the face of the earth? Turn from thy fierce wrath, and repent of this evil against thy people.
Exo 32:13 Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, thy servants, to whom thou swarest by thine own self, and saidst unto them, I will multiply your seed as the stars of heaven, and all this land that I have spoken of will I give unto your seed, and they shall inherit it for ever.
Exo 32:14 And the LORD repented of the evil which he thought to do unto his people.
Man is the only thing that God created that can truly worship Him (God). Man was born in innocence but Adam soon changed all that by falling into disobedience.
Eph 4:18 Having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart:
If man was to ever again to have a relationship with God then it must be on new ground. A new and living way.
Heb 10:20 [By a new and living way], which he hath consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, his flesh;
Anything else would only bring death! Though man had fallen out of the "Grace " of God, we still have the obligation to seek God. God gave mankind His Own breath to begin life, so the knowledge of God is still inside of every man.
The natural man does have a religious nature but in most all cases this religious nature will lead every man into idolatry.
Jesus said:
Mat 6:22 The light of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light.
Mat 6:23 But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness!
Man must have his god. Even the Atheists have a god even if it is called the god of denial for that is where they place their worship.
Paul understood this when he wrote to the Romans:
Rom 1:19 Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them.
Rom 1:20 For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse:
Rom 1:21 Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened.
Rom 1:22 Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools,
Rom 1:23 And changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things.
Rom 1:24 Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour their own bodies between themselves:
Rom 1:25 Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen.
This was the reasoning behind the very first commandment of God.
Moses had placed himself between God and His people. Moses placed himself in harm's way in order that the nation of Israel not die:
God said to Moses "Now therefore let me alone, that my wrath may wax hot against them"
Moses placed himself between the ""Wrath of God" and "A Lost People". Moses had prayed for this people all along and he could have easily have just gotten out of the way this time, after all God said we can start over again when He said:
"I will make of thee a great nation"
Moses did not fail in this hour that Israel needed him the most. The "Faith" of Moses had grown until he now could intervene on behalf of Israel. I know a man named Jesus who also did not fail me in the hour of my greatest need.
Heb 11:24 By faith Moses, when he was come to years, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter;
Heb 11:25 Choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season;
Heb 11:26 Esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt: for he had respect unto the recompence of the reward.
Moses was steadfast in his desire to be associated with these people. I know a some one named Jesus who is stedfast in His association with His Church.
Can we not see all the "types" of Our Lord?
Php 2:7 But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men:
Moses ask this Holy God:
"LORD, why doth thy wrath wax hot against thy people, which thou hast brought forth out of the land of Egypt with great power, and with a mighty hand?"
And Praise the Lord:
"And the LORD repented of the evil which he thought to do unto his people"
God had given these people to Moses in verse 7 (thy people) but now Moses had given them back to God.
What did Jesus say to His Father:
Joh 17:7 Now they have known that all things whatsoever thou hast given me are of thee.
Joh 17:8 For I have given unto them the words which thou gavest me; and they have received them, and have known surely that I came out from thee, and they have believed that thou didst send me.
Joh 17:9 I pray for them: I pray not for the world, but for them which thou hast given me; for they are thine.
Joh 17:10 And all mine are thine, and thine are mine; and I am glorified in them.
We cannot miss these "Types" of Christ because they have real importance in the way of Our Faith. God said to learn from these examples in the Old Testament.
Moses said to God, "what would the world say if you destroyed this people after redeeming them with such awesome power"
This is a plea that God will never refuse!
Moses was saying no matter what they are, they were still God's people. It was God that had laid claim on them.
Moses's Faith had finally risen to the occasion at hand!
I dare say there are not many, myself included that would have done what Moses did but this is exactly what God tells us to do:
God is searching for those that will stand in, and stand up, to reach the lost of this world!
Moses was being tested just as Israel was. God already knew what Moses would do but God knew Moses must prove it to himself.
1Pe 1:7 That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ:
God would have had to break His promise to Abraham and Moses reminded God of this:
Heb 6:16 For men verily swear by the greater: and an oath for confirmation is to them an end of all strife.
Heb 6:17 Wherein God, willing more abundantly to shew unto the heirs of promise the immutability of his counsel, confirmed it by an oath:
Heb 6:18 That by two immutable things, in which it was impossible for God to lie, we might have a strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us:
Moses had become an "Intercessor" in a "type of Jesus Christ. God will always provide one to stand in the breach:
Psa 106:23 Therefore he said that he would destroy them, had not Moses [his chosen] stood before him in the breach, to turn away his wrath, lest he should destroy them.
We know that the true "Chosen One" is Jesus Christ Our Lord:
Mat 12:18 Behold my servant, whom I have chosen; my beloved, in whom my soul is well pleased: I will put my spirit upon him, and he shall shew judgment to the Gentiles.
You see God never ever has to change His mind because everything He does is always the right thing to do:
Jas 1:16 Do not err, my beloved brethren.
Jas 1:17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, [with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning].
Jas 1:18 Of his own will begat he us with the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures.
*****Our Text:
Exodus 32:15-29
Exo 32:19 And it came to pass, as soon as he came nigh unto the camp, that he saw the calf, and the dancing: and Moses' anger waxed hot, and he cast the tables out of his hands, and brake them beneath the mount.
Exo 32:20 And he took the calf which they had made, and burnt it in the fire, and ground it to powder, and strawed it upon the water, and made the children of Israel drink of it.
Many will ask, if Moses is this great "type" of Christ then how could he do these things that were mentioned in this chapter.
BUT if we think about it we know that Our Messiah came down from Heaven knowing exactly what condition all our generations of sinners were and are in.
As we study God's Word we should use as a guideline a verse from Thessalonians:
1Th 5:21 Prove all things; hold fast that which is good.
We have to rightly divide the Bible to get the true meaning of what God is saying to us.
The Bible is its own best "commentary".
Jesus said:
Mat 5:17 Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil.
Mat 5:18 For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.
Some things to consider: Moses knew the state of this people before he came down the mountain.
God told him in verses 7,8,9
What we have in this lesson another "type"! It will apply to Israel but also to the Church.
1.) When Moses went up the mountain he was a "type" of the Ascension of Christ.
2.) While he was in the presence of God, he had learned all the things of the Tabernacle and the Priesthood and these were the provisions of God's "Grace".
3.) We now see Moses descend from the mountain in fact he will descend twice in this chapter:
Exodus 32:15 and Exodus 32:29.
We already know that Our Lord has also told us that He will descend twice:
a.) The Church the Rapture:
1Th 4:16 For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:
1Th 4:17 Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.
b.) His Second Coming:
Zec 14:3 Then shall the LORD go forth, and fight against those nations, as when he fought in the day of battle.
Zec 14:4 And his feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east, and the mount of Olives shall cleave in the midst thereof toward the east and toward the west, and there shall be a very great valley; and half of the mountain shall remove toward the north, and half of it toward the south.
After the "Rapture" of the Church, Israel will suffer a terrible "Judgment" BUT at the Second Coming, Israel will have a great "Blessing" (Millennial Reign of Christ).
*****Our Text:
Exo 32:31 And Moses returned unto the LORD, and said, Oh, this people have sinned a great sin, and have made them gods of gold.
Exo 32:32 Yet now, if thou wilt forgive their sin--; and if not, blot me, I pray thee, out of thy book which thou hast written.
We have seen Moses the "Intercessor" now we see Moses the "Judge" and soon, Moses the "Mediator".
These are all "Types" of Christ.
Moses explains later in Deuteronomy:
Deu 9:18 And I fell down before the LORD, as at the first, forty days and forty nights: I did neither eat bread, nor drink water, because of all your sins which ye sinned, in doing wickedly in the sight of the LORD, to provoke him to anger.
Deu 9:19 For I was afraid of the anger and hot displeasure, wherewith the LORD was wroth against you to destroy you. But the LORD hearkened unto me at that time also.
Deu 9:20 And the LORD was very angry with Aaron to have destroyed him: and I prayed for Aaron also the same time.
Deu 9:21 And I took your sin, the calf which ye had made, and burnt it with fire, and stamped it, and ground it very small, even until it was as small as dust: and I cast the dust thereof into the brook that descended out of the mount.
We can also see another "Type".
In the Book of Revelation we read in Chapters 2 and 3 as Christ Our Lord "Judges" His Church.
We know the Church is told to keep away from "Idols":
1Jn 5:21 Little children, keep yourselves from idols. Amen.
We know an "Idol" is anything that we place between our selves and Our Lord.
And we know what damage can come to us if we serve our "Idols":
Gal 6:8 For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting.
*****It was Aaron that was left in charge so Moses went straight to Aaron.
You know we might not like this but when Jesus went back to Heaven and He left the Church in charge of this Earth and He left the Pastors, the Preachers, the Evangelist in charge of the Church.
It is the Pastors of the Church the Jesus addresses in the Book of Revelation (Chapters 2-3).
*****Aaron gave a sad response when he said he gave the people what they wanted.
We see this happening in a lot of Churches where the Pastors and Church Leaders "give in" to those that sit in the pews for ungodly reasons.
God expects these "Men" to "Preach" "All" His Word and not to add to or take away from it.
Moses came down in the Power of God and stood before 2 million people with out any fear of them and "Gave them the Word of God".
We can see the difference in these two "types". The servant of the Lord can serve in Power but those that yield to the people have no such power and the people know it and will rebel.
Once God's man is established, then we can find out who is on God's side. Just to remain neutral is also to be on Satan's side.
The Bible still says that all these things are written down for us to learn from:
1Co 10:11 Now all these things happened unto them for ensamples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come.
1Co 10:12 Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall.
In these scriptures we see where Moses used the sword BUT the sword given to the Church is a much more powerful sword:
Eph 6:17 And take the helmet of salvation, [and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God]:
This is the sword we are to use on the enemies of the Church. We should not beat our families and friends to death with the Word of God but THE WORD OF GOD MUST CUT DEEP INTO THEIR HEARTS WHILE WE MUST TAKE A DEFINATE STAND UPHOLDING THE WORD OF GOD.
These are the conditions under which we will be "Judged" at the Bema Seat Judgment, that takes place at the Rapture of the Church.
Moses did not try to minimize the sin of Israel. Their sin was very grievous. Moses truly loved this people:
Heb 3:4 For every house is builded by some man; but he that built all things is God.
Heb 3:5 And Moses verily was faithful in all his house, as a servant, for a testimony of those things which were to be spoken after;
Heb 3:6 But Christ as a son over his own house; whose house are we, if we hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope firm unto the end.
Again we can see a "type" of Christ.
Then Moses presented himself again before the Lord in prayer for his people. Repentance can only come through prayer.
*****Our Lord Jesus is our "Prayer Warrior" in Heaven. No "sin" of the believer can make Jesus stop loving us.
Joh 13:1 Now before the feast of the passover, when Jesus knew that his hour was come that he should depart out of this world unto the Father, having loved his own which were in the world, he loved them unto the end.
Moses was willing to be blotted out of the Book Of The Living for his people.
Though this is not the Lamb's Book of Life it still shows the willingness of Moses to die for this people at the hands of God.
Psa 69:28 Let them be blotted out of the book of the living, and not be written with the righteous.
We know that God has many books:
Mal 3:16 Then they that feared the LORD spake often one to another: and the LORD hearkened, and heard it, and a book of remembrance was written before him for them that feared the LORD, and that thought upon his name.
Rev 20:12 And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.
The One that concerns the Church the most is the "Lamb's Book of Life", but there is another book for rewards.
Rev 21:27 And there shall in no wise enter into it any thing that defileth, neither whatsoever worketh abomination, or maketh a lie: but they which are written in the Lamb's book of life.
*****God gives His answer to Moses:
Exo 32:33 And the LORD said unto Moses, [Whosoever hath sinned against me, him will I blot out of my book].
This is the importance of the Blood Of Jesus:
Heb 10:18 Now where remission of these is, there is no more offering for sin.
Heb 10:19 Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus,
Gal 6:7 Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.
Gal 6:8 For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting.
*****Our Text:
Exodus 33-34
Exo 34:1 And the LORD said unto Moses, Hew thee two tables of stone like unto the first: and I will write upon these tables the words that were in the first tables, which thou brakest.
Exo 34:2 And be ready in the morning, and come up in the morning unto mount Sinai, and present thyself there to me in the top of the mount.
Exo 34:9 And he said, If now I have found grace in thy sight, O Lord, let my Lord, I pray thee, go among us; for it is a stiffnecked people; and pardon our iniquity and our sin, and take us for thine inheritance.
Exo 34:27 And the LORD said unto Moses, Write thou these words: for after the tenor of these words I have made a covenant with thee and with Israel.
Exo 34:28 And he was there with the LORD forty days and forty nights; he did neither eat bread, nor drink water. And he wrote upon the tables the words of the covenant, the ten commandments.
We may wonder why the world has changed so drastically to a world of evil but we live in an unrepentant world. If we do not acknowledge our sin to God, then He(God) has to punish us to remain righteous.
God does not and will not wink at sin!
Rev 2:5 Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent.
Though Israel had sinned grievously, Moses still had to return to God to receive the Tablets of Stone. We know that no purpose of God can fail. Those broken laws might be O K for Israel but only God's Law can stand.
*****We live in a world now where the broken laws are kept but the Christian must keep the written unbroken laws of God.
But God says:
Isa 46:10 Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure:
*****God cannot just be tossed aside like He does not exist.
1.) The first Tablets were in "type" man's inability to keep God's Law. These tablets were supplied by God.
Exo 24:12 And the LORD said unto Moses, Come up to me into the mount, and be there: and I will give thee tables of stone, and a law, and commandments which I have written; that thou mayest teach them.
2.) The second set of Tablets were supplied by Moses. A "type" of Christ.
Exo 34:1 And the LORD said unto Moses, Hew thee two tables of stone like unto the first: and I will write upon these tables the words that were in the first tables, which thou brakest.
Jesus Christ said:
Mat 5:17 Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil.
These are the Tablets that are inside the "Ark"!
Deu 10:5 And I turned myself and came down from the mount, and put the tables in the ark which I had made; and there they be, as the LORD commanded me.
Another "type" that should not be missed is covered in the Word of God:
Rom 5:20 says Moreover the law entered, that the offense might abound. But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound:
Rom 5:21 That as sin hath reigned unto death, even so might grace reign through righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord.
*****We know Our Lord is a God to be loved and He insists in that love but The Lord Our God is also a God to be feared!
Heb 12:28 Wherefore we receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved, let us have grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear:
Heb 12:29 For our God is a consuming fire.
We know a fire will not go out until all the material to be burned is gone!
*****We need to stand in a Holy Awe of Our Lord!
He not only "Pardons" but He will also "Chastise" His children.
*****Even in Heaven, the "Saints" sing praises but they also fall down before Him.
Rev 4:10 The four and twenty elders fall down before him that sat on the throne, and worship him that liveth for ever and ever, and cast their crowns before the throne, saying,
Rev 4:11 Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created.
What did Moses pray to Our Lord:
"I pray thee, go among us; for it is a stiffnecked people; and pardon our iniquity and our sin, and take us for thine inheritance"
*****Why are we sealed with the Holy Spirit of God until He takes us to heaven? Because we are a stiff necked people that need Our Lord with us every moment we live in this flesh! We have to have a personal, one on one, relationship with The Master.
Mankind has no ability to meet the requirements of such a Holy God.
Rom 8:3 For what the law could not do, [in that it was weak through the flesh], God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh:
That's why we need Jesus who is the only way to Heaven:
Joh 14:6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.
Joh 14:7 If ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also: and from henceforth ye know him, and have seen him.
If he is not your Lord the make it so today!
Let's pray!
Our text:
Exodus Chapters 32-34
We should ask ourselves, can we feel God working behind the scenes in our lives?
The work of God is universal. Though it involves us in every way we may not be able to see it most of the time. In our own lives we have a small view of what is happening in the universe and to be honest we spend a lot of time in the valleys and just cannot see over the mountain that is before us. What we should see is that Jehovah God is in control and our job is to concentrate on the small part He has given us to do. What God does may sometimes be puzzling to us BUT we must remember God does not see the part we play as small. God sees the part we play as essential!
Hell is hot and many are caught in the Devil's snare every day. We cannot save anyone, only God can do that. We are the sower of the seed, the fishermen that cast the hook, we are the friend of the lost though he be our enemy. Our job is to be these things and trust that God still does what He has always done, To Have Mercy On Us to Salvation. Every fisherman will backlash his reel on occassion and we will need God to straighten it out!
He will only do this through His Son Jesus!
Before the Tabernacle is even constructed the Holy Spirit decided we needed to know what took place with Israel while Moses was getting the instructions to build the Tabernacle. The New Nation of Israel had already agreed to God's new two party covenant and God wants us to see their failure. God does not hide sin in His Bible but it is hard to imagine that God's people would sink so low in "Sin" and so fast.
You know just as soon as you commit your self to the Lord, Satan will come calling, to try to trip you up if he can. Before the Tabernacle has been built, this Nation of Israel would build "Idols".
The Bible says:
Ecc 7:29 Lo, this only have I found, that God hath made man upright; but they have sought out many inventions.
It had not been but a few days since these very same people had met the Lord at Mount Sinai. (Chapter 19)
In Chapter 24:3 we heard them say these words:
"All the words which the LORD hath said will we do"
This vow of the people was ratified in a legal form:
Exo 24:7 And he took the book of the covenant, and read in the audience of the people: and they said, All that the LORD hath said will we do, and be obedient.
You see they put it in writing. They could not now declare that they did not know.
We must not be fooled God keeps accurate records! At the White Throne of "Judgment" we see the phrase
"and the dead were judged out of those things [which were written in the books], according to their works"
We can miss this day of the "White Throne Judgment" if we will decide now while we are alive to accept the gift of Salvation Our Lord offers us in this time of "Grace". There is only one book we need to be in for sure and that is "The Lamb's Book Of Life".
It is only after these things that The Lord calls Moses up to the top of the Mount:
Exo 24:12 And the LORD said unto Moses, Come up to me into the mount, and be there: and I will give thee tables of stone, and a law, and commandments which I have written; that thou mayest teach them.
The very first deacon of the early church, Stephen never forgot this day and we should remember it also:
Act 7:37 This is that Moses, which said unto the children of Israel, A prophet shall the Lord your God raise up unto you of your brethren, like unto me; him shall ye hear.
Act 7:38 This is he, that was in the church in the wilderness with the angel which spake to him in the mount Sina, and with our fathers: who received the lively oracles to give unto us:
Act 7:39 To whom our fathers would not obey, but thrust him from them, and in their hearts turned back again into Egypt,
Act 7:40 Saying unto Aaron, Make us gods to go before us: for as for this Moses, which brought us out of the land of Egypt, we wot not what is become of him.
Act 7:41 And they made a calf in those days, and offered sacrifice unto the idol, and rejoiced in the works of their own hands.
Act 7:42 Then God turned, and gave them up to worship the host of heaven; as it is written in the book of the prophets, O ye house of Israel, have ye offered to me slain beasts and sacrifices by the space of forty years in the wilderness?
Act 7:43 Yea, ye took up the tabernacle of Moloch, and the star of your god Remphan, figures which ye made to worship them: and I will carry you away beyond Babylon.
We can see just how deep in sin this "New Nation" would sink without getting close to the Lord Our God.
There has been many of our own children offered up to "false idols" in our day and most never come back to Jehovah God.
We can never stop God's plan but we can be left out of God's plan and that means some one else will get a blessing for what we choose to ignore.
Let's Begin:
*****Our Text:
Exo 32:1 And when the people saw that Moses delayed to come down out of the mount, the people gathered themselves together unto Aaron, and said unto him, Up, make us gods, which shall go before us; for as for this Moses, the man that brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we wot not what is become of him.
Exo 32:2 And Aaron said unto them, Break off the golden earrings, which are in the ears of your wives, of your sons, and of your daughters, and bring them unto me.
Exo 32:3 And all the people brake off the golden earrings which were in their ears, and brought them unto Aaron.
Exo 32:4 And he received them at their hand, and fashioned it with a graving tool, after he had made it a molten calf: and they said, These be thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt.
Exo 32:5 And when Aaron saw it, he built an altar before it; and Aaron made proclamation, and said, To morrow is a feast to the LORD.
Exo 32:6 And they rose up early on the morrow, and offered burnt offerings, and brought peace offerings; and the people sat down to eat and to drink, and rose up to play.
Exo 32:7 And the LORD said unto Moses, Go, get thee down; for thy people, which thou broughtest out of the land of Egypt, have corrupted themselves:
Exo 32:8 They have turned aside quickly out of the way which I commanded them: they have made them a molten calf, and have worshipped it, and have sacrificed thereunto, and said, These be thy gods, O Israel, which have brought thee up out of the land of Egypt.
Exo 32:9 And the LORD said unto Moses, I have seen this people, and, behold, it is a stiffnecked people:
Exo 32:10 Now therefore let me alone, that my wrath may wax hot against them, and that I may consume them: and I will make of thee a great nation.
There are three main things we will see in this chapter:
1.) We will see the "Idol":
What is an Idol?
An idol is any image, any form, or any thing that represents an object of worship to us. This is anything we set our affections on and indulge in that gets between us and Our Lord.
2.) We will see an "Intercessor":
An "Intercessor" is one that mediates, one who pleads for another person in an attempt to reconcile the differences between two parties.
3.) We will see "The Punishment":
That's any punishment that comes as a direct result of our failures. Israel had not taken their "Covenant with God very serious.
How do we match up in these things.
A.) Do we take the Word of God seriously?
B.) Do we wonder why we suffer when we ignore the Word of God?
C.) Do we wonder why our nation seems to be losing favor in the eyes of God.
D.) Have we truly ask Jesus to be Our Intercessor to reconcile us to a Holy God?
Thank God for Our Intercessor, Our Mediator, Our Great High Priest, Jesus Christ.
These children of Israel were not mad at Moses for being gone for forty days. God had not stopped feeding them. God had not stopped providing their water and meeting all their needs.
They had simply cast away their allegiance to Jehovah. Their "Hearts" had left their "First Love".
What did Jesus say to the Church at Ephesus:
Rev 2:4 Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love.
They just simply did not appreciate what Moses had done for them and Moses was God's man.
Do we ever wonder just how does Jesus feels when we fail Him? We know Our Lord can be "grieved".
It's hard to get a smile out of some one we have let down!
Let's hit a little closer home. When we fail in the things of Our Own Church knowing we have such a loving Pastor and the work He put's into it, HOW DO YOU THINK HE FEELS. DO WE REALLY APPRECIATE WHAT HE DOES FOR THIS CHURCH?
This not Sam Duncan's church, This Is God's Church and we are all in this together!
When we let down our Pastor we have let down God's man just as Israel did.
We see that Israel had deliberately ignored the very first commandment. "Thou shalt have no other god's before me"
We as Christians must not lust after things we can see. We must stay focused on the "Invisible God" for we can still see His Creation and if you have been sealed with the Holy Ghost you know His Truth.
Heb 11:1 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.
We know that Israel had served false gods in Egypt and they were still in that sinful flesh:
Jos 24:14 Now therefore fear the LORD, and serve him in sincerity and in truth: and put away the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the flood, and in Egypt; and serve ye the LORD.
You know these words of Joshua still hold true today. We must put away the things we left behind and have a Holy Fear of Our Lord in sincerity and truth.
Our Lord God only expects one kind of worship!
Jesus Christ tells us:
Joh 4:23 But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him.
Joh 4:24 God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.
We must realize that if it was time to properly worship Our Lord at this day at the well in Samaria, then it is certainly time to do it right now in these last days.
We know that Israel at this time were only redeemed in "type" and the biggest majority of them had no "faith":
The proof is in the words of Moses:
Deu 32:20 And he(God) said, I will hide my face from them, I will see what their end shall be: for they are a very froward generation, children in whom is no faith.
But Paul tells the early church:
1Co 10:6 Now these things were our examples, to the intent we should not lust after evil things, as they also lusted.
There is only one way to avoid these things. We must be filled with the Lord Jesus Christ:
Rom 13:14 But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof.
If we open our eyes we can truly see that when the church does not worship in Spirit and Truth then it becomes the "Synagogue" of Satan and Our Lord will be outside knocking at the "door" to see if we let Him back in.
*****What was the response of Aaron:
God had kept Moses away from this nation of Israel for forty days and we said in a previous lesson that the number forty was the number of "testing". Now it was not only Moses that was being tested at this time for he was with Jehovah God but also the Nation of Israel including their future High Priest.
Israel was being tested at this time and we can see that they failed. We can just look around and we can see America is failing while Jesus is in Heaven also.
And You know while Our Lord is away from us and in Heaven at this time, we can be sure we are going to go through some test and hopefully we can turn that test into a Testimony.
When we pray the "sinners prayer" we are making a vow to God to uphold His principles. How good do we keep that vow. If you are like me, you fail every day. Thank God for His "Grace".
My life was a mess and I pray that Christ will make my life into a "Message" for others to see.
We can also say the this was a time of testing for Aaron.
While Moses was being instructed on how to make Aaron the first High Priest, Aaron was building a golden idol to a false God. We can see that Aaron's life was a mess at this time also.
It would be good to point out that this golden calf with the upturned horns did not just represent an idol of false worship but it represented an entire worship system.
This idol was a representation of the false "moon god", Apis to the Egyptians, but the upturn horns represent the crescent moon. Now we do not have to look far in our day to see a certain religion that is represented by the "crescent moon".
The full circle, two upturned horns, represent the "sun god", the "moon god" and on the horizon the "morning star".
This was the triune worship of Egypt when Israel was a slave and this is the false religion that spread to Mesopotamia and what we see in the Book of Revelation as the Babylonian system.
Rev 18:2 And he cried mightily with a strong voice, saying, [Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and is become the habitation of devils], and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird.
Nehemiah referred to this false idol:
Neh 9:18 Yea, when they had made them a molten calf, and said, This is thy God that brought thee up out of Egypt, and had wrought great provocations;
The Psalmist referred to this false idol:
Psa 106:19 They made a calf in Horeb, and worshipped the molten image.
Psa 106:20 Thus they changed their glory into the similitude of an ox that eateth grass.
Psa 106:21 They forgat God their saviour, which had done great things in Egypt;
The very first deacon of the early church, Stephen referred to this idol:
Act 7:43 Yea, ye took up the tabernacle of Moloch, and the star of your god Remphan, figures which ye made to worship them: and I will carry you away beyond Babylon.
This was open "Apostasy" to Our Lord and all those that would have us all under one umbrella of worship in our day are asking the Christian to be in "Open Apostasy" to Jehovah God.
The world may be going that way but we are not a part of this world:
1Jn 4:4 Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world.
1Jn 4:5 They are of the world: therefore speak they of the world, and the world heareth them.
1Jn 4:6 We are of God: he that knoweth God heareth us; he that is not of God heareth not us. Hereby know we the spirit of truth, and the spirit of error.
Watch how these things only get worse:
*****Aaron now erects an altar:
Just as today we try to hide the sin of our idolatry by insincere worship of the Living God.
It doesn't even stop there. Now Aaron wants to make a new feast day. How can we ask Our Lord to sanctify our own inventions of worship. If we look around all these things are going on before our very eyes even in our own communities and certainly in our own nation which at one time was considered a Christian Nation.
When we worship our idols in the name of Jesus Christ we have sunk about as low as we can go!
There is nothing in this world that can cleanse us from our filth but the Shed Blood of Jesus. We must be washed in the Word of God to live in this "Sin Sick" world.
We can see that offerings were made on this altar but none of them were described as "Sin Offerings". Just like today in our world, people see sin as a "cupcake" instead of what it is a "Viper" a "Serpent" a "Poison" that is killing this world we live in.
*****"and the people sat down to eat and to drink, and rose up to play"
After these people had presented themselves to the "Altar" in false confession, they immediately went back to the ways they had in Egypt and indulged in the "lust of the flesh".
Israel had now certainly broken their covenant with God and disowned the "One" that had "Delivered" them from "Bondage".
They were just having some fun and not worried about the consequences but is this not what is being taught in our world today "if it feels good do it"!
God told Moses these were his people (Verse 7 "thy people"). We see God gave these people to Moses.
They had turned aside from the ways of God. We see this all to often even in our own church where people confess of salvation and go right back to the world they lived in before they knew God.
Can we grieve Our Creator, you know we can.
*****We will next see the Intercessor.
*****Our Text:
Exo 32:11 And Moses besought the LORD his God, and said, LORD, why doth thy wrath wax hot against thy people, which thou hast brought forth out of the land of Egypt with great power, and with a mighty hand?
Exo 32:12 Wherefore should the Egyptians speak, and say, For mischief did he bring them out, to slay them in the mountains, and to consume them from the face of the earth? Turn from thy fierce wrath, and repent of this evil against thy people.
Exo 32:13 Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, thy servants, to whom thou swarest by thine own self, and saidst unto them, I will multiply your seed as the stars of heaven, and all this land that I have spoken of will I give unto your seed, and they shall inherit it for ever.
Exo 32:14 And the LORD repented of the evil which he thought to do unto his people.
Man is the only thing that God created that can truly worship Him (God). Man was born in innocence but Adam soon changed all that by falling into disobedience.
Eph 4:18 Having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart:
If man was to ever again to have a relationship with God then it must be on new ground. A new and living way.
Heb 10:20 [By a new and living way], which he hath consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, his flesh;
Anything else would only bring death! Though man had fallen out of the "Grace " of God, we still have the obligation to seek God. God gave mankind His Own breath to begin life, so the knowledge of God is still inside of every man.
The natural man does have a religious nature but in most all cases this religious nature will lead every man into idolatry.
Jesus said:
Mat 6:22 The light of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light.
Mat 6:23 But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness!
Man must have his god. Even the Atheists have a god even if it is called the god of denial for that is where they place their worship.
Paul understood this when he wrote to the Romans:
Rom 1:19 Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them.
Rom 1:20 For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse:
Rom 1:21 Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened.
Rom 1:22 Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools,
Rom 1:23 And changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things.
Rom 1:24 Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour their own bodies between themselves:
Rom 1:25 Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen.
This was the reasoning behind the very first commandment of God.
Moses had placed himself between God and His people. Moses placed himself in harm's way in order that the nation of Israel not die:
God said to Moses "Now therefore let me alone, that my wrath may wax hot against them"
Moses placed himself between the ""Wrath of God" and "A Lost People". Moses had prayed for this people all along and he could have easily have just gotten out of the way this time, after all God said we can start over again when He said:
"I will make of thee a great nation"
Moses did not fail in this hour that Israel needed him the most. The "Faith" of Moses had grown until he now could intervene on behalf of Israel. I know a man named Jesus who also did not fail me in the hour of my greatest need.
Heb 11:24 By faith Moses, when he was come to years, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter;
Heb 11:25 Choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season;
Heb 11:26 Esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt: for he had respect unto the recompence of the reward.
Moses was steadfast in his desire to be associated with these people. I know a some one named Jesus who is stedfast in His association with His Church.
Can we not see all the "types" of Our Lord?
Php 2:7 But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men:
Moses ask this Holy God:
"LORD, why doth thy wrath wax hot against thy people, which thou hast brought forth out of the land of Egypt with great power, and with a mighty hand?"
And Praise the Lord:
"And the LORD repented of the evil which he thought to do unto his people"
God had given these people to Moses in verse 7 (thy people) but now Moses had given them back to God.
What did Jesus say to His Father:
Joh 17:7 Now they have known that all things whatsoever thou hast given me are of thee.
Joh 17:8 For I have given unto them the words which thou gavest me; and they have received them, and have known surely that I came out from thee, and they have believed that thou didst send me.
Joh 17:9 I pray for them: I pray not for the world, but for them which thou hast given me; for they are thine.
Joh 17:10 And all mine are thine, and thine are mine; and I am glorified in them.
We cannot miss these "Types" of Christ because they have real importance in the way of Our Faith. God said to learn from these examples in the Old Testament.
Moses said to God, "what would the world say if you destroyed this people after redeeming them with such awesome power"
This is a plea that God will never refuse!
Moses was saying no matter what they are, they were still God's people. It was God that had laid claim on them.
Moses's Faith had finally risen to the occasion at hand!
I dare say there are not many, myself included that would have done what Moses did but this is exactly what God tells us to do:
God is searching for those that will stand in, and stand up, to reach the lost of this world!
Moses was being tested just as Israel was. God already knew what Moses would do but God knew Moses must prove it to himself.
1Pe 1:7 That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ:
God would have had to break His promise to Abraham and Moses reminded God of this:
Heb 6:16 For men verily swear by the greater: and an oath for confirmation is to them an end of all strife.
Heb 6:17 Wherein God, willing more abundantly to shew unto the heirs of promise the immutability of his counsel, confirmed it by an oath:
Heb 6:18 That by two immutable things, in which it was impossible for God to lie, we might have a strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us:
Moses had become an "Intercessor" in a "type of Jesus Christ. God will always provide one to stand in the breach:
Psa 106:23 Therefore he said that he would destroy them, had not Moses [his chosen] stood before him in the breach, to turn away his wrath, lest he should destroy them.
We know that the true "Chosen One" is Jesus Christ Our Lord:
Mat 12:18 Behold my servant, whom I have chosen; my beloved, in whom my soul is well pleased: I will put my spirit upon him, and he shall shew judgment to the Gentiles.
You see God never ever has to change His mind because everything He does is always the right thing to do:
Jas 1:16 Do not err, my beloved brethren.
Jas 1:17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, [with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning].
Jas 1:18 Of his own will begat he us with the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures.
*****Our Text:
Exodus 32:15-29
Exo 32:19 And it came to pass, as soon as he came nigh unto the camp, that he saw the calf, and the dancing: and Moses' anger waxed hot, and he cast the tables out of his hands, and brake them beneath the mount.
Exo 32:20 And he took the calf which they had made, and burnt it in the fire, and ground it to powder, and strawed it upon the water, and made the children of Israel drink of it.
Many will ask, if Moses is this great "type" of Christ then how could he do these things that were mentioned in this chapter.
BUT if we think about it we know that Our Messiah came down from Heaven knowing exactly what condition all our generations of sinners were and are in.
As we study God's Word we should use as a guideline a verse from Thessalonians:
1Th 5:21 Prove all things; hold fast that which is good.
We have to rightly divide the Bible to get the true meaning of what God is saying to us.
The Bible is its own best "commentary".
Jesus said:
Mat 5:17 Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil.
Mat 5:18 For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.
Some things to consider: Moses knew the state of this people before he came down the mountain.
God told him in verses 7,8,9
What we have in this lesson another "type"! It will apply to Israel but also to the Church.
1.) When Moses went up the mountain he was a "type" of the Ascension of Christ.
2.) While he was in the presence of God, he had learned all the things of the Tabernacle and the Priesthood and these were the provisions of God's "Grace".
3.) We now see Moses descend from the mountain in fact he will descend twice in this chapter:
Exodus 32:15 and Exodus 32:29.
We already know that Our Lord has also told us that He will descend twice:
a.) The Church the Rapture:
1Th 4:16 For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:
1Th 4:17 Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.
b.) His Second Coming:
Zec 14:3 Then shall the LORD go forth, and fight against those nations, as when he fought in the day of battle.
Zec 14:4 And his feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east, and the mount of Olives shall cleave in the midst thereof toward the east and toward the west, and there shall be a very great valley; and half of the mountain shall remove toward the north, and half of it toward the south.
After the "Rapture" of the Church, Israel will suffer a terrible "Judgment" BUT at the Second Coming, Israel will have a great "Blessing" (Millennial Reign of Christ).
*****Our Text:
Exo 32:31 And Moses returned unto the LORD, and said, Oh, this people have sinned a great sin, and have made them gods of gold.
Exo 32:32 Yet now, if thou wilt forgive their sin--; and if not, blot me, I pray thee, out of thy book which thou hast written.
We have seen Moses the "Intercessor" now we see Moses the "Judge" and soon, Moses the "Mediator".
These are all "Types" of Christ.
Moses explains later in Deuteronomy:
Deu 9:18 And I fell down before the LORD, as at the first, forty days and forty nights: I did neither eat bread, nor drink water, because of all your sins which ye sinned, in doing wickedly in the sight of the LORD, to provoke him to anger.
Deu 9:19 For I was afraid of the anger and hot displeasure, wherewith the LORD was wroth against you to destroy you. But the LORD hearkened unto me at that time also.
Deu 9:20 And the LORD was very angry with Aaron to have destroyed him: and I prayed for Aaron also the same time.
Deu 9:21 And I took your sin, the calf which ye had made, and burnt it with fire, and stamped it, and ground it very small, even until it was as small as dust: and I cast the dust thereof into the brook that descended out of the mount.
We can also see another "Type".
In the Book of Revelation we read in Chapters 2 and 3 as Christ Our Lord "Judges" His Church.
We know the Church is told to keep away from "Idols":
1Jn 5:21 Little children, keep yourselves from idols. Amen.
We know an "Idol" is anything that we place between our selves and Our Lord.
And we know what damage can come to us if we serve our "Idols":
Gal 6:8 For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting.
*****It was Aaron that was left in charge so Moses went straight to Aaron.
You know we might not like this but when Jesus went back to Heaven and He left the Church in charge of this Earth and He left the Pastors, the Preachers, the Evangelist in charge of the Church.
It is the Pastors of the Church the Jesus addresses in the Book of Revelation (Chapters 2-3).
*****Aaron gave a sad response when he said he gave the people what they wanted.
We see this happening in a lot of Churches where the Pastors and Church Leaders "give in" to those that sit in the pews for ungodly reasons.
God expects these "Men" to "Preach" "All" His Word and not to add to or take away from it.
Moses came down in the Power of God and stood before 2 million people with out any fear of them and "Gave them the Word of God".
We can see the difference in these two "types". The servant of the Lord can serve in Power but those that yield to the people have no such power and the people know it and will rebel.
Once God's man is established, then we can find out who is on God's side. Just to remain neutral is also to be on Satan's side.
The Bible still says that all these things are written down for us to learn from:
1Co 10:11 Now all these things happened unto them for ensamples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come.
1Co 10:12 Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall.
In these scriptures we see where Moses used the sword BUT the sword given to the Church is a much more powerful sword:
Eph 6:17 And take the helmet of salvation, [and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God]:
This is the sword we are to use on the enemies of the Church. We should not beat our families and friends to death with the Word of God but THE WORD OF GOD MUST CUT DEEP INTO THEIR HEARTS WHILE WE MUST TAKE A DEFINATE STAND UPHOLDING THE WORD OF GOD.
These are the conditions under which we will be "Judged" at the Bema Seat Judgment, that takes place at the Rapture of the Church.
Moses did not try to minimize the sin of Israel. Their sin was very grievous. Moses truly loved this people:
Heb 3:4 For every house is builded by some man; but he that built all things is God.
Heb 3:5 And Moses verily was faithful in all his house, as a servant, for a testimony of those things which were to be spoken after;
Heb 3:6 But Christ as a son over his own house; whose house are we, if we hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope firm unto the end.
Again we can see a "type" of Christ.
Then Moses presented himself again before the Lord in prayer for his people. Repentance can only come through prayer.
*****Our Lord Jesus is our "Prayer Warrior" in Heaven. No "sin" of the believer can make Jesus stop loving us.
Joh 13:1 Now before the feast of the passover, when Jesus knew that his hour was come that he should depart out of this world unto the Father, having loved his own which were in the world, he loved them unto the end.
Moses was willing to be blotted out of the Book Of The Living for his people.
Though this is not the Lamb's Book of Life it still shows the willingness of Moses to die for this people at the hands of God.
Psa 69:28 Let them be blotted out of the book of the living, and not be written with the righteous.
We know that God has many books:
Mal 3:16 Then they that feared the LORD spake often one to another: and the LORD hearkened, and heard it, and a book of remembrance was written before him for them that feared the LORD, and that thought upon his name.
Rev 20:12 And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.
The One that concerns the Church the most is the "Lamb's Book of Life", but there is another book for rewards.
Rev 21:27 And there shall in no wise enter into it any thing that defileth, neither whatsoever worketh abomination, or maketh a lie: but they which are written in the Lamb's book of life.
*****God gives His answer to Moses:
Exo 32:33 And the LORD said unto Moses, [Whosoever hath sinned against me, him will I blot out of my book].
This is the importance of the Blood Of Jesus:
Heb 10:18 Now where remission of these is, there is no more offering for sin.
Heb 10:19 Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus,
Gal 6:7 Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.
Gal 6:8 For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting.
*****Our Text:
Exodus 33-34
Exo 34:1 And the LORD said unto Moses, Hew thee two tables of stone like unto the first: and I will write upon these tables the words that were in the first tables, which thou brakest.
Exo 34:2 And be ready in the morning, and come up in the morning unto mount Sinai, and present thyself there to me in the top of the mount.
Exo 34:9 And he said, If now I have found grace in thy sight, O Lord, let my Lord, I pray thee, go among us; for it is a stiffnecked people; and pardon our iniquity and our sin, and take us for thine inheritance.
Exo 34:27 And the LORD said unto Moses, Write thou these words: for after the tenor of these words I have made a covenant with thee and with Israel.
Exo 34:28 And he was there with the LORD forty days and forty nights; he did neither eat bread, nor drink water. And he wrote upon the tables the words of the covenant, the ten commandments.
We may wonder why the world has changed so drastically to a world of evil but we live in an unrepentant world. If we do not acknowledge our sin to God, then He(God) has to punish us to remain righteous.
God does not and will not wink at sin!
Rev 2:5 Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent.
Though Israel had sinned grievously, Moses still had to return to God to receive the Tablets of Stone. We know that no purpose of God can fail. Those broken laws might be O K for Israel but only God's Law can stand.
*****We live in a world now where the broken laws are kept but the Christian must keep the written unbroken laws of God.
But God says:
Isa 46:10 Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure:
*****God cannot just be tossed aside like He does not exist.
1.) The first Tablets were in "type" man's inability to keep God's Law. These tablets were supplied by God.
Exo 24:12 And the LORD said unto Moses, Come up to me into the mount, and be there: and I will give thee tables of stone, and a law, and commandments which I have written; that thou mayest teach them.
2.) The second set of Tablets were supplied by Moses. A "type" of Christ.
Exo 34:1 And the LORD said unto Moses, Hew thee two tables of stone like unto the first: and I will write upon these tables the words that were in the first tables, which thou brakest.
Jesus Christ said:
Mat 5:17 Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil.
These are the Tablets that are inside the "Ark"!
Deu 10:5 And I turned myself and came down from the mount, and put the tables in the ark which I had made; and there they be, as the LORD commanded me.
Another "type" that should not be missed is covered in the Word of God:
Rom 5:20 says Moreover the law entered, that the offense might abound. But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound:
Rom 5:21 That as sin hath reigned unto death, even so might grace reign through righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord.
*****We know Our Lord is a God to be loved and He insists in that love but The Lord Our God is also a God to be feared!
Heb 12:28 Wherefore we receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved, let us have grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear:
Heb 12:29 For our God is a consuming fire.
We know a fire will not go out until all the material to be burned is gone!
*****We need to stand in a Holy Awe of Our Lord!
He not only "Pardons" but He will also "Chastise" His children.
*****Even in Heaven, the "Saints" sing praises but they also fall down before Him.
Rev 4:10 The four and twenty elders fall down before him that sat on the throne, and worship him that liveth for ever and ever, and cast their crowns before the throne, saying,
Rev 4:11 Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created.
What did Moses pray to Our Lord:
"I pray thee, go among us; for it is a stiffnecked people; and pardon our iniquity and our sin, and take us for thine inheritance"
*****Why are we sealed with the Holy Spirit of God until He takes us to heaven? Because we are a stiff necked people that need Our Lord with us every moment we live in this flesh! We have to have a personal, one on one, relationship with The Master.
Mankind has no ability to meet the requirements of such a Holy God.
Rom 8:3 For what the law could not do, [in that it was weak through the flesh], God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh:
That's why we need Jesus who is the only way to Heaven:
Joh 14:6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.
Joh 14:7 If ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also: and from henceforth ye know him, and have seen him.
If he is not your Lord the make it so today!
Let's pray!
