Moses, the Shining Mediator Between God and Israel

Continuing a chronological Bible study:

(Exodus 33:1) And 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.’"

In the last chapter, the people had made a golden calf and worshiped and even celebrated it while Moses was on top of the mountain with God.  Moses had pleaded with God not to destroy His people and indeed, at the end of the last chapter, God had told Moses to go ahead and lead the people toward the promised land, that His Angel would lead them, but that He would visit their sin upon them.  I believe this verse is a repeat of that; the Lord told Moses to leave their present camp and lead the people to the promised land, and He repeated the promise He had given Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.  I noticed that God was still calling them the people Moses brought out of Egypt, rather than the ones He had brought out with a mighty hand.  Although God had forgiven the nation as a whole and was allowing them to go on toward the promised land, the people were still suffering the consequences of their sin.  They had just lost 3000 of their family, friends, and neighbors, and now God wasn't before them in a cloud, but His Angel would lead them.

Once again, I am reminded of a similarity in modern day.  As I wrote the word "celebrated", I remembered how, although Moses had already been told what the people had done by the Lord, when he descended the mountain and saw the dancing and celebration around the calf, I believe that really shocked him, and that is when he threw and broke the tablets.  The sin was bad enough, but to see the joyful celebration of the sin, that took it to another level.  I am reminded of our recent Supreme Court ruling that "miraculously" found where the Constitution said that homosexuals should marry.  Legal scholars will tell you that it was a bad ruling, but the people who wanted it, don't care how it came to be, but are just glad that it did.  I was expecting it, almost 100% sure that our court would do that, so when they did, that in itself was no surprise.  But what chilled me to the core was the celebration that took place afterward.  Okay, so you have homosexual friends, and you are happy they won their case.  But to celebrate the very thing God called an abomination, to light up the country with rainbow lights, a symbol stolen from God's promise!  How is it any different from the raucous celebration of the people over their calf, their warped representation of a god?  You can bet God has turned His face from our country, as well.  I can just hear the arguments that it is not the same to compare our country with ancient Israel, and that's all well and good and understood.  However, it doesn't change the fact that a country without God will never survive!  "Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord" (Psalm 33:12).  We would be blessed as a nation if we followed God, but because we have chosen to push Him out, He won't force Himself on us, but will allow us to have what we have asked for as a nation.  Rather than choosing life in God, we have chosen death, not just in the homosexual marriage ruling, but in the killing of innocent babies, among countless other laws that kill and destroy families and livelihoods and freedoms.  And the people cheered and celebrated, not having any idea what they were truly cheering.  That made me so terribly sad, and so sorry to my Lord that I live in such a country.  That is not to say that the Lord won't still bring blessing to some people in this country.  Many people come to the Lord when things get so bad they have nothing else to turn to.  Think of how merciful our God is that He would accept someone who comes to Him as their last resort!  For the first time, I have just understood the reality of that statement.  Think of how put out our prideful selves would be to be the last choice, the one someone came back to because they had nowhere else to go.  Then again, an unconditionally loving parent, would welcome their child back and celebrate the fact that he did return.  How much more would our heavenly Father?  But make no mistake, as a country, I believe we are doomed because of our choices, unless something seriously changes soon.  Back to Exodus, chapter 33:

(2) “And I will send My Angel before you, and I will drive out the Canaanite, the Amorite, the Hittite, the Perizzite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite, (3) 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.”

Again a repeat of what was told Moses at the end of the last chapter, but there is a little more detail in the exact words of the Lord.  The Lord would send His Angel before them, and He would drive out the inhabitants of the land He had promised to His people.  However, He Himself would not be going in their midst, for if He did, the glory of His majesty would require immediate destruction of their sinful presence.

(4) And when the people heard these evil tidings, 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) And the children of Israel stripped themselves of their ornaments by Mount Horeb.

What were the evil tidings that the people heard?  The Lord had told them that His Angel would go before them and drive out their enemies from before them.  That should be good news, but He Himself would not go with them in their midst, and that news alone caused them to mourn, and no one put on gay and celebratory ornaments at that time.  We find that the Lord had said to them through Moses that He could consume them in an instant, and He now told them to take off their ornaments and let Him decide what he should do with them.  Once again, I think of our country celebrating abominations of the Lord, not realizing that the God of the universe could instantly destroy them and the entire world!  Scripture says that they stripped off their ornaments.  Verse 4 said no one put them on, and verse 6 said they stripped them after they heard what the Lord had said.  Perhaps the point is that no one put on decorative ornaments after the Lord had spoken, and those who already had any ornaments, took them off after hearing the word of the Lord.  Everyone mourned, and stood stripped of their ornaments by the mount where the Lord had been atop.

(7) And Moses took the tabernacle and pitched it outside the camp, far from the camp, and called it the tabernacle of the congregation. And it came to pass, that everyone who sought the LORD went out to the tabernacle of the congregation, which was outside the camp.

The tabernacle spoken of here would be one that was temporarily appointed by Moses for this purpose as the tabernacle of the congregation had not yet been built.  God had said He would not be in the people's midst, so Moses moved a tent outside the camp and far from it.  He called it the tabernacle of the congregation for now, and everyone who sought the Lord was able to go outside the camp to that tent.  Albert Barnes, in his Notes on the Bible, wrote that this word translated as "tabernacle", "ohel", was not the same word as used when the Lord told Moses how to build the tabernacle in Exodus 26.  He argued that the word used here would be better translated as "tent" rather than "tabernacle".  However, I believe the point is that Moses was providing a temporary tabernacle for the people where they could seek their Lord.  Although this tent certainly would not possess the qualities of the tabernacle that would be ultimately built, it was to serve a similar purpose now temporarily, at least with regard to the people being able to seek their Lord.

(8) And it came to pass, when 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, as Moses entered the tabernacle, the pillar of cloud descended and stood at the door of the tabernacle, and the LORD talked with Moses. (10) And 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.

I included the next three verses together as one idea.  Many of the old commentators commented after verse 8 that the people stood out of respect for Moses, their mediator with God, and watched standing until he had gone into the tabernacle.  I tend to believe that they stood because of what happened when he went into the tabernacle as stated in verses 9 and 10.  Moses obviously had to go into the tabernacle a first time before the people would see the cloud, but I believe they may have first risen out of curiosity and anxiety to see just how the Lord would greet Moses after He had been so displeased with them after their great sin.  Regardless of why they did it (and certainly their reasons may have changed as time went on), the people indeed stood as Moses went into the temporary tabernacle, and they witnessed the pillar of cloud descending to the door of the tabernacle when the Lord talked with Moses.  Scripture stated they then rose and worshiped at the sight, each man in his own tent door.  The cloud which had withdrawn from the people's camp when it was polluted with their great sin of idolatry, now returned to this temporary tabernacle some distance from the camp.  I believe it is an important and essential nugget gleaned from this passage that Moses had to go TO the Lord.  The Lord didn't immediately come back to the people.  They had to seek Him.  But when they did, He was gracious and merciful to meet them at this tabernacle.

(11) And the LORD spoke to Moses face to face, as a man speaks to his friend. And he returned to the camp, but his servant Joshua the son of Nun, a young man, did not depart from the tabernacle.

The Lord spoke to Moses as a friend.  I believe that is the meaning of the phrase "face to face".  It obviously does not mean that Moses saw God's face because just a few verses later God would say that no man could see His face and live, so we must understand this phrase to mean that God met Moses with great familiarity and as a friend, not as God in the heavens speaking down to His servant.  After the Lord spoke with him, Moses returned to the camp, but his servant Joshua, it is written, stayed in the tabernacle.  There could be a very important message in this part of the verse, but commentators are not in agreement about what it might be.  If Joshua did not want to leave the presence of the Lord out of his own volition, that might speak volumes about his dedication to the Lord.  However, as Moses's servant, he might have stayed in the tabernacle at Moses's request, as Moses planned to speedily return.  It was Dr. John Gill, in his Exposition of the Entire Bible, who speculated that because Joshua always attended Moses, and because this tabernacle was not intended as a place for worship, that the proper translation of this verse was that Moses along with his servant Joshua returned to the camp, and the LORD did not depart from the tabernacle.  Since I can find no original word or meaning for the word "but" above, I can't determine the validity of this notion.

(12) And 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.”

I assume that Moses said this when he returned to the Lord.  If we take the verses literally, and assume they are in chronological order, then Moses went to the tabernacle, the Lord spoke to him, Moses then returned to the camp, possibly leaving Joshua, and he now returned to the Lord to say what followed in verse 12.  The Lord had told Moses that He would not go forward with this people, so Moses asked who God would be sending with him.  He then pleaded with the Lord, first by repeating what He had said to him, that He knew Moses by name, and that Moses had found favor in His sight.  Therefore Moses reasoned, if he had found favor with the Lord, he now asked that He show Moses His way that he may know His will and follow Him and continue to find grace in His sight.  Moses also pleaded and interceded for this nation of people he was leading.  He asked that the Lord consider that although this people had greatly sinned against Him, they were His people for whom He had done wonderful things.  Moses was acting as an intercessor for the people, a type of Christ mediator and intercessor for the sinners.  For the first time I was really struck by the image of Christ interceding for us even when we blatantly or quickly disregard God and His rules and His will.  Jesus Christ is still there to offer salvation and a way to the Lord no matter what we have done.  Sometimes we look at the accounts in the Bible and think well, at least I would never do anything like that.  However, I believe some of the extremes may have been reported for us so that we know that nothing is too much for the Lord to forgive, not when it is covered by the precious blood of the perfect Lamb of God, Jesus Christ.

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

Moses obtained assurance from the Lord that His presence would be with him, and that He would give Moses rest, perhaps as opposed to anxiety in his position.  Was this for Moses only?

(15) And he said to Him, “If Your Presence does not go with me, do not carry us up from here. (16) For how then will it be known that I and Your people have found grace in Your sight, except that You go with us? So we shall be separate, I and Your people, from all the people who are upon the face of the earth.”

Moses was leading these people; therefore he asked the Lord that if He would not go with Moses in that capacity, leading the people, then please not lead them away from there.  Moses pleaded for the people and included them in the number of whom God had found grace.  It was true that these people were to be a separate people chosen by the Lord to be His people, and how would that be known to the world, unless the Lord continued with them?  This Moses reasoned.  Not only did Moses plead for the people, but he was pleading for the Lord's glory among the people of the world.  Only in His presence with them, could they continue to show the world that they were His people under His grace and mercy and protection.  At least that is the way Moses pleaded and reasoned with His Lord.

(17) And 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.”

The Lord said He would do the thing that Moses asked, that is, His presence would go with them and they would be His separate people.  God did it because Moses found grace in His sight. It wasn't because of the people themselves doing anything in particular, but because Moses interceded for them and asked.  This is, indeed, a picture of the coming Christ, who would intercede for us sinners, and because of His sacrifice and intercession alone, we can be saved from eternal death.  It's also worthy to note that God confirmed Moses's exact assertion that the Lord had said He knew Moses's name and that he had found grace in the Lord's sight.  He confirmed that was true and that gave Moses much encouragement.

(18) And he said, “I beseech You, show me Your glory.”

Moses indeed was encouraged and even emboldened to ask more of the Lord.  He wanted an even closer or more intimate communion with His Lord.  He wanted to see something surpassing all previous revelations.  I know answered prayer greatly humbles me and can make me cry over the beauty of the fact that the God of the universe cares about me.  Moses wanted to see more of the glorious Lord who knew His name and in whose sight he had found favor.

(19) And He said, “I will make all My goodness pass before you, and I will proclaim the name of the LORD before you; and I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and I will show mercy on whom I will show mercy."

Moses had asked to see God's glory.  The Lord's answer was that He would make all His goodness pass before Moses.  His glory was in His goodness, the goodness and mercy He showed to His people who were completely unworthy.  He is not bound by any laws of nature or the supernatural, as I have heard some say.  Some people believe God is bound by some laws that He Himself set into place, but I believe He is saying here that He is not bound to anything, and He will show mercy on those He wished to show mercy to, and He had chosen to show it to this undeserving people, and He would show it to all of us in the coming Christ.  God said He would proclaim the name of the Lord before Moses.  I first believed this meant that in showing him all His goodness, Moses would see the glory of His nature, but actually, He meant He would indeed announce His name and all His perfections of His glory, as seen in the next chapter.  I am reminded that the Lord has said that if you would seek the Lord with all your heart and soul, you would find Him.  Moses here had sought to see more of the Lord, and He had graciously allowed him to find more.

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

The Lord would show Moses more of His glory, but told him he would not be able to really see Him face to face, as no man's mortal body could withstand the full majesty of the Lord.

(21) And the LORD said, “Behold, there is a place by me, and you shall stand on a rock. (22) And it shall come to pass, 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) And I will take away My hand, and you shall see My back; but My face shall not be seen.”

The Lord arranged for a place for Moses to see more of His glory.  They were now at the door of the tabernacle with the Lord in a pillar of cloud, but He directed Moses to a place on a rock, probably on the same mount where He had been meeting with Moses before.  I am reminded that Mount Horeb and Mount Sinai were probably the same place; they may have been two different peaks within the same range, but for all practical purposes, they are interchangeable as the Mountain of God.  This particular rock on the mount had a cleft or cave in it where Moses would stand shielded by God from the brilliant dazzling light and devouring fire of God's glory while He passed.  Then God would remove His hand and allow Moses to see as much of Him from the back as he was able to withstand and live, repeating that he would not see His face.  This was really an incredible promise and answer to Moses's request to see His Lord's glory.  We will see just how it played out in the next chapter:

(Exodus 34:1) And the LORD said to Moses, “Cut two tablets of stone like the first, and I will write on these tablets the words that were on the first tablets which you broke."

Meanwhile the Lord told Moses that he was to cut two more tablets of stone like the first ones, and He would write on the new stones the same words He had written on the first ones that Moses broke.  There may be some significance in the fact that God told Moses to cut these two tablets whereas it sounded as if He had Himself made the first two:  "And the tablets were the work of God, and the writing was the writing of God engraved on the tablets." (Exodus 32:16)  The law was still that of God's, written by Him, but perhaps now through the ministration of Moses, as mediator and intercessor for the people for whom he had been fervently praying.  Maybe it had something to do with the fact that Moses was the one who broke the originals, and now he was the one to replace them.  For whatever reason, I believe the fact the words were still written by God is illustrative of the fact that the word of God is and always has been preserved even when apostles and disciples did the writing:  "All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness." (2 Timothy 3:16)

(2) "And 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; neither let flocks nor herds feed before that mountain.”

God told Moses to be ready in the morning and to come up to the top of Mount Sinai and present himself to God there.  No man was to come up with him, not even Joshua, not Aaron nor any elders. Likewise, no flocks or herds were to feed near the mountain.  It's interesting to consider that God did not alter His method of meeting with Moses after the last time.  Even though last time the people didn't know what had become of Moses after so long a time, He didn't make it any more visible to them this time.

(4) And he hewed two tablets of stone like the first; and Moses rose up early in the morning and went up Mount Sinai, as the LORD had commanded him, and took in his hand the two tablets of stone.

Moses did as the Lord commanded and cut two tablets of stone, and then rose up early in the morning and went up Mount Sinai to meet with the Lord, with the two tablets in hand.

(5) And the LORD descended in the cloud and stood with him there, and proclaimed the name of the LORD.

The Lord in that pillar of cloud that had been at the door of the tabernacle and then high in the air over the mount now descended to where Moses stood.  Then the Lord Himself proclaimed His name:

(6) And the LORD passed before him and proclaimed, “The LORD, the LORD God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant 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 upon the children’s children to the third and the fourth generation.”

The Lord passed before Moses; or perhaps better stated His glory or whatever token of His presence that Moses could withstand, passed before him.  God had said previously to Moses that He would make all His goodness pass before Moses, and He would proclaim the name of the LORD before him.  It may be that the Lord Himself was not actually repeating Himself by saying, "The LORD, the LORD God..."  This may mean that the Lord proceeded to proclaim the meaning of "The LORD", His name "Yehovah", to show Moses what that majestic name fully implied.  "Yehovah" meant "self-existent" or "eternal"; He was not created, He always was, "I am".  He was the self-existent or eternal "God", or "El", that is, "Almighty".  He was merciful and gracious.  It was Adam Clarke, in his Commentary on the Bible, who best and most beautifully explained God's proclamation here.  While countless scholars were and had been forever trying to explain the full meaning of the original name "Jehovah", Clarke said God Himself had done it right here in these verses.  Rather than adjectives, Clarke saw these as additional names of Jehovah that fully explained the glorious name of Jehovah:

1 - Yehovah - (translated as The LORD) Self-existent, eternal
2 - El - (translated as God) Almighty
3 - Rachum - (translated as merciful) Compassionate
4 - Channun - Gracious
5 - Arek Aph - (translated as longsuffering) Patient or Slow to Anger
6 - Rab - Abundant
7 - Chesed - Goodness
8 - Emeth - Truth, Certainty, Stability
9 - Natsar Chesed - (keeping mercy) Preserver or Guard of Goodness and Mercy
10 - Nasa Avon - (forgiving iniquity) He Who Bears Away Sin or Redeemer
11 - Paqad Avon - (visiting iniquity) Attender of Justice or Punisher of Sin

God had previously made known to Moses His name of Jehovah, the Self-Existent One, when He proclaimed His name as "I Am".  He now made Himself known in the glory of His abundant grace, mercy, goodness, and trustworthy faithfulness.  He had pardoned Israel's sin in the worshiping of the calf.  It was in His power to forgive and show mercy out of His own good pleasure.  I believe that is what is meant by "no means clearing the guilty".  They were still very much guilty, but because He desired to show mercy in spite of their sin, He was very patient, compassionate, and merciful.  I believe "visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children" is a continued explanation of the fact that their sin was not just erased.  There is consequence to sin that may continue through generations, and that does not stop.  However, God in His mercy, can forgive, and work all things together for good to those who love Him (Romans 8:28).

(8) And Moses made haste and bowed his head toward the earth, and worshiped. (9) And he said, “If now I have found grace in Your sight, O Lord, let my Lord, I pray, go among us, for it is a stiff-necked people; and pardon our iniquity and our sin, and take us for Your inheritance.”

Moses immediately bowed his head and worshiped in humble reverence and adoration of God's glory which he had been exposed to in answer to his request to see it.  After this revelation, Moses could have no doubt that he had found grace in the Lord's sight, so this probably reads more like, "Seeing now I have found grace..."  The Lord had told Moses in Exodus 3:3 that He would not go among the people lest He consumed them on the way because they were a stiff-necked people.  Seeing the fullness of the Lord's grace and mercy, and knowing he had found favor in the Lord's sight, Moses asked that the Lord reconsider and go among them even though they were a stiff-necked people.  Moses, seeing the full nature of God, had more reason than ever to believe that the Lord could pardon their iniquity, and so asked the Lord to do this and take back this people as His inheritance.

(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."

The Israelites had broken the covenant with God with their idolatry.  By making this new covenant, He was actually renewing His original covenant with His people.  Part of His covenant was to do marvelous things, the like of which had never been done in all the earth.  All the people among whom Moses was also a part would see the awesome work of their Lord.  Of course, alone it was a marvelous thing to have the God of the universe leading His people to a promised land and promising to deliver it to them while it was yet inhabited by others, but we know from scriptures beyond this point that He would perform countless awesome miracles, the like of which had never been seen.

(11) “Observe what I command you this day; behold, I drive out 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 go, lest it be a snare in your midst."

The Lord vowed to drive out from before His people the inhabitants of the lands He brought them through, and the people's part of the covenant was to observe what He commanded them this day.  He told the people to guard themselves against making friendly alliances with the people of these lands because it would become a trap in which they would be ensnared and polluted with their idolatry and wickedness.

(13) “But you shall destroy their altars, break their images, and cut down their groves, (14) For you shall worship no other god, for the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God."

As part of their care against being tempted to align themselves with these people, they were to destroy their altars, break their images which were any statues or likenesses of their idols, and cut down their "groves".  The original word was "asherah", which was the name of a Canaanite goddess.  From what I read, she was represented by a limbless tree trunk, or pillar, which was carved into a representation of the goddess.  Because they were carved trees, the places of Asherah worship were called groves.  The people were warned to do this because they were to have no other gods than their Lord, whose name He said was "Jealous", and whose nature was jealous.  "Jealous", or "qanna", has a much more comprehensive meaning that what we assign to it in this day.  Indeed, God is stating that He has no rival or competitor in worship and that He will not give his glory to another so called god, which may fit our description of jealousy, but more than that, "jealous" means "solicitous or vigilant in maintaining or guarding something".  God loved His people as the most loving husband would love his spouse, actually so much more so, and He was jealous for their fidelity, solicitous and vigilant in guarding it, because He was always about what was best for His people.

(15) “Lest you make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land, and they go a whoring after their gods, and do sacrifice to their gods, and one calls you and you eat of his sacrifice, (16) And you take of their daughters for your sons, and their daughters go a whoring after their gods and make your sons go a whoring after their gods."

The reason for destroying the inhabitants' altars and idols was because if they didn't, they might be tempted to make an alliance with the inhabitants.  God explained what would happen after that.  The inhabitants would go "a whoring" after their gods.  The original word "zanah" meant to commit adultery, which could be a reference to the marriage relationship between the people and their one true God, but also probably meant the actual fornication that took place in their pagan worship rituals that are spoken of elsewhere in scripture.  The inhabitants would be worshiping their idols and sacrificing to them, and one of them would call one of the Israelites to eat with him, and the Israelite would wind up eating things offered to idols which was admonished in other scriptures.  Also if the Israelites intermarried with the pagan inhabitants, when the pagan spouse worshiped her idols, the Israelite spouse would be inclined to, as well.

(17) “You shall make no molded gods for yourselves."

This was the second part of the commandment the Israelites were to adhere to as their part of the covenant with God, the first part being to worship no other gods, and this one, to make no molded gods.  Just as they were to make no graven images or molded gods, they were to destroy any they found of the inhabitants of the lands to which God would bring them.

(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."

This is a repetition of the commandment to observe the Feast of Unleavened Bread, as a memorial of their exodus from Egypt.  Perhaps God reiterated this because the people had chosen to proclaim a feast in honor of their molded calf, and He wanted to impress upon them that they were to observe only the feasts that God alone had instituted.

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

Here is another repetition of a law given at the time of the exodus from Egypt, that every firstborn male was to be separated and set aside for the Lord.  Actually, all that opened the womb were the Lord's anyway, but the firstborn specifically had been saved from destruction in Egypt as all the firstborn of the Egyptians had been killed, so the firstborn being set aside for the Lord was in memory of that great event.

(20) “But the firstborn of a donkey you shall redeem with a lamb; and if you do 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."

This is a continuation of the repetition of the law given in Exodus 13.  The firstborn of a donkey was to be redeemed with a lamb, and if not redeemed, then its neck must be broken.  The firstborn sons of men were to be redeemed.  None were to appear before the Lord without offering something, either a firstborn from their livestock, or something redeeming a donkey or firstborn son.

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

The commandment to rest on the seventh day was repeated here, with the additional caution that this included the times of earing, or plowing, and harvest.  Although those were times that called for the most labor, still they were to rest on the sabbath day.

(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."

Additionally, the Israelites were to observe two other feasts during the year, the Feast of Weeks of the first fruits of the wheat harvest, or Pentecost, and the Feast of Ingathering at the year's end.  Including the Feast of Unleavened Bread in verse 18, they were to observe feasts three times a year, appearing before the Lord.

(24) “For I will cast out the nations before you and enlarge your borders; neither will any man desire your land when you go up to appear before the LORD your God three times in the year."

The Lord promised to cast out the inhabitants of the nations before them, and to enlarge their own borders so that they would have no enemies within them.  Even beyond that was the miraculous promise that their enemies would not even desire their land and want to invade it while they were absent from it while appearing before their Lord.  God would defend and protect their land while they obeyed His commandment.  It's truly a remarkable promise to direct the hearts of their enemies away from harm that they could have committed against the Israelites during these times of the feasts.

(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."

This is a repetition of the commandments surrounding the Passover lamb; it was not to be offered with leaven (Exodus 23), nor should any of it remain until morning.  In both Exodus 23:18 and here, it was called the "blood of My sacrifice".  The Passover lamb was a memorial of that first Passover when God redeemed His people from their bondage in Egypt with the blood of an unblemished lamb, an illustration of the Lamb of God who would redeem His people from the bondage of sin and death.

(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 kid in its mother’s milk.”

Again repeated from Exodus 23, were the laws concerning the first of the first fruits being brought to the house of the Lord, and not boiling a young goat in its mother's milk, which might have been a reference to a cruel heathen practice.

(27) And 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.”

God told Moses to record these words of the Lord, for with these words beginning in verse 10, God had made a covenant with His people, and He wanted it recorded.  The word "tenor" means "the course of thought or meaning that runs through something written or spoken", but the original word "peh" literally meant "mouth".  Moses was to record these words from the mouth of God. 

(28) And 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.

Moses was with the Lord on the mount for forty days and forty nights without bread or water.  That could have only been accomplished by the miraculous support of God.  And "he" wrote...  The original script didn't use capital letters, so which "he" wrote on the tablets?  It had just been said that God told Moses to write His words.  However, when it came to the stone tablets, we have confirmation from two other places in scripture that it was God Himself who wrote on those:

And the LORD said to Moses, “Cut two tablets of stone like the first, and I will write on these tablets the words that were on the first tablets which you broke." - Exodus 34:1

(The words of the Lord) "And I will write on the tablets the words that were on the first tablets, which you broke; and you shall put them in the ark." - Deuteronomy 10:2

(29) And it came to pass, when Moses came down from Mount Sinai with the two tablets of the Testimony in his hand when he came down from the mount, that Moses did not know that the skin of his face shone while he talked with Him.

After forty days and forty nights, Moses again came down from the top of Mount Sinai with two stone tablets with the Testimony of God, His Ten Commandments written by His hand.  This time, while on the mount with the Lord, Moses had asked to see His glory.  The Lord had agreed to let Moses stand upon a rock in a cleft where he could be shielded from the Lord's face (which no man could see and live), and when His glory passed by, Moses would be allowed to see His back.  The brightness of God's glory was so reflected in Moses's face, or perhaps it so penetrated him, that the skin of his face literally shone, but Moses did not realize this.  The original word translated as "shone" was "qaran" and it literally meant "to shoot out horns or rays".  More than just a brightness in Moses's face, rays of brightness shot out from his face.

(30) And 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.

The sight must have indeed been very impressive and awesome, because when Aaron and all the Israelites saw Moses and the rays of brightness shining from his face, they were afraid to come near him.

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

Not only were Aaron and the people afraid to come near Moses, but it sounds as if they ran from the sight of him.  However, Moses called to them, and Aaron and the rulers of the people came to him, and Moses talked with them.

(32) And afterward all the children of Israel came near, and he gave them in commandment all that the LORD had spoken with him on Mount Sinai. (33) And till Moses had finished speaking with them, he put a veil on his face.

After Aaron and the rulers had talked with Moses, the entire congregation came forward to Moses, and he gave them all the commands he had been given by the Lord on Mount Sinai. While Moses spoke to the people, he put a veil over his face because they could not bear to look at the brightness of his countenance.  I feel like the great brightness radiating from Moses's face was illustrative of the light of Christ within us from the indwelling Holy Spirit.  John 1:9 said that Jesus the Messiah "was the true Light which gives light to every man coming into the world".  However, it was too much for the people at this time.  They were not ready nor could they stand to be in the presence of the full glory of God.  This is one of those passages that illustrates the plan of Christ from the beginning.  The people weren't ready for the Light and had to be shown their need for it.  The Law would show them that even at their best adherence to it, “There is none righteous, no, not one" (Romans 3:10), and "all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23).  For now, Moses veiled the light and brought the Law to the people.  However, there would come a time when Christ would tear in two the veil that separated the people from God.

Maybe because this speaks to me at this present time, but I especially like some additional points that Matthew Henry made about Moses's veil in his Commentary on the Whole Bible:  "This teaches us all a lesson of modesty and humility. We must be content to have our excellences obscured, and a veil drawn over them, not coveting to make a fair show in the flesh. Those that are truly desirous to be owned and accepted of God will likewise desire not to be taken notice of nor applauded by men. Secondly, it teaches ministers to accommodate themselves to the capacities of people, and to preach to them as they are able to bear it. Let all that art and all that learning be veiled which tend to amusement rather than edification, and let the strong condescend to the infirmities of the weak."  This present time certainly seems to be a time when there is much strife between Christians and the rest of the world.  There should certainly be a difference between Christians and the world, but should we be in the middle of the strife and fight for the culture?  Whereas quoting scripture is fine when discussing with Christian brothers and sisters, is blasting them to the world more of a prideful gesture that we know the truth and they don't?  As someone who was in the past an active local leader of Concerned Women for America, and am now very much tied to my home as a full-time Nana and wife to a husband in poor health, I often feel like I should be doing more to further the work of the Lord.  However, what did Jesus say were the two greatest commandments when asked in Matthew 22:36?  First, to love the Lord with all your heart, soul, and mind.  Secondly, to love your neighbor as yourself.  What way did Jesus say over and over and over again was the way to love your neighbor as yourself?  To serve him, to be a servant.  "But he who is greatest among you shall be your servant." (Matthew 23:11)  That is only one of many, many references.

As I study on this, I am fully realizing for the first time what a truly wonderful gift I have been given to do what Jesus called the greatest work!  Perhaps all I have done in the past was to prepare me for what is now my greatest work (up to this point); I am sure my Lord continues always to mold me.  Just as the children of Israel had to come to realize their need for a Savior, perhaps I had to come to realize my need to be humble and to serve.  Although many times I would argue that I didn't have the best childhood or experiences, as I reflect on it, I have to admit many things.  I was the firstborn which gave me many rights and privileges.  In elementary school, I was always the queen of my class when I chose to run.  I was usually at the top of my class in grades.  I was usually office manager in my jobs.  I liked to be a leader.  And my personality was always one that liked to tell other people how to do it right!  Oh, I was sincerely trying to help.  And because scripture had always helped me so much, I wanted to share it with others.  I wanted to tell the country and the world how to do things better!  But now I see all the strife; I see how poorly Christians are viewed in the public square.  I have reflected on the fact that I should be a servant and love the people God has put into my life.  But I would wonder why then, was I given so many great opportunities in CWA only to have them ripped away when my husband became so ill?  I kept thinking that time was preparing me for another great work I had to do in that department.  But I am now seeing that it may have been so that I could finally see that was not the answer, and what the world needed most was love.  I have to laugh when I write that.  "What the world needs now is love."  It seems so sappy, too simplistic.  My prideful self always wanted to scream that was just a cop-out and excuse for not doing more!  But it is truly what we need--love and serving.  My sweet Lord has given me the opportunity to do the greatest work, and now I need to set about doing it in the best, most modest and humble, loving way possible.  Thank you, Lord!

(34) But when Moses went in before the LORD to speak with Him, he would take the veil off until he came out. And he came out, and spoke to the children of Israel that which he was commanded. (35) And the children of Israel saw the face of Moses, that the skin of Moses's face shone; and Moses put the veil on his face again, until he went in to speak with Him.

Moses wore a veil over his face when he spoke to the people, but when he went into the tabernacle of the congregation to speak with the Lord, he took off the veil.  There was certainly no need for the veil when Moses spoke to the Lord.  Perhaps there is a reason for the fact this point is stressed to us.  It almost seems redundant that the veil went on before the people; it went off before the Lord; on and off again.  There is no veil when we have truly converted and come before our Lord.  Moses had seen the glory of the Lord.  Moses had direct access to the Lord; there was no need for a veil.  However, the people had need for a mediator; there was a veil between them and God, until that time when the veil would be torn in two and they, too, would have direct access to the Lord through the blood of Jesus Christ and have no need for a veil.  It is pointed out that the Israelites saw Moses's face, so it wasn't veiled so as to completely block it, or else they saw it shining in between the time he came out from meeting with the Lord until he put the veil back on.  The people understood that Moses was their mediator between them and God, and whenever he came out from speaking with the Lord, he would tell them what he had been commanded to tell them from the Lord.

These two chapters give a beautiful preview and illustration of the coming Messiah.  The people had sinned and God would no longer be in their midst.  Moses acted as intercessor and mediator between God and the people and pleaded for mercy, and God reconciled with His people.  Moses was made the visible public mediator between the people and God with his shining face, a type of the great Mediator to come.

The Making and Worshiping of the Golden Calf

Continuing with a chronological Bible study:

(Exodus 32:1) And when the people saw that Moses delayed coming down from the mountain, the people gathered themselves together to Aaron, and said to him, “Come, make us gods which 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.”

In the last chapter, God had just finished talking to Moses on Mount Sinai, where he had been for forty days and forty nights (Exodus 24:18).  Meanwhile, the people grew restless because they didn't know what had become of Moses.  Consider that this must have been some time before the end of forty days as it would take them time to accomplish what they set out to do in Moses's absence.  The people came to Aaron who had been put in charge in while Moses was gone from the people, and asked him to make them gods to go before them.  As God in the cloud went before them on their trek to the promised land, this must be a reference for the need of "gods" to go before them so that they could continue their wilderness trek.  The phrase they used "as for this Moses" wreaks of contempt and impatience.  How soon people forget!  When you read this, it seems unfathomable, but I know it happens to us all the time.  They have the one true God of the universe in their presence vowing to be their God, and they get impatient for Moses's return and have the need for "gods", any old god?  Surely, in their minds the gods would have been representative of their one true God; they just seemed to need something physical to follow.  But had God not just told them not to make any graven images or likenesses?  He said it amongst thunder and lightning and smoke that greatly frightened the people.  How much more of an impression could He have made upon them?

(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.”

To me, this is the most unbelievable, that Aaron, who had been Moses's right-hand man, and was in charge of these people in Moses's absence, should seem to go along with them.  He told them to break off the golden earrings that were in the ears of their wives and children and bring them to him (in order to make a god as they asked).  I was surprised to find that most of the early commentators gave Aaron the benefit of the doubt and supposed that he did not initially go along with this plan of theirs, and by asking for only the earrings of the wives and children, he was asking for what he thought would be the hardest for them to give up, and they would abandon their plan.  It seems to me that they are reading into the text something that was not at all expressed.  "IF" it did happen that way, the point is obviously that it did not matter, for it seems Aaron eventually gave in to the will of the people.

(3) And all the people broke off the golden earrings which were in their ears, and brought them to Aaron.  (4) And he received them from their hand, and he fashioned it with an engraving tool, and made a molded calf; and they said, “This is your god, O Israel, which brought you out of the land of Egypt.”

The people did indeed bring Aaron the earrings, and once again, I see no hesitation in Aaron.  He appears to take them from their hands and immediately proceed with fashioning a golden calf!  Possibly the likeness was chosen because of the familiar ox worship they had been exposed to in Egypt.  Once again, some of the commentators suppose that Aaron was fashioning something he surely thought they would recognize as foolish and would regret the giving up of their precious gold they had received from their Egyptian neighbors.  And once again, I believe they have to add to the text to come up with this viewpoint.  "IF" this was his plan, it wasn't a very good plan from a man in leadership.  This appears to be a leader who doesn't lead, but follows the will of the people.  Do we not see that these days in our leaders who appear to sway as the polls determine?  The people happily accepted the golden calf and proclaimed it their God!  This is the one place where I am willing to give them a small benefit of the doubt.  Surely they did not see this inanimate golden calf as their god, but as a representative of their Lord who brought them out of the land of Egypt.  This was still a complete violation of the commandment God had given them, and inexcusable, but it brings the point to a place where we can personally identify with it.  How many times do we fudge a little on God's commandment because we "aren't really worshiping idols"?

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

When Aaron saw his finished product, he went on to build an altar before it.  Then he indeed proclaimed a feast be made to "the LORD", not to the calf.  It appears they were indeed using the calf as a representation of their one true Lord, but there can be no likeness that can measure up to God, and anything in heaven above or in the earth below would only disrespect and diminish the one true God, especially a calf, the symbol of pagan worship!  Besides, it was disobedience to a direct commandment, regardless of what they thought their motives were.  God's laws are always about what is truly best for us, and I believe this one is no exception.  God wanted His people to learn to depend on Him even though they could not see Him.  They needed to feel His Spirit and presence among them and learn to follow that.  We know God in our hearts, not from something we physically see and feel.  That ultimately makes Him much bigger to us and someone we can surely trust with everything!  A god that can be contained in a box that we have created is not our one true Creator God.  It is in our best interests to better know the one true God and not be limited to what we can see and understand.

(6) And they rose up 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.

It was supposed to be their feast to the Lord, and the next day the people indeed woke up early, offered their burnt offerings and brought their peace offerings.  However, it begins to sound like a raucous party where they ate, drank, and were merry, probably to excess, as the original word for "play" was "tsachaq", most often used to mean laughing in scorn or mocking.  If this is indeed so, then not only were the people who had just recently received the thunderous ten commandments of the Lord, making likenesses of the Lord to worship them, but they were probably also taking the Lord's name in vain.  They were certainly taking Him all too lightly and commonly.

As a side note, I just read something from Matthew Henry, in his Commentary on the Whole Bible, that I had not read before, and want to mention here.  Henry was contemplating about how Aaron could have so easily fallen into such an active role in this vain idol worship, even leading by making the golden calf and proclaiming the feast day.  He wrote that the Jews have a tradition that Hur, also left in charge with Aaron, did indeed oppose what the people wanted to do, and was stoned, and that is why we never hear anything of him afterward.  This may have frightened Aaron into compliance.  It may have been a story based on presumption and assumption to explain why Aaron would do such a thing.  I would think it would have been written about in scripture if it were true.  The fact that it wasn't written, even if it was true and not written, must mean that it just doesn't matter why Aaron did what he did.  Aaron was the chief priest, Moses's right-hand man, second in command, and now in charge of the people, and there is no evidence that he even tried to dissuade the people.  If he was so frightened not to take even an initial stand against their vain idolatry, then he wasn't much of a leader, and I believe that is certainly the point here.

(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, which has brought you out of the land of Egypt.’”

Meanwhile, the Lord had just finished His instructions to Moses, and now told him what the people were doing in his absence.  He urged him to quickly get down to them because they had corrupted themselves.  Note the Lord said "your" people whom "you" brought out of Egypt.  The people had so corrupted themselves in hearts and actions against the Lord that He did not even consider them His people anymore.  After hearing God's commandments and promising to obey them, the Lord noted they had quickly forgotten His commands and He told Moses exactly what they had been doing--making a molded calf, worshiping and sacrificing to it, and even told Moses their very words about this calf being their god which had brought them out 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.”

The Lord told Moses He had seen this group of people and saw that they were a stiff-necked (from two words meaning "stubborn" and "neck") people.  It was written by Adam Clarke, in his Commentary on the Bible, that this was possibly a reference to the stiff-necked ox that they worshiped.  He told Moses to leave Him alone and let Him destroy this people, and that He would make a great nation from Moses and his line alone.  I always find it interesting when God says something like, "let Me alone".  How could Moses do anything to stop the God of the universe from destroying these people if He wanted to?  He obviously couldn't, but for our own learning, He showed us an example of intercession for a people that deserved death, as will unfold in the next verses.

(11) And 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.'"

Moses began pleading with God.  The word translated as "pleaded" in the NKJV and as "besought" in the KJV is "chalah" and more completely means "to become weak, sick, or grieved", and one of the lesser used definitions is to pray or beg.  I believe that means Moses was completely broken and prostrate before the Lord, begging for the people.  He pleaded with God to have mercy on this people, and seemed to indicate to God that he knew these were God's people, not his own, and gave glory to God alone as the one who brought the people out of Egypt with His great power.  He pleaded not only for the people, but for God's honor and glory, and that should always be our prayer, as well, that through the things we ask of our Lord, that glory and honor be brought to Him.  Moses begged the Lord to turn from His wrath, have mercy on this undeserving people, and turn away from His plan to destroy them.  This is a perfect illustration of Christ interceding on our behalf.  We sinful people are deserving of eternal death and separation from God, but Christ intercedes for us.  Note how God said in verse 10 that He would make a great nation of Moses alone.  Jesus Christ who sits as King at the throne of God came down to intercede for us, to save us from our deserved death.  Moses could alone have been the father of his people as was Abraham, but being unselfish and loving, pleaded for the 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 will give to your descendants, and they shall inherit it forever.’”

Moses went on to plead with God to remember His original promise to Abraham, Isaac, and Israel.  It's not that God needs reminding, but we should always stand on God's promises.  No matter how things appear, we stand on the promises of God, and should pray to that effect.  We pray for God's will, and we pray that He have mercy, and forgive us our sins, that we may remain His forever.  Is that not what Jesus Christ did for us?  He interceded for us, and although we deserved death, He provided a way that God's will be done, but that we may by His mercy be forgiven our sins, and inherit the kingdom of God forever.

(14) And the LORD relented from the harm which He thought to do to His people.

The Lord indeed turned from His righteous and well-deserved plan to destroy His people, but this plan was probably not yet known to Moses as indicated by the following verses (esp. 30-31).

(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) And the tablets were the work of God, and the writing was the writing of God engraved on the tablets.

Moses turned from conversing with God and started back down the mountain.  He carried the two stone tablets of God's Testimony in his hands.  The tablets were written on both sides, which appears to have been a remarkable thing in its time as in ancient times two sides of the same substance were never used.  Some of the old commentators I have read suppose that it may have been the same law written on the back as on the front so that it could be seen by the reader and the listening observers.  Some even speculate that the lettering may have been cut all the way through so as to be seen from both sides, but the back side would have been seen in reverse.  It's also possible the different laws were written on different sides of the two tablets so as to be read in book form.  We can't really know exactly how the tablets looked, but we do know that they were remarkably or perhaps even miraculously unique, and that they were the work of God, once again said to be the writing of God Himself.

(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.”

When Moses ascended all the way up the mountain to converse with God, Joshua had stayed partway down the mountain, but had remained there all the while Moses was there.  Moses had been on the top of the mountain for forty days, and Joshua had waited for him patiently.  As Moses came down to where he was, he told him that he heard the shouts of the people, and supposed there was war in the camp.

(18) And he said, “It is not the voice of the shout of victory, neither the voice of the cry of defeat, but the noise of singing I hear.”

The Lord had already revealed to Moses what the people were really doing in his absence, so he understood the noise to be their singing rather than the sounds of war.

(19) And it came to pass, as soon as he came near the camp, that he saw the calf and the dancing; and Moses's anger burned hot, and he cast the tablets out of his hands and broke them at the foot of the mountain.

Although God had already told Moses that the people had made a calf and were sacrificing to it and worshiping it, I guess the sight of it was too much for Moses.  When he saw their dancing and celebrating, he threw the stone tablets out of his hands and they broke at the foot of the mountain.  In the past, I always took this as just Moses's righteous anger.  However, I always felt a twinge of guilt for Moses having thrust tablets written by the very finger of God.  Perhaps he should have shown more care and respect for those tablets than to have allowed them to be destroyed in his anger.  It was upon reading and studying some of the old commentaries that I frequently read along with this Bible study, that I found that it was thought that this action was probably inspired by the Holy Spirit of God and was symbolic.  They cite the fact that Moses was never really chastised for his actions, and he himself talked quite frankly with no regret about his actions in Deuteronomy 9:17.  There he seemed to suggest he could have done it deliberately, saying, "I took the two tablets and cast them out of my two hands and broke them before your eyes."  When Moses broke the tablets, it was symbolic of the fact that the people had broken God's laws written on those tablets. 

(20) And 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 of it.

Additionally, Moses took the calf they had made and burned it in fire and ground it to powder which he then scattered on the water and made the people drink.  Of course, Moses wanted to destroy the detestable thing, but also there was symbolism in showing the people that their god had been reduced to nothing but powder, something the people were able to drink.  Albert Barnes in his Notes on the Bible, said it this way, "The idol was brought to nothing and the people were made to swallow their own sin."

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

Moses then rightly turned to Aaron to ask how he could have let such a thing happen.  Note the way he asked it.  First, what could they have done to him that he would allow it; and second, that he, Aaron, was responsible for bringing so great a sin on the people, by allowing them to do such a thing.  For his brother to allow such an abomination, surely the people must have terribly threatened him.  He was in charge of this people in Moses's absence and responsible for this great sin brought upon them.  As leader, Aaron was in a position of higher responsibility.  I can't help but think of the times in the Old Testament that it was stated that the king "did evil in the sight of the Lord" and "made Israel to sin".  God did indeed hold the leaders to a higher standard.  It was their responsibility to righteously and morally lead the people.  My mind can't help but play the line, "Obama did evil in the sight of the Lord, and made the people to sin".  How could it possibly look to the Lord that we not only kill babies, but chop them up to use their best parts; and that we not only allow homosexual marriage, but celebrate it, something God specifically called an abomination, shining God's rainbow, His symbol of promise, on the White House, the symbol of our government and country?  People can justify these acts to their dying days, but they can never convince me that God approves.  The closest they can get to making me understand how we can allow such atrocities is that we are a secular country and we have secular laws.  This country is not a church.  The kings were leaders of Israel, God's own people.  Fine, but how on earth do people think a country without God will survive?  It won't, plain and simple.

(22) And Aaron said, “Do not let the anger of my lord burn hot; you know the people, that they are set on mischief. (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's answer is remarkable in its weakness and immaturity.  It seems to be in our nature to always want to blame others for our sin, from the time Adam blamed Eve and Eve blamed the serpent.  Here Aaron weakly blamed the people, suggesting that Moses knew how they were.  He even seemed to lay a little blame on Moses when he repeated the people's seemingly contemptuous remark about not knowing what had become of "this Moses".  Aaron offered no evidence of heavy-handedness on the part of the people, but described how the people asked for a god and he asked for their gold.  He merely cast the gold into the fire and out popped a calf!  Does this not sound like a child explaining the mess he made?  When there is no one else to blame, Aaron said in effect, "it just happened".  One can only assume his point was that perhaps Satan himself entered into the fire and created the calf.  I suppose that is someone else to blame--"the devil made me do it".  However, Aaron didn't bother to add that he himself had fashioned and molded the calf (verse 4 above).

(25) And when Moses saw that the people were naked (for Aaron had made them naked to their shame among their enemies), (26) Then Moses stood in the gate of the camp, and said, “Who is on the LORD'S side? Let him come to me.” And all the sons of Levi gathered themselves together to him.

This word "naked" didn't really mean stripped of their clothing, but rather exposed by their sin, and therefore abandoned by God in the face of their enemies.  Once again, it is said that Aaron caused this.  Moses then stood in the gate of the camp and asked who was on the Lord's side, obviously in opposition to the false idol and raucous sin that had developed in its presence.  Whether they had never participated in the idolatrous acts, or perhaps they did and they now turned from their sin and chose the side of their Lord, the sons of Levi, Moses and Aaron's own tribe, gathered themselves to Moses.

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

Wow!  This verse may make most people uncomfortable.  Moses told those Levites who had gathered before him that the Lord instructed them to go throughout the camp and kill the transgressors, not sparing their own brothers, friends, and neighbors.  Note he told them to go from gate to gate.  I believe this suggests that they were not to go into the tents of people who were not taking part of the celebration feast to the false idol, but rather the people who were still "in the streets", as it were, not ashamed and not repenting for what they had done.

(28) And the children of Levi did according to the word of Moses; and there fell about three thousand men of the people that day.

Again, wow!  The children of Levi killed about 3000 men from their own brothers, friends, and neighbors.  Before we get caught up in the presumed cruelty in this verse, we must consider that this was in no way an indiscriminate massacre.  It has already been pointed out that the people killed were only the ones who persisted in their celebration to the false idol.  A choice was made to all the people when they were all asked, "Who is on the LORD'S side?"  They all had the opportunity to turn from their wickedness and come to Moses on the Lord's side.  Those who would not turn were destroyed from God's people.  There is always a consequence to sin.  People often don't want to accept responsibility for their actions; they want to pleasure in their sin with no consequences, but that is not how it works.  Sin ultimately means death, and life is only in the Lord.  He beckons us to "choose life".  In this case, 3000 men chose death.

(29) For Moses had said, “Consecrate yourselves today to the LORD, even every man upon his son, and upon his brother, that He may bestow on you a blessing this day."

Interesting that the newer translations wrote something to the effect of, "then Moses said" or "afterward Moses said", but the KJV makes the most sense to me--"For Moses had said" before they went out and "did according to the word of Moses".  The children of Levi killed 3000 of their men because Moses had told them the word of the Lord to go from gate to gate throughout the camp killing their brothers, friends, and neighbors.  Additionally, he had said that if they would devote themselves to the Lord, obeying His command to kill those who weren't on the Lord's side and had apparently remained indifferent about their worship of the golden calf, sparing not even their loved ones, that the Lord would recognize their zeal for Him and would bestow a blessing on them.

(30) And it came to pass on the next day that Moses said to the people, “You have committed a great sin; and now I will go up to the LORD; perhaps I can make an atonement for your sin.”

Although the greatest offenders had been slain, Moses reminded the people the next day that they had committed a great sin and certainly were not yet free from guilt.  He told them he would now return to the Lord on the mountain and "perhaps" he would be able to get forgiveness for them.

(31) And 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—and if not, blot me, I pray, out of Your book which You have written.”

Moses returned to the Lord and told Him what the Lord had already told Moses.  I have to assume that knowing the Lord already knew this, that this statement was more of a confession or lamentation that "these people" had done such a thing.  Moses pleaded with the Lord to forgive their sin, and then went as far as to offer his own life if the Lord would not forgive them.  Wow, I'm not sure I could have offered so much as to be blotted out of God's book which He Himself had written.  I don't know if this was a literal book of God's people, the names of the children of Israel, the ones who were to inherit the promised land; and Moses was referring to God's proposal in verse 10 that He destroy all the people and make a great nation from Moses alone, and he was now asking the Lord not to do that.  Then again, perhaps this was God's Book of Life and Moses was actually asking that he be blotted from the Book of Life, either alone or along with his people.  I have to assume by God's answer below that Moses was not expressing this out of greater love for his people than for His Lord, and desiring to go with them, but because of his great love for his Lord and His glory, he was willing to sacrifice himself to prevent the total destruction of His people which were an example and reminder to the world of the power and might of the Lord (v. 11-12 above).  In this, Moses would be an example of Christ who would lay down His life for His sheep (John 10:11), and as everything has appeared to be an illustration of the coming Christ, I believe this is also one.

(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, I will visit their sin upon them."

The Lord, however, told Moses that each offender was to suffer for his own sin; Moses, as innocent of this great sin, would not die for the guilty.  He then told him to go ahead and lead the people toward the place of which He had spoken, the promised land.  However, He said His Angel would go before them.  This sounds as if the Lord Himself would no longer be with them in the cloud.  However, in His mercy, He would allow His Angel to lead the people toward the promised land, but in the day that He Himself visited, He would not forget this sin, and the people would indeed be punished for it.  In this, the Lord would punish the individuals, but would not take His blessing from the nation as a whole.

(35) And the LORD plagued the people because they made the calf, the one that Aaron made.

For the present, it appears that the Lord did send a plague to the people because they had made the calf, although there are no details of the plague.  Note that although Aaron had made the calf, scripture referred to the people having made it.  Indeed, they were the ones who desired it to worship it, and were the guilty ones.  Aaron definitely bore some guilt, surely in weakness and inability to stand up for the Lord against the people, but the people were plagued because "they made the calf".

The people, as the nation of the children of Israel, were saved from total destruction.  However, Moses was not able to totally turn away the wrath of God.  This may be in example of how the law was unable to completely reconcile men to God, and that was reserved for the coming Christ, in whom alone it is that God would so completely pardon sin that it would be remembered no more (Hebrews 10:17).

God Gives Moses the Tablets of Stone

Continuing a Bible study in a chronological order set forth by Skip Andrews here:

(Exodus 31:1) And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, (2) “See, I have called by name Bezaleel the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah."

In the previous chapters, God had been telling Moses how to build a tabernacle, how to make the various altars and utensils that would be used in the tabernacle, and how to clothe and anoint the priests.  He now told him that he had called a specific craftsman by the name of Bezaleel to do some of the work.  Bezaleel was from the tribe of Judah, the grandson of Hur, who was probably the same Hur that was with Moses and Aaron and helped support Moses's hands during the battle with Amalek (Exodus 17:10-12), and who was left in charge with Aaron while Moses was on the mountain (Exodus 24:14).

(3) "And I have filled him with the Spirit of God, in wisdom, in understanding, in knowledge, and in all manner of workmanship, (4) To devise cunning works, to work in gold, and in silver, and in brass, (5) And in cutting of stones, to set them, and in carving of timber, to work in all manner of workmanship."

God said He had filled Bezaleel with His own Spirit in wisdom, understanding, and knowledge in all sorts of workmanship, to be able to create and construct designs in gold, silver, brass, as well as the cutting and setting of jewels, and wood carving.  This shows how the "natural talents" of a person are gifts from God.  We all have seen the difference between someone who reads and studies to do something, and one who seems to have been born with a natural talent to do the same thing.  That "natural" talent is God-given and God-inspired by His own spirit, and we should be ever thankful to Him for the talents we possess.

(6) “And I, behold I, have appointed with him Aholiab the son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan; and I have put wisdom in the hearts of all who are wise hearted, that they may make all that I have commanded you:"

God also called Aholiab, who was from a different tribe, to work with Bezaleel.  The commentaries that I study suggest in so many words that this was to keep one tribe from getting too prideful.  All parts of the body of Christ are needed and have honor (1 Corinthians, chapter 12).  God once again said that He was the One who put wisdom in all who are wise, and He had put the talents in these two men to carry out all He had commanded Moses to make.

(7) "The tabernacle of the congregation, the ark of the Testimony and the mercy seat that is on it, and all the furniture of the tabernacle, (8) And the table and its utensils, the pure gold candlestick with all its utensils, the altar of incense, (9) And the altar of burnt offering with all its utensils, and the laver and its base, (10) And the cloths of service, the holy garments for Aaron the priest and the garments of his sons, to minister in the priest's office, (11) And the anointing oil, and sweet incense for the holy place; according to all that I have commanded you they shall do.”

God then gave Moses a recap of all that He had commanded him that these two men should make--the tabernacle itself, the ark with its mercy seat, all the furnishings and utensils of the tabernacle, the candlestick, the altars, the wash basin, the holy garments to be worn by the priests, the incense, and the anointing oil.  All the instructions that God had given Moses in the previous several chapters, He now instructed to be carried out by Bezaleel and Aholiab.

(12) And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, (13) “Speak also to the children of Israel, saying, ‘Verily My Sabbaths you shall keep, for it is a sign between Me and you throughout your generations, that you may know that I am the LORD who sanctifies you. (14) You shall keep the Sabbath, therefore, for it is holy to you; everyone who defiles it shall surely be put to death; for whoever does any work on it, that soul shall be cut off from among his people. (15) Six days may work be done, but the seventh is the Sabbath of rest, holy to the LORD; whoever does any work on the Sabbath day, he shall surely be put to death.'"

In their work on the tabernacle and its furnishings, God told Moses to warn the people that they were to observe the Sabbaths of the Lord.  That was a sign between God and His people that He had given them as one of the Ten Commandments in Exodus 20, that was to be observed throughout their generations, and was not to be skipped even in their zeal to do God's work on the tabernacle.  It was Albert Barnes, in his Notes on the Bible, who pointed out in the last chapter that here was where there was a distinction between being put to death and being cut off from his people.  If you read verse 14 alone, you might assume there was a difference between defiling the Sabbath and working on the Sabbath.  Perhaps defiling it was to do evil on the day or to worship idols on the day set aside for God.  It was Matthew Henry, in his Commentary on the Whole Bible, who referred to Isaiah 56:2, where God said that the man was blessed who kept his hand from doing any evil on the Sabbath.  Defiling, doing evil, on the Sabbath was punishable by death, but perhaps disobeying in one's zeal for God and neglecting the Sabbath, was still disobedience and punishable by excommunication, but perhaps was distinguished from the evil act deserving of death.  However, when you read the verse in context along with verse 15, scripture clearly states that doing work on the Sabbath does defile it, and that act alone was punishable by death.  The Sabbath was a holy day set aside for rest and devoted entirely to God.  Ignoring it was defiling that holy day and was punishable by death.

(16) "‘Therefore the children of Israel shall keep the Sabbath, to observe the Sabbath throughout their generations as a perpetual covenant. (17) It is a sign between Me and the children of Israel forever; for in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day He rested and was refreshed.’”

The children of Israel were admonished to always observe the Sabbath throughout their generations as an everlasting covenant between them and God, at least as long as the Mosaic law continued until the coming of the Messiah.  It was a sign between God and His children, patterned after His creation week when the Lord made heaven and earth in six days, and then rested on the seventh.  Not only did He rest, but He was refreshed.  That is a remarkable statement regarding the God of the universe!  Albert Barnes, in his Notes on the Bible, pointed out that this word "refreshed" was not applied to God anywhere else in the Bible.  Indeed, I found it in only two other verses, one in Exodus 23:12 where it referred to the people being refreshed on the Sabbath day, and one in 2nd Samuel 16:14, where the king and the people refreshed themselves.  Obviously, God did not have need of a rest to be refreshed, but wanted His people to imitate His example because mere humans indeed did need rest.  Jesus Himself said in Mark 2:27 that the Sabbath was made for man, and not man made for the Sabbath.  God made the Sabbath to be a rest and refreshment for man, and He patterned it after His creation week.  In observing the Sabbath, the children of Israel declared to the world that they worshiped the one true God who created the world in six days and rested on the seventh.  It was a sign that they were His people, and He was their Lord. 

(18) And He gave to Moses, when He had made an end of speaking with him on Mount Sinai, two tablets of testimony, tablets of stone, written with the finger of God.

At the end of God's conversation with Moses on Mount Sinai, He gave Moses two stone tablets, incredibly written with His own finger, a lasting record of testimony that represented the covenant between God and His people.  Some theologians have suggested that God didn't actually write the tablets Himself; "with the finger of God" meant it was done instantaneously, by His will and power immediately, without the use of any instrument.  Others, like Adam Clarke, in his Commentary on the Bible, citing Dr. Henry Winder in his History of Knowledge, believed that not only did God write the tablets Himself, but that until He did, there had been no writing in alphabetical characters, but only marks or symbols or hieroglyphics.  I don't see that that is confirmed by scripture.  Back in Exodus 17:14, God told Moses to write a memorial in a book.  True, it could have been written with symbols, but I see no need to prove that God invented the alphabet.  I do believe it is confirmed in scripture that God Himself wrote the tablets.  In Exodus 24:12, God told Moses to come up to Him on the mountain where He would give him tablets of stone which He had written.  A little later in Exodus 32:16, it will refer to the writing on the tablets being the writing of God.  As He always does to surely establish a fact (Deu. 19:15, Matt 18:16, 2 Cor 13:1), this was confirmed at least three times in scripture, so I believe that God did indeed write the tablets.  Whether He took the time to painstakingly chisel them into stone, or spoke them and they were instantly written, I don't see that it makes a difference.  God wrote the tablets so that His people would have a permanent record of His Testimony, that is, the written laws of His will concerning His people.  This permanent record written by their Lord Himself emphasized the supreme importance His law was to play in their lives.  I believe the stone tablets "written with the finger of God" is illustrative and representative of the fact that these laws were to be ultimately and even more permanently written on our hearts (2 Corinthians 3:3). 

The Altar of Incense and the Ransom of Souls

Continuing a chronological Bible study:

(Exodus 30:1) "And you shall make an altar to burn incense on; you shall make it of acacia wood."

For the past several chapters, Moses has been up on the mount with the Lord who was giving him instructions on how to build a tabernacle.  In the last chapter He told him how to consecrate Aaron and his sons as priests, and in this chapter we continue with instructions on how to build an incense altar.  It was to be made of the same wood as the altar of burnt offering.  I would imagine that where so many sacrifices were offered, it was necessary to have some incense to remove the bad smells that must have come from the slaughter of so many animals, the burning of flesh, and the sprinkling of the blood.

(2) “A cubit shall be its length and a cubit its width; it shall be square; and two cubits shall be its height; its horns shall be of the same."

The cubit being about 18 inches, this altar would be 18 inches square and about three feet high.  It was to have horns of the same wood, probably of the same piece, like the horns on the altar of burnt offering.

(3) “And you shall overlay its top, its sides all around, and its horns with pure gold; and you shall make for it a crown of gold all around."

The altar was to be overlaid with pure gold on its top and sides, and even the horns were to be covered in gold.  Additionally, there was to be a crown molding of gold all around.  This altar would later be referred to as the golden altar.

(4) "And two golden rings you shall make for it, under the crown molding on both its sides; upon the two sides of it you shall make them, and they shall be for places for the staves to bear it all. (5) And you shall make the staves of acacia wood, and overlay them with gold."

Two golden rings were made for the altar under the crown molding on each side, into which poles or bars would be placed in order to carry the altar.  The poles were also to be made of acacia wood like the altar itself, and overlaid with gold.

(6) “And you shall put it before the veil that is before the ark of the Testimony, before the mercy seat that is over the Testimony, where I will meet with you."

The incense altar was to be placed outside the veil that divided the holy place from the most holy place where the ark of the Testimony with its mercy seat was kept.  Above the mercy seat, between the two cherubim, is where God had said He would meet man in Exodus 25:22.

(7) "And Aaron shall burn on it sweet incense every morning; when he tends the lamps, he shall burn incense on it. (8) And when Aaron lights the lamps at evening, he shall burn incense on it, a perpetual incense before the LORD throughout your generations."

As Aaron was expected to tend the candle lamps every morning and every evening, so also at that time he was to burn sweet incense on the golden incense altar.  Just as there was to be continual light, there was to be continual sweet incense burning throughout the generations.  Once again, I would imagine that was a necessity because of the smells that must have occurred because of so many slaughtered animals, blood, and burning flesh.  It made for a perpetual sweet perfume which honored God.

(9) “You shall not offer strange incense on it, nor burnt sacrifice, nor grain offering; nor shall you pour a drink offering on it."

The golden incense altar was only to have the incense specifically made for it burned on it; there were to be no other types of incense.  It was not to be used for any sacrificial burning or any other types of offerings.  Nothing was to be offered on it but incense, and only the incense appointed for it.

(10)  “And Aaron shall make atonement upon the horns of it once a year with the blood of the sin offering of atonement; once a year he shall make atonement upon it throughout your generations. It is most holy to the LORD.”

Once a year this altar was to be purified by the sprinkling of blood on the horns of the altar, by what was called a sin offering of atonement.  This was to be done yearly throughout their generations.  I'm not sure which was the most holy to the Lord, the annual atonement itself, or this altar which was most holy and must be annually purified.  Matthew Henry, in his Commentary on the Whole Bible, did a beautiful job of explaining why everything was done the way it was done with regard to this altar, including many other scripture references to back up his opinion:

"This incense-altar typified, 1. The mediation of Christ. The brazen altar in the court was a type of Christ dying on earth; the golden altar in the sanctuary was a type of Christ interceding in heaven, in virtue of his satisfaction. This altar was before the mercy-seat; for Christ always appears in the presence of God for us; he is our advocate with the father (1 Jo 2:1), and his intercession is unto God of a sweet-smelling savour. This altar had a crown fixed to it; for Christ intercedes as king. 'Father, I will...' (Joh 17:24). 2. The devotions of the saints, whose prayers are said to be set forth before God as incense (Psa 141:2). As the smoke of the incense ascended, so much our desires towards God rise in prayer, being kindled with the fire of holy love and other pious affections. When the priest was burning incense the people were praying (Luk 1:10), to signify that prayer is the true incense. This incense was offered daily, it was a perpetual incense (Exo 30:8); for we must pray always, that is, we must keep up stated times for prayer every day, morning and evening, at least, and never omit it, but thus pray without ceasing. The lamps were dressed or lighted at the same time that the incense was burnt, to teach us that the reading of the scriptures (which are our light and lamp) is a part of our daily work, and should ordinarily accompany our prayers and praises. When we speak to God we must hear what God says to us, and thus the communion is complete. The devotions of sanctified souls are well-pleasing to God, of a sweet-smelling savour; the prayers of saints are compared to sweet odours (Rev 5:8), but it is the incense which Christ adds to them that makes them acceptable (Rev 8:3), and his blood that atones for the guilt which cleaves to our best services. And, if the heart and life be not holy, even incense is an abomination (Isa 1:13), and he that offers it is as if he blessed an idol (Isa 66:3)."

This really had me pondering why there had to be a blood sacrifice.  Actually the more precise question I had was which came first, a necessary blood sacrifice that Christ came to fulfill, or the plan for Christ with a blood sacrifice that was a foreshadowing of Him?  I don't have to know the exact answer as to why God required a blood sacrifice.  He is God and is bound (I don't like that word as God is not really bound by anything) by truth and His God-like character.  There are things in God's nature I cannot and don't really want to understand.  If I could totally understand the mind of God, then He wouldn't be a very powerful and almighty God.  So I am okay with that.  However, I have never thought until now about the possibility that Christ came first and then the blood sacrifice.  I know Christ came first; He has been there since the beginning (John 1:1), but I mean the plan for His sacrificial death for our sins.  I did find an article here at gotquestions.org that I thought gave a satisfactory answer for this:

"The whole of the Old Testament, every book, points toward the Great Sacrifice that was to come—that of Jesus’ sacrificial giving of His own life on our behalf. Leviticus 17:11 is the Old Testament’s central statement about the significance of blood in the sacrificial system. God, speaking to Moses, declares: 'For the life of a creature is in the blood, and I have given it to you to make atonement for yourselves on the altar; it is the blood that makes atonement for one’s life.'

"A 'sacrifice' is defined as the offering up of something precious for a cause or a reason. Making atonement is satisfying someone or something for an offense committed. The Leviticus verse can be read more clearly now: God said, 'I have given it to you (the creature’s life, which is in its blood) to make atonement for yourselves (covering the offense you have committed against Me).' In other words, those who are covered by the blood sacrifice are set free from the consequences of sin.

"Of course, the Israelites did not know of Jesus per se, or how He would die on their behalf and then rise again, but they did believe God would be sending them a Savior. All of the many, many blood sacrifices seen throughout the Old Testament were foreshadowing the true, once-for-all-time sacrifice to come so that the Israelites would never forget that, without the blood, there is no forgiveness. This shedding of blood is a substitutionary act. Therefore, the last clause of Leviticus 17:11 could be read either 'the blood "makes atonement" at the cost of the life' (i.e., the animal’s life) or 'makes atonement in the place of the life' (i.e., the sinner’s life, with Jesus Christ being the One giving life through His shed blood).

"Hebrews 9:11-18 confirms the symbolism of blood as life and applies Leviticus 17:11 to the sacrifice of the Lord Jesus Christ. Verse 12 states clearly that the Old Testament blood sacrifices were temporary and only atoned for sin partially and for a short time, hence the need to repeat the sacrifices yearly. But when Christ entered the Most Holy Place, He did so to offer His own blood once for all time, making future sacrifices unnecessary. This is what Jesus meant by His dying words on the cross: 'It is finished' (John 19:30). Never again would the blood of bulls and goats cleanse men from their sin. Only by accepting Jesus’ blood, shed on the cross for the remission of sins, can we stand before God covered in the righteousness of Christ (2 Corinthians 5:21)."

(11) And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, (12) “When you take the sum of the children of Israel for their number, then every man shall give a ransom for his soul to the LORD, when you number them, that there may be no plague among them when you number them."

The Lord continued instructing Moses.  He was to take literally a head count of the number of the children of Israel, and every man was to pay a ransom, or a tribute or tax.  This tax or ransom was the redemption price each man paid to the Lord for redeeming his soul and bringing him into the covenant with Him.  They were to pay this ransom at the time of the count so that there would be no plague among them.  It appears they might incur punishment if they did not honor and pay this important ransom for their souls.  The original word for "plague" was "negeph", and although it was most often used to mean "plague", the first and most literal definition indicated by Strong's is "a trip of the foot".  Once again this was a picture of the coming Christ who would preserve them from the fall by sin into eternal death and destruction.  Before Jesus Christ came and paid the ransom for all, the children of Israel were required to pay their own ransoms.  Just as one must accept Christ's sacrifice for himself by believing in Him to cover his sins and thereby be saved from eternal death, the children of Israel had to actively participate by paying their own ransoms to avoid plague.

(13) “This is what everyone among those who are numbered shall give, half a shekel according to the shekel of the sanctuary (a shekel is twenty gerahs); a half shekel shall be the offering to the Lord."

At the time of the numbering of the children of Israel, each who was numbered was to give half a shekel.  "According to the shekel of the sanctuary" probably just meant that they were to use the standard of the shekel kept in the sanctuary, as "shekel" referred to a weight in silver.  A shekel, or twenty gerahs, looks to be a little more than a third of an ounce in our current weights and measures, and they were to give half of that.  Thus silver was used to redeem souls in the Old Testament.  This is obviously what Peter spoke of in one of my memory verses when he said in 1 Peter 1:18-19, "Forasmuch as you know that you were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot."

(14) “Everyone included among those who are numbered, from twenty years old and above, shall give an offering to the LORD. (15) The rich shall not give more and the poor shall not give less than half a shekel, when you give an offering to the LORD, to make atonement for your souls."

Only the ones twenty years and older were to give this half shekel offering to the Lord.  I believe we will find out later that it was only the men, and not women and children, who had to pay this ransom.  That makes sense since it was silver and that might necessarily have to come from the head of the household.  It also makes me ponder about how the father is to be the spiritual head of his household, and through his payment of the ransom, his family might be saved, but that is not really addressed here.  Notice that the rich were not to give more than half a shekel, nor were the poor to give less than half a shekel.  The price of the ransom of a soul was the same to all, as it is now in Jesus Christ.  No sin or sinner requires greater payment than another; one price is paid for all, as in the precious blood of Jesus Christ.

(16) “And you shall take the atonement money of the children of Israel, and shall appoint it for the service of the tabernacle of the congregation, that it may be a memorial to the children of Israel before the LORD, to make an atonement for your souls."

This ransom tax was considered atonement money as it was paid for the redemption of the souls of the children of Israel, and it was to be appointed for the service of the tabernacle.  It would serve as a reminder to the children of Israel that they were sinners and deserving of death, but that a ransom price was given to and accepted by God, for the atonement of their souls, and in this they should be ever grateful of His mercy and favor.

(17) And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, (18) “You shall also make a laver of brass, and its foot also of brass, to wash; and you shall put it between the tabernacle of the congregation and the altar, and you shall put water in it. (19) For Aaron and his sons shall wash their hands and their feet at it."

The Lord continued to instruct Moses.  He was to make a brass laver, which was a large basin or bowl, on a foot or pedestal of brass, to be placed between the tabernacle and the altar of burnt offering which was by the door of the tabernacle.  It was to hold water where Aaron and his sons were to wash their hands and feet.

(20) “When they go into the tabernacle of the congregation, or when they come near the altar to minister, to burn an offering made by fire to the LORD, they shall wash with water, that they die not. (21) So they shall wash their hands and their feet, that they die not; and it shall be a statute forever to them, to him and to his descendants throughout their generations.”

Every time Aaron and his sons went into the tabernacle or when they went near the altar to make a burnt offering to the Lord, they were to wash their hands and feet.  Although cleanliness was important before entering the tabernacle and ministering to the Lord, I imagine it was symbolic of the purifying of their doings and their goings, before entering the tabernacle or ministering to the Lord.  The Lord told Moses, and then repeated it, that Aaron and his sons must wash with water so that they not die.  Dr. John Gill wrote, in his Exposition of the Entire Bible, about how this act was a picture of sin which exposes one to eternal death and must be washed away by the blood of the Lamb of God.  It also sounds like an immediate hand of God would cause death if they neglected this command "by how much easier it was to perform it, by so much the more were they inexcusable, and to be treated with greater severity; and this is repeated, that they might carefully observe it, lest they perish".  Similarly, accepting Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior to wash away one's sins is easy on our parts, requiring no special works, and likewise should it be inexcusable if we should reject and neglect it?

(22) Moreover the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, (23) "Take also for yourself principal spices, five hundred shekels of pure myrrh, half as much sweet cinnamon (two hundred and fifty shekels), two hundred and fifty shekels of sweet cane, (24) five hundred shekels of cassia, according to the shekel of the sanctuary, and a hin of olive oil. (25) And you shall make from these a holy ointment, an ointment compound after the art of the apothecary; it shall be an holy anointing oil."

Additionally, the Lord told Moses to take the best spices, with which He gave him the formula to make a holy ointment.  First he was to take 500 shekels of pure myrrh, which would be about 12 1/2 pounds of liquid oil, with a shekel being about .4 of an ounce.  He was to take half as much each of cinnamon and sweet cane, and 500 shekels of cassia, and mix them with a hin of olive oil, which would be almost a gallon of oil.  He was to make of the ingredients, a holy anointing oil, after the art of the apothecary, who pounded and mixed drugs and perfumes.  It was to be considered a holy anointing oil.

(26) "And you shall anoint the tabernacle of the congregation with it, and the ark of the Testimony, (27) And the table and all its utensils, the candlestick and its utensils, and the altar of incense, (28) And the altar of burnt offering with all its utensils, and the laver and its base. (29) And you shall sanctify them, that they may be most holy; whatever touches them shall be holy."

Moses was to use the holy anointing oil to anoint the tabernacle, including the ark of the Testimony, the table, candlestick, altar of incense, altar of burnt offering, wash basin, and all the utensils pertaining to them.  By this anointing, they would be sanctified and considered most holy, set apart for sacred use.  Whatever touched these anointed and holy objects "shall be holy".  The question might be must they be holy before they were allowed to touch, or were they made holy because they touched...?  Interestingly, the NKJV made it sound as if whatever touched these things must be first holy.  But what made things first holy, but being sanctified by God in the way He instructed?  I believe, as in Exodus 29:37, with regard to whatever touched the holy altar, that once these items were properly sanctified, that they themselves sanctified the things that touched them, just as the altar sanctified the gifts on it.  This is based on what Jesus said about the altar sanctifying gifts upon it (Matthew 23:19).

(30) “And you shall anoint Aaron and his sons, and consecrate them, that they may minister to Me in the priest's office."

Likewise, the anointing oil was to be used in the consecration of Aaron and his sons as priests.

(31) “And you shall speak to the children of Israel, saying: ‘This shall be a holy anointing oil to Me throughout your generations. (32) It shall not be poured on man’s flesh; neither shall you make any other like it, according to its composition; it is holy, and it shall be holy to you. (33) Whoever compounds any like it, or whoever puts any of it on a stranger, shall be cut off from his people.’”

Moses was instructed by God to tell the children of Israel that this holy anointing oil was to be for the Lord and to be used continually as instructed throughout their generations.  They were forbidden to pour it on themselves as was the case with personal anointing oil.  Nor were they allowed to make for themselves an anointing oil made with the same ingredients, because it was to be considered a holy oil to them, set apart for sacred use by and for the Lord.  Whoever made a similar compound for personal use, or whoever put it on a stranger, which I believe in this case meant anyone not of the line of Aaron who were the appointed priests, would be cut off from his people.  Whether this meant excommunication from the congregation of Israel, or immediate death and therefore excommunication from the living, I am not certain.  Albert Barnes, in his Notes on the Bible, pointed out in a later verse, Exodus 31:14, that the Lord distinguished in the same verse about those who would be put to death and those who would be cut off from his people.  Therefore, it seems reasonable to assume that this cutting off meant excommunication from the congregation of the children of Israel.

(34) And the LORD said to Moses: “Take sweet spices, stacte and onycha and galbanum, and pure frankincense with these sweet spices; there shall be equal amounts of each. (35) And you shall make it a perfume, a confection after the art of the apothecary, tempered together, pure and holy. (36) And you shall beat some of it very fine, and put some of it before the Testimony in the tabernacle of the congregation, where I will meet with you; it shall be most holy to you."

The Lord told Moses also to take some other specific aromatic spices of equal proportions and make a perfume, again after the art of the apothecary, who pounded and mixed drugs and perfumes.  Some of it was to be beaten very finely, and placed before the ark of the Testimony, which was probably on the golden incense altar (v. 6 above), where the Lord had previously promised to meet with them.  It was to be considered most holy to the children of Israel.

(37) "And as for the perfume which you shall make, you shall not make any for yourselves, according to its composition; it shall be to you holy for the LORD. (38) Whoever makes any like it, to smell it, he shall be cut off from his people.”

Once again, if anyone made a perfume according to this formula for personal use, he would be excommunicated from his people.  Thus God instilled in His people a reverence for the things of Him, and taught them not to abuse or profane anything by which God made Himself known to His people.