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| 1 And the people see that Moses is delaying to come down from the mount, and the people assemble against Aaron, and say unto him, 'Rise, make for us gods who go before us, for this Moses the man who brought us up out of the land of Egypt we have not known what hath happened to him.' |
When the people – Having an "evil heart of unbelief." (Heb. 3:12). R3046:3
As our Lord came to his own and thev received him not, so at his second coming professed spiritual Israel did not receive him. R3047:5
They were unable to trust God whom they could not see after his representative, Moses, was out of sight. R5298:1
That Moses delayed – Similarly our Lord's absence was longer than had been expected and many claim that he will not come again. R3048:1
As for this Moses – At this very time, when the people were thus speaking lightly of him, Moses was importuning the Lord for them. R3046:5
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| 2 And Aaron saith unto them, 'Break off the rings of gold which [are] in the ears of your wives, your sons, and your daughters, and bring in unto me;' |
And Aaron – The weakness of Aaron is very markedly shown in this incident. R3046:6
The golden earrings – Possibly a subterfuge, hoping that by making this demand they would draw back and decline to part with their ornaments. R4022:4, R3046:6
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| 3 and all the people themselves break off the rings of gold which [are] in their ears, and bring in unto Aaron, |
And brought them – How many, in their worshiping of a sect or denomination, will strip themselves of their most valuable possessions. R4022:5
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| 4 and he receiveth from their hand, and doth fashion it with a graving tool, and doth make it a molten calf, and they say, 'These thy gods, O Israel, who brought thee up out of the land of Egypt.' |
A molten calf – Symbolizing Churchianity, as well as Mammon, the god of wealth, of money. R4022:6, R3047:3
Shall we, like Israel of old, turn to gods we formerly worshipped-gods of wealth or of pleasure. R5548:3
The Israelites probably recognized the golden calf as merely a symbol of Jehovah, just as the heathen use idols and some Christians use the crucifix as a representation of Christ. R5298:1, R4022:2, R3047:1
It is improbable that the jewelry would have been enough. Perhaps the calf was made of clay or wood and covered over with gold. R5298:2
Pictures the worship of self and the works of self, especially evidenced in Higher Criticism. R5267:3*
The sin of covetousness, the worship of Mammon, the idolatry of money, is the great sin of Christendom, the antitype of fleshly Israel. R1836:1
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| 5 And Aaron seeth, and buildeth an altar before it, and Aaron calleth, and saith, 'A festival to Jehovah to-morrow;' |
An altar before it – It is but natural that we should sacrifice to whatever we set up in our hearts as an idol. If we know the things to which one sacrifices his best thoughts, time and influence, we can tell his idol. R4023:2
To the LORD – To Jehovah; showing that the idolatry here was not different from the kind practiced today in some Christian churches where images, pictures, crucifixes, etc. are worshipped. R3047:1, R5298:1, R4022:2
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| 6 and they rise early on the morrow, and cause burnt-offerings to ascend, and bring nigh peace-offerings; and the people sit down to eat and to drink, and rise up to play. |
Rose up to play – Dances and supposedly lewd conduct, after the manner of heathen. R3047:2
Idolatry is not the blind adoration of superior dignity, but it is wilful and sinful devotion to degrading self-gratification. R1835:6
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| 7 And Jehovah saith unto Moses, 'Go, descend, for thy people whom thou hast brought up out of the land of Egypt hath done corruptly, |
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| 8 they have turned aside hastily from the way that I have commanded them; they have made for themselves a molten calf, and bow themselves to it, and sacrifice to it, and say, These thy gods, O Israel, who brought thee up out of the land of Egypt.' |
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| 9 And Jehovah saith unto Moses, 'I have seen this people, and lo, it [is] a stiff-necked people; |
Unto Moses – Moses was the Mediator of the Law covenant. Christ became the heir of its promises of life and the Mediator of the New covenant. R1725:4
Who acted representatively in bringing the Law covenant upon the Israelites, as Christ acted representatively in removing it. R1725:4, R5046:6
A stiffnecked people – Like an ox, difficult to turn about. R5387:3
Their stubborness will eventually show the mercy of God through his dealing with them. OV120:4
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| 10 and now, let Me alone, and My anger doth burn against them, and I consume them, and I make thee become a great nation.' |
I will make of thee – Showing how thoroughly Moses was the representative of the nation of Israel. R5046:5
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| 11 And Moses appeaseth the face of Jehovah his God, and saith, 'Why, O Jehovah, doth Thine anger burn against Thy people, whom Thou hast brought forth out of the land of Egypt with great power and with a strong hand |
Besought the LORD – He thus showed himself a worthy type of the great Mediator. R3046:5
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| 12 why do the Egyptians speak, saying, For evil He brought them out to slay them among mountains, and to consume them from off the face of the ground turn back from the heat of Thine anger, and repent of the evil against Thy people. |
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| 13 'Be mindful of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Israel, Thy servants, to whom Thou hast sworn by Thyself, and unto whom Thou speakest: I multiply your seed as stars of the heavens, and all this land, as I have said, I give to your seed, and they have inherited to the age;' |
Remember Abraham – The Jews were not selected because they were holier or better than others, but for their fathers' sakes God chose them. R5917:3
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| 14 and Jehovah repenteth of the evil which He hath spoken of doing to His people. |
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| 15 And Moses turneth, and goeth down from the mount, and the two tables of the testimony [are] in his hand, tables written on both their sides, on this and on that [are] they written; |
And went down – His return to the people from Mt. Sinai corresponded to the second coming of Christ. R1836:4
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| 16 and the tables are the work of God, and the writing is the writing of God, graven on the tables. |
And the tables – Representing the perfection of our race as originally created. R2196:4
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| 17 And Joshua heareth the voice of the people in their shouting, and saith unto Moses, 'A noise of battle in the camp!' |
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| 18 and he saith, 'It is not the voice of the crying of might, nor is it the voice of the crying of weakness a voice of singing I am hearing.' |
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| 19 And it cometh to pass, when he hath drawn near unto the camp, that he seeth the calf, and the dancing, and the anger of Moses burneth, and he casteth out of his hands the tables, and breaketh them under the mount; |
Anger waxed hot – As the Mediator between God and Israel--the representative of both--he had a right to be angry, realizing what a serious crime had taken place. R5298:2, R5547:2
Cast the tables – Type of the Law covenant. D631
And brake them – Representing the failure of the Law covenant by reason of the "weakness of the flesh." D631
Indicating that the covenant was broken. R5298:2
The first tables, prepared by the Lord himself, represents how Adam was created perfect, needing no other law than that which was in himself. But this law was broken and the original tables are shattered and have grown illegible. R5298:6
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| 20 and he taketh the calf which they have made, and burneth [it] with fire, and grindeth until [it is] small, and scattereth on the face of the waters, and causeth the sons of Israel to drink. |
in the fire – Symbolizes the destruction of hoarded wealth in the great time of trouble. R1836:4
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| 21 And Moses saith unto Aaron, 'What hath this people done to thee, that thou hast brought in upon it a great sin ' |
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| 22 and Aaron saith, 'Let not the anger of my lord burn; thou thou hast known the people that it [is] in evil; |
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| 23 and they say to me, Make for us gods, who go before us, for this Moses the man who brought us up out of the land of Egypt we have not known what hath happened to him; |
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| 24 and I say to them, Whoso hath gold, let them break [it] off, and they give to me, and I cast it into the fire, and this calf cometh out.' |
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| 25 And Moses seeth the people that it [is] unbridled, for Aaron hath made it unbridled for contempt among its withstanders, |
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| 26 and Moses standeth in the gate of the camp, and saith, 'Who [is] for Jehovah unto me!' and all the sons of Levi are gathered unto him; |
Then Moses – Our Lord is even now standing at the gate calling, as did Moses in the type, "Who is on the Lord's side?" R3048:2
All the sons of Levi – Typical of the "Israelites indeed" at both the first and second advents. R3047:5
Typical of the "household of faith" of the Gospel age. R3047:3
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| 27 and he saith to them, 'Thus said Jehovah, God of Israel, Put each his sword by his thigh, pass over and turn back from gate to gate through the camp, and slay each his brother, and each his friend, and each his relation.' |
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| 28 And the sons of Levi do according to the word of Moses, and there fall of the people on that day about three thousand men, |
About 3000 men – The leaders of the people. R3047:3
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| 29 and Moses saith, 'Consecrate your hand to-day to Jehovah, for a man [is] against his son, and against his brother, so as to bring on you to-day a blessing.' |
Consecrate yourselves – Consecrate anew today, not invalidating the consecration made once for all, but re-affirming and emphasizing that covenant. R1281:3
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| 30 And it cometh to pass, on the morrow, that Moses saith unto the people, 'Ye ye have sinned a great sin, and now I go up unto Jehovah, if so be I atone for your sin.' |
Sinned a great sin – In their trial of faith and obedience they failed utterly. The covenant was broken. R5297:3
God was greatly displeased with their symbolic representation of himself. R5298:1
I will go up – As Moses went up to make reconciliation for their sins, so Christ, as the High Priest, ascended to make atonement for the sins of the people. R3047:5
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| 31 And Moses turneth back unto Jehovah, and saith, 'Oh this people hath sinned a great sin, that they make to themselves a god of gold; |
And Moses – As God's representative on the one hand, and Israel's on the other, Moses could be the Mediator of the Law covenant between God and that nation. R1725:4, R5046:6
Type of Christ. D630; A79, B255
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| 32 and now, if Thou takest away their sin and if not blot me, I pray thee, out of Thy book which Thou hast written.' |
Forgive their sin – After punishing them, God renewed the covenant with them. R5297:3
Blot me, I pray thee, out – As Moses here staked his own eternal existence for the benefit of the people, so the life of Christ was staked for the benefit of the race he died to redeem. R4023:5
Moses was a patriot of the highest order: loyal, as Israel's representative, and at the same time loyal to God, whom he also represented. R5298:3, R3048:4
There was not a particle of selfishness on his own part; a very noble character, worthy to be compared to our Lord Jesus Christ, who risked the blotting out of his own life on our behalf. Q537:3
This finds two parallels in Scripture: David weeping for Absalom, "Would God I had died for thee" (2 Sam. 18:33); and St. Paul's words, "I could wish that myself were accursed from Christ for my brethren according to the flesh." (Rom. 9:3) R4278:2
Of thy book – The book of God's remembrance, the book of life. Q537:3
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| 33 And Jehovah saith unto Moses, 'Whoso hath sinned against Me I blot him out of My book; |
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| 34 and now, go, lead the people whithersoever I have spoken to thee of; lo, My messenger goeth before thee, and in the day of my charging then I have charged upon them their sin.' |
Lead the people – Typifying our Mediator, who has actually given his life for us in order to bring whosoever wills back into full accord with God. R3048:5
Unto the place – The Edenic conditions, the land of promise. R3048:5
Their sin upon them – So it will be during the Millennial age. Men will receive stripes or chastisements in proportion as they participated willingly or knowingly in a course of sin. R3048:5
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| 35 And Jehovah plagueth the people, because they made the calf which Aaron made. |
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