Semikkah7

07/19/2022 – Day 142 – Exodus 29 – 32 // Ch. 32: “Moses expresses his tender affection for the people, and is a type of the good Shepherd, that lays down his life for the sheep (John 10:11)” Matthew Henry commentary

Chapter 32, the very sad story of “The Golden Calf”. But to the Sapphires devotional theme today, love conquers all in the end by God’s mercy and grace! Without further adieu, let me turn it over to our messenger: Matthew Henry, picking his commentary up to verses 32: 30 – 35, page 108:

“Moses having executed justice upon the principal offenders, is here dealing both with the people and with God.

I. With the people, to bring them to repentance, v. 30.

1. When some were slain, lest the rest should imagine that, because they were exempt from the capital punishment, they were therefore looked upon as free from guilt, Moses here tellls the survivors, You have sinned a great sin. To affect them with the greatness of their sin he intimates to them was a difficult thing it would be to make up a quarrel which God had with them for it,. The malignity of sin appears in the price of the pardons.
2. Yet it was some encouragement to the people (when they were told that they had sinned a great sin) to hear that Moses would go up unto the Lord to make atonement for them. Christ, the great Mediator, went upon greater certainty than this, for he had laid in the bosom of the Father, and perfectly knew all His counsels

II. He intercedes with God for mercy. Observe,

1. How pathetic his address was. Moses returned unto the Lord, not to receive further instructions about the tabernacle. Moses in this address expresses, (1) His great detestation of the people’s sin, v. 31, Oh! this people have sinned a great sin. God had first told him of it (v. 7), and now tells God of it, by way of lamentation. He does not go about to excuse or extenuate the sin; but what he had to them by way of conviction he says to God by way of confession. They have sinned a great sin; he came not to make apologies, but to make atonement. (2) His great desire of the people’s welfare (v. 32): Yet now it is not too great a sin for infinite mercy to pardon, and therefore if thou will forgive their sin. It is an abrupt expression, If thou will forgive, is as much as “O that thou wouldest forgive!” as Luke 19:42, If thou hadst known is, O that thou hadst known. “But if not blot me, I pray thee, out of the book which thou hast written”; that is, “If they must be cut off, let me be cut off with them, and cut short of Canaan ; if all Israel must perish, I am content to perish with them; let not the land of promise be mine by survivorship.” (*A – below) Thus he expresses his tender affection for the people, and is a type of the good Shepherd, that lays down his life for the sheep (John 10:11), who was to be cut off from the land of the living for the transgression of my people, Isaiah 13:8; Daniel 9:26. He is also an example of public-spiritedness to all, especially to those in public stations.
2. Observe how prevalent his address was. God would not take him at his word; no, he will not blot any out of his book but thsoe that by their willful disobedience have forfeited the honour of being enrolled in it (v. 33). This was also an intimation of mercy to the people. Further, in answer to the address of Moses, (10 God promises to go on with his intention of giving them the land of Canaan. Therefore he sends Moses back to them to lead them, though they were unworthy of him, and promises that hsi angel should go before them. (2) Yet he threatens to remember this sin against them when hereafter he should see cause to punish them for other sins. The Jews have a sying, grounded ont this, that hence-forward no judgment fell upon Israel but there was in it an ounce of the powder of the golden calf. Stephen says that when they made a calf, and offered sacrifice to the idol, God turned, and gave them to worship the host of heaven (Acts 7: 41-42); so that the strange addictedness of that people to the sin of idolatry was a just judgment upon them for making and worshipping the golden calf, and a judgment they were never quite freed from till the captivity of Babylon. See Romans 1: 23-25. Aaron was not plagued, but the people; for his was a sin of infirmity, theirs a presumptuous sin.

*A – The irony is that the people in general would still see the promised land of this world, Moses would not. The best of men are men at best, but the good Shepherd was redeemed and went home to be with His Lord and his eternal promised land. “Well done , my good and faithful servant.”

Soli Deo Gloria!

p.s. – Once again, this goes back to that memory many years ago when at the conclusion of a long men’s bible study, one of the brothers asked: “If God placed an ad for a prophet, would you answer it.” It was answered with an eerie silence that seemed to last a long time , before it was answered unanimously to the negative. What’s up with that? Speaking for myself, it was not that I had backslid, in the sense that before the study, I would have quipped back immediately with: “You bet, I’m in!” But now, I believe we were all aware of the sacrifice of that walk with Christ. So , today: “I’m in!” By my own power? Absolutely not! , but I have prayed about it and I have faith God will continue to answer that prayer up until my last breath! (bearing in mind: I am still a mess, but I am a redeemed mess!)