(Exodus) Exodus 32:15-25 — J. Vernon McGee

Moses Descends With the Tablets of Testimony

Now, notice what this man Moses does now. You'd think he'd come down now and soft-soap the children of Israel. No, sir, listen to him. Moses' turn went down from the mount, and the two tables of the testimony were in his hand.

The Written Work of God and the Noise in the Camp

The tables were written on both their sides, and on one side and on the other were they written, and the tables were the work of God, and the writing was the writing of God graven upon the tables. And when Joshua heard the noise of the people as they shouted, he said unto Moses, There is a noise of war in the camp.

Believe me, it was. And he said, It is not the voice of them that shout for mastery, neither is the voice of them that cry for being overcome, but the noise of them that sing, do I hear. Oh, they were having a high old time, friends, down there worshiping this golden calf and living in sin.

Moses Destroys the Tablets and the Golden Calf

It came to pass, as soon as he came nigh unto the camp, that he saw the calf and the dancing, and Moses' anger waxed hot, and he cast the tables out of his hands, and break them beneath the mount. And he took the calf which they had made, and burned it in the fire, and ground it to powder, and strotted upon the water, and made the children of Israel drink of it.

Aaron’s Excuses for Israel’s Great Sin

And believe me, that was bitter. And Moses said unto Aaron, What did this people unto thee, that thou hast brought so great a sin upon them? And listen now to Aaron crawfish out of all of it. This is really humorous, would be if it wasn't so serious.

And Aaron said, Let not the anger of my Lord wax hot. Thou knowest the people, that they are set on mischief. For they said unto me, Make us gods, which shall go before us. For as for this Moses, the man that brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we know not what's become of him.

In other words, they're blaming it on Moses actually. Moses has deserted us, so we'll turn to the golden calf. Now verse 24, listen to this. And I said unto them, Whosoever hath any gold, let them break it off.

So they gave it me. Then I cast it into the fire. Listen to this, friends. And there came out this calf. You can't help but laugh at that. And I think Moses actually must have laughed. He says, You don't mean, Aaron, that you poured the gold in the fire and this calf walked out.

That's what he's trying to say. But you remember, it's said back over here that he received them at their hand and fashioned it with a graving tool. I think Aaron lied, don't you, friend? Oh, what excuse he made here.

Sin, Shame, and the Need for an Intercessor

This man did this, and now I tell you, and when Moses saw that the people were naked, for Aaron had made them naked under their shame among their enemies. This matter of nudism, friends, and sex today and dope is not new.

I think you'll look at these people, you'll see the whole bit right here. And now we're going to see Moses, though. And I tell you, he's angry. But did you notice what an intercessor he was for these people, how he laid hold of the heart of God that moved the hand of God?

Moses’ Prayer and Extreme Measures Against Sin

And now we're going to see he's still got a prayer to pray to God for these people. Now when Moses went down, you wouldn't think he'd ever prayed for these people because I tell you, he was angry through those commandments down, those tablets of stone.

They were broken, and he was hot against the people and against his brother Aaron. And poor Aaron tried to cover up, and if he didn't camouflage and if he didn't attempt to evade, he tried to say he poured in the gold and a golden calf walked out.

Now that, my friend, is an explanation. I'm sure Moses must have smiled at that one, and I know God did, and I'm sure that you and I can smile at that because we've offered some ridiculous explanations like that for what we've done that's been wrong.

And then we saw that it was a time of real sin, though, for the people. And then Moses moved in. It was extreme surgery. But friends, when you've got a cancer, and I know from personal experience, you want to try to get rid of it.

And if it means cutting away half your body, you want to get rid of it. Sin's an awful cancer, and God uses extreme surgery here, and there was the slaying of those that were guilty.