Exodus 32:8-148They have turned aside quickly out of the way which I commanded them: they have made them a molten calf, and have worshipped it, and have sacrificed thereunto, and said, These be thy gods, O Israel, which have brought thee up out of the land of Egypt. 9And the Lord said unto Moses, I have seen this people, and, behold, it is a stiffnecked people: 10Now therefore let me alone, that my wrath may wax hot against them, and that I may consume them: and I will make of thee a great nation. 11And Moses besought the Lord his God, and said, Lord, why doth thy wrath wax hot against thy people, which thou hast brought forth out of the land of Egypt with great power, and with a mighty hand? 12Wherefore should the Egyptians speak, and say, For mischief did he bring them out, to slay them in the mountains, and to consume them from the face of the earth? Turn from thy fierce wrath, and repent of this evil against thy people. 13Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, thy servants, to whom thou swarest by thine own self, and saidst unto them, I will multiply your seed as the stars of heaven, and all this land that I have spoken of will I give unto your seed, and they shall inherit it for ever. 14And the Lord repented of the evil which he thought to do unto his people. (Exodus 32:8‑14)
“AND THE Lord said unto Moses, Go, get thee down; for thy people, which thou broughtest out of the land of Egypt, have corrupted themselves:... they have made a molten calf and worshipped it.... Now therefore let Me alone, that My wrath may wax hot against them, and that I may consume them: and I will make of thee a great nation.”
Israel, we remember, had promised obedience to God’s holy law; and furthermore, the covenant had been sealed by the sprinkling of the blood, which was a symbol of death, the penalty for breaking that law. Now they had left themselves open to the just judgment of God.
They had rejected God, speaking of Moses as the one who had brought them up out of Egypt, so God does not treat them as His people any longer. He speaks of them to Moses as “thy people, which thou broughtest out of the land of Egypt.” He announces their solemn judgment, and says to Moses, “I will make of thee a great nation.” Had God dealt with them on the ground of the law, which they had accepted, then it was all over with Israel; they would have perished in their sin.
But here Moses steps into the breach and makes the most beautiful intercession for his people. Without doubt he is but a type of One more wonderful in grace and love for ruined sinners, without God and without hope in the world. The Lord Jesus pleaded for those who had nailed Him on the cross, “Father, forgive them for they know not what they do.” We, as believers who have been spared and know what mercy is, should seek to be like our Saviour, interceding in prayer for His erring people and for the lost and perishing all around us.
God had said to Moses, “I will make of thee a great nation,” but his servant loses sight of himself entirely as He thinks only of the Lord’s glory and of Israel’s desperate case. In a wonderful appeal to God he speaks of Israel as “Thy people, which Thou hast brought forth out of the land of Egypt with great power.” He speaks of the great dishonor done to His name among the Egyptians if Israel were destroyed, and He reminds the Lord of the covenant He made with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, when He said, “I will multiply your seed as the stars of heaven, and all this land which I have spoken of will I give to your seed, and they shall inherit it Forever.” So he links the glory of the Lord with His people, and this is a bright characteristic of faith at all times.
Moses would not let the Lord give up His people; therefore he still called them His people. Though they had done very wickedly, he loved them, remembering all that God had done for them. He did not want to be made great himself. He thought of all he had learned in the mount about God’s thoughts and love for them, and it made him feel that they were very dear to God in spite of all their wretchedness.
God well knew and understood Moses. He wanted to prove and manifest the heart of His servant. He loved the people Himself, and delighted in Moses’ love for them. He listened to Moses’ prayer, and would not refuse his plea. And so He blessed him who cared more for Jehovah’s glory than for his own. Thus we read “the LORD repented of the evil which He thought to do unto His people.” v. 14. Well may the example of Moses and of the Lord’s grace to him encourage us to plead with God often and more earnestly on behalf of others.
ML-01/24/1971