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Okay, we left off last week with Moses and Joshua coming down the Mount (because YAHAVAH told them trouble was a-brewing down below).
Let’s pick it up at verse 19:
Exodus 32.19-end
March 24th 2024
End live teaching until May 5th 2024
19 And 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 brake them beneath the mount.
20 And he took the calf which they had made, and burnt it in the fire, and ground it to powder, and strawed it upon the water, and made the children of Israel drink of it.
21 And Moses said unto Aaron, What did this people unto thee, that thou hast brought so great a sin upon them?
22 And Aaron said, Let not the anger of my lord wax hot: thou knowest the people, that they are set on mischief.
23 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 wot not what is become of him.
24 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, and there came out this calf.
25 And when Moses saw that the people were naked; (for Aaron had made them naked unto 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 unto me. And all the sons of Levi gathered themselves together unto him.
27 And he said unto them, Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, Put every man his sword by his side, and go in and out from gate to gate throughout the camp, and slay every man his brother, and every man his companion, and every man his neighbor.
28 And the children of Levi did according to the word of Moses: and there fell of the people that day about three thousand men.
29 For Moses had said, Consecrate yourselves to day to the LORD, even every man upon his son, and upon his brother; that he may bestow upon you a blessing this day.
30 And it came to pass on the morrow, that Moses said unto the people, Ye have sinned a great sin: and now I will go up unto YAHAVAH; peradventure I shall make an atonement for your sin.
31 And Moses returned unto the LORD, and said, Oh, this people have sinned a great sin, and have made them gods of gold.
32 Yet now, if thou wilt forgive their sin–; and if not, blot me, I pray thee, out of thy book which thou hast written.
33 And YAHAVAH said unto Moses, Whosoever hath sinned against me, him will I blot out of my book.
34 Therefore now go, lead the people unto the place of which I have spoken unto thee: behold, mine Angel shall go before thee: nevertheless in the day when I visit I will visit their sin upon them.
35 And YAHAVAH plagued the people, because they made the calf, which Aaron made.
Alright, lets drop back to 19 and see what I has to say:
Exodus 32:19 And 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 brake them beneath the mount.
This was a full-blown idolatrous festival like we might see in a pagan culture with the singing, and the dancing and the bowing down – sort of like a modern day concert.
Can you imagine the contrast this was to Moses who was up in the presence of YAHAVAH for forty days prior?
The scene made him furious. Let’s talk for a minute about anger and what it caused Moses to do in the face of it.
Is anger okay in the human/Christian experience? Interestingly, it is.
In the human realm anger is a double-edged sword. We can liken it to fire as it can serve us and the world around us or it can get out of control and burn the house down.
Anger is not always sin as it is something even Holy God has or should I say, had.
The type of anger of that the scripture seems to approve is known as “righteous indignation.”
Psalm 7:11 and Mark 3:5 describes God and His Son as angry, and it is acceptable for believers to be angry (Ephesians 4:26).
There are a couple of Greek terms in the apostolic record that are often translated to the English word “anger.”
One (para-ogidzo) means “passion, energy that leads to wrath” and is used twice in the Greek and the other (orgay) means “agitated, wrathful and boiling” and is used 34 times.
Para-ogidzo typically speaks of God’s wrath that was coming upon that Nation as promised and should be seen as His “wrathful rage.” In my mind the fact that God gets angry fully supports the notion of freewill and mocks the idea of God sovereignly causing everything to happen.
Interestingly, Paul uses both of these terms in one single passage, Ephesians 4:26, when he says,
“Be ye angry, Biblically, anger is a God-given “energy” (so to speak) that is intended to help us solve problems and in the biblical sense righteous indignation is typically set in the defense of others and not in a defense of self. Let me repeat that – in the biblically justified sense of righteous indignation it is usually expressed in the defense of others and not a response to defend oneself. THAT is something to really think upon, isn’t it? But it is central to understanding “righteous indignation” and this speaks volumes on times when we have rage over injustices heaped upon ourselves. This was the case when Nathan told David a story of a man who took another man’s only sheep and David instructed him to kill him and Yeshua’s anger when he cleared the tables and accused the leaders of defiling His father’s house. That said, it is important to recognize that anger at an injustice inflicted against oneself is also an appropriate human response permitted in scripture. When the high priest Ananias told those standing by Paul to strike him in the mouth, his response, as recorded in Acts “God shall smite thee, thou whited wall: for sittest thou to judge me after the law, and commandest me to be smitten contrary to the law?” An unjustified attack and the anger it provokes seems permissible, then, even if it is in our own defense. Some describe anger to a warning sign that alerts us to those times when others are attempting to, or have violated, our boundaries. And what thinking person cannot help but be incensed at the violated boundaries of anyone, but especially the defenseless, the weak and those less capable of defending themselves? If anyone wants to experience righteous indignation just allow yourself to think of a child being harmed. I can hardly contain the rage. That said, we, as followers of the King, choose to submit our rage into the hands of Him who knows all things. And this is one of the hardest calls on a believers life. It is at least to me. Paul wrote in Romans 12 I think, “Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord.” Herein comes the need to truncate our natural responses even when anger is appropriate, justified and rational. That said, it is important that people are allowed – even encouraged to be angry at the injustices perpetrated on either themselves or those they love. I have heard the most horrible stories over the course of doing ministry of people preying on others – stories that you would have to be without any feelings whatsoever to NOT be angry over. Victims of such heinous acts must have time and the liberty to let that anger work itself out of their system with them ultimately coming to realize that in the long run, “unmitigated anger is like drinking poison and expecting the one we are angry at to die.” If I have personally had to deal with any issue other than lust it has been anger – and the choice to act on it through violence, revenge, caustic words and in some cases, absolute viciousness. This is my natural man. I have some to see, however that part of the problem with such emotion is that when it is obviously something that controls you it can both prohibit those who have been victimized to NOT confide in you because they fear your reaction more than getting help or justice. This is the reality of children who have been harmed and have wrathful parents. They will often fear the parents response to the abuser and bear the pain in silence. The other problem is that people who have not learned to control their anger can often be manipulated by others to do things that they themselves are unwilling or afraid to do themselves. We often see this in the case of male female relationships. For victims to get to a place of true healing and ultimate forgiveness, they must first be allowed to see the injustice heaped upon them for what it was – a vile act of unconscionable depredation. In so doing, they will usually (and hopefully freely) experience anger and if they are prohibited from such healing is really really difficult – if not impossible. So, anger might be seem as a release valve on a boiler. Sometimes it is a single burst, other times it must be released and re-released as the anger boils up within over and over again. It’s quite fascinating how anger works in each individual depending in nature and nurture. I have a grandson who was at a playground when he was just learning to talk and he went to get a swing and another kid, older and more agressive, stepped in front of him and took the swing. It really made him angry at the time. What was so interesting to me is several YEARS later, when he was like six or seven, we were talking and he actually said something to the effect that he was going to get “that kid who took his swing.” I asked, “what kid?” and after some conversation I remembered that it was the kid from when he was just a toddler! Allowing anger to exist until it has run its course is part of being human. And again, we can do so much to help alleviate it by not condemning it when it surfaces. Instead, we share sympathetic and empathetic words that promote healing in the long run all the while seeking for opportunities to introduce Him as the solution to ultimately, no matter what, “letting it go.” Because anger can easily turn from a productive natural response to pain and injustice to the inner-poison mentioned earlier. Open communication helps navigate this process. Unfortunately, anger – because it is so passionately felt (especially at pure injustice) can and will destroy those who let it consume them. Those who let it consume them to take revenge are to be pitied because their vengeance takes a situation where there is one victim and, depending on the type of revenge, makes two or more in its wake. What might be seen as an even more sad situation is when anger, unmitigated by revenge, morphs into what scripture describes as “the deep root of bitterness.” If I can warn against anything it is allowing such a root to develop in your life. The writer of Hebrews, citing the story of Esau, who because he was hungry and sold his birthright for a mess of pottage to his conniving brother, became bitter, and says, Hebrews 12:14 Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord: Remembering that Our Loving God wants His children to be free, its key to face, admit and express our anger readily, openly and without shame, all the while asking Him to step in and dissolve the bitterness that can result from long term unresolved anger. Do you have angry pain from injustices heaped upon you or those you love? Go to Him. Talk to Him. And don’t stop. Turn these things over to Him from the heart. It is an act of faith. I am not suggesting in the least that it is easy. Additionally, if you have reacted in anger to someone or something inappropriately, humble yourself to the dust before those you have harmed and especially before the Lord. I’ve walked with the King since 1997. I study the word as much as most people on earth. But no less than a year ago I got in a place where my anger was unleashed upon my family. Unleashed. I drove out to the west Desert of Utah and sat on a rock and cried out to our God in shame. From my heart and did not drive back home until I knew He heard me – and revealed to me this weakness and how to navigate it. Tell Him of your pain and anger and ask Him to help you . . . then let it all go and live. He will see you through. And from what I have seen in life, it is so very important for all people to let . . . it all . . . go and to look to Him. And here is something that is particularly hard about letting it go and that is choosing – again CHOOSING – to see God in the midst of such things. James 1:2-5 says, Count it all joy, my brethren, when you meet various trials, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives to all men generously and without reproaching, and it will be given him. Paul says in Romans 8:28 “We know that in everything God works for good with those who love him, who are called according to his purpose.” Looking to Him and His power and strength, seeking Him in the storm, is key to equipping ourselves with tools to cope with the anger we naturally bear and to keep such anger from turning to a root of bitterness that can so easily invade the human heart and mind and ruin our lives – literally. Finally, what I believe is the MOST damaging expression of anger, and probably evidences the ultimate end of the root of bitterness is when we direct our anger toward Him. “Where were you, God, who says He loves and cares for me, when my child was harmed, molested, when my wife was beaten and raped, when I was robbed of my life savings, when my spouse left me? Where were you, O mighty One?” Right. I can speak to this, but I do so with tremendous humility as I have NOT experienced anything near the injustices I have seen so many others experience. I cannot say how I would react or respond to someone I love being unjustly treated – especially in a life-altering way. Having said that, I do suggest, at least in principle, that when we or someone we love has been injured, we try and understand the nature of the freewill we have in this world, how God is not despotic and how He is therefore not going to interfere with some very horrible things that go on here but promises, that in the face of them, that He is there for any and all who seek Him in the Dark night of pain and doubt. Anger. (beat) So, Moses, in righteous indignation, cast the tables out of his hands, and broke them. Its’s really quite an act when we think about it – I mean he took something that God had personally crafted and broke it to smithereens. (Verse 20) 20 And he took the calf which they had made, and burnt it in the fire, and ground it to powder, and strawed it upon the water, and made the children of Israel drink of it. This idol was so contemptible to all Moses has experienced first-hand on the mount that it physically destroyed it in such a way that that he made the people drink the materials that Aaron made the beast from. Some may wonder, “How could gold, be stamped into dust and strewed on water?” In Deuteronomy 9:21, Moses says, “I took your sin, the calf which ye had made, and burnt it with fire, (meaning he melted it down then beat it into thin layers, then ground it into gold dust which is so fine it actually can rest upon water sort of like oil) and then he had them drink that water. 21 And Moses said unto Aaron, What did this people unto thee, that thou hast brought so great a sin upon them? It seems if Aaron had been firm, this evil could have been prevented. Verse 22 22 And Aaron said, Let not the anger of my lord wax hot: thou knowest the people, that they are set on mischief. And we begin to see Aaron do what all humans are prone to do when they are caught doing wrong – he makes excuses! (Verse 24) 23 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 wot not what is become of him. Now listen to verse 24 where Aaron gets even more fanciful in his response saying, 24 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,” and there came out this calf. That last line is funny (if Aaron meant what it conveys in the English) because he seems to be saying that all he did was toss the gold into the fire and out popped a fully formed idol! What’s interesting is I located in something called, the Targum of Jonathan ben Uzziel, who interprets what happened this way, having Aaron say, “Whosoever has gold, let him break it off and give it to me; and I cast it into the fire, and the Satan entered into it, and it came out in the form of this calf!” This statement goes contrary to Exodus 32:4 where Moses says that Aaron crafted the idol himself. 25 And when Moses saw that the people were naked; (for Aaron had made them naked unto their shame among their enemies:) This nakedness seems to possibly be a literal nakedness (for some – perhaps some leaders) but mostly it appears to represent them losing all glory honor or power before God in the face of their actions, 26 Then Moses stood in the gate of the camp, and said, Who is on YAHAVAH’s side? let him come unto me. And all the sons of Levi gathered themselves together unto him. We might read the line, “who is on the Lord’s side” as, “who repents of this evil and turns back to worshipping YAHAVAH, the living God instead of idols?” And who was it that turned? All the sons of Levi. 27 And he (Moses) said unto them, Thus saith YAHAVAH Elohiym of Israel, “Put every man his sword by his side, and go in and out from gate to gate throughout the camp, and slay every man his brother, and every man his companion, and every man his neighbor. They were probably encamped in some sort of enclosed spaces (tent camps) that were separated and it seems that the Levites went in search of all who were directly involved in this idolatry. Where is says, rather emphatically, “every man his brother, every man his companion and every man his neighbor,” it means every man behind the idolatry and not every single male. We know this because of the next verse which says, 28 And the children of Levi did according to the word of Moses: and there fell of the people that day about three thousand men. Three thousand killed this day for idolatry, three thousand saved at Pentecost for receiving the true and living God by faith. Might be a picture or might just be a symbolic representative number. 29 And Moses said, “Consecrate yourselves to day to YAHAVAH, even every man upon his son, and upon his brother; that he may bestow upon you a blessing this day. Remember, it was God who told Moses in the first place to go down to interfere with the idolatry and now he has come back to witness to Him what He saw and how he had 3000 of the main perpetrators die for their disloyalty. This was a Old Testament way of God exacting vengeance – through His Nation. He will exact it in other ways but I maintain that in the age of fulfillment God is not exacting vengeance any longer. So while Moses had the promise of God that as a nation they should not be exterminated, he appears to believe that Divine justice would continue to contend with them as a people which would include not allowing the of the Nation then access into the Promised land. Then Moses Himself makes an offering to God, saying, 32 Yet now, if thou wilt forgive their sin–; and if not, blot me, I pray thee, out of thy book which thou hast written. This might be better understood to say, “If you will not forgive their sin let me offer up myself, my own name, to be blotted out of “Thy Book” which thou has written.” It seems, upon researching the meaning of this “book” that Moses mentions, that the most likely explanation of it is that while Moses’ was on the mount with God they, or God, created what is called a “muster-roll” of all the tribes (probably just males) in Israel, in reference to the parts they were respectively to play in the wilderness and ultimately the promised land. I believe that this was most likely an actual book which ultimately became a book of genealogies of the Tribes which the Nation began to keep beginning here on the mount or possibly before. These genealogies ultimately found themselves being written upon endless scrolls that were kept in the temple over the centuries. It seems that God told Moses that those who chose to break the covenant which he had then made with them would have their names blotted from that list and would never, therefore, enter the Promised Land. Moses appears to have this view in mind when he offered to have his own name removed IF the Nation would not have this sin of theirs remitted, which is why he says, This people have sinned a great sin, and have made them gods of gold; thus they had broken the covenant, (the first ten words,) and had therefore forfeited their right to enter and obtain Canaan or the Promised Land. Here, worried that this would be the case, Moses offers to have his own name removed in exchange for the people to attain the promised inheritance because, he seems to suggest, “that he could not bear the thought of enjoying that entrance all by himself when the rest were banished.” As a punishment for their sin, however, none of them ever entered the Promised Land and all died in the wilderness however, their posterity did go in after them. To me this is a really an interesting foreshadowing of the Nation that became “Jews” who too, had their names blotted out and were not able to enter into the New Jerusalem above because of the sin of Idolatry, but had some of their posterity enter in by faith thereafter. Interestingly, Paul also offered himself up as a substitute for his own people when he wrote in Romans 9:3, “For I could wish that myself were ACCURSED from Christ for my brethren, my kinsmen according to the flesh; who are ISRAELITES, to whom pertaineth the ADOPTION, and the GLORY, and the COVENANTS.” Central to this is the willingness to vicariously offer oneself up for others – which, of course is the very nature of Christ the keenest expression of agape love. Remember Christ Himself said, “Greater love has no man than He who gives His life for His Friends.” Today we bear this ideation around when we submit our will and ways over to Gods FOR the well-being of others. However, while Moses and Paul were willing to forfeit every blessing of a secular kind, even to die, for the welfare of their people, this would not do and God will let the people in Moses day get routed by the Philistines and in Paul’s, by the Romans. This appears to suggest the meaning of names written and then blotted out from the Book of Life. As a person of a particular tribe was added to the Book of Life (genealogies) they were also blotted out when they were excommunicated from membership via rebellion. The “book of life” suggests the idea that as the redeemed of Israel formed a community or citizenship, this registry or catalogue of the citizens’ names were preserved. Psalm 69:27-28 reads, Add iniquity unto their iniquity: and let them not come into thy righteousness. Let them be blotted out of the book of the living, and not be written with the righteous. When we get out to the Apostolic Record, this book seems to have also become a spiritual “registry” in heaven. In Philippians 4:3, Paul references this Book and says, “And I intreat thee also, true yokefellow, help those women which labored with me in the gospel, with Clement also, and with other my fellow-laborers, whose names are in the book of life.” When Yeshua sent the Seventy out and they came back to report on how they were received, we read in 10 the following, Luke 10:17 And the seventy returned again with joy, saying, Lord, even the devils are subject unto us through thy name. Of course, in the Revelation of John, which mentions the Book of Life six different times, and relative to the righteous of that final age and says: Revelation 3:5 He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment; and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life, but I will confess his name before my Father, and before his angels. Then in Revelation 13:8 we read, “And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world. Then in Revelation 17:8 we read, The beast that thou sawest was, and is not; and shall ascend out of the bottomless pit, and go into perdition: and they that dwell on the earth shall wonder, whose names were not written in the book of life from the foundation of the world, when they behold the beast that was, and is not, and yet is. As we get to the end of the Revelation John writes (in Revelation 20:12) And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works. Three verses later John reiterates to the believers then, Revelation 20:15 And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire. And the second to the last chapter of Revelation, (21:27) we read, And there shall in no wise enter into it any thing that defileth, neither whatsoever worketh abomination, or maketh a lie: but they which are written in the Lamb’s book of life. And finally in the last verse of the last chapter (Revelation 22:19) John concludes, And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book. Is there still a book? Can’t say? But this is the contextual understanding of the beginning of this book and what may have been the end. So, at verse 33 of Exodus 32 we read “And the LORD said unto Moses, Whosoever hath sinned against me, him will I blot out of my book. 34 Therefore now go, lead the people unto the place of which I have spoken unto thee: behold, mine Angel shall go before thee: nevertheless in the day when I visit I will visit their sin upon them. The word “place” is not in the ancient text and this might be because Moses never led this people into that place as they all died in the wilderness except Joshua and Caleb. But Moses led them “towards” the place or destination. And we conclude with 35 And the LORD plagued the people, because they made the calf, which Aaron made. This has caused some ancient Hebrew writers to say, “No affliction has ever happened to Israel in which there was not some particle of the dust of the golden calf found.” And we will stop here. Again, we will be absent for the next five Sundays – starting March 31st and we will return live May 5th. In the meanwhile, we will provide weekly prerecorded messages for you to consider online. When we return, we will pick it up at Exodus 33. As a means to get a different view of what we represent, we challenge all of you within earshot, if you are so led, to go out and visit some local brick and mortar churches and to hear and see if there is something materially out there for you or for you to contribute to. We make this suggestion NOT to encourage brick and mortar religion but to vet, by the spirit, what is being said and done in the name of God today. We stand with you, love you and hope you will continue to consider our view of things but do so with hearts bent on liberty and never ever on musts. And remember, May 5th we will return live, and on Tuesday, May 7th at 8pm we hope you will tune in live as we return to doing the program that launched it all, Heart of the Matter – Full Circle! Questions Prayer
23:3 was
15 Looking diligently lest any man fail of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you, and thereby many be defiled;
16 Lest there be any fornicator, or profane person, as Esau, who for one morsel of meat sold his birthright.
30 And it came to pass on the morrow, that Moses said unto the people, “Ye have sinned a great sin: and now I will go up unto YAHAVAH; peradventure I shall make an atonement for your sin.
31 And Moses returned to YAHAVAH, and said, “Oh, this people have sinned a great sin, and have made them gods of gold.”
18 And he said unto them, I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven.
19 Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you.
20 Notwithstanding in this rejoice not, that the spirits are subject unto you; but rather rejoice, because your names are written in heaven.
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