Exodus 33:1-3

The Lord said to Moses, “Get going, you and the people you brought up from the land of Egypt. Go up to the land I swore to give to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. I told them, ‘I will give this land to your descendants.’ ² And I will send an angel before you to drive out the Canaanites, Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites. ³ Go up to this land that flows with milk and honey. But I will not travel among you, for you are a stubborn and rebellious people. If I did, I would surely destroy you along the way.”

Exodus 33:12-23

¹² One day Moses said to the Lord, “You have been telling me, ‘Take these people up to the Promised Land.’ But you haven’t told me whom you will send with me. You have told me, ‘I know you by name, and I look favorably on you.’ ¹³ If it is true that you look favorably on me, let me know your ways so I may understand you more fully and continue to enjoy your favor. And remember that this nation is your very own people.” ¹⁴ The Lord replied, “I will personally go with you, Moses, and I will give you rest—everything will be fine for you.” ¹⁵ Then Moses said, “If you don’t personally go with us, don’t make us leave this place. ¹⁶ How will anyone know that you look favorably on me—on me and on your people—if you don’t go with us? For your presence among us sets your people and me apart from all other people on the earth.” ¹⁷ The Lord replied to Moses, “I will indeed do what you have asked, for I look favorably on you, and I know you by name.” ¹⁸ Moses responded, “Then show me your glorious presence.” ¹⁹ The Lord replied, “I will make all my goodness pass before you, and I will call out my name, Yahweh, before you. For I will show mercy to anyone I choose, and I will show compassion to anyone I choose. ²⁰ But you may not look directly at my face, for no one may see me and live.” ²¹ The Lord continued, “Look, stand near me on this rock. ²² As my glorious presence passes by, I will hide you in the crevice of the rock and cover you with my hand until I have passed by. ²³ Then I will remove my hand and let you see me from behind. But my face will not be seen.”

Exodus 34:1-3

Then the Lord told Moses, “Chisel out two stone tablets like the first ones. I will write on them the same words that were on the tablets you smashed. ² Be ready in the morning to climb up Mount Sinai and present yourself to me on the top of the mountain. ³ No one else may come with you. In fact, no one is to appear anywhere on the mountain. Do not even let the flocks or herds graze near the mountain.”

It’s here on the heels of repentance that we see God’s:

5. Restoration

Our problem is that we’re too much like Aaron and not enough like Moses. Aaron and Moses were brothers. The same family but different decisions. Unlike Moses Aaron wouldn’t take a stand for God. When the pressure was put on him, he compromised his standards. Instead of standing for God he cowered to the crowd and accommodated their wishes over God’s Will. He did what the people wanted him to do and not what God wanted him to do. What about you, are you following the wants of people or the Will of God? If we are not careful, we will end up with one foot in the church and one in the culture. Moses on the other hand wanted nothing to do with the worship of the golden calf. Why because he was pursuing God’s presence not pleasure. Are you making it about your happiness or your holiness? The truth is holy people are happy people because happiness is a byproduct of holiness. We need to be careful not to chase after the byproduct, happiness, or we will miss the product, holiness. Unlike Aaron Moses doesn’t try to please the people, instead he prayed for the people. He didn’t just interrupt the party he intervened for the people. How much time do you spend praying for people? How much time do you spend in intercessory prayer for your nation? Why do we need to intercede in prayer because we are living in a day an age when most people are hell bent on worshipping their wants over God’s way. Real leadership means to love people enough to intercede on their behalf. Why was Moses in a place to intercede for the people because he had made the goal of His life God. While everyone else was pursuing pleasure, Moses was pursuing God’s presence. Hebrews 11:25-26 says, “²⁵ He chose to share the oppression of God’s people instead of enjoying the fleeting pleasures of sin. He thought it was better to suffer for the sake of Christ than to own the treasures of Egypt, for he was looking ahead to his great reward.”Moses was Father focused not folly focused. Instead of pursuing the temporary trinkets he pursued the truth.  So, what was this great reward? We may be tempted to conclude that it was the Promised Land, but it was God’s presence which he first experienced at the burning bush. Moses time wandering in the desert was filled with stress, and people problems but God spoke and told him to go to the promised land, saying that He would send an Angel to guide them to this rich and fertile land but that God himself would not go with them. So how did Moses respond to this place of milk and honey. “If Your Presence does not go with us, do not bring us up from here.” Exodus 33:15. Moses’s reply is mind-boggling. He would rather dwell in the desert with God than live in the luxury and abundance of the promised land deserted by God. What’s more important to you a problem free life or the presence of the Lord of life? Because Moses’s heart was set on God, it directed him to make the best choice even when God offered him a good choice, one which common sense and uncomfortable circumstances dictated he should accept. But Moses’s was pursuing God presence not a problem free place. His highest reward was a relationship with the Redeemer. Is God’s presence your greatest priority? Or is it something lesser, something that seems good but keeps you from seeking intimacy with God? It’s here that we see the grace of God as He invites Moses back to the mountain to write His word on the second set of tablets. Do you need to repent and recalibrate your heart and your life so that, like Moses, you seek the greatest reward and stop settle for substitutes? Are you living for pleasure or living for His presence?

Exodus 32:7-9; 19-35

⁷ The Lord told Moses, “Quick! Go down the mountain! Your people whom you brought from the land of Egypt have corrupted themselves. ⁸ How quickly they have turned away from the way I commanded them to live! They have melted down gold and made a calf, and they have bowed down and sacrificed to it. They are saying, ‘These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you out of the land of Egypt.’”⁹ Then the Lord said, “I have seen how stubborn and rebellious these people are.

¹⁹ When they came near the camp, Moses saw the calf and the dancing, and he burned with anger. He threw the stone tablets to the ground, smashing them at the foot of the mountain. ²⁰ He took the calf they had made and burned it. Then he ground it into powder, threw it into the water, and forced the people to drink it. ²¹ Finally, he turned to Aaron and demanded, “What did these people do to you to make you bring such terrible sin upon them?” ²² “Don’t get so upset, my lord,” Aaron replied. “You yourself know how evil these people are. ²³ They said to me, ‘Make us gods who will lead us. We don’t know what happened to this fellow Moses, who brought us here from the land of Egypt.’²⁴ So I told them, ‘Whoever has gold jewelry, take it off.’ When they brought it to me, I simply threw it into the fire—and out came this calf!” ²⁵ Moses saw that Aaron had let the people get completely out of control, much to the amusement of their enemies.^[c] 26 So he stood at the entrance to the camp and shouted, “All of you who are on the Lord’s side, come here and join me.” And all the Levites gathered around him. ²⁷ Moses told them, “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: Each of you, take your swords and go back and forth from one end of the camp to the other. Kill everyone—even your brothers, friends, and neighbors.” ²⁸ The Levites obeyed Moses’ command, and about 3,000 people died that day. ²⁹ Then Moses told the Levites, “Today you have ordained yourselves^[d] for the service of the Lord, for you obeyed him even though it meant killing your own sons and brothers. Today you have earned a blessing.” ³⁰ The next day Moses said to the people, “You have committed a terrible sin, but I will go back up to the Lord on the mountain. Perhaps I will be able to obtain forgiveness^[e] for your sin.” ³¹ So Moses returned to the Lord and said, “Oh, what a terrible sin these people have committed. They have made gods of gold for themselves. ³² But now, if you will only forgive their sin—but if not, erase my name from the record you have written!” ³³ But the Lord replied to Moses, “No, I will erase the name of everyone who has sinned against me. ³⁴ Now go, lead the people to the place I told you about. Look! My angel will lead the way before you. And when I come to call the people to account, I will certainly hold them responsible for their sins.” ³⁵ Then the Lord sent a great plague upon the people because they had worshiped the calf Aaron had made.”

It’s here thirdly that we see the:

3. Reality – Vs 7-9

You can’t hide your heart from God. God revealed what was going on to Moses. Their sin didn’t just infect their lives it affected Moses life and cut his time with God on the mountain short. Notice what God told Moses in verse 7, “Quick! Go down the mountain! Your people whom you brought from the land of Egypt have corrupted themselves”God sees our sin, he knew the heading of their hearts and that they were following after a man more than Him. Its here that we see the:

4. Ramifications – Vs 19-35

First, we see that their rebellion led to:

• The breaking of the commandments – Vs 19

Not just physically but literally:

1. I am the Lord thy God, you shall not have any gods before me.
2. You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything.
3. You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God.

But it wasn’t about breaking the rules it was about the break in relationship with God. Sin always separated us from God leaving us swimming in our guilt. But when we confess our sin to God, 1 John 1:9 says “if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness.”

• They had to drink their disobedience – Vs 20

Moses burned the idol in the fire, ground it to powder, scattered it on the water and made the Israelites drink it. Isn’t Moses overreacting a little! Why did he go to these extreme lengths, because lies don’t die easily! The remedy to their rejection of God is that you have to exchange the lie for the truth. It’s 4 times harder to get rid of a lie than it is to believe it! The Lie fights back because it wants you back. That’s why it’s such a struggle when we try to give up something that was getting in the way of God.

• Aaron was called to account – Vs 21-24

Aaron made excuses, he tried to blame his lack of leadership on the people. Bad leaders refuse to take responsibility for their failure. Aaron’s defense was that it just happened, it was an accident. But isn’t that just like our human nature?When we are caught putting something before Godour first response is usually, but it was an accident. I didn’t mean for it to happen. But it wasn’t an accident it was a conscious choice. They chose to give their gold and Aaron chose to make a god. You don’t exchange the worship of God for the worship of something else by accident. You don’t accidentally forget to pray. You don’t accidentally forget to read your bible. We don’t accidentally walk away from God in order to worship something else. If we’re honest with ourselves it’s because we have replaced Him with something else. It’s not because of chance it’s because of our choices.

• Sin gives Satan an opportunity to celebrate – Vs 25

Verse 25 says that they became a laughingstock to their enemies instead of a light. Their witness became worthless. Are you living a joke or are you living for Jesus? One of the reasons people laugh at Christianity is because we don’t take it seriously ourselves. When we go to worship on Sunday and live like the devil on Monday the world sees a hypocrite and Satan celebrates when we succumb to sin.

• Sin also brings suffering – Vs 35

It’s here that we see the seriousness of sin, instead of bringing delight it brought death. Look sin may seem fun for a season but sooner or later it will suck the life out of living. Living for pleasure brought a plague of death and destruction. So, what about you, is their sin in your life that is separating you from God? Then confess it, repent and return to God. Remember repentance is not just a recognition of sin but a rejection of sin.