Exodus Chapter 32, Verses 1-6 

:1 “And when the people saw that Moses delayed to come down out of the mount, the people gathered themselves together unto Aaron, and said unto him, Up, 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. 2 And Aaron said unto them, Break off the golden earrings, which are in the ears of your wives, of your sons, and of your daughters, and bring them unto me. 3 And all the people brake off the golden earrings which were in their ears, and brought them unto Aaron. 4 And he received them at their hand, and fashioned it with a graving tool, after he had made it a molten calf: and they said, These be thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt. 5 And when Aaron saw it, he built an altar before it; and Aaron made proclamation, and said, To morrow is a feast to the LORD. 6 And they rose up early on the morrow, and offered burnt offerings, and brought peace offerings; and the people sat down to eat and to drink, and rose up to play.” 

From the above passage it can easily be seen that the people had broken the first three of the Ten Commandments that God had given them in Exodus chapter 20: v.3 “Thou shalt have no other gods before me. 4 Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth: 5 Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me;”  They had ratified the covenant that God made with them in chapter 24: “And Moses came and told the people all the words of the LORD, and all the judgments: and all the people answered with one voice, and said, All the words which the LORD hath said will we do.” 

It is also apparent, that the people looked on Moses as being their God for when he had delayed to come down from the mount as they said, “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.”  How often, even today do people in their actions give god like status to the messenger?  Notice that they credited Moses as the one who brought them out of the land of Egypt.  

Moses, being absent the people turned to Aaron, the brother and voice of Moses to be their leader and to fashion them a god.  Understand that Aaron and the children of Israel had been witnesses of the ten plagues in Egypt; of the parting of the waters of the Red Sea so that they could cross on dry land and the Egyptian army that followed after were drowned in that same Red Sea; of the sweetening of the bitter waters of Marah; of the daily provision of manna for the people to gather and eat daily; and having heard the voice of God that spoke to them from the mount.  Yet they quickly turned out of the way when Moses delayed to come down out of the mount.   

Even though they quickly turned away from the LORD and made themselves a golden calf to worship, yet they retained the name “LORD” in their idolatrous and licentious feasting: “Aaron made proclamation, and said, To morrow is a feast to the LORD. 6 And they rose up early on the morrow, and offered burnt offerings, and brought peace offerings; and the people sat down to eat and to drink, and rose up to play.”  How manifest is such actions in the religious world today which has turned away from the true worship of God and made false idols in their mind of God and yet retain the name of Jesus Christ, even though their description of him and what they believe he failed to accomplish is completely contrary to the teachings of the word.  Moreover, much of their attempted worship is not according to the scriptural New Testament pattern.  They have added many things not taught in the scriptures and left off many things that are taught in the scriptures.   

Verses 7-14

:7 “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: 8 They 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. 9 And the LORD said unto Moses, I have seen this people, and, behold, it is a stiffnecked people: 10 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. 

11 And 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? 12 Wherefore 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. 13 Remember 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. 14 And the LORD repented of the evil which he thought to do unto his people.” 

The above passage of scripture shows us the LORD’s righteous indignation against his people and their grievous sins and the subsequent intercession of Moses on their behalf.  In similar fashion, this mirrors the intercession that Jesus makes daily on behalf of his covenant people.   

“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.”  It is true that the people had corrupted themselves and it is also true that Moses had led them out of the land of Egypt.  But it is also true, that the LORD had led Moses and had been the power and authority by which the children of Israel had been brought out of the land of Egypt.   

“They 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.”  The people which had been the recipient of such a great deliverance and had been witnesses of the many miraculous things the LORD had done to them and for them, had quickly turned out of the way.  What a mirror reflection this is to each of us if we are honest with ourselves.  While we may not have made a molten calf or other image, yet how quickly we turn aside and walk after our lustful flesh.   

“And the LORD said unto Moses, I have seen this people, and, behold, it is a stiffnecked people.”  The term, “stiffnecked” refers to a stubborn, rebellious people.  If a person is stiffnecked he is stubborn and rebellious.  Again, how this description would fit us at times.   

“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.”  Certainly the LORD had every right for his wrath to wax hot against the people and to consume them based on their actions.  The LORD also proposed to Moses that if he let him alone, he would make of Moses a great nation.  This passage and Moses subsequent response tells us a lot of the humble and servants attitude of Moses before his God.   

From here we see Moses response and intercession on behalf of the children of Israel.  “And 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?”  Moses, reminds the LORD that these were his people and that he brought them out of the land of Egypt with great power and with a mighty hand.   

“Wherefore 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.”  Moses tells the LORD that the Egyptians would speak and say that the reason He brought them out of the land of Egypt was to slay them and consume them from the face of the earth.”  Thus to slay them would bring on an evil report concerning the LORD.  Next, Moses implored the LORD to turn from his fierce wrath, and repent of the evil against his people. 

Finally, Moses used his strongest argument for the LORD not to destroy the children of Israel when he said, “Remember 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.”  God had made a covenant with Abraham and confirmed it with Isaac, and Jacob, thus if God destroyed the children of Israel he would not fulfill his covenant promise.   

Because of the actions of the children of Israel, God had every moral right to destroy them off the face of the earth, but because of his covenant promise God would not destroy them and thusly we read: “And the LORD repented of the evil which he thought to do unto his people.” 

In contrast, because of our sins God has ever moral right to destroy us eternally, but because of his covenant promise he will never destroy his people eternally.  Moreover, Christ “ever liveth and maketh intercession for us” just as Moses made intercession on behalf of the children of Israel.