A Study by C. H. Mackintosh (1820-1896)
Exodus 32 -
The Molten Calf
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.
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.
15
And
Moses
turned,
and
went
down
from
the
mount,
and
the
two
tables
of
the
testimony
were
in
his
hand:
the
tables
were
written
on
both
their
sides;
on
the
one
side
and
on
the
other
were
they
written.
16
And
the
tables
were
the
work
of
God,
and
the
writing
was
the
writing
of
God,
graven
upon
the
tables.
17
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.
18
And
he
said,
It
is
not
the
voice
of
them
that
shout
for
mastery,
neither
is
it
the
voice
of
them
that
cry
for
being
overcome: but the noise of them that sing do I hear.
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
neighbour.
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
the
Lord;
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
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.
35
And
the
Lord
plagued
the
people,
because
they
made
the
calf,
which Aaron made.
(KJV)
We
have
now
to
contemplate
something
very
different
from
that
which
has
hitherto
engaged
our
attention.
“The
pattern
of
things
in
the
heavens”
(Heb.
9:23)
has
been
before
us—Christ
in
His
glorious
Person,
gracious
offices,
and
perfect
work,
as
set
forth
in
the
tabernacle
and
all
its
mystic
furniture.
We
have
been,
in
spirit,
on
the
mount,
hearkening
to
God’s
own
words—the
sweet
utterances
of
heaven’s
thoughts,
affections,
and
counsels,
of
which
Jesus
is
“the
Alpha
and
Omega, the beginning and the ending, the first and the last”
(Rev. 22:13).
Now,
however,
we
are
called
down
to
earth,
to
behold
the
melancholy
wreck
which
man
makes
of
everything
to
which
he
puts
his
hand.
“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”
(vs.
1).
What
degradation
is
here!
Make
us
gods!
They
were
abandoning
Jehovah,
and
placing
themselves
under
the
conduct
of
manufactured
gods
—
gods
of
man’s
making.
Dark
clouds
and
heavy
mists
had
gathered
round
the
mount.
They
grew
weary
of
waiting
for
the
absent
one,
and
of
hanging
on
an
unseen
but
real
arm.
They
imagined
that
a
god
formed
by
“a
graving
tool”
was
better
than
Jehovah;
that
a
calf
which
they
could
see
was
better
than
the
invisible,
yet
everywhere
present,
God;
a
visible
counterfeit,
than an invisible reality.
Alas!
alas!
it
has
ever
been
thus
in
man’s
history.
The
human
heart
loves
something
that
can
be
seen;
it
loves
that
which
meets
and
gratifies
the
senses.
It
is
only
faith
that
can
“endure,
as
seeing
him
who
is
invisible”
(Heb.
11:27).
Hence,
in
every
age,
men
have
been
forward
to
set
up
and
lean
upon
human
imitations
of
divine
realities.
Thus
it
is
we
see
the
counterfeits
of
corrupt
religion
multiplied
before
our
eyes.
Those
things
which
we
know,
upon
the
authority
of
God’s
word,
to
be
divine
and
heavenly
realities,
the
professing
Church
has
transformed
into
human
and
earthly
imitations.
Having
become
weary
of
hanging
upon
an
invisible
arm,
of
trusting
in
an
invisible
sacrifice,
of
having
recourse
to
an
invisible
priest,
of
committing
herself
to
the
guidance
of
an
invisible
head,
she
has
set
about
“making”
these
things;
and
thus,
from
age
to
age,
she
has
been
busily
at
work,
with
“graving
tool”
in
hand,
graving
and
fashioning
one
thing
after
another,
until
we
can,
at
length,
recognize
as
little
similarity
between
much
that
we
see
around
us,
and
what
we read in the word, as between
“a molten calf”
and the God of Israel.
“Make
us
gods!”
What
a
thought!
Man
called
upon
to
make
gods,
and
people
willing
to
put
their
trust
in
such!
My
reader,
let
us
look
within,
and
look
around,
and
see
if
we
cannot
detect
something
of
all
this.
We
read,
in
1
Corinthians
10
in
reference
to
Israel’s
history,
that
“all
these
things
happened
unto
them
for
ensamples”
,
(or
types
),
“and
they
are
written
for
our
admonition,
upon
whom
the
ends
of
the
world
are
come”
(I
Cor.
10:11).
Let
us,
then,
seek
to
profit
by
the
“admonition.”
Let
us
remember
that,
although
we
may
not
just
form
and
bow
down
before
“a
molten
calf,”
yet,
that
Israel’s
sin
is
a
type
of
something
into
which
we
are
in
danger
of
falling.
Whenever
we
turn
away
in
heart
from
leaning
exclusively
upon
God
Himself,
whether
in
the
matter
of
salvation
or
the
necessities
of
the
path,
we
are,
in
principle,
saying,
“up,
make
us
gods.”
It
is
needless
to
say
we
are
not,
in
ourselves,
a
whit
better
than
Aaron
or
the
children
of
Israel;
and
if
they
acknowledged
a
calf
instead
of
Jehovah,
we
are
in
danger
of
acting
on
the
same
principle,
and
manifesting
the
same
spirit.
Our
only
safeguard
is
to
be
much
in
the
presence
of
God.
Moses
knew
that
the
“molten
calf”
was
not
Jehovah,
and
therefore
he
did
not
acknowledge
it.
But
when
we
get
out
of
the
divine
presence,
there is no accounting for the gross errors and evils into which we may be betrayed.
We
are
called
to
live
by
faith;
we
can
see
nothing
with
the
eye
of
sense.
Jesus
is
gone
up
on
high,
and
we
are
told
to
wait
patiently
for
His
appearing.
God’s
word
carried
home
to
the
heart,
in
the
energy
of
the
Holy
Ghost,
is
the
ground
of
confidence
in
all
things,
temporal
and
spiritual,
present
and
future.
He
tells
us
of
Christ’s
completed
sacrifice;
we,
by
grace,
believe,
and
commit
our
souls
to
the
efficacy
thereof,
and
know
we
shall
never
be
confounded.
He
tells
us
of
a
great
High
Priest
passed
into
the
heavens,
Jesus,
the
Son
of
God,
whose
intercession
is
all-prevailing;
we,
by
grace,
believe,
and
lean
confidingly
upon
His
ability,
and
know
we
shall
be
saved
to
the
uttermost.
He
tells
us
of
the
living
Head
to
whom
we
are
linked,
in
the
power
of
resurrection
life,
and
from
whom
we
can
never
be
severed
by
any
influence,
angelic,
human
or
diabolical;
we,
by
grace,
believe,
and
cling
to
that
Blessed
Head,
in
simple
faith,
and
know
we
shall
never
perish.
He
tells
us
of
the
glorious
appearing
of
the
Son
from
heaven;
we,
through
grace,
believe,
and
seek
to
prove
the
purifying
and
elevating
power
of
“that
blessed
hope,”
and
know
we
shall
not
be
disappointed.
He
tells
us
of
“an
inheritance,
incorruptible,
undefiled,
and
that
fadeth
not
away,
reserved
in
heaven
for
us,
who
are
kept
by
the
power
of
God”
(I
Pet.
1:4),
for
entrance
thereinto
in
due
time;
we,
through
grace,
believe
and
know
we
shall
never
be
confounded.
He
tells
us
the
hairs
of
our
head
are
all
numbered,
and
that
we
shall
never
want
any
good
thing;
we,
through
grace, believe, and enjoy a sweetly tranquillized heart.
Thus
it
is,
or,
at
least,
thus
our
God
would
have
it.
But
then
the
enemy
is
ever
active
in
seeking
to
make
us
cast
away
these
divine
realities,
take
up
the
“graving
tool”
of
unbelief,
and
“make
gods”
for
ourselves.
Let
us
watch
against
him,
pray
against
him,
believe
against
him,
testify
against
him,
act
against
him:
thus
he
shall
be confounded, God glorified, and we ourselves abundantly blessed.
As
to
Israel,
in
the
chapter
before
us,
their
rejection
of
God
was
most
complete.
“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…
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
,
Israel,
which
brought
thee
up
out
of
the
land
of
Egypt.
And
when
Aaron
saw
it,
he
built
an
altar
before
it;
and
Aaron
made
proclamation,
and
said.
Tomorrow
is
a
feast
unto
the
Lord.
”
(vss.
2,
4-5).
This
was
entirely
setting
aside
God,
and
putting
a
calf
in
His
stead.
When
they
could
say
that
a
calf
had
brought
them
up
out
of
Egypt,
they
had,
evidently,
abandoned
all
idea
of
the
presence
and
character
of
the
true
God.
How
“quickly”
they
must
“have
turned
aside
out
of
the
way”
(vs.
8),
to
have
made
such
a
gross
and
terrible
mistake!
And
Aaron,
the
brother
and
yoke-fellow
of
Moses,
led
them
on
in
this;
and
with
a
calf
before
him,
he
could
say,
“to-morrow
is
a
feast
unto
Jehovah!”
How
sad!
How
deeply
humbling!
God
was
displaced
by
an
idol.
A
thing,
“graven
by
art
and
man’s
device,”
was
set
in
the
place
of
“the
Lord
of
all
the
earth.”
All
this
involved,
on
Israel’s
part,
a
deliberate
abandonment
of
their
connection
with
Jehovah.
They
had
given
Him
up;
and
accordingly
we
find
Him,
as
it
were,
taking
them
on
their
own
ground.
“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
turned
aside
quickly
out
of
the
way
which
I
commanded
them
....
I
have
seen
this
people,
it
is
a
stiff-necked
people:
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
greater
nation”
(vss.
7-10).
Here
was
an
open
door
for
Moses;
and
here
he
displays
uncommon
grace
and
similarity
of
spirit
to
that
Prophet
whom
the
Lord
was
to
raise
up
like
unto
him.
He
refuses
to
be
or
to
have
anything
without
the
people.
He
pleads
with
God
on
the
ground
of
His
own
glory,
and
puts
the
people
back
upon
Him
in
these
touching
words,
“Lord,
why
doth
thy
wrath
wax
hot
against
thy
people
which
thou
hast
brought
up
out
of
the
land
of
Egypt
with
great
power
and
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.
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”
(vss.
11-13).
This
was
powerful
pleading.
The
glory
of
God,
the
vindication
of
His
holy
name,
the
accomplishment
of
His
oath.
These
are
the
grounds
on
which
Moses
entreats
the
Lord
to
turn
from
His
fierce
wrath.
He
could
not
find,
in
Israel’s
conduct
or
character,
any
plea
or
ground
to
go
upon.
He
found
it
all
in
God
Himself.
The
Lord
had
said
unto
Moses,
“
Thy
people
which
thou
broughtest
up;”
but
Moses
replies
to
the
Lord,
“
Thy
people
which
thou
hast
brought
up.”
They
were
the
Lord’s
people
notwithstanding
all;
and
His
name,
His
glory,
His
oath
were
all
involved
in
their
destiny.
The
moment
the
Lord
links
Himself
with
a
people,
His
character
is
involved,
and
faith
will
ever
look
at
Him
upon
this
solid
ground.
Moses
loses
sight
of
himself
entirely.
His
whole
soul
is
engrossed
with
thoughts
of
the
Lord’s
glory
and
the
Lord’s
people.
Blessed
servant!
How
few
like
him!
And
yet
when
we
contemplate
him
in
all
this
scene,
we
perceive
how
infinitely
he
is
below
the
blessed
Master.
He
came
down
from
the
mount,
and
when
he
saw
the
calf
and
the
dancing,
“his
anger
waxed
hot,
and
he
cast
the
tables
out
of
his
hands
and
brake
them
beneath
the
mount”
(vs.
19).
The
covenant
was
broken
and
the
memorials
thereof
shattered
to
pieces;
and
then,
having
executed
judgment
in
righteous
indignation,
“he
said
unto
the
people,
Ye
have
sinned
a
great
sin:
and
now
I
will
go
up
unto
the
Lord;
peradventure
I
shall
make
an
atonement
for
your
sin”
(vs. 30).
How
different
is
this
from
what
we
see
in
Christ!
He
came
down
from
the
bosom
of
the
Father,
not
with
the
tables
in
His
hands,
but
with
the
law
in
His
heart.
He
came
down,
not
to
be
made
acquainted
with
the
condition
of
the
people,
but
with
a
perfect
knowledge
of
what
that
condition
was.
Moreover,
instead
of
destroying
the
memorials
of
the
covenant
and
executing
judgment,
He
magnified
the
law
and
made
it
honourable,
and
bore
the
judgment
of
His
people,
in
His
own
blessed
Person,
on
the
cross;
and,
having
done
all,
He
went
back
to
heaven,
not
with
a
“
peradventure
I
shall
make
an
atonement
for
your
sin,”
but
to
lay
upon
the
throne
of
the
majesty
in
the
highest,
the
imperishable
memorials
of
an
atonement
already
accomplished.
This
makes
a
vast
and
truly
glorious
difference.
Thank
God,
we
need
not
anxiously
gaze
after
our
Mediator
to
know
if
haply
He
shall
accomplish
redemption
for
us,
and
reconcile
offended
Justice.
No,
He
has
done
it
all.
His
presence
on
high
declares
that
the
whole
work
is
finished.
He
could
stand
upon
the
confines
of
this
world,
ready
to
take
His
departure,
and,
in
all
the
calmness
of
a
conscious
victor—though
He
had
yet
to
encounter
the
darkest
scene
of
all—say,
“I
have
glorified
thee
on
the
earth;
I
have
finished
the
work
which
thou
gavest
me
to
do”
(John
17:4).
Blessed
Saviour!
We
may
well
adore
thee,
and
well
exult
in
the
place
of
dignity
and
glory
in
which
eternal
justice
has
set
thee.
The
highest
place
in
heaven
belongs
to
thee;
and
thy
saints
only
wait
for
the
time
when
“every
knee
shall
bow
and
every
tongue
confess
that
Jesus
Christ
is
Lord
to
the
glory
of
God
the Father”
(Phil. 2:9). May that time speedily arrive!
At
the
close
of
this
chapter
Jehovah
asserts
His
rights,
in
moral
government,
in
the
following
words:
“Whosoever
hath
sinned
against
me,
him
will
I
blot
out
of
my
book.
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”
(vs.
33-34).
This
is
God
in
government
,
not
God
in
the
gospel
.
Here
He
speaks
of
blotting
out
the
sinner
;
in
the
gospel
He
is
seen
blotting out
sin
. A wide difference!
The
people
are
to
be
sent
forward,
under
the
mediatorship
of
Moses
by
the
hand
of
an
angel.
This
was
very
unlike
the
condition
of
things
which
obtained
from
Egypt
to
Sinai.
They
had
forfeited
all
claim
on
the
ground
of
law,
and
hence
it
only
remained
for
God
to
fall
back
upon
His
own
sovereignty
and
say,
“I
will
be
gracious
to
whom
I
will
be
gracious,
and
will
shew
mercy
on
whom
I
will
shew
mercy”
(Ex. 33:19).
——
This article is taken from: Mackintosh, C. H. Notes on the Book of Exodus. London:
George Morrish, 1858. A PDF file of this book can be downloaded, free of charge, at
http://www.ClassicChristianLibrary.com
© 1994-2017, Scott Sperling
A Study by C. H. Mackintosh (1820-
1896)
Exodus 32 -
The Molten Calf
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.
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.
15
And
Moses
turned,
and
went
down
from
the
mount,
and
the
two
tables
of
the
testimony
were
in
his
hand:
the
tables
were
written
on
both
their
sides;
on
the
one
side
and
on
the
other
were
they
written.
16
And
the
tables
were
the
work
of
God,
and
the
writing
was
the
writing
of
God,
graven
upon
the
tables.
17
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.
18
And
he
said,
It
is
not
the
voice
of
them
that
shout
for
mastery,
neither
is
it
the
voice
of
them
that
cry
for
being
overcome:
but
the
noise
of
them
that
sing
do
I hear.
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
neighbour.
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
the
Lord;
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
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.
35
And
the
Lord
plagued
the
people,
because
they
made
the
calf,
which Aaron made.
(KJV)
We
have
now
to
contemplate
something
very
different
from
that
which
has
hitherto
engaged
our
attention.
“The
pattern
of
things
in
the
heavens”
(Heb.
9:23)
has
been
before
us—Christ
in
His
glorious
Person,
gracious
offices,
and
perfect
work,
as
set
forth
in
the
tabernacle
and
all
its
mystic
furniture.
We
have
been,
in
spirit,
on
the
mount,
hearkening
to
God’s
own
words—the
sweet
utterances
of
heaven’s
thoughts,
affections,
and
counsels,
of
which
Jesus
is
“the
Alpha
and
Omega,
the
beginning
and
the
ending,
the
first
and the last”
(Rev. 22:13).
Now,
however,
we
are
called
down
to
earth,
to
behold
the
melancholy
wreck
which
man
makes
of
everything
to
which
he
puts
his
hand.
“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”
(vs.
1).
What
degradation
is
here!
Make
us
gods!
They
were
abandoning
Jehovah,
and
placing
themselves
under
the
conduct
of
manufactured
gods
—
gods
of
man’s
making.
Dark
clouds
and
heavy
mists
had
gathered
round
the
mount.
They
grew
weary
of
waiting
for
the
absent
one,
and
of
hanging
on
an
unseen
but
real
arm.
They
imagined
that
a
god
formed
by
“a
graving
tool”
was
better
than
Jehovah;
that
a
calf
which
they
could
see
was
better
than
the
invisible,
yet
everywhere
present,
God; a visible counterfeit, than an invisible reality.
Alas!
alas!
it
has
ever
been
thus
in
man’s
history.
The
human
heart
loves
something
that
can
be
seen;
it
loves
that
which
meets
and
gratifies
the
senses.
It
is
only
faith
that
can
“endure,
as
seeing
him
who
is
invisible”
(Heb.
11:27).
Hence,
in
every
age,
men
have
been
forward
to
set
up
and
lean
upon
human
imitations
of
divine
realities.
Thus
it
is
we
see
the
counterfeits
of
corrupt
religion
multiplied
before
our
eyes.
Those
things
which
we
know,
upon
the
authority
of
God’s
word,
to
be
divine
and
heavenly
realities,
the
professing
Church
has
transformed
into
human
and
earthly
imitations.
Having
become
weary
of
hanging
upon
an
invisible
arm,
of
trusting
in
an
invisible
sacrifice,
of
having
recourse
to
an
invisible
priest,
of
committing
herself
to
the
guidance
of
an
invisible
head,
she
has
set
about
“making”
these
things;
and
thus,
from
age
to
age,
she
has
been
busily
at
work,
with
“graving
tool”
in
hand,
graving
and
fashioning
one
thing
after
another,
until
we
can,
at
length,
recognize
as
little
similarity
between
much
that
we
see
around
us,
and
what
we
read
in
the
word,
as
between
“a molten calf”
and the God of Israel.
“Make
us
gods!”
What
a
thought!
Man
called
upon
to
make
gods,
and
people
willing
to
put
their
trust
in
such!
My
reader,
let
us
look
within,
and
look
around,
and
see
if
we
cannot
detect
something
of
all
this.
We
read,
in
1
Corinthians
10
in
reference
to
Israel’s
history,
that
“all
these
things
happened
unto
them
for
ensamples”
,
(or
types
),
“and
they
are
written
for
our
admonition,
upon
whom
the
ends
of
the
world
are
come”
(I
Cor.
10:11).
Let
us,
then,
seek
to
profit
by
the
“admonition.”
Let
us
remember
that,
although
we
may
not
just
form
and
bow
down
before
“a
molten
calf,”
yet,
that
Israel’s
sin
is
a
type
of
something
into
which
we
are
in
danger
of
falling.
Whenever
we
turn
away
in
heart
from
leaning
exclusively
upon
God
Himself,
whether
in
the
matter
of
salvation
or
the
necessities
of
the
path,
we
are,
in
principle,
saying,
“up,
make
us
gods.”
It
is
needless
to
say
we
are
not,
in
ourselves,
a
whit
better
than
Aaron
or
the
children
of
Israel;
and
if
they
acknowledged
a
calf
instead
of
Jehovah,
we
are
in
danger
of
acting
on
the
same
principle,
and
manifesting
the
same
spirit.
Our
only
safeguard
is
to
be
much
in
the
presence
of
God.
Moses
knew
that
the
“molten
calf”
was
not
Jehovah,
and
therefore
he
did
not
acknowledge
it.
But
when
we
get
out
of
the
divine
presence,
there
is
no
accounting
for
the
gross
errors
and
evils
into
which
we
may
be
betrayed.
We
are
called
to
live
by
faith;
we
can
see
nothing
with
the
eye
of
sense.
Jesus
is
gone
up
on
high,
and
we
are
told
to
wait
patiently
for
His
appearing.
God’s
word
carried
home
to
the
heart,
in
the
energy
of
the
Holy
Ghost,
is
the
ground
of
confidence
in
all
things,
temporal
and
spiritual,
present
and
future.
He
tells
us
of
Christ’s
completed
sacrifice;
we,
by
grace,
believe,
and
commit
our
souls
to
the
efficacy
thereof,
and
know
we
shall
never
be
confounded.
He
tells
us
of
a
great
High
Priest
passed
into
the
heavens,
Jesus,
the
Son
of
God,
whose
intercession
is
all-prevailing;
we,
by
grace,
believe,
and
lean
confidingly
upon
His
ability,
and
know
we
shall
be
saved
to
the
uttermost.
He
tells
us
of
the
living
Head
to
whom
we
are
linked,
in
the
power
of
resurrection
life,
and
from
whom
we
can
never
be
severed
by
any
influence,
angelic,
human
or
diabolical;
we,
by
grace,
believe,
and
cling
to
that
Blessed
Head,
in
simple
faith,
and
know
we
shall
never
perish.
He
tells
us
of
the
glorious
appearing
of
the
Son
from
heaven;
we,
through
grace,
believe,
and
seek
to
prove
the
purifying
and
elevating
power
of
“that
blessed
hope,”
and
know
we
shall
not
be
disappointed.
He
tells
us
of
“an
inheritance,
incorruptible,
undefiled,
and
that
fadeth
not
away,
reserved
in
heaven
for
us,
who
are
kept
by
the
power
of
God”
(I
Pet.
1:4),
for
entrance
thereinto
in
due
time;
we,
through
grace,
believe
and
know
we
shall
never
be
confounded.
He
tells
us
the
hairs
of
our
head
are
all
numbered,
and
that
we
shall
never
want
any
good
thing;
we,
through
grace, believe, and enjoy a sweetly tranquillized heart.
Thus
it
is,
or,
at
least,
thus
our
God
would
have
it.
But
then
the
enemy
is
ever
active
in
seeking
to
make
us
cast
away
these
divine
realities,
take
up
the
“graving
tool”
of
unbelief,
and
“make
gods”
for
ourselves.
Let
us
watch
against
him,
pray
against
him,
believe
against
him,
testify
against
him,
act
against
him:
thus
he
shall
be
confounded,
God
glorified,
and
we
ourselves
abundantly blessed.
As
to
Israel,
in
the
chapter
before
us,
their
rejection
of
God
was
most
complete.
“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…
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
,
Israel,
which
brought
thee
up
out
of
the
land
of
Egypt.
And
when
Aaron
saw
it,
he
built
an
altar
before
it;
and
Aaron
made
proclamation,
and
said.
Tomorrow
is
a
feast
unto
the
Lord.
”
(vss.
2,
4-5).
This
was
entirely
setting
aside
God,
and
putting
a
calf
in
His
stead.
When
they
could
say
that
a
calf
had
brought
them
up
out
of
Egypt,
they
had,
evidently,
abandoned
all
idea
of
the
presence
and
character
of
the
true
God.
How
“quickly”
they
must
“have
turned
aside
out
of
the
way”
(vs.
8),
to
have
made
such
a
gross
and
terrible
mistake!
And
Aaron,
the
brother
and
yoke-fellow
of
Moses,
led
them
on
in
this;
and
with
a
calf
before
him,
he
could
say,
“to-morrow
is
a
feast
unto
Jehovah!”
How
sad!
How
deeply
humbling!
God
was
displaced
by
an
idol.
A
thing,
“graven
by
art
and
man’s
device,”
was
set
in
the
place
of
“the
Lord
of
all
the earth.”
All
this
involved,
on
Israel’s
part,
a
deliberate
abandonment
of
their
connection
with
Jehovah.
They
had
given
Him
up;
and
accordingly
we
find
Him,
as
it
were,
taking
them
on
their
own
ground.
“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
turned
aside
quickly
out
of
the
way
which
I
commanded
them
....
I
have
seen
this
people,
it
is
a
stiff-necked
people:
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
greater
nation”
(vss.
7-10).
Here
was
an
open
door
for
Moses;
and
here
he
displays
uncommon
grace
and
similarity
of
spirit
to
that
Prophet
whom
the
Lord
was
to
raise
up
like
unto
him.
He
refuses
to
be
or
to
have
anything
without
the
people.
He
pleads
with
God
on
the
ground
of
His
own
glory,
and
puts
the
people
back
upon
Him
in
these
touching
words,
“Lord,
why
doth
thy
wrath
wax
hot
against
thy
people
which
thou
hast
brought
up
out
of
the
land
of
Egypt
with
great
power
and
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.
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”
(vss.
11-13).
This
was
powerful
pleading.
The
glory
of
God,
the
vindication
of
His
holy
name,
the
accomplishment
of
His
oath.
These
are
the
grounds
on
which
Moses
entreats
the
Lord
to
turn
from
His
fierce
wrath.
He
could
not
find,
in
Israel’s
conduct
or
character,
any
plea
or
ground
to
go
upon.
He
found
it
all
in
God
Himself.
The
Lord
had
said
unto
Moses,
“
Thy
people
which
thou
broughtest
up;”
but
Moses
replies
to
the
Lord,
“
Thy
people
which
thou
hast
brought
up.”
They
were
the
Lord’s
people
notwithstanding
all;
and
His
name,
His
glory,
His
oath
were
all
involved
in
their
destiny.
The
moment
the
Lord
links
Himself
with
a
people,
His
character
is
involved,
and
faith
will
ever
look
at
Him
upon
this
solid
ground.
Moses
loses
sight
of
himself
entirely.
His
whole
soul
is
engrossed
with
thoughts
of
the
Lord’s
glory
and
the
Lord’s
people.
Blessed
servant!
How
few
like
him!
And
yet
when
we
contemplate
him
in
all
this
scene,
we
perceive
how
infinitely
he
is
below
the
blessed
Master.
He
came
down
from
the
mount,
and
when
he
saw
the
calf
and
the
dancing,
“his
anger
waxed
hot,
and
he
cast
the
tables
out
of
his
hands
and
brake
them
beneath
the
mount”
(vs.
19).
The
covenant
was
broken
and
the
memorials
thereof
shattered
to
pieces;
and
then,
having
executed
judgment
in
righteous
indignation,
“he
said
unto
the
people,
Ye
have
sinned
a
great
sin:
and
now
I
will
go
up
unto
the
Lord;
peradventure
I
shall
make
an
atonement for your sin”
(vs. 30).
How
different
is
this
from
what
we
see
in
Christ!
He
came
down
from
the
bosom
of
the
Father,
not
with
the
tables
in
His
hands,
but
with
the
law
in
His
heart.
He
came
down,
not
to
be
made
acquainted
with
the
condition
of
the
people,
but
with
a
perfect
knowledge
of
what
that
condition
was.
Moreover,
instead
of
destroying
the
memorials
of
the
covenant
and
executing
judgment,
He
magnified
the
law
and
made
it
honourable,
and
bore
the
judgment
of
His
people,
in
His
own
blessed
Person,
on
the
cross;
and,
having
done
all,
He
went
back
to
heaven,
not
with
a
“
peradventure
I
shall
make
an
atonement
for
your
sin,”
but
to
lay
upon
the
throne
of
the
majesty
in
the
highest,
the
imperishable
memorials
of
an
atonement
already
accomplished.
This
makes
a
vast
and
truly
glorious
difference.
Thank
God,
we
need
not
anxiously
gaze
after
our
Mediator
to
know
if
haply
He
shall
accomplish
redemption
for
us,
and
reconcile
offended
Justice.
No,
He
has
done
it
all.
His
presence
on
high
declares
that
the
whole
work
is
finished.
He
could
stand
upon
the
confines
of
this
world,
ready
to
take
His
departure,
and,
in
all
the
calmness
of
a
conscious
victor—though
He
had
yet
to
encounter
the
darkest
scene
of
all—say,
“I
have
glorified
thee
on
the
earth;
I
have
finished
the
work
which
thou
gavest
me
to
do”
(John
17:4).
Blessed
Saviour!
We
may
well
adore
thee,
and
well
exult
in
the
place
of
dignity
and
glory
in
which
eternal
justice
has
set
thee.
The
highest
place
in
heaven
belongs
to
thee;
and
thy
saints
only
wait
for
the
time
when
“every
knee
shall
bow
and
every
tongue
confess
that
Jesus
Christ
is
Lord
to
the
glory
of
God
the Father”
(Phil. 2:9). May that time speedily arrive!
At
the
close
of
this
chapter
Jehovah
asserts
His
rights,
in
moral
government,
in
the
following
words:
“Whosoever
hath
sinned
against
me,
him
will
I
blot
out
of
my
book.
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”
(vs.
33-34).
This
is
God
in
government
,
not
God
in
the
gospel
.
Here
He
speaks
of
blotting
out
the
sinner
;
in
the
gospel
He
is
seen
blotting
out
sin
.
A
wide difference!
The
people
are
to
be
sent
forward,
under
the
mediatorship
of
Moses
by
the
hand
of
an
angel.
This
was
very
unlike
the
condition
of
things
which
obtained
from
Egypt
to
Sinai.
They
had
forfeited
all
claim
on
the
ground
of
law,
and
hence
it
only
remained
for
God
to
fall
back
upon
His
own
sovereignty
and
say,
“I
will
be
gracious
to
whom
I
will
be
gracious,
and
will
shew
mercy on whom I will shew mercy”
(Ex. 33:19).
——
This article is taken from: Mackintosh, C. H. Notes on
the Book of Exodus. London: George Morrish, 1858. A
PDF file of this book can be downloaded, free of
charge, at http://www.ClassicChristianLibrary.com
