Exodus 19:1-6, 32:1-6

Exodus 19:1-6

On the third new moon after the people of Israel had gone out of the land of Egypt, on that day they came into the wilderness of Sinai. They set out from Rephidim and came into the wilderness of Sinai, and they encamped in the wilderness. There Israel encamped before the mountain, while Moses went up to God. The LORD called to him out of the mountain, saying, “Thus you shall say to the house of Jacob, and tell the people of Israel: ‘You yourselves have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles’ wings and brought you to myself. Now therefore, if you will indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possession among all peoples, for all the earth is mine, and you shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’ These are the words that you shall speak to the people of Israel.”

Exodus 32:1-6

When the people saw that Moses delayed to come down from the mountain, the people gathered themselves together to Aaron and said to him, “Up, make us gods who shall go before us. As for this Moses, the man who brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.” So Aaron said to them, “Take off the rings of gold that are in the ears of your wives, your sons, and your daughters, and bring them to me.” So all the people took off their rings of gold that were in their ears and brought them to Aaron. And he received the gold from their hand and fashioned it with a graving tool and made a golden calf. And they said, “These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt!” When Aaron saw this, he built an altar before it. And Aaron made a proclamation and said, “Tomorrow shall be a feast to the LORD.” And they rose up early the next day and offered burnt offerings and brought peace offerings. And the people sat down to eat and drink and rose up to play.

Sermon Recap

We’ve arrived at a confusing point in the Bible. As we continue to read through Exodus and into Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy, we’re going to read 613 laws that God gives to his people as a part of the “old covenant,” or the terms of his relationship with the nation of Israel established at Mount Sinai. But this is one of the reasons why reading through the Bible together is so helpful. It reminds you that the Bible is not primarily a book of laws and rules - it’s primarily a story.

And God summarizes the story of the book of Exodus up to this point in verse 4. To say it as plainly as possible, the God of this story frees his people by his power. He redeems his people from an enemy that’s much stronger than they are in a way they never could on their own and in such a way that only he can take the credit for it.

But he doesn’t just free them from something. He also frees them for something. Namely, he frees them for the purpose of reflecting his holiness. This is what the 10 Commandments are all about!

The problem is that even though Israel was free from their physical slavery to the Egyptians, they were still in spiritual slavery to their idols. In fact, in the story you just read from Exodus 32, they break the first two commandments (no other gods and no idols) before God has even had time to finish giving them to Moses on the mountain. It’s the biblical equivalent of committing adultery on your honeymoon.

So we’re left at this point in the story to ask some important questions: How will God’s people be able to reflect his holiness, to show the rest of the world who he is and what he’s like, whenever their hearts are still enslaved to idols?

The solution the Bible looks forward to is that one day God is going to completely transform the human heart to be able to obey him not out of duty or obligation but out of love and joy - an overflow of what’s happening in the deepest parts of our hearts. He’s going to transform his people so drastically that they are actually going to be able to love him and love their neighbor in a way that actually reflects God’s holiness. And that’s exactly the type of transformation that Jesus came to bring.

Application Questions