Skip to content Exodus 30-32: From Golden Altar to Golden Calf Feb 20 · 14 min ...more
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The Golden Altar: Symbols of Prayer and Service 0:10 Good morning, and welcome to stand on the word as our journey today takes us to Exodus chapters 30 through 32. How do you go from the golden altar to a golden calf? Well, we're gonna look at0:22 that this morning. Verse 1 of chapter 32. Now when the people saw that Moses delayed coming down from the mountain, the people gathered together to Aaron and said, come. Make us gods that shall go before us. For0:34 as for this Moses, the man who brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we don't know what has become of him. In In chapters 30 and 31, we have a continuation of the, instructions regarding the the tabernacle,0:45 the accoutrements of the tabernacle, and then those who would actually construct it. Now there's a reinforcement of the Sabbath in chapter 31, and then in chapter 32, we have Verse0:57 1, chapter 30. You shall make an altar to burn incense on it. You shall make it of acacia wood. A cubit shall be its length, a cubit its width. It shall be square, and 2 cubits shall be its height. Its corn horns1:09 shall be of 1 piece with it, and you shall overlay its top, its sides all around, and its horns with pure gold, and you shall make for it a molding of gold all around.1:21 Verse 7, Aaron shall burn on its sweet incense every morning. When he tends the lamps, he shall burn incense on it. And when Aaron lights the lamps at twilight, he shall burn incense on it, a perpetual incense before the1:33 lord throughout your generations. You shall not offer strange incense on it or a a burnt offering or a grain offering, nor shall you pour a drink offering on it. Now there were there were 21:45 altars in the tabernacle. There was the altar where the burnt offerings were made, and that was outside. And then you had the incense altar, which was much smaller, very, very small, and1:57 was inside the tabernacle before the holy of holies, and only approved incense was to be offered at morning and evening. Now the incense that what that represents, it's it's symbolic.2:09 It represents prayer. Our prayers ascend before God and bring us into his presence. Verse, 2 of Psalm 1 41 says, let my prayer be2:20 counted as incense before you and the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice. Now this is, another shadow, another type of Jesus Christ. The high priest was2:32 to make intercession for the people in the morning and in the evening. This is what Jesus is doing. Although Jesus is in the presence of god perpetually, making intercession beyond the2:44 veil in the Holy of Holies, which the high priest could only do once a year. Now the veil separating the altar of incense and the Holy of Holy was torn when2:56 Jesus was crucified as we read in the New Testament. The guidance for incense, again, speaks to the order and the design of worship. In verses 34 through3:08 38, specific instruction is given for the type of incense that can be offered to the lord, and it is to be offered only to him. You know, we come to the father through Jesus, and we3:20 are to pray according to his will. Again, the lord lays out god lays out very specific guidelines for us. Verses 11 through 16 in chapter 30 give instruction for atonement3:31 money. Now anytime a census was taken of the the males of the nation, a temple tax was to be collected. Now this was a a a subtle reminder that their strength was3:43 not in their numbers, but in the lord. But also look at, at verse 14. Everyone included among those who are numbered from 20 years old and above shall give an offering to the3:55 lord. The rich shall not give more, and the poor shall not give less than half a shekel when you give an offering to the lord to make atonement for yourselves. This is not so much4:06 about, yeah, you know, pulling principles here on tax rates, but the equality of each person in the eyes of the Lord regardless of their social or their financial4:18 status. In verses 22 and 23, it gives instructions for the anointing oil, very similar, which was a part of, which was part of setting apart the instruments of the tabernacle and the priest as was part4:30 of the sanctification process. Right? On to chapter 31 verse 1, then the lord spoke to Moses saying, see, I have called by name Bezael, the son of4:42 Yuri, the son of Hur of the tribe of Judah. And I have filled him with the spirit of god in wisdom and understanding and knowledge and in all manner of workmanship, to design4:53 artistic works, to work in gold, in silver, in bronze, in cutting jewels for setting, in carving wood, and to work in all manner of workmanship. I have5:05 put in the hearts of all these gifted artisans that they may make all that I have commanded you. So god provided the skilled artisans and craftsmen.5:18 They were trained in Egypt, but gifted and called by god to accomplish the mission that he had given Moses. So this again shows us it's not just the priest, or today, not just the pastors or the5:30 preachers who are called to use their gifts in the service of the lord. We all are. We're all gifted. We're all created by god with a with with a a gift, a call to serve him.5:42 God has called each of us as followers of Christ to use our gifts to advance the kingdom of god. Alright. Let's go on to chapter 32 and the golden calf. While MosesThe Golden Calf: Idolatry and Human Fickleness 5:54 was receiving the instructions from the lord on Mount Sinai about the golden altar and the tabernacle, The children of Israel were constructing a golden calf. Verse 1, chapter 32.6:06 Now when the people saw that Moses delayed coming down from the mountain, the people gathered together to Aaron and said, come. Make us gods that shall go before us. For as for this Moses, the man who brought us up out6:17 of the land of Egypt, we don't know what has become of him. And Aaron said to them, break off the golden earrings which are in the ears of your wives, your sons, and your daughters, and bring them to me. So6:29 all the people broke off the golden earrings which were in their ears and brought them to Aaron. And he received the gold from their hand and he fashioned it with an engraving tool and made a6:40 molded calf. Then they said, this is your god, oh Israel, that brought you up out of the land of Egypt. So when Aaron saw it, he built an altar before it. Alright? Didn't6:52 he didn't just make an idol. He then built an altar before it and Aaron made a proclamation. He said, tomorrow is a feast to the lord. Then they rose early on the next day, offered burnt7:04 offerings to this idol, and brought peace offerings, and the people sat down to eat and drink and rose up to play. Now their section, their7:16 selection rather of a golden calf was not random. A few years back, I I I was been in Egypt a couple times, but on 1 of the trips, I I toured the Egyptian Museum7:28 in, in Cairo, and golden, calves were actually very prominent in their history. The god, Apis, was a chief deity of the Egyptians and was in the form of7:39 an ox. But how could the children of Israel go so quickly from being in shock in all of god's presence at Mount Sinai to actually building an idol, which they had7:51 just pledged to god that they would not do, and then they engage in a drunken orgy. That's what it meant by rising up to play, sexual immorality. Bottom line is that8:04 they still didn't have a relationship with god. They were relying upon Moses. And after 40 days, they decided, it's time to move on. You know, this, quite frankly, is a very, very8:17 clear illustration of the fickle nature of man. This is why a godly leadership is needed. You know, as Jesus said, we're like sheep that have gone astray. We need leadership8:28 but b, we must be anchored in our connection to god through Jesus Christ who said he would never leave us nor forsake us. We can't anchor our relationship through another person, whether it8:40 be a pastor, whether it be a parent. We have to have our own relationship with god through Jesus Christ. We must stay daily in fellowship and relationship with the lord through prayer and through studying and8:50 relationship with the lord through prayer and through studying his word. That's what it means to abide in Christ. You see, if we don't, if we don't, I mean, we could become like the calf worshiping9:02 children of Israel which triggered god's anger as we see. Look now at Moses's intercession for the people that god was ready to wipe out. He was ready to wipe him out. Verse 10,Moses' Intercession: Appealing to God's Character 9:15 now therefore, let me alone. This is god speaking that my wrath may burn hot against them and I may consume them, and I will make you a great nation. God's plan would would be accomplished as he had promised Abraham,9:27 but he would do it a different way. Then Moses pleaded with the lord his god and said, lord, why does your wrath burn hot against your people whom you have brought out of the land of Egypt9:39 with great power and a mighty hand? Why should the Egyptians speak and say, he brought them out to harm them, to kill them in the mountains, to consume them from the face of the earth. Turn from your fierce9:51 wrath and relent from this harm to your people. Let me just stop there for a moment. Isn't this amazing to see the transformation of Moses who, you know, remember on the backside of the desert, in10:03 fact, in the same area where he first encountered God through the burning bush, and he didn't want any anything to do with this mission. In fact, he said, I can't talk. I'm afraid. I can't talk. I I10:15 I'm I'm I'm slow of speech. And look at how he is interfacing with God. Verse 13. Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, your servants, to whom you swore by your own self and said to them, I will10:26 multiply your descendants as the stars of heaven. And all this land that I have spoken of, I give to your descendants, and they shall inherit it forever. So the Lord relented from the harm which he had10:38 said that he would do to his people. Now take take close note of the basis for Moses's intercession. This is important. This is very important because this10:50 should inform our intercession as well as we intercede, And and I hope you are interceding. We need to be interceding for our country. Moses appealed to look. Number 1, the11:02 reputation of god. God's reputation among the nations. Moses was appealing to god based upon his name and and and and we're gonna see later, actually, next time, we're11:13 gonna look at, the importance of the name. The name is more than just a a title. It's more than just a a label. It is a descriptor. It is represents of his, his11:25 character. And that would be maligned if god Moses is saying, if if you can't if you bring these people out and consume them after all that you did,11:37 it's gonna do harm to your reputation among the nation. See, god cares about his name. And so Moses was appealing based upon his reputation, but then he says remember your covenants. He said11:49 remember the promises you made to Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, your servants, because God is a promise keeper. Even when we're not, he is. So Moses appealed to his reputation12:02 and to remember the covenants that he had made. Again, this informs our, should be informing our intercession. So the result of this is god relents and the12:14 startup nation is spared from the wrath of god. Father, thank you for your word this morning. And and, lord, I I just pray that we would12:26 abide in you, that, lord, it it we look at this. We say, how in the world after seeing, number 1, the mighty deliverance out of the land of Egypt, then the provisions already on this12:37 journey, how could they and then they saw the display of your power in the presentation of the 10 commandments, as the as as the mountain shook. But now,12:49 lord, they've they've turned from you so quickly to to build idols and to worship idols. Father, I I pray that you would keep us close to you, that we would abide13:01 in you, that we may may may not be, deceived and led away. But, Lord, we would be faithful, faithful to follow you. For we pray and13:12 ask this in Jesus name, Amen. Alright. Thanks for joining me this morning, and until next time, keep standing on the word.13:22 Today's study comes from the stand on the word bible reading plan available for free at frc dot org slash bible. By following along in just a few minutes a day, you13:34 can read through the entire Bible in just 2 years. Learn more and request the free reading guide at frc dot org slash bible.In this video 0:00 The Golden Altar: Symbols of Prayer and Service5:50 The Golden Calf: Idolatry and Human Fickleness9:14 Moses' Intercession: Appealing to God's Character
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