God Speaks
31 Then the Lord said to Moses, 2 “Look, I have specifically chosen Bezalel son of Uri, grandson of Hur, of the tribe of Judah. 3 I have filled him with the Spirit of God, giving him great wisdom, ability, and expertise in all kinds of crafts. 4 He is a master craftsman, expert in working with gold, silver, and bronze. 5 He is skilled in engraving and mounting gemstones and in carving wood. He is a master at every craft!
6 “And I have personally appointed Oholiab son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan, to be his assistant. Moreover, I have given special skill to all the gifted craftsmen so they can make all the things I have commanded you to make:
7 the Tabernacle;
the Ark of the Covenant;
the Ark’s cover—the place of atonement;
all the furnishings of the Tabernacle;
8 the table and its utensils;
the pure gold lampstand with all its accessories;
the incense altar;
9 the altar of burnt offering with all its utensils;
the washbasin with its stand;
10 the beautifully stitched garments—the sacred garments for Aaron the priest, and the garments for his sons to wear as they minister as priests;
11 the anointing oil;
the fragrant incense for the Holy Place.
The craftsmen must make everything as I have commanded you.”
12 The Lord then gave these instructions to Moses: 13 “Tell the people of Israel: ‘Be careful to keep my Sabbath day, for the Sabbath is a sign of the covenant between me and you from generation to generation. It is given so you may know that I am the Lord, who makes you holy. 14 You must keep the Sabbath day, for it is a holy day for you. Anyone who desecrates it must be put to death; anyone who works on that day will be cut off from the community. 15 You have six days each week for your ordinary work, but the seventh day must be a Sabbath day of complete rest, a holy day dedicated to the Lord. Anyone who works on the Sabbath must be put to death. 16 The people of Israel must keep the Sabbath day by observing it from generation to generation. This is a covenant obligation for all time. 17 It is a permanent sign of my covenant with the people of Israel. For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, but on the seventh day he stopped working and was refreshed.’”
18 When the Lord finished speaking with Moses on Mount Sinai, he gave him the two stone tablets inscribed with the terms of the covenant, written by the finger of God.
32 When the people saw how long it was taking Moses to come back down the mountain, they gathered around Aaron. “Come on,” they said, “make us some gods who can lead us. We don’t know what happened to this fellow Moses, who brought us here from the land of Egypt.”
2 So Aaron said, “Take the gold rings from the ears of your wives and sons and daughters, and bring them to me.”
3 All the people took the gold rings from their ears and brought them to Aaron. 4 Then Aaron took the gold, melted it down, and molded it into the shape of a calf. When the people saw it, they exclaimed, “O Israel, these are the gods who brought you out of the land of Egypt!”
5 Aaron saw how excited the people were, so he built an altar in front of the calf. Then he announced, “Tomorrow will be a festival to the Lord!”
6 The people got up early the next morning to sacrifice burnt offerings and peace offerings. After this, they celebrated with feasting and drinking, and they indulged in pagan revelry.
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. 10 Now leave me alone so my fierce anger can blaze against them, and I will destroy them. Then I will make you, Moses, into a great nation.”
11 But Moses tried to pacify the Lord his God. “O Lord!” he said. “Why are you so angry with your own people whom you brought from the land of Egypt with such great power and such a strong hand? 12 Why let the Egyptians say, ‘Their God rescued them with the evil intention of slaughtering them in the mountains and wiping them from the face of the earth’? Turn away from your fierce anger. Change your mind about this terrible disaster you have threatened against your people! 13 Remember your servants Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. You bound yourself with an oath to them, saying, ‘I will make your descendants as numerous as the stars of heaven. And I will give them all of this land that I have promised to your descendants, and they will possess it forever.’”
14 So the Lord changed his mind about the terrible disaster he had threatened to bring on his people.
15 Then Moses turned and went down the mountain. He held in his hands the two stone tablets inscribed with the terms of the covenant. They were inscribed on both sides, front and back. 16 These tablets were God’s work; the words on them were written by God himself.
17 When Joshua heard the boisterous noise of the people shouting below them, he exclaimed to Moses, “It sounds like war in the camp!”
18 But Moses replied, “No, it’s not a shout of victory nor the wailing of defeat. I hear the sound of a celebration.”
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. 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 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 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.
Source: New Living Translation: BibleGateway.com
We Respond
Reflection
Exodus 31: Verses 1-11 tell of God’s choice and equipping of Bezalel and Oholiab as His designated craftsmen for the construction of the tabernacle and all its furnishings. They were to do so by following the exact specifications God had given Moses. Verses 12-17 reiterate the importance of God’s people observing the Sabbath, even while constructing the tabernacle. Dennis Prager*, points out that the keeping of the Sabbath (refraining from work to honor God [YHWH] as the creator of the universe and everything in it) has been the main distinguishing characteristic of Judaism down through the ages.
Exodus 32: Verses 1-6 tell of the Israelites turning to worship a golden calf while Moses was on Mt. Sinai receiving the tablets of the Ten Commandments. Verses 7-10 describe God’s reaction to this behavior. In verses 11-14 we witness Moses humbly interacting with God on behalf of the people on the bases of God’s own character, promises and reputation. Verses 15-18 relate Joshua’s and Moses’ interaction on the way down the mountain. Verses 19-26 tell what Moses said and did when he saw what was taking place in the camp, including confronting Aaron who had been left in charge. Verses 27-29 relate how the men of the tribe of Levi responded to Moses’ direction in the matter. Verses 30-34 tell how Moses and God each dealt with this sin of the leaders and the people.
*The Rational Bible: Exodus, by Dennis Prager, audio version disk 12 tracks 4 and 5 and disk 13 track 1.
Prayer
Dear Almighty God, king and creator of the universe, thank You for creating and designing me to serve and worship You. Help me to execute Your plans for me with accuracy and excellence. Thank You for instituting the Sabbath so that human beings (myself included) and animals would have a day to rest, be refreshed, reflect and worship You, the creator of everything. May it be a time when I honor You as I interact with other people as well. Please help me to recognize when I am tempted to worship false gods (anything that turns me away from You and Your ways) and turn back to You instead. Holy Spirit, please empower me to center my life on following Jesus’ interpretation of the Ten Commandments (especially the two greatest commandments) and the great commission. LORD, please don’t give up on people in this day and age (especially in my own nation [USA] or those I hold dear). Remember Your character, promises and reputation are at stake. Many of the leaders in this nation have neglected to follow You and Your ways. Please save their souls and get them back on track trusting and obeying You or remove them from their positions and replace them with people who will. Raise up people (like the men of the tribe of Levi) who will fight (physically, socially and/or spiritually) for Your principles and values as to what is right, overcoming lawlessness. Raise up leaders at every level of society who (like Moses) interact with You and lead people in righteousness. All for Your glory, LORD. AMEN
Action
(Ask God, the Holy Spirit, if He wants you to work on one of the suggestions below or something else more personal that He points out.)
I will interact with God about His plans for my life and then seek to execute them with accuracy and excellence.
I will set up a plan to personally and properly observe the Sabbath from sundown Fridays to sundown Saturdays.
I will intercede for people on the bases of God’s promises (to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob), His reputation among the people of the world and His character as a holy and compassionate judge.
I will validate my faith by taking action in obedience to the Lord’s direction.
Share
I plan to share what I’ve learned with __________.