Albert Barnes Commentary Exodus 32:7-35

"And Jehovah spake unto Moses, Go, get thee down; for thy people, that thou broughtest up out of the land of Egypt, have corrupted themselves: 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 unto it, and said, These are thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt. And Jehovah said unto Moses, I have seen this people, and, behold, it is a stiffnecked 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 great nation. And Moses besought Jehovah his God, and said, Jehovah, why doth thy wrath wax hot against thy people, that thou hast brought forth out of the land of Egypt with great power and with a mighty hand? Wherefore should the Egyptians speak, saying, For evil did he bring them forth, 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. And Jehovah repented of the evil which he said he would do unto his people. And Moses turned, and went down from the mount, with the two tables of the testimony in his hand; tables that were written on both their sides; on the one side and on the other were they written. And the tables were the work of God, and the writing was the writing of God, graven upon the tables. 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. 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. 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. And he took the calf which they had made, and burnt it with fire, and ground it to powder, and strewed it upon the water, and made the children of Israel drink of it. And Moses said unto Aaron, What did this people unto thee, that thou hast brought a great sin upon them? And Aaron said, Let not the anger of my lord wax hot: thou knowest the people, that they are [set] on evil. 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 know not what is become of him. And I said unto them, Whosoever hath any gold, let them break it off: so they gave it me; and I cast it into the fire, and there came out this calf. And when Moses saw that the people were broken loose, (for Aaron had let them loose for a derision among their enemies,) then Moses stood in the gate of the camp, and said, Whoso is on Jehovah`s side, [let him come] unto me. And all the sons of Levi gathered themselves together unto him. And he said unto them, Thus saith Jehovah, the God of Israel, Put ye every man his sword upon his thigh, and go to and fro from gate to gate throughout the camp, and slay every man his brother, and every man his companion, and every man his neighbor. And the sons of Levi did according to the word of Moses: and there fell of the people that day about three thousand men. And Moses said, Consecrate yourselves to-day to Jehovah, yea, every man against his son, and against his brother; that he may bestow upon you a blessing this day. 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 Jehovah; peradventure I shall make atonement for your sin. And Moses returned unto Jehovah, and said, Oh, this people have sinned a great sin, and have made them gods of gold. Yet now, if thou wilt forgive their sin-; and if not, blot me, I pray thee, out of thy book which thou hast written. And Jehovah said unto Moses, Whosoever hath sinned against me, him will I blot out of my book. And 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. And Jehovah smote the people, because they made the calf, which Aaron made." — Exodus 32:7-35 (ASV)

The faithfulness of Moses in the office that had been entrusted to him was now to be put to the test. It was to be revealed whether he loved his own glory more than he loved the brothers who were under his charge; whether he would prefer that he himself should become the founder of a “great nation,” or that the Lord’s promise should be fulfilled in the whole people of Israel.

This may have been especially necessary for Moses, because of his natural disposition . This trial of Moses, repeated in a very similar manner (Numbers 14:11–23), may be compared to the trial of Abraham (Genesis 22:0) and of our Savior (Matthew 4:8–10).

Regarding Exodus 32:8: These be thy gods ... have brought — this means This is thy god, O Israel, who has brought ...

Regarding Exodus 32:10, where it says, Let me alone — but Moses did not let the Lord alone. He wrestled, as Jacob had done, until, like Jacob, he obtained the blessing (Genesis 32:24–29).

Regarding Exodus 32:14: This states a fact that was not revealed to Moses until after his second intercession, when he had come down from the mountain and witnessed the sin of the people (Exodus 32:30–34). He was then assured that the Lord’s love for His ancient people would prevail.

God is said, in the language of Scripture, to “repent” when His forgiving love is seen by humans to blot out the letter of His judgments against sin (2 Samuel 24:16; Joel 2:13; Jonah 3:10, etc.); or when the sin of humankind seems to human sight to have disappointed the purposes of grace (Genesis 6:6; 1 Samuel 15:35, etc.).

The awakened conscience is said to “repent” when, having felt its sin, it also feels the divine forgiveness. It is at this crisis that God, according to the language of Scripture, repents toward the sinner. Thus, the repentance of God, made known in and through the One true Mediator, reciprocates the repentance of the returning sinner and reveals atonement to him.

Regarding Exodus 32:17-18: Moses does not tell Joshua of the divine communication that had been made to him concerning the apostasy of the people, but only corrects his impression by calling his attention to the kind of noise that they are making.

Regarding Exodus 32:19: Though Moses had been prepared by the revelation on the Mount, his righteous indignation was stirred beyond control when the abomination was before his eyes.

Regarding Exodus 32:20 : What is described in this verse must have occupied some time and may have followed the rebuke of Aaron. The act was symbolic, of course. The idol was brought to nothing, and the people were made to swallow their own sin .

Regarding Exodus 32:22: Aaron’s reference to the character of the people, and his manner of stating what he had done (Exodus 5:24), are very characteristic of the self-excusing language of a weak mind.

Regarding Exodus 32:23: Make us gods — means Make us a god.

Regarding Exodus 32:25: Naked — means rather unruly, or “licentious.”

Shame among their enemies — (Psalms 79:4; Deuteronomy 28:37).

Regarding Exodus 32:26-29: The tribe of Levi, Moses’ own tribe, now distinguished itself by immediately returning to its allegiance and obeying the call to fight on the side of Yahweh. We need not doubt that the 3,000 who were slain were those who persisted in resisting Moses.

The spirit of the narrative forbids us to conceive that the act of the Levites was anything like an indiscriminate massacre. An amnesty had first been offered to all by the words, “Who is on the Lord’s side?” (Exodus 32:26). Those who were forward to draw the sword were directed not to spare their closest relations or friends; but this must plainly have been with an understood qualification regarding the conduct of those who were to be slain. If it had not been so, those who were on the Lord’s side would have had to destroy each other.

We need not stumble at the bold, simple way in which the statement is made.

Regarding Exodus 32:29, which reads, Consecrate yourselves to day to the Lord ... — the margin contains the literal rendering. Our version gives the most probable meaning of the Hebrew and is supported by the best authority.

The Levites were to prove themselves in a special way the servants of Yahweh, in anticipation of their formal consecration as ministers of the sanctuary , by manifesting a self-sacrificing zeal in carrying out the divine command, even upon their nearest relatives.

Regarding Exodus 32:31: Returned unto the Lord — that is, he again ascended the mountain.

Gods of gold — means a god of gold.

Regarding Exodus 32:32: For a similar form of expression, in which the conclusion is left to be supplied by the mind of the reader, see Daniel 3:15; Luke 13:9; Luke 19:42; John 6:62; Romans 9:22. For the same thought, see Romans 9:3.

It is for such as Moses and Paul to realize, and to dare to utter, their readiness to be wholly sacrificed for the sake of those whom God has entrusted to their love. This expresses the perfected idea of the whole burnt-offering.

Thy book — The figure is taken from the enrollment of the names of citizens. This is its first occurrence in the Scriptures. See the marginal references, and also Isaiah 4:3; Daniel 12:1; Luke 10:20; Philippians 4:3; Revelation 3:5, etc.

Regarding Exodus 32:33, 34: Each offender was to suffer for his own sin (Ezekiel 18:4; Ezekiel 18:20). Moses was not to be taken at his word. He was to fulfill his appointed mission of leading the people toward the land of promise.

Regarding Exodus 32:34: Mine Angel shall go before thee — See the marginal references and Genesis 12:7.

In the day when I visit ... — . But though the Lord chastised the individuals, He did not take His blessing from the nation.