|
Moses waited six days upon the
mountain, with Joshua his servant; and then God called to him out of the
cloud, and Moses went up, and was there in the mount forty days and forty
nights. Moses was not afraid to be with God, because He was his
father and his friend. We have no need to fear, when our sins are
forgiven, and when we are at peace with God through Jesus Christ. What
did God say to Moses when he was in the mountain? He gave him many
directions about the tabernacle which the Israelites were to make, where
God was to be worshiped; and about the sacrifices, and priests, and the
holy things which we shall soon read about; and then He gave Moses the two
tables of stone, written with the finger of God. The people waited a
long time for Moses, and wondered he did not come down to them, and then
they began to be tired and impatient, and they went to Aaron, and said,
"Moses is gone away; we do not know what is become of him; make gods
for us, and they shall go before us." Did Aaron tell them how
wicked and disobedient they were? No; Aaron sinned too, and let the
people sin. He told them to give him their golden earrings which
were in their ears; so they brought them to Aaron, and he made them into a
golden calf. Then the people said, "These be the gods who
brought us up from Egypt;" and Aaron built an altar, and offered
sacrifices to the calf, and made a feast; and the people ate and drank,
and played before the image. They had soon forgotten the holy
command of God, which He spoke to them from the mount, "Thou shalt
not make any graven image." They had forgotten their own
promise which they made to Moses, "We will obey the Lord."
They had forgotten to ask God's help to teach them to serve Him. But
did not God see? Was not He angry? Yes; He saw all; for His
eyes are in every place; He knew when He was talking to His servant Moses,
what His disobedient people were doing; and He said to Moses, "Go
down; the people have forgotten me, and they have made a golden calf, and
worship it. I am angry with these disobedient people; I will destroy
them; but I will keep thee, and make of thee a great nation."
But Moses prayed God to forgive these sinful people, and to remember His
servants Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, and His promises to them.
Then God heard Moses' prayer, and did not destroy them all. So
Moses took the tables in his hands, and went down again to Joshua.
Joshua said, "There is a noise in the camp;" but he did not know
what the noise was. Moses listened, and said, "It is a singing
that I hear;" and when they came near, they saw the golden calf, and
the people playing, and dancing, and singing before it. Then Moses
was angry, and he cast the tables out of his hands, and broke them under
the mountain. Why was he angry? To see that these people had
so soon forgotten their kind God, and their own promise to love and serve
Him. They were helpless sinners, and we are so too. When we
trust to our own strength and goodness, and forget to ask for the Holy
Spirit to help and teach us, we are as forgetful of God, as unthankful,
and as wicked as these Israelites were. Let us pray to God every day
to keep us from sin, and to enable us to live always in Hi fear and love.
|
