out of Egypt Deut. 5.15 And it was a standing sign of that People's relation to God as their Maker and Deliverer Ezek. 20.20 That doth sanctifie you Or That doth set you apart to my Service and as a sign and token thereof the Sabbath was ordained for the service of God and rest from Worldly Occasions 14. Ye shall keep c. Ch. 20.8 Deut. 5.12 Ezek. 20.12 Be put to death The case was thus says Maimon among the Jews He that proudly and wittingly did work on the Sabbath was liable to be cut off i. e. To perish by the hand of God If he did it ignorantly he was obliged to bring his Sin-offering but if he were convicted by Witnesses he was to be stoned Num. 15.27.30 and 35. 15. Holy Heb. Holiness 17. In six days Gen. 1.13 and 2.2 18. Two tables Deut. 9.10 With the finger of God This is spoken after the manner of Men and is to be understood accordingly These Tables and the Writing on them were noâ— the work of a Man but were the work of God Vid. ch 31.16 Vid. More Nevochim p. 1. c. 66. CHAP. XXXII The ARGUMENT In the absence of Moses the Israelites prevail with Aaron to make a Calf They commit Idolatry God's great displeasure thereupon Moses intercedes with God on their behalf The Tables of Stone are broken Moses destroys the Calf and expostulates with Aaron The Sons of Levi slay many of the Israelites by the direction of Moses Moses minds the People of the greatness of their Sin He pleads with God on their behalf 1. AND when the people saw that Moses delayed to come down out of the mount the people gathered themselves together unto Aaron and said unto him Vp 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 wot not what is become of him 2. And Aaron said unto them Break off the golden ear-rings whâ—â—h are in the ears of your wives of your sons and of your daughters and bring them unto me 3. And all the people brake off the golden ear-rings which were in their ears and brought them unto Aaron 4. And he received them at their hand and fashioned it with a graving tool after he had made it a molten calf and they said These be thy gods O Israel which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt 5. And when Aaron saw it he built an altar before it and Aaron made proclamation and said To morrow is a feast to the LORD 6. And they rose up early on the morrow and offered burnt-offerings and brought peace-offerings and the people sat down to eat and to drink and rose up to play 7. And the LORD said unto Moses Go get thee down for thy people which thou broughtest out of the land of Egypt have corrupted themselves 8. 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 thereunto and said These be thy gods O Israel which have brought thee up out of the land of Egypt 9. And the LORD said unto Moses I have seen this people and behold it is a stiff-necked people 10. 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 11. And Moses besought the LORD his God and said LORD why doth thy wrath wax hot against thy people which thou hast brought forth out of the land of Egypt with great power and with a mighty hand 12. Wherefore should the Egyptians speak and say For mischief did he bring them out 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 13. Remember Abraham Isaac and Israel thy servants to whom thou swarest by thine own self and saidest 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 14. And the LORD repented of the evil which he thought to do unto his people 15. And Moses turned and went down from the mount and the two tables of the testimony were in his hand the tables were written on both their sides on the one side and on the other were they written 16. And the tables were the work of God and the writing was the writing of God graven upon the tables 17. 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 18. 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 19. And it came to pass assoon as he came nigh unto the camp that he saw the calf and the dancing and Moses's anger waxed hot and he cast the tables out of his hands and brake them beneath the mount 20. And he took the calf which they had made and burnt it in the fire and ground it to powder and strawed it upon the water and made the children of Israel drink of it 21. And Moses said unto Aaron What did this people unto thee that thou hast brought so great a sin upon them 22. And Aaron said Let not the anger of my lord wax hot thou knowest the people that they are set on mischief 23. 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 wot not what is become of him 24. And I said unto them Whosoever hath any gold let them break it off So they gave it me then I cast it into the fire and there came out this calf 25. And when Moses saw that the people were naked for Aaron had made them naked unto their shame amongst their enemies 26. Then Moses stood in the gate of the camp and said Who is on the LORD's side let him come unto me And all the sons of Levi gathered themselves together unto him 27. And he said unto them Thus saith the LORD God of Israel Put every man his sword by his side and go in and out from gate to gate throughout the camp and slay every man his brother and every man his companion and every man his neighbour 28. And the children of Levi did according to the word of Moses and there fell of the people that day about three thousand men 29. For Moses had said Consecrate your selves to day to the LORD even every man upon his son and upon his brother that he may bestow upon you a blessing this day 30. 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 the LORD peradventure I shall make an atonement for your sin 31. And Moses returned unto the LORD and said Oh this people have sinned a great sin and have made them gods of gold 32. Yet now if thou wilt forgive their sin and if not blot me I pray thee out of thy book which thou hast written 33. And the LORD said unto Moses whosoever hath sinned against me him will I blot out of my book 34. Therefore 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 35. And the LORD plagued the people because they made the calf which Aaron made 1. THE People Not all the People but a considerable part of them See v. 26. and 1 Cor. 10.7 Vnto Aaron Or against Aaron 'T is very probable that they came in a very tumultuous and violent manner v. 22. Vp make us Gods c. Act. 7.40 They desire an Image or visible Symbol of the Divinity which might at their pleasure go before them Moses having been absent some considerable time and the Pillar which was wont to go before them having during that time stood still 2. Golden Ear-rings Possibly those very Jewels which the Egyptians had furnished them with at their departure out of Egypt ch 12.35 These Ear-rings were materials of Idolatry both now and before and after this time Gen. 35.4 Judg. 8.24 4. And c. 1 King 12.28 Psal 106.19 Thy Gods Or thy God Nehem. 9.18 They Worshipped God by this Image v. 5. which yet does not excuse them from Idolatry Act. 7.41 1 Cor. 10.7 Exod. 20.4 5. 5. To the LORD To Jehovah but yet the Calf by which Jehovah is Worshipped is called an Idol Act. 7.41 6. People 1 Cor. 10.7 Play This mirth was an attendant upon their Idolatrous Worship and is expressed by a word in the Hebrew that is sometimes applied to Whoredom Idolatry being esteemed a spiritual Whoredom or Fornication Gen. 39.17 7. Go Deut. 9.12 Thy people They have no right to be called God's people 8. They have Deut. 9.8 9. I have seen c. Ch. 33.3 Deut. 9.13 10. Let me alone c. i. e. Do not pray or intercede for them as the Chaldee hath it 11. And Moses c. Psal 106.23 The LORD Heb. The face of the LORD 12. Wherefore Numb 14.13 13. I will multiply Gen. 12.7 and 15.7 and 48.16 14. Repented c. He was appeased and turned from the Evil as the Vulgar and Chaldee have it 15. On both their sides i. e. On the two fore-sides 16. Tables Ch. 31.18 17. Shouted In the mirth mentioned v. 6. 18. Being overcome Heb. Weakness Sing Play says the Chaldee Moses being before instructed v. 7. discerned it not to be the voice of conquering or conquered People but of those who rejoiced or sang as Men were wont to do in Festivals and the Dancing attending upon them Vid. Psal 68.25 Judg. 21.19 21. 19. Brake them c. The People having first broken their Covenant with God 20. And he took c. Deut. 9.21 Burnt it He melted it probably and by that means he first destroyed the form or figure of the Calf Ground it to powder And did by this destroy the whole Compages of it and expose the Vanity of the Idol Drink c. And by this means Moses utterly destroyed all the reliques of this Idolatry Deut. 7.25 There is an Opinion among the Jews that this drink was like the Water of Jealousie Numb 5. serving for the discovery of the Idolaters whom the Levites destroyed 24. And there came out this Calf A very weak excuse of his Sin much like that which we read Gen. 3.12 and 1 Sam. 15.15 25. Naked i. e. By reason of their Sin stripped and robbed of the favour and protection of God which was their glory and their strength vid. Numb 14.9 And now they were exposed to the scorn and violence of their Enemies Their enemies Heb. Those that rose up against them 26. On the LORD's side i. e. That have not fallen into Idolatry 29. For Moses c. Or And Moses said Consecrate your selves to day to the LORD because every man hath been against his son and against his brother c. 32. Out of thy book which thou hast written This is spoken of God after the manner of Men and speaks the great Charity of Moses who chooses rather to suffer though death it self see Num. 11.15 than to behold the destruction of his People 33. Whosoever c. He that sins shall die 34. Angel See ch 23.20 35. Plagued By the Levites and in the plagues afterwards CHAP. XXXIII The ARGUMENT God refuseth to go with the People at which Message they mourn The Tabernacle or Tent of Moses is removed out of the Camp The cloudy Pillar stands at the door of it God speaks unto Moses Face to Face Moses desires God to shew him his Way and his Glory God's words to Moses upon this occasion 1. AND the LORD said unto Moses Depart and go up hence thou and the people which thou hast brought up out of the land of Egypt unto the land which I sware unto Abraham to Isaac and to Jacob saying Vnto thy seed will I give it 2. And I will send an Angel before thee and I will drive out the Canaanite the Amorite and the Hittite and the Perizzite the Hivite and the Jebusite 3. Vnto a land flowing with milk and honey for I will not go up in the midst of thee for thou art a stiff-necked people lest I consume thee in the way 4. And when the people heard these evil tidings they mourned and no man did put on him his ornaments 5. For the LORD had said unto Moses Say unto the children of Israel Ye are a stiff-necked people I will come up into the midst of thee in a moment and consume thee therefore now put off thy ornaments from thee that I may know what to do unto thee 6. And the children of Israel stript themselves of their ornaments by the mount Horeb. 7. And Moses took the Tabernacle and pitched it without the camp afar off from the camp and called it the Tabernacle of the congregation And it came to pass that every one which sought the LORD went out unto the Tabernacle of the congregation which was without the camp 8. And it came to pass when Moses went out unto the tabernacle that all the people rose up and stood every man at his tent-door and looked after Moses untill he was gone into the tabernacle 9. And it came to pass as Moses entred into the tabernacle the cloudy pillar descended and stood at the door of the tabernacle and the LORD talked with Moses 10. And all the people saw the cloudy pillar stand at the tabernacle-door and all the people rose up and worshipped every man in his tent-door 11. And the LORD spake unto
the covenant which the LORD made with you then I abode in the mount forty days and forty nights I neither did eat bread nor drink water 10. And the LORD delivered unto me two tables of stone written with the finger of God and on them was written according to all the words which the LORD spake with you in the mount out of the midst of fire in the day of the assembly 11. And it came to pass at the end of forty days and forty nights that the LORD gave me the two tables of stone even the tables of the covenant 12. And the LORD said unto me Arise get thee down quickly from hence for thy people which thou hast brought forth out of Egypt have corrupted themselves they are quickly turned aside out of the way which I commanded them they have made them a molten image 13. Furthermore the LORD spake unto me sayingâ— I have seen this people and behold it is a stiff-necked people 14. Let me alone that I may destroy them and blot out their name from under heaven and I will make of thee a nation mightier and greater then they 15. So I turned and came down from the mount and the mount burned with fire and the two tables of the covenant were in my two hands 16. And I looked and behold ye had sinned against the LORD your God and had made you a molten calf ye had turned aside quickly out of the way which the LORD had commanded you 17. And I took the two tables and cast them out of my two hands and brake them before your eyes 18. And I fell down before the LORD as at the first forty days and forty nights I did neither eat bread nor drink water because of all your sins which ye sinned in doing wickedly in the sight of the LORD to provoke him to anger 19. For I was afraid of the anger and hot displeasure wherewith the LORD was wroth against you to destroy you But the LORD hearkned unto me at that time also 20. And the LORD was very angry with Aaron to have destroyed him and I prayed for Aaron also the same time 21. And I took your sin the calf which ye had made and burnt it with fire and stamped it and ground it very small even untill it was as small as dust and I cast the dust thereof into the brook that descended out of the mount 22. And at Taberah and at Massah and at Kibroth-hattaavah ye provoked the LORD to wrath 23. Likewise when the LORD sent you from Kadesh-barnea saying Go up and possess the land which I have given you then ye rebelled against the commandment of the LORD your God and ye believed him not nor hearkned to his voice 24. You have been rebellious against the LORD from the day that I knew you 25. Thus I fell down before the LORD forty days and forty nights as I fell down at the first because the LORD had said he would destroy you 26. I prayed therefore unto the LORD and said O Lord GOD destroy not thy people and thine inheritance which thou hast redeemed through thy greatness which thou hast brought forth out of Egypt with a mighty hand 27. Remember thy servants Abraham Isaac and Jacob look not unto the stubbornness of this people nor to their wickedness nor to their sin 28. Lest the land whence thou broughtest us out say Because the LORD was not able to bring them into the land which he promised them and because he hated them he hath brought them out to slay them in the wilderness 29. Yet they are thy people and thine inheritance which thou broughtest out by thy mighty power and by thy stretched-out arm 1. THis day i. e. About this time For day does not always signifie a precise time See the Notes upon Gen. 2.4 2. The children of the Anakims Numb 13.28 3. As a consuming fire Which doeth waste that which stands in its way See chap. 4.24 Heb. 12.29 Quickly But not all at once chap. 7.22 The seeming difference between this place and chap. 7.22 as the words lie in the Hebrew Text is removed by this answer That chap. 7.22 is to be understood of the whole Land and this of the parts of it which they should successively attempt upon 7. In the Wilderness Both in the Wilderness of Shur Exod. 15.22 24. and in the Wilderness of Sin Exod. 16.1 2 3. 8. Also in Horeb viz. In the Wilderness of Sinai whither the Israelites came in the third month after they came forth out of Egypt 9. I abode in the mount Exod. 24.18 and 34.28 10. And the LORD delivered c. See Exod. 31.18 and the Note upon that place The words which the LORD spake with you i. e. The Ten Commandments which God spake from Mount Sinai Exod 20. when the People were assembled to receive the Law Exod. 19.17 For the other Laws were given them by the Mediation of Moses according to their own request Exod. 20.19 compared with Deut. 5.27 12. Arise Exod. 32.7 14. Let me alone i. e. Do not pray or intercede for them See Exod. 32.10 16. Which the LORD had commanded you For God had expressly Commanded them not onely not to worship any Idol or false God Exod. 20.3 4. but not to make with him Gods of Silver or Gold Exod. 20.23 See the Notes on Exod. 20.23 18. I fell down viz. As a Supplicant praying for the People of which see Exod. 34.8 9. As at the first That is as I did upon my coming down from the Mount upon their making and worshipping the Golden Calf For that he did then pray for the People is intimated v. 14. and more fully expressed Exod. 32.11 12 13. 21. Your sin That is the Calf which was the Object of their Idolatrous Worship It is usual in the phrase of the Holy Scripture to call the Object of the Idolatrous Worship by the name of the Sin committed See Isa 31.7 compare Exod. 32.20 and Act. 17.23 with the Marginal reading 22. Taberah c. Numb 11.1 3. Exod 17.7 Numb 11.34 These places bore the Memorial of their Sin and Punishment 25. Thus I fell down c. Of which see verse 18. and the Note there 28. Because the LORD Numb 14.16 with Exod. 32.12 CHAP. X. The ARGUMENT The two Tables are restored and put into the Ark. Of the Death of Aaron Of the Separation of the Levites to the Service of God The Israelites are exhorted to Obedience and particularly to be kind to Strangers 1. AT that time the LORD said unto me Hew thee two tables of stone like unto the first and come up unto me into the mount and make thee an ark of wood 2. And I will write on the tables the words that were in the first tables which thou brakest and thou shalt put them in the ark 3. And I made an ark of shittim-wood and hewed two tables of stone like unto the first and went up into the mount having the two tables