Posted on by Abe Austin

Scriptural Analysis- Exodus 33:7-10

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, until he was gone into the tabernacle.

9 And it came to pass, as Moses entered 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.

After God had warned that His immediate presence would spell destruction to the people, Moses pitched the tabernacle separate from the rest of the camp. What exactly the tabernacle constituted of at this point is unclear, as clearly the Israelites had not created the portable structure that had been revealed to Moses in the mountain.

Whatever the tabernacle comprised of, though, it was to remain at a safe distance from the camp, and Moses alone would approach it as he and God continued to work on the problem of Israel’s betrayal. The people were despondent at the Lord’s removal from them, and as the peoples’ representative, it was Moses’s obligation to discuss this matter with the Lord.

This idea that Moses went on behalf of all the people is further reinforced by the fact that each person stood and watched him from the door of their tents. Clearly, each of them was going with him in spirit. All of them bore witness to the presence of the Lord made manifest by the cloudy pillar, and all of them worshipped towards that Lord as Moses entered in with Him.

Thus, symbolically, all of Israel went into the tabernacle with Moses, all of them beseeching for His mercy, all of them offering Him a place in their midst once more.

Posted on by Abe Austin

Scriptural Analysis- Exodus 33:4-6

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 stiffnecked 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 stripped themselves of their ornaments by the mount Horeb.

God had agreed to lead the Israelites to the Promised Land, and drive out their enemies, but said that He would do so through an angel now, instead of personally dwelling among them. His instruction for the Israelites to remove their ornaments while He considered “what to do unto thee,” further reinforced the limbo of their situation. Rather than rejoicing at the positive aspects of God’s message, the Israelites took the more somber parts very hard.

Perhaps the Israelites would still be under the guidance of the Lord, but they were acutely aware of what had been lost. They were going to be guided by a steward now, rather than the King Himself, and that caused them to mourn.

This depressed uncertainty is well represented in the people removing their ornaments, meaning all of their jewelry and precious adornments. They were returning to a state of plain, unvarnished humility. Only by returning to their most basic state, with nothing earthly to get in the way, would they have any chance of reconnecting with the Lord.

Posted on by Abe Austin

Scriptural Analysis- Exodus 33:1-3

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, Unto 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 Unto a land flowing with milk and honey: for I will not go up in the midst of thee; for thou art a stiffnecked people: lest I consume thee in the way.

Some of the idolatrous had been slain, presumably the most rebellious, and others had been visited with a plague. Now the Lord assures the Israelites that He will, in fact, continue to guide them to the Promised Land. The potential destruction had been averted, and they would have a chance to still obtain their promised blessing.

But even as God reassures them, it is clear that things are not the same as they were before. Originally, God had expressed His intention to live in the midst of His people, with the tabernacle pitched in the center of the camp. Now, though, he rescinds that, choosing instead to lead them indirectly, via an angel. He explains that if He were to come in their midst now the people would be destroyed.

I believe it misses the mark to read this as God having a grudge and that He would smite the people out of any sort of petty indignation. Rather, it is a recognition of how the glory of God has both a glorifying and consuming power. We are kept at a distance for our own good, because being in God’s presence before we are ready would destroy us, like a moth in the flame. Israel had shown that they were not able to abide God’s closeness, and so they would be led from a distance until they were ready to draw nearer. So, too, we tend to follow God tentatively, following what simple principles we have the capacity to adhere to, gradually increasing in our ability to live a higher law.

Posted on by Abe Austin

Encouraging vs Demoralizing

Part of parenting is inviting our kids to become better, to challenge them beyond their limits so that they grow and know that they can grow. At the same time, we also need to be careful that we don’t put unrealistic or ill-fitting expectations on them that can breed resentment or demoralize them. It’s a fine line to walk, and worth considering how it can be managed. In fact, it is worth considering how God, Himself, manages to walk it with us so that we can learn from His example.

As I’ve pondered these questions, the answer that has come to mind is that it all comes down to how well one knows their child. Not how well they know who they wish their child was, but how well they know who the child actually is. God is so good at getting the best out of us because His knowledge of us runs straight to our core. He even states that, “Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee,” (Jeremiah 1:5). He has a perfect understanding of our trajectory and can run through it to a point that lays naturally ahead of us, saying “this is who you were born to become.”

The mistake that too many earthly parents make is that we already have our child’s trajectory determined in our hearts before we even met them. We have chosen an arbitrary point of our own making, and we still require the child to meet it.

Put another way, whereas God holds up a vision of the child as his genuine best self, we too often hold up a vision of a made-up person that the child is not aligned with and will only hurt himself in trying to become. This latter approach sends a message of, “this is who you are not, and that’s a problem.”

Since God already holds the perfect perspective of each child’s natural trajectory and potential, we can never come to better vision for our child than His. Our ability to lead our child correctly will be entirely based on our own alignment with God. It will be by standing in the place where He is that we will have the proper perspective to see how to make our children flourish and not be discouraged.

Posted on by Abe Austin

The Breadth of All Good

God is all good, but does that make Him all-merciful or all-just? He must be both, or else He would only be half-good. It should therefore come as no surprise that we see examples of both forgiveness and retribution in the Bible. Sometimes God shows mercy, perfectly. Sometimes He demands justice, perfectly.

When we stand before God’s throne in the next life, and He assigns us a judgment either to our damnation or exaltation, it will be a judgment that is perfect. In that day we will know that His decision is right, and we will not have any basis to say that He was too lenient or too strict.

There are even cases in the Bible where God showed an openness to both justice and mercy, as they were each apparently an appropriate outcome for the situation. Thus, we have the extending of Hezekiah’s life, the sparing of the Israelites after they made the golden calf, and the redemption of Nineveh. God was apparently inclined to have things go another way, but in His all-goodness could allow for a different path. Probably many of us are in that same middle area, where both God’s mercy and His justice could rightfully claim us. It is to our advantage to use this time to our advantage, to try and secure the side of God’s goodness that we desire.

Posted on by Abe Austin

Scriptural Analysis- Exodus 32:33-35

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.

The Lord assured Moses that those who had betrayed Him would be blotted out of His book, and there seems to be implied with that, “…but not those that didn’t.” Thus, Moses’s offer to receive the same punishment as all the rest of the people was declined. Presumably, being “blotted out” would mean, at the very least, to be cut off from being one of the Lord’s chosen people, and potentially to be mortally destroyed.

Those that had demanded the calf had specifically chosen to not have the Lord for their God anymore, even after they had seen Him save them with mighty miracles. They had already blotted themselves in their hearts, so the Lord was simply synchronizing His records with their decision. Those that want to live a godless life shall receive their wish. If they insist that the Almighty is not a part of our lives, they will find that indeed He is not, for they will have created a bubble around them where He does not exist.

This sense of getting the consequences that one wishes for is perhaps most clear in the last verse of the chapter. Israel wanted to worship idols like the Egyptians, so now they received a plague just like the Egyptians had. They had witnessed this exact pattern firsthand. They had been kept safe, while they saw exactly what ramifications came upon those who came out in opposition to the Lord. And yet, in spite of all this firsthand knowledge, they followed the Egyptians’ pattern all the way to the exact same conclusion. The plague could not have been more predictable.

Posted on by Abe Austin

Scriptural Analysis- Exodus 32:31-32

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.

Moses shows us an excellent example of leadership and responsibility. He was not down in the valley committing idolatry, but he still says that if the people are to be blotted out, may he be blotted out as well. As their leader, Moses is prepared to accept the same punishment as his people.

As members of humanity, our consequences are overlapped with those that surround us. Whatever society decides to do, even if we personally abstain from it, we all experience many of the same repercussions. We are a part of them and share in their lot. This effect is enhanced even further when we are a leader in that society.

Moving on, Moses also provides an excellent example of repentance in these verses. He makes absolutely no attempt to minimize or justify the seriousness of what has happened. It was wrong, and greatly so, and he admits it. Second, he appeals to God’s mercy, but he also accepts God’s judgment. He knows that God’s punishment is justified, but also that His mercy is possible.

Posted on by Abe Austin

Scriptural Analysis- Exodus 32:28, 30

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.

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.

It is not entirely clear who the three thousand killed by the Levites were. This verse and the following ones suggest that there still remained some of those Israelites who had participated in the act of idolatry. Indeed, if the entire camp, (or even just a significant fraction of the camp) had participated, then there would have been anywhere from tens of thousands to millions of idolaters still standing after the previous day’s slaughter.

It may be that when Moses returned the majority of the people were ambivalent as to whether or not they would return to serving the Lord, but that three thousand stood against Moses, and were prepared to defend their licentiousness by force. I think it is notable that the three thousand that were slain were “men,” which sounds to me like it might have been an army of rebels that had to be put down before the rest of the people gave way to Moses.

In either case, it seems clear from verse 30 that there were still many left alive who were soiled with sin. Moses, who had been the fierce sword of justice on the day before, now became the merciful advocate. Having seen for himself the weight of the people’s sin, he would return yet again to the mountain, in order to plead their case before the Lord.

Posted on by Abe Austin

Scriptural Analysis- Exodus 32:26-29

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 yourselves 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.

Continuing with the symbolism of the divine from above touching mortality below, we see in today’s verses how these moments call for the drawing of a line. The situation has come to an impasse, and one cannot try to stand with a foot in each side any longer. One must by chosen. “Who is on the Lord’s side?” Moses asks. Now that the people had sufficient time to choose sin or virtue, who would hold their dignity? All of Levi answers the call and they are given the command to march forth and cut down the rebels.

The command to go to battle is very sharp and direct. Even a neighbor, or a companion, or a brother was not to be spared. If a man chooses God, then he is to choose Him above any other. This may seem a hard thing, difficult to consider given that we live isolated from God while establishing more tangible connections to those we live with. But the more we mature, the more we see that it is the intangible ideals of good and right and truth that matter most, and we develop our deepest devotions to them.

We look around us today and we see that there is no such immediate judgment being carried out upon the wicked. Those that defy God still prosper, and those who are prone to straying see no clear line in the sand that must not be crossed. That doesn’t mean that the God of judgment and retribution has ceased to exist, though. These things come in times and seasons. People are left to ripen, and then the harvest comes, either for glory or destruction. There will be another time of reckoning, and we ought to live so that we will find ourselves on the right side of it.

Posted on by Abe Austin

Scriptural Analysis- Exodus 32:21-25

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 among their enemies:)

Moses asks the same question of Aaron that we posed earlier: why would he submit to the Israelites’ demands for something that he knew was wrong? Nothing in Aaron’s response suggests that he thought it was a good thing that he did. Rather, the fact that he asks for mercy strongly suggests that he knows that he was wrong to concede to the masses. At least he is completely forthcoming in recounting what he did.

I had wondered whether Aaron agreed to their demands out of spite, as a way to say, “if you’re so set on damnation, by all means go ahead!” One thing that may support that theory is what verse 25 states about Aaron having them get naked as part of their idolatrous revelry, with the objective of bringing shame upon them.

Continuing with the idea of Moses up in the mountain representing the elevated soul and the wicked people in the valley representing fallen mortality, then Aaron might represent to us the basically decent person who is surrounded by a sea of iniquity. He stands in place of all those who try to balance their own survival against their morals. There are many of us who become compromised, who seek not to deprave ourselves, but who stand back and let the depravity happen.