Who can save a world in danger?

Popular media loves the hero story of somebody stepping in to save the world, but who can save a world in danger?

In Avengers: Endgame, Thanos has destroyed half of the universe and the avengers, come to the rescue. Iron man sacrifices himself and the world is saved. That fictional story dramatizes the fact that we also live in a broken world, a broken universe. If you read Exodus 32, 33 and 34. Just selected verses in those chapters. I want us to see how God worked then and how He works today.

Exodus 32:1: “When the people saw that Moses was so long in coming down from the mountain, they gathered around Aaron and said, “Come, make us gods who will go before us. As for this fellow Moses who brought us up out of Egypt, we don’t know what has happened to him.” Exodus 32:6-15: “So the next day the people rose early and sacrificed burnt offerings and presented fellowship offerings. Afterward they sat down to eat and drink and got up to indulge in revelry. Then the Lord said to Moses, “Go down, because your people, whom you brought up out of Egypt, have become corrupt. They have been quick to turn away from what I commanded them and have made themselves an idol cast in the shape of a calf. They have bowed down to it and sacrificed to it and have said, ‘These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of Egypt.’ “I have seen these people,” the Lord said to Moses, “and they are a stiff-necked people. Now leave me alone so that my anger may burn against them and that I may destroy them. Then I will make you into a great nation.” But Moses sought the favour of the Lord his God. “O Lord,” he said, “why should your anger burn against your people, whom you brought out of Egypt with great power and a mighty hand? Why should the Egyptians say, ‘It was with evil intent that he brought them out, to kill them in the mountains and to wipe them off the face of the earth’? Turn from your fierce anger; relent and do not bring disaster on your people. Remember your servants Abraham, Isaac and Israel, to whom you swore by your own self: ‘I will make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and I will give your descendants all this land I promised them, and it will be their inheritance forever.’” Then the Lord relented and did not bring on his people the disaster he had threatened. Moses turned and went down the mountain with the two tablets of the Testimony in his hands. They were inscribed on both sides, front and back.” Exodus 32:19-20: “When Moses approached the camp and saw the calf and the dancing, his anger burned and he threw the tablets out of his hands, breaking them to pieces at the foot of the mountain. And he took the calf they had made and burned it in the fire; then he ground it to powder, scattered it on the water and made the Israelites drink it.” Exodus 32:25-26: “Moses saw that the people were running wild and that Aaron had let them get out of control and so become a laughingstock to their enemies. So he stood at the entrance to the camp and said, “Whoever is for the Lord, come to me.” And all the Levites rallied to him.” Exodus 32:30: “The next day Moses said to the people, “You have committed a great sin. But now I will go up to the Lord; perhaps I can make atonement for your sin.” Exodus 32:33-35: “But now, please forgive their sin—but if not, then blot me out of the book you have written.” The Lord replied to Moses, “Whoever has sinned against me I will blot out of my book. Now go, lead the people to the place I spoke of, and my angel will go before you. However, when the time comes for me to punish, I will punish them for their sin.” And the Lord struck the people with a plague because of what they did with the calf Aaron had made.”

Exodus 33:1: “Then the Lord said to Moses, “Leave this place, you and the people you brought up out of Egypt, and go up to the land I promised on oath to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, saying, ‘I will give it to your descendants." Exodus 33:3: “Go up to the land flowing with milk and honey. But I will not go with you, because you are a stiff-necked people and I might destroy you on the way.” Exodus 33:7: “Now Moses used to take a tent and pitch it outside the camp some distance away, calling it the “tent of meeting.” Anyone inquiring of the Lord would go to the tent of meeting outside the camp.”Exodus 33:15-16: “Then Moses said to him, “If your Presence does not go with us, do not send us up from here. How will anyone know that you are pleased with me and with your people unless you go with us? What else will distinguish me and your people from all the other people on the face of the earth?”

Exodus 34:1-3: “The Lord said to Moses, “Chisel out two stone tablets like the first ones, and I will write on them the words that were on the first tablets, which you broke. Be ready in the morning, and then come up on Mount Sinai. Present yourself to me there on top of the mountain. No one is to come with you or be seen anywhere on the mountain; not even the flocks and herds may graze in front of the mountain.” Exodus 34:5-10: “Then the Lord came down in the cloud and stood there with him and proclaimed his name, the Lord. And he passed in front of Moses, proclaiming, “The Lord, the Lord, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin. Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished; he punishes the children and their children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation. ”Moses bowed to the ground at once and worshiped. “O Lord, if I have found favor in your eyes,” he said, “then let the Lord go with us. Although this is a stiff-necked people, forgive our wickedness and our sin, and take us as your inheritance.” Then the Lord said: “I am making a covenant with you. Before all your people I will do wonders never before done in any nation in all the world. The people you live among will see how awesome is the work that I, the Lord, will do for you.” Exodus 34:28-29:“Moses was there with the Lord forty days and forty nights without eating bread or drinking water. And he wrote on the tablets the words of the covenant—the Ten Commandments. When Moses came down from Mount Sinai with the two tablets of the Testimony in his hands, he was not aware that his face was radiant because he had spoken with the Lord.” Exodus 34:33-34: “When Moses finished speaking to them, he put a veil over his face. But whenever he entered the Lord’s presence to speak with him, he removed the veil until he came out. And when he came out and told the Israelites what he had been commanded.”

As we look at this passage together I want to encourage you to grapple with what is said here. We need to see that wedged between the instructions for the building of the Tabernacle and the final building of the Tabernacle in Exodus 35, has these three tragic chapters. I've taken them out because I wanted to deal with the Tabernacle as a whole. We need to go back to this story of destruction and a mediator that comes to rescue them. In this passage, we see that the main point of Exodus 32, 33 and 34 is not so much the story of rebellion. Instead, it is a story of forgiveness and a story of Moses's mediation on behalf of the people. Here we see Moses, the great intercessor, the one who is a mediator of the old covenant to the people. This is what makes Moses very special. This is the incident that brings honour and attention to Moses and the respect that is due to him. Moses shielded the ungrateful people, who deserved to be destroyed because of their rebellion and idolatry. We see someone who was willing to carry the full weight and the horror of that punishment upon himself, as a mediator. The world would not see anybody nearly like this for many centuries.

Firstly, we’ll look at a mediator. Here we see that things were going well for Israel. Israel had been rescued out of Egypt. They'd met with God at Mount Sinai. They'd seen God on the mountain. Moses had heard and conveyed to them the plans for the Tabernacle. A place where heaven would come down and God would meet with them. A place where they could be forgiven of their sins. However, before they could build that Tabernacle they grew impatient. Their impatience caused them to make a golden calf that they worshipped. This led to them entering into all sorts of idolatry and an orgy at the foot of the mountain. What we see in the situation is not so much the rebellion of the people, but here we see God intervening and using His servant Moses. It teaches us about God Himself. It shows us how God deals with His people. People have viewed this passage differently throughout the ages. Some Christians say, “Look at this failure of idolatry and that's why the law is no good.” However, that's a very simplistic caricature. The reality is that the rebellion of the people is due to their sin, not due to the law or the Tabernacle. The story is not about a vengeful God. This is a story about Moses, who comes as a mediator and that's who we need to look at.

Remember, the story of Exodus is a story of re-creation. Just as in Genesis, God created the heavens, the earth and the Garden of Eden and met with these people. Then humans beings rebelled against God and disobeyed Him. Exodus 32 to 34 are the same as Genesis 3 (when Adam and Eve fell into sin). The people is listened to the lies of the evil one. In order to understand the intensity of God's reaction here, we need to remember that God poured out His heart. He used all the powers of heaven to bring His people out of Egypt. As He wants to bring heaven to earth and meet with them at the Tabernacle, they would rather worship an idol. A piece of metal that was formed from the jewellery that they had been wearing, that they had taken from the Egyptians. Here we see that this is the story of the people's rebellion against God. Their rejection of what God was planning for them, is really a rejection of God Himself. Which led to God's intense anger against them for their rebellion. In this context, God's anger is severe because of the severity of their sin.

What turned God from His anger? It was the pleading of Moses as he came to the rescue. Moses approaches God to make atonement for the sins of the people. He does that by offering himself that they might be reconnected to their God and Creator. Moses offers a sacrifice - that sacrifice is not an animal anymore, but himself. He offered to stand in their place, that his death would be in the place of the people's death. Exodus 32:30-32 shows what is necessary to make proper atonement for sin. It's not the blood of bulls, goats and sheep that makes atonement, but a person. That's why the full ultimate atonement would come through a person, Jesus Christ our Saviour and God. Jesus Christ is the ultimate mediator. We must not forget that God rejects Moses's offer of being a substitute because Moses was not perfect. Moses was not a spotless lamb, but rather he was trying to step in and take the people's place. Moses was not a suitable sacrifice. God rejects Moses's offer because Moses was not suited and was not pure and blameless. That is why we needed Jesus Christ to come as the spotless Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. That is why when we read in Exodus 32:33-34, that only the guilty will be punished.

The substitutionary death of Jesus Christ represents not a change of God's plan. Instead, it represents the great mystery of Christ's death. Jesus became guilty for our sins, which put Jesus on the cross. Jesus has now taken our sins upon Himself. We are no longer burdened with those sins. Jesus alone was worthy to bear our guilt and sin. We have now been sprinkled of a guilty conscience by the blood of Christ. We have been cleansed. Jesus' intercessory nature is modelled by Moses. Moses interceded with God the Father for the people. In the same way, Jesus now intercedes for you and me.

You might wonder who's praying for you? The Bible tells us in Hebrews 7:25 that Christ always lives to intercede for His people, just as Moses interceded. Jesus is now doing that for you and me. Jesus is the great mediator just as Moses here models, what that mediation would look like. Moses is radiated with a dose of God, and he reflects God's glory on his face. Christ is as Hebrews 1:3 says that the Son is the radiance of God's glory. In John 10:30 Jesus said that He is one with the Father. Moses would never have dared to say that, but Jesus has now come as our mediator. We see Moses pointing forward to the coming of the Messiah.

Secondly, we also need to see that there is an angry God here. This angry God is very clearly portrayed in this passage. If you were to ask anybody that's theologically trained what is God like they would probably list a whole lot of attributes of God. God is omniscient. God is omnipotent. God is unchanging. God is sovereign. God is eternal. God is the creator and so on. However, very few would list these attributes that we read in these chapters. God gets frustrated with His people. Yet, all of these factors are spoken of in these three chapters. Too often we try and put God into a theological box and fit these difficult chapters into those boxes. Here we see something of our God who is somewhat very similar to our humanity. The Scripture itself is not only inspired by God but it reveals who God is. Here we see that God is presented in Exodus as highly exalted and mighty. Yet, He is also near and approachable. One to whom we can talk to in prayer. Exodus 32 to 34, shows us a very human portrait of God. Now the problem is, in the Western world today, we like to dissect passages. We like to analyse things. We like to see how everything fits together and put it in logical order. We are quite curious people. The reality is, here we see that the God of the Old Testament is engaged in human activity. He is grieved by the sin of these people. In Exodus 32-34, God is engaged in a debate with Moses over how to handle the Israelites. God is in a sense the one who nearly goes too far, and Moses reminds Him that it was Him that brought the people out of Egypt.

What can be learnt from that? The first thing we can learn is that our God is a God who is unavoidably human in the way He relates to us as human beings. Think for a moment of prayer. Many of us, have prayed, saying things like, “God please don't let it rain tomorrow. We want to go on that picnic.” “God please give me that job at the job interview tomorrow.” We've prayed for God to intervene. We are asking Him to change His mind to favour us. We want God to be gracious to us. Jesus did that when He went into the Garden of Gethsemane and He prayed: “Father take this cup from me but not My will, Your will be done.” Jesus prayed as a very human person to God the Father, who understood His grief and He prayed very human prayers to the Father. Jesus's human way of praying is an extension of the fact that Jesus Himself was fully human like you and me, and also fully God. He is presenting a human picture of God , as a God who cares and gets angry. He is passionate about His love and intimacy with us. As we look at God our Father, we see a friend, a King. Those are all images that are very human images that God gives us from this world that we might relate to Him. The human portrait of God is one that fits well with our everyday experiences. More importantly, it is how God has chosen to reveal Himself to us. We can plead with Him and know that He hears our prayers. We have an Intercessor with God. One who prays for us and knows our humanity. We have a mediator in Jesus Christ. We have One who prays for us, in Jesus Christ.

Thirdly, we see in this passage a very Christian God. The temptation is to look at this passage and say, “This is not the God that we see in the New Testament.” The God of Exodus 32 and 33 is the Christian God. The God who is angry at sin and has dealt with that terrible sin, in sending Jesus Christ. Exodus 32 shows us how God does not act anymore now that Jesus Christ has come and mediated a new covenant with us. There are pitfalls when we read a passage like this. Some people have tried to read into the story of the golden calf. Some people have taken it upon themselves, like the Levites and dealt with immorality in our world, by doing some extreme things like burning down abortion clinics. That's not what this passage teaches. God has not called us to lawlessness. He's called us to pray and to realize that the pagan world will do what the pagan world will do. We are to realize that we have a part to play We also have the responsibility to pray. We can do that by interceding for this world and in acting within the confines of the laws of the land. Even adopt unwanted children, as a remediation of the abortion plague. We are to then serve God and honour Him. We also need to notice that Exodus 32 to 34 does not necessarily directly transpose to the church. We can't say, “We've got to get rid of the golden calf in our church.” That's not the point. The point is, God will discipline us as a church. Christ however, has mediated, and He has died in our place. When we are convicted of sin, we run to Christ as individuals or as a church, when we have missed what God wanted for us. We ask God's forgiveness because of what Jesus Christ has done. We cry out to Him, and we are forgiven, if we will turn to God. If we will repent, He will forgive us. The good news of the Gospel is that Exodus 32-34 does not apply directly to us but is in contrast to where we are at today. Here the nature of God has not changed. What has changed is now we have a mediator, who has made the perfect sacrifice on our behalf. He has given Himself. Unlike Moses who could not do that. Jesus Christ has died in our place. The empty tomb is proof that God the Father has accepted the death of Jesus in our place.

In the New Testament, in 2 Corinthians 3, we are reminded that as Moses’ face was veiled because of the glory that was fading. Our faces as Christians are unveiled. We can be bold in this world and speak for Jesus. We must not be afraid, but live for Christ because Jesus Christ has died for us, and we now have God's Holy Spirit in us. He tabernacles in us. We can now boldly go into this world. We can go where others would fear to go. We can speak up for God. In a broken world, we can live for Him and spread the Good News to the ends of the earth. This Exodus story is here to show us that God does care, and He is passionate about our lives. He calls us to turn from anything that would hinder our walk with Him. We need to learn here that we have a mediator in Jesus Christ. Christ is our mediator, you can be reconciled to God the Father. As one who is reconciled, you can then have boldness to go into this world with faces unveiled and live for Him. You can serve Him without fear. With freedom as you live for Jesus Christ. Do you know this Lord Jesus who died for you and is praying for you right now and always?

Let's pray together. O Lord Jesus, thank you that You are praying for us and interceding for all of us. Thank you Lord for being our mediator and the substitute in our place. Thank you for dying that we might be forgiven. Lord there may be some today that know that they need to surrender their life to You. Save them, that You might come into their heart right now as they cry out to You. Jesus save them and become their mediator. Their intercessor praying for them without ceasing. Always at the right hand of the Father. Lord Jesus have mercy on us. Strengthen us to be bold in this world to live for You. To turn from any sin or idolatry and any temptation. As You saved Your people through the mediation of Moses, so now you have perfectly saved us through the final mediation of Jesus Christ our Saviour. Change us we pray, in Jesus Christ's name we ask, amen.

May God bless you and may you live your life now to the glory of God. With great boldness and courage in these days. To Him be all honour and praise because of your life, amen.