After giving Israel the Ten Words, Yahweh also gives the nation more laws regarding how to interact with each other and how to interact with God properly. He once again promises them that He will go before them into the land of Canaan and defeat their enemies. He warns them not to covenant with the peoples there or take their gods. Then Moses and Joshua go up on Mount Sinai for forty days and forty nights, receiving further instructions from the LORD. God desired to be among His people; therefore, He gave Moses detailed instructions on how to build the tabernacle in which He would live.
While Moses and Joshua were being instructed by God, the people thought something had happened to their leaders. They called out for a god to be built for them to worship. Aaron had the people give him their jewelry and melted it down to make a golden calf statue. The people worshiped the statue and had a celebration.
Meanwhile, God saw what they were doing and wanted to destroy the people; however, Moses interceded on their behalf and God’s wrath relented. As Moses and Joshua came down the mountain and saw what was happening, Moses broke the stone tablets, broke the idol, and made the people drink the gold. The people of Israel had become out of control, so Moses called those faithful to the LORD together. He had them slaughter about three thousand of their people because of their sin and Moses blessed the faithful Levites.
Moses seems to offer himself in place of the people, but God says He will hold them accountable for their sin. Whoever has sinned will be removed from His book. God takes away their jewelry for a time. He also establishes a tent of meeting with Moses and Joshua, wherein He would descend to speak with them. Moses requests to see God and God honors that request with the caveat that Moses cannot see His face for then he would die.
God calls Moses back to the mountain for another forty days and nights, giving him new stone tablets. God once again warns against intermarriage with the Canaanites and worship of their idols. When Moses returns from the mountain, his face shines with God’s glory and he must wear a veil. He asks the people for a freewill offering to build the tabernacle and the people give above what is needed. God provides artisans with wisdom to build it to His specifications and they do exactly as God commanded them. The tabernacle is established, and God comes to dwell with His people. The people would be able to see when God is with them and when He has moved. When God moved, they would follow.
God desired to live with His people, the Israelites. He set laws that would govern them to make them a holy nation. Unfortunately, as God was giving Moses plans for a house in which God would live, the people became impatient. They created a golden calf statue and began worshiping it instead of God. God wanted to destroy them, but Moses spoke on their behalf. God forgave them, but their sin could not stand. Moses called those faithful to God together and they slaughtered those that had led the people to worship the golden calf. Since God is a relational God, he established a tent in which he would meet with Moses and Joshua. Moses wanted to see God, but to see God’s face would lead to death for any human. Therefore, God allowed Moses to only see His back. The people followed God’s commands exactly to build a place for Him to live among them. God lived in the tabernacle, but He was leading the Israelites toward the Promised Land. Whenever the people would see that God was not longer there, they would follow Him, moving only when God moved.
God desires to be with us. This is a theme throughout all of Scripture. In fact, Jesus was called Immanuel because it means “God with us.” God wants to have a relationship with us, but He also becomes angry with us when we sin against Him. The Israelites sinned against God even while He was making plans to live among them. All too often, I sin against God even while claiming to be working for Him. Sometimes I will do something sinful right before I go do something on behalf of God, or I sin right after I have been with God. I pray that God will help me to remain faithful to Him and to seek His forgiveness when I do sin.
God desires to be among us, but He also wants us to be holy as He is holy. He gave the Israelites the Law to guide them to live holy lives. We also are called to live holy lives. God has given us the Scriptures to lead us in becoming more like Christ, but He has also given us His Holy Spirit that leads us into righteousness. Am I living more holy for Him today than I was yesterday?
Joel McReynolds 
Leave a comment