Where to begin? Exodus 32 describes events after God saved the people of Israel from the Egyptians in a miraculous way. He also provided for them in a way that only God could. About 3 months after they fled Egypt, the people camped at the base of Mount Sinai where Moses tells the people that if they follow God, they will be His “treasured possession” (Exodus 19:5). Moses then ascends Mount Sinai to receive the Ten Commandments and other laws the Jews were to obey. Apparently, this took some time because the people were getting restless when Moses failed to return and that is where our chapter begins.
Moses had been away for a while so the people thought he was dead and asked Aaron to make them a god to lead them. Aaron complied and God’s anger rose against the Jews and He was going to destroy them all except for Moses so he could be the father of a great nation (Exodus 32:10). Moses then pleads for their lives and the Lord relents (v. 14), but when Moses descends the mountain and sees what is going on, he becomes angry (v. 19)! After talking with Aaron and asking the Jews to pick a side, Moses ordered the Levites to kill “his brother and his companion and his neighbor” (v. 27). Three thousand people died that day. Now, did the Levites just go around the camp and kill people at random? Probably not. A more likely scenario is that they went around and killed those who started the rebellion and refused to repent. Afterwards, Moses attempts to atone for their sin to such an extent that he is willing to have his name taken out of the Lord’s book (v. 32). Talk about love and sacrifice. The Lord refused Moses’ offer, but He did send a plague on the people for what they had done. Why do you think Moses ordered those 3,000 Jews to be killed when they were his family, friends, and neighbors? Moses made that difficult decision because he knew that as long as those in rebellion were continued to be in the midst of their camp, they would continue to try to lead the others astray. This can be compared to cancer. If someone is in the early stages of cancer, what is the most likely course of action? The surgeon will attempt to remove all of it. What happens if they decide that it’s too small to operate or they only remove part of it? The cancer comes back and gets worse. Do you think the Levites enjoyed what they had to do? I doubt it. Was it necessary? Yes!
All of us have sin in our lives and if left unchecked, it can and will destroy not just our life but the lives of those around us. Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 5 that we as Christians need to be diligent when it comes to known, unrepentant sin in the lives of other believers. Paul goes so far as to say “to not associate with anyone who bears the name of brother if he is guilty of sexual immorality or greed, or is an idolater, reviler, drunkard, or swindler—not even to eat with such a one.” (v. 11). At the end of verse 13 Paul commands us to “Purge the evil person from among you.” This is not a popular idea, especially when it involves family, friends, and neighbors. But it is necessary to keep God’s people, the Church, holy and undefiled. Is there anyone in your life who claims to be a Christian and yet is not repentant in their sin? According to God’s Word, what must you do?
– Pastor David Guenin
