Just imagine if there never was a golden calf!
Rom 9:14 What, then, shall we say? Is there
unrighteousness with Elohim? Let it not be!
Rom 9:15 For He says to Mosheh, “I shall favour
whomever I favour, and I shall have compassion on whomever I have compassion.”
Rom 9:16 So, then, it is not of him who is wishing,
nor of him who is running, but of Elohim who shows favour.
Exo 32:15 And Mosheh turned and went down from the
mountain, and in his hand were the two tablets of the Witness, tablets written
on both their sides, written on the one and on the other.
Exo 32:16 And the tablets were the work of Elohim, and
the writing was the writing of Elohim engraved on the tablets.
Exo 32:17 And Yehoshua heard the noise of the people as
they shouted and he said to Mosheh, “A noise of battle in the camp!”
Exo 32:18 But he said, “It is not the sound of those
who shout of might, nor is it the sound of those who cry out in weakness, but
the sound of singing that I hear.”
Exo 32:19 And it came to be, as soon as he came near
the camp, that he saw the calf and the dancing. And Mosheh’s displeasure
burned, and he threw the tablets out of his hands and broke(Shavar - piel verb
– shattered) them at the foot of the mountain.
Perhaps the
world has never yet fully recovered from the sin of the golden calf – for
centuries when the Torah was read, very few really understood its true message.
In these days there seems to be a recovery and an opening of ears and eyes to
hear (shema) what YHVH is saying to His people through the Torah.
2Co 3:14 But their minds were hardened, for to this
day, when the old (Gk ancient) covenant is being read, that same veil remains,
not lifted, because in Messiah it is taken away. (the veil remains for most
Christians)
2Co 3:15 But to this day, when Mosheh is being read, a
veil lies on their heart.
2Co 3:16 And when one turns to the Master, the veil is
taken away.
2Co 3:17 Now יהוה is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of יהוה is, there is freedom.
Because the Torah enlightened by the Ruach Ha Kodesh (the
Set Apart Spirit) is the perfect law of freedom
Jas 1:25 But he that looked into the perfect Torah,
that of freedom,1 and continues in it, not becoming a hearer that
forgets, but a doer of work, this one shall be blessed in his doing of the
Torah. Footnote: 1See 2:12.
Exo 32:20 And he took the calf which they had made, and
burned it in the fire, and ground it into powder, and scattered it on the face
of the water and made the children of Yisra’ĕl drink it.
Law of Sotah or
“jealousy” A Sotah (Hebrew: שוטה [1] / סוטה) is a woman suspected of adultery
who undergoes the ordeal of bitter water or ordeal of jealousy as described and
prescribed in the Priestly Code, in the Book of Numbers, the fourth book of the
Hebrew Bible. The term "Sotah" itself is not found in the Hebrew
Bible but is Mishnaic Hebrew based on the verse "if she has strayed"
(verb: שטה satah) in Numbers 5:12 The process was a trial by ordeal
administered to the wife whose husband suspected her of adultery but who had no
witnesses to make a formal case (Numbers 5:11-31) – Wikipedia
The sad reality is that historically the nation of Yisrael has suffered greatly under many “ordeals” – (sotah’s or sotot) –
Jer 30:7 ‘Oh! For great is that day, there is none
like it. And it is the time of Yaʽaqoḇ’s distress, but he shall be saved out of it.
Jer 30:8
‘And it shall be in that day,’ declares יהוה of hosts, ‘that I break his yoke from your
neck, and tear off your bonds, and foreigners no more enslave them.
Jer 30:9 ‘And they
shall serve יהוה their Elohim and Dawiḏ their sovereign,
whom I raise up for them.
Jer 30:10 ‘And
you, do not fear, O Yaʽaqoḇ My servant,’ declares יהוה, ‘nor be discouraged, O Yisra’ĕl. For look, I am saving you
from afar, and your seed from the land of their captivity. And Yaʽaqoḇ shall
return, and have rest and be at ease, with no one to trouble him.
Jer 30:11 ‘For I
am with you,’ declares יהוה, ‘to save you. Though I make a complete
end of all gentiles1 where I have scattered you, yet I do not make a
complete end of you. But I shall reprove you in judgment, and by no means leave
you unpunished.’ Footnote: 1See 46:28, Isa. 34:2, Isa. 45:17, Dan.
2:44, Amos 9:8, Hag. 2:22.
Jer 30:12 “For
thus said יהוה, ‘Your breach is incurable, your wound is
grievous.
Jer 30:13 ‘No one
pleads your cause, to bind up. There are no healing medicines for you.
Jer 30:24 The burning displeasure of יהוה shall not turn back until He has done and established the purposes
of His heart. In the latter days you shall understand it1. Footnote:
1See 23:20.
Exo 32:21 And Mosheh said to Aharon, “What did this
people do to you that you have brought so great a sin upon them?”
This truly was
a great, great sin – see also 1Kings 12:28.
“What the relationship to the story of
Jeroboam also reveals is that the golden calf is not meant to represent any
deity other than Yahweh. Jeroboam is not trying to make the Israelites worship
another god; he wants them to worship the same god, just in a different place.
So too the Israelites in Exodus 32 are not introducing a new god. They say
explicitly that the calf represents the god who took them out of Egypt—and that
was Yahweh. The festival that they hold the next day is not a festival to Baal,
or any other foreign god—it is explicitly a “festival of Yahweh.” The story of
the golden calf is commonly misconstrued to be about idolatry, but it is not.
It is, rather, about the incorrect worship of Yahweh: the kind of worship that
requires a physical shape.
Apostasy is therefore the wrong term for
what takes place in Exodus 32. It is, rather, disobedience of the law regarding
the proper worship of Yahweh. This is precisely how YHVH describes their
actions: Exo
32:8 “They have turned aside quickly out
of the way which I commanded them. They have made themselves a moulded calf,
and have bowed themselves to it and slaughtered to it, and said, ‘This is your
mighty one, O Yisra’ĕl, who brought you out of the land of Mitsrayim!’ ”
This
seems to reflect the Christian cult worship of “Jesus” – “Forever you will be
…..I gladly bow my knee and worship you (Jesus) alone –
“All
Heaven Declares The glory of the risen Lord. Who can compare With the beauty of
the Lord? Forever You will be The Lamb upon the throne. I gladly bow the knee
And worship You alone.”
(False worship mixed with the true worship of
YHVH).
Joh 4:22 “You worship what you do not know. We worship
what we know, because the deliverance is of the Yehuḏim.1 Footnote: 1Ps.
147:19, Isa. 2:3, Isa. 14:1, Isa. 56:6-8, Ezek. 47:22-23, Zech. 2:10-11, Zech.
8:23, Rom. 2:20, Rom. 3:2, Rom. 9:4, Rev. 21:12 & 24.
Joh 4:23
“But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshippers shall
worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father also does seek such to
worship Him.
Joh 4:24
“Elohim is Spirit, and those who worship Him need to worship in spirit
and truth.”
Salvation never
has or never will come from the church. YHVH has overlooked the ignorance of
the church and allowed many to come to know Him in the church - Act 17:29 “Now then, since we are the offspring of
Elohim, we should not think that the Elohim is like gold or silver or stone, an
image made by the skill and thought of man. (Or man’s doctrines.)
Act 17:30 “Truly, then, having overlooked these times
of ignorance, Elohim now commands all men everywhere to repent,
Exo 32:22 And Aharon said, “Do not let the displeasure
of my master burn. You know the people, that it is in evil.
Exo 32:23 “And they said to me, ‘Make us mighty ones
(and Elohim) who go before us. For this Mosheh, the man who brought us out of
the land of Mitsrayim, we do not know what has become of him.’
In other words,
let us make an Elohim that we can relate to on our own terms and expectations.
Exo 32:24 “And I said to them, ‘Whoever has gold, let
them take it off.’ And they gave it to me, and I threw it into the fire, and
this calf came out.”
Exo 32:25 And Mosheh saw that the people were let
loose, for Aharon had let them loose, to their shame among their enemies.
Is it not amazing how false worship of YHVH loves
gold and to be “let loose” to “worship” as they please?
Exo 32:26 And Mosheh stood in the entrance of the camp,
and said, “Who is for יהוה? Come to me.” And all the sons of Lĕwi gathered
themselves to him.
Exo 32:27 And he
said to them, “Thus said יהוה Elohim of Yisra’ĕl: ‘Each one put his
sword on his side, pass over to and fro from gate to gate in the camp, and each
one slay his brother, and each one his friend, and each one his relative.’ ”
Exo 32:28 And the
sons of Lĕwi did according to the word of Mosheh. And about three thousand men
of the people fell that day.
Exo 32:29 And
Mosheh said, “You are ordained for יהוה today – since each one has been against his son and his brother
– so as to bring upon you a blessing today.”
Exo 32:30 And it
came to be on the next day that Mosheh said to the people, “You, you have
sinned a great sin. And now I am going up to יהוה – if I might atone for your sin.”
Exo 32:31 And
Mosheh returned to יהוה and said, “Oh, these people have sinned a
great sin, and have made for themselves a mighty one of gold!
Exo 32:32 “And
now, if You would forgive their sin, but if not, please blot me out of Your book
which You have written.”
Exo 32:33 And יהוה said to Mosheh, “Whoever has sinned against Me, I blot him out
of My book.
Exo 32:34 “And
now, go, lead the people to the place of which I have spoken to you. See, My
Messenger goes before you. And in the day of My visitation I shall visit their
sin upon them.”
Exo 32:35 And יהוה plagued the people because they made the calf, which Aharon
made.
An end time restored Spirit filled Levitical priesthood
will usher in a final destruction of all false worship. The way we worship YHVH
can bring life or death.
Exo 33:1 And יהוה said to Mosheh, “Come, go up from here,
you and the people whom you have brought out of the land of Mitsrayim, to the
land of which I swore to Aḇraham, to Yitsḥaq, and to Yaʽaqoḇ, saying, ‘To
your seed I give it.’
Exo 33:2 “And I
shall send My Messenger before you, and I shall drive out the Kenaʽanite and
the Amorite and the Ḥittite and the Perizzite and the Ḥiwwite and the Yeḇusite,
Exo 33:3 to a land
flowing with milk and honey. For I do not go up in your midst because you are a
stiff-necked people, lest I consume you on the way.”
Exo 33:4 And when
the people heard this evil word, they mourned, and no one put on his ornaments.
Exo 33:5 And יהוה said to Mosheh, “Say to the children of Yisra’ĕl, ‘You are a
stiff-necked people. Should I go up in your midst for one moment I shall
consume you. And now, take off your ornaments, and I shall know what to do to
you.’ ”
Exo 33:6 So the
children of Yisra’ĕl took off their ornaments at Mount Ḥorĕḇ.
Exo 33:7 And
Mosheh took his tent and pitched it outside the camp, far from the camp, and
called it the Tent of Meeting. And it came to be that everyone who sought יהוה went out to the Tent of Meeting which was outside the camp.
Exo 33:8 And it
came to be, whenever Mosheh went out to the Tent, that all the people rose, and
each man stood at his tent door and watched Mosheh until he entered the Tent.
Exo 33:9 And it
came to be, when Mosheh entered the Tent, that the column of cloud descended
and stood at the door of the Tent, and He spoke with Mosheh.
Exo 33:10 And all
the people saw the column of cloud standing at the Tent door, and all the
people rose and bowed themselves, each one at the door of his tent.
Exo 33:11 Thus יהוה spoke to Mosheh face to face, as a man speaks to his friend.
And he would return to the camp, but his servant Yehoshua son of Nun, a young
man, did not leave the Tent.
Exo 33:12 And
Mosheh said to יהוה, “See, You are saying to me, ‘Bring up
this people.’ But You have not made known to me whom You would send with me,
though You have said, ‘I know you by name, and you have also found favour in My
eyes.’
Exo 33:13 “And
now, please, if I have found favour in Your eyes, please show me Your way, and
let me know You, so that I find favour in Your eyes. And consider that this
nation is Your people.”
Exo 33:14 And He
said, “My Presence does go, and I shall give you rest.”
Exo 33:15 And he
said to Him, “If Your Presence is not going, do not lead us up from here.
Exo 33:16 “For how
then shall it be known that I have found favour in Your eyes, I and Your
people, except You go with us? Then we shall be distinguished, I and Your people,
from all the people who are upon the face of the earth.”
Exo 33:17 And יהוה said to Mosheh, “Even this word you have spoken I shall do, for
you have found favour in My eyes, and I know you by name.”
Exo 33:18 Then he
said, “Please, show me Your esteem.”
Exo 33:19 And He
said, “I shall cause all My goodness to pass before you, and I shall proclaim
the Name of יהוה before you. And I shall favour him whom I
favour, and shall have compassion on him whom I have compassion.”
Exo 33:20 But He
said, “You are unable to see My face, for no man does see Me and live.”
Exo 33:21 And יהוה said, “See, there is a place with Me! And you shall stand on
the rock.
Exo 33:22 “And it
shall be, while My esteem passes by, that I shall put you in the cleft of the
rock and cover you with My hand while I pass by.
Exo 33:23 “Then I
shall take away My hand and you shall see My back, but My face shall not be
seen.”
Exo 34:1 And יהוה said to Mosheh, “Cut two tablets of stone
like the first ones, and I shall write on these tablets the Words that were on
the first tablets which you broke.
Exo 34:2 “And be
ready in the morning. Then you shall come up in the morning to Mount Sinai, and
present yourself to Me there on the top of the mountain.
Exo 34:3 “And let
no man come up with you, and let no man be seen in all the mountain, and let
not even the flock or the herd feed in front of that mountain.”
Exo 34:4 And he
cut two tablets of stone like the first ones. Then Mosheh rose early in the
morning and went up Mount Sinai, as יהוה had commanded him, and he took two tablets of stone in his
hand.
Exo 34:5 And יהוה came down in the cloud and stood with him there, and proclaimed
the Name, יהוה.
Exo 34:6 And יהוה passed before him and proclaimed, “יהוה, יהוה, an Ěl compassionate and showing favour,
patient, and great in kindness and truth,
Exo 34:7 watching
over kindness for thousands, forgiving crookedness and transgression and sin,
but by no means leaving unpunished1, visiting the crookedness of the
fathers upon the children and the children’s children to the third and the
fourth generation.” Footnote: 1This is confirmed in Num. 14:18, and
in Jer. 30:11.
Exo 34:8 And
Mosheh hurried and bowed himself toward the earth, and did obeisance,
Exo 34:9 and said,
“If, now, I have found favour in Your eyes, O יהוה, I pray, let יהוה go on in our midst, even though we are a
stiff-necked people. And forgive our crookedness and our sin, and take us as
Your inheritance.”
Exo 34:10 And He
said, “See, I am making a covenant. Before all your people I am going to do
wonders such as have not been done in all the earth, nor in any nation. And all
the people among whom you are shall see the work of יהוה. For what I am doing with you is awesome.
Exo 34:11 “Guard
what I command you today. See, I am driving out from before you the Amorite and
the Kenaʽanite and the Ḥittite and the Perizzite and the Ḥiwwite and the Yeḇusite.
Exo 34:12 “Guard
yourself, lest you make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land where you
are going, lest it be a snare in your midst.
Exo 34:13 “But
break down their altars, and smash their pillars, and cut down their Ashĕrim –
Exo 34:14 for you
do not bow yourselves to another mighty one, for יהוה, whose Name is jealous, is a jealous Ěl –
Exo 34:15 lest you
make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land, and they whore after their
mighty ones, and slaughter to their mighty ones, and one of them invites you
and you eat of his slaughterings,
Exo 34:16 and you
take of his daughters for your sons, and his daughters whore after their mighty
ones, and make your sons whore after their mighty ones.
Exo 34:17 “Do not
make a moulded mighty one for yourselves.
Exo 34:18 “Guard
the Festival of Unleavened Bread. For seven days you eat unleavened bread, as I
commanded you, in the appointed time of the month of Aḇiḇ, because in the
month of Aḇiḇ you came out from Mitsrayim.
Exo 34:19
“Everyone opening the womb is Mine, and every male first-born among your
livestock, whether bull or sheep.
Exo 34:20 “But the
first-born of a donkey you ransom with a lamb. And if you do not ransom, then
you shall break his neck. Every first-born of your sons you shall ransom. And
they shall not appear before Me empty-handed.
Exo 34:21 “Six
days you work, but on the seventh day you rest – in ploughing time and in
harvest you rest.
Exo 34:22 “And
perform the Festival of Weeks for yourself, of the first-fruits of wheat
harvest, and the Festival of Ingathering at the turn of the year.
Exo 34:23 “Three
times in the year all your men are to appear before the Master, יהוה, the Elohim of Yisra’ĕl,
Exo 34:24 for I
dispossess nations before you, and shall enlarge your borders, and let no one
covet your land when you go up to appear before יהוה your Elohim three times in the year.
Exo 34:25 “Do not
offer the blood of My slaughtering with leaven, and do not let the slaughtering
of the Festival of the Passover remain until morning.
Exo 34:26 “Bring
the first of the first-fruits of your land to the House of יהוה your Elohim. Do not cook a young goat in its mother’s milk.”
And so ends Parashat Ki Tisa – the question remains then
“who will be counted worthy by YHVH to enter into His eternal rest forever and
ever?” – 2 Cor 2:16.
Mat 19:25 And when His taught ones heard it, they were very
astonished, saying, “Who then is able to be saved?”
Mat 19:26 And looking intently יהושע said to them, “With men this is
impossible, but with Elohim all is possible.” See also Rom 9:16
Eph 3:20 And to Him who is able to do exceedingly
above what we ask or think, according to the power that is working in us,
Eph 3:21 to Him be esteem in the assembly by Messiah יהושע unto all generations, for ever and ever. Amĕn.
The same power that raised our Master from the dead is
even at work in our lives today.