That he would be conscious of the cost of sin
During their wanderings in the wilderness, Israel committed a great sin by making a golden calf and worshiping it instead of worshiping the true God. They did this while Moses was on Mount Sinai receiving the Ten Commandments. “When the people saw that Moses delayed to come down out of the mount, the people gathered themselves together unto Aaron, and said unto him, Up, 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.” (Exodus 32:1)
The people forgot that it was God who had brought them out of Egypt and said, “the man that brought us up… we wot not what is become of him.” All the time, they forgot that nothing had become of God. He was still there and He was still the same. He had not gone away or disappeared. If they had been following God instead of Moses, they would not have fallen into the sin of worshiping other gods when their earthly leader seemed to disappear.
God became very angry and planned to destroy the people. He told Moses, “Go, get thee down; for thy people, which thou broughtest out of the land of Egypt, have corrupted themselves: 8They have turned aside quickly out of the way which I commanded them: they have made them a molten calf, and have worshipped it, and have sacrificed thereunto, and said, These be thy gods, O Israel, which have brought thee up out of the land of Egypt.” (See verses 7,8)
So, Moses went back down the mountain. When he saw what had happened, he took the tables which were in his hand, the tables on which were written the Ten Commandments and cast them to the ground and break them. This was sad because “the tables were the work of God, and the writing was the writing of God, graven upon the tables.” (See verse 16) Moses dealt with the sin of the people and then returned to the Lord and made passionate intercession for the people, “Oh, this people have sinned a great sin, and have made them gods of gold. 32Yet now, if thou wilt forgive their sin--; and if not, blot me, I pray thee, out of thy book which thou hast written. 33And the LORD said unto Moses, Whosoever hath sinned against me, him will I blot out of my book.” (verses 31,32)
Moses fasted and interceded for the people forty days and forty nights. “For I was afraid,” said he, “of the anger and hot displeasure, wherewith the LORD was wroth against you to destroy you. But the LORD hearkened unto me at that time also.” (Deuteronomy 9:19). Oh, those wonderful words! – “The LORD hearkened unto me at that time also.” When God told Moses, “Let me alone,” Moses would not let God alone but fasted and prayed for the people until God answered his prayer.
What a wonderful example is seen in Moses! He is leading a hard and stiffnecked people, a people who keep forgetting God and do not seem to want to obey Him. Yet, Moses has compassion on them and intercedes and pleads for them, and God hears.
But, oh what a cost their sin had!
1. They corrupted themselves
2. They hurt their testimony and brought reproach to God’s name
3. They hurt the work of God (their leader became so angry that he broke the tables of stone upon which God had written the Ten Commandments)
4. They hurt their leader deeply
5. They made God angry
6. They brought God’s wrath upon themselves, “The LORD plagued the people, because they made the calf, which Aaron made.” (Exodus 32:35)
7. They caused Moses to have to leave the presence of God. “Sin cost him the presence of God.”* And it was not even his own sin. Because the people sinned, Moses had to leave his communion with God and come down and deal with that sin. Then, instead of sweet fellowship with God, he spent forty days fasting and pleading with God not to destroy the people.
*Praying Hide, p.38
Pray for your pastor, do right, and encourage him. Look to God so that you do not fall when your pastor is not around. Then you will not hurt your pastor or cause him to lose some sweet time and fellowship with God while he deals with sin. Sin never hurts only the sinner. Sin always hurts others.
Turn Again to the Lord