God is Merciful and Gracious

September 26, 2010

Lesson: Exodus 33:1–23, 34:1–9

Key Verse: Exodus 34:6

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Introduction

Short is the memory of many who have heard and responded to the word of God. In our Lord’s parable of the sower (Matt. 13:18–23), our hearts are sorrowful for those who hear yet fail to live because of the wicked one or lack of roots. But what about the one who hears the word and understands it, and so bears much fruit? This is the heart that has been made as good ground by the Spirit. How much more sorrowful we should be if we would forget our Lord, even for a short period of time.

The people of God saw Moses going up the mountain and then became impatient because of his delay to come back to them (Ex. 32:1). Their self-centered impatience sought to bring Aaron into their sin as they requested that he make for them “gods which shall go before us.” Aaron gave in to the crowd, asking them to bring their gold, and fashioned it into a “molten calf.” The people said, “These be thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee out of the land of Egypt” (32:2–5).

The Lord God sent Moses down the mountain, knowing that the people had corrupted themselves. The wrath of the Lord “waxed hot” against the people. When Moses returned to his people, he saw their idol and their sin against God. According to the word of Moses, about 3000 men were killed. Moses would go to the Lord and plead with him, for the people had sinned greatly against God. He would seek to “make an atonement” for their sin (32:30). Because of God’s covenant, and finding grace in his sight, Moses heard this promise: “I will make all my goodness pass before thee, and I will proclaim the name of the Lord before thee; and will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will shew mercy on whom I will shew mercy” (33:19).

By grace they were forgiven. God’s word is true and efficacious. It was proclaimed in the wilderness, and is proclaimed toward us in Christ: “The Lord, The Lord God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth” (34:6).

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Repentance and Worship—Exodus 33:1–11

The Lord sends Moses to the people, to tell them that he and the people would be given the land promised to “Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, saying, Unto thy seed will I give it.” But the Lord himself would not go before them. He would send an angel to guide them, and the Lord would drive out the enemy; and they would enter “a land flowing with milk and honey.” The reason that the Lord would no longer lead them as He did in their deliverance from Egypt, was that they were “a stiff-necked people.” If he were to lead, they would most certainly be consumed by the Lord on the way.

The sorrow and the repentance of the people came when they heard these “evil tidings.” Their mourning led them to throw off their ornaments. The Lord told Moses to speak these words to the people: “Ye are a stiff-necked people: I will come up into the midst of thee in a moment, and consume thee: therefore now put off thy ornaments from thee, that I may know what to do unto thee.” Their outward sign, obedience to the word of God, revealed the torment of their souls and a repentant spirit.

Moses then pitched a tent that became a temporary sanctuary wherein Jehovah would tabernacle with his people. It is here that the Lord spoke with Moses. So Moses went out to the tabernacle, and the people, “every man at his tent door, and looked after Moses until he was gone into the tabernacle.” When Moses entered the tent, “the cloudy pillar ascended, and stood at the door of the tabernacle, and the Lord talked with Moses” When the cloudy pillar was seen, “all the people rose up and worshipped” the Lord.

A great people in number had a greater need of repentance. When the pillar of cloud descended from heaven, all of Israel saw, and they returned to their Lord in worship. The covenant bond had been broken by their wickedness in serving idols rather than the true God. Now, by the grace of God, through Moses, the people were drawn back into fellowship.

Jeremiah was told to “Stand in the gate of the Lord’s house, and proclaim there this word, and say, Hear the word of the Lord, all ye of Judah, that enter in at these gates to worship the Lord” (Jer. 7:2). The Lord would cause his people to dwell in his courts. Repentance of our sins leads to God’s forgiveness and reconciliation, which in turn leads us to fall down before our Lord in worship and renewed obedience.

Discussion: How should the church today show repentance and a renewed service to God?

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Divine Assurance—Exodus 33:12–23

Moses had been given assurance by God in that the Lord knew him by name, and that he had found grace in his sight. Therefore, Moses is encouraged to pray, “if I have found grace in thy sight, shew me now thy way, that I may know thee, that I may find grace in thy sight: and consider that this nation is thy people.” Because God has chosen Moses as his own, knows him by name, and has enacted his will through his servant, Moses asks for the needed blessing: “show me Thy way!” The assurance that Moses is looking for is that he may know God and receive the grace to carry out his will.

Jehovah’s reply is what Moses needed to hear: “My presence shall go with thee, and I will give thee rest.” Moses knows that, if the presence of God does not go with him, there is no need for him to be sent. The Lord confirms the relationship he has with Moses with the promise: “I will do this thing.” Remember the words of Jesus when he commanded his disciples to go and teach all nations, saying, “I am with you always, even unto the end of the world” (Matt. 28:19–20).

Moses continues to beseech the presence of God, saying, “show me thy glory.” The Lord replies: “I will make all my goodness pass before thee, and I will proclaim the name of the Lord before thee; and will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will shew mercy on who I will shew mercy.” Though Moses would not see the full glory of God, the Lord would place him upon a rock, and covering him with his hand, he would show Moses the evidence of his glory (though not the face of the full brightness of his glory, which would be too much for the sinner).

By faith, we too come to God, to see his glory and to know his presence with us: “For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ” (2 Cor. 4:6).

Discussion: What assurance should we look for in our desire to serve Christ?

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Binding Covenant—Exodus 34:1–9

The law, which was first given to Moses on the mountain, had been broken by the sin of the people. Now they were to return to their God, and he would be gracious, “to show mercy on whom I will show mercy.” Moses was commanded to take two stones, like that of the first, and the Lord would “write upon these tables the words that were in the first tables, which thou brakest.” Thus the covenant standards would be restored.

As with the first giving of the moral law, this must be understood as a divine revelation of the Lord. It is a holy thing which is given. Therefore Moses is told to “be ready in the morning” to present himself to the Lord “in the top of the mount.” No one is go with him, nor is any man or animal to be seen near the mountain.

Moses, in anger, broke the first tablets; now he himself must hew out of stone the second ones. As Moses stood on the mountain, “the Lord descended in the cloud, and stood with him there.” The Lord proclaimed his glory to Moses, for he must be known as the only true God, Jehovah is his name. The Lord reveals himself as we would see him in Christ Jesus: “The Lord, The Lord God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and that will by no means clear the guilty; visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children.”

The Lord does not overlook sin. His visit to the guilty will vindicate his judgment. Yet, he is a God of compassion, who will have mercy upon whom he will have mercy. His mercy and unmerited grace will be poured out upon his people, forgiving transgression, and dispensing goodness and truth, with great patience and love.

We come to such a heavenly Father who has forgiven us in Christ, who poured his life out on the cross for us. Therefore, we must come to worship as did Moses, who “bowed his head toward the earth, and worshipped,” saying, “If now I have found grace in thy sight, O Lord, let my Lord, I pray thee, go among us; for it is a stiff-necked people; and pardon our iniquity and our sin, and take us for thine inheritance.”

Discussion: What attributes of God is revealed to Moses on the mountain?

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Lessons are based on the International Sunday School Lessons for Christian Teaching, copyright © 2010 by the Committee on the Uniform Series.