“Whoever has sinned against Me, I will blot him out of My book. Now therefore, go, lead the people to the place of which I have spoken to you” (Ex. 32:33b–34a).
Moses interceded for Israel because he loved them, because he was more concerned about their salvation than his own. But despite Moses’ valiant effort, his intercession proved to be only partially successful. After hearing Moses’ plea, God told him that only the guilty will be blotted from the book of life. The soul that sins shall die, and not the innocent for the guilty. Even Christ, who was Himself innocent, had to take on the guilt of His people so that they might be saved. Moses was not the one to atone for the people’s sin. Such an atonement—one that would answer all the demands of God’s justice—had been reserved for someone else.
Yet, as we said, Moses’ intercession was partially successful. Though the guilty would surely die, the rest would be spared and brought into the Promised Land by the Angel of the Lord. God reaffirmed His promise to give them Canaan, and He sent Moses back to lead the Israelites, though they were unworthy of him and had turned against him, doubting his integrity and faithfulness. Later, Moses would obtain a promise of God’s special presence with them (Ex. 33:14, 17), but for now they would be led by a less glorious theophany of God, the Angel. The Israelites had lost something of the reassuring presence of the Lord because of their sin, and it would take some time for this to be restored.
So Moses left the mount with a promise, and a warning that God would remember this sin against them should He ever have reason to punish them for future sins: “Nevertheless, in the day when I visit for punishment, I will visit punishment upon them for their sin.” In other words, the next time God needed to take the rod in His hand, it would be far worse than this. The Jews have a saying, based on this, that every judgment that ever fell upon Israel had an ounce of powder from the golden calf. This was a judgment and a sin from which they were never quite free. Even during the captivity in Babylon, only Daniel and his friends refused to worship another god (Dan. 3).
Moses’ failure to secure full reconciliation exemplifies the inability of the law to reconcile men to God and to secure everlasting peace. That is reserved for Christ alone, through whom God pardons sin and remembers it no more.
What hope do you have to be reconciled to God? Why is Christ’s intercession so much more effective than the intercession of Moses? What people do you sometimes trust to save you? Take some time to be alone today, to repent of your sins, specifically, and to find forgiveness in Christ.
