While Moses was up in the “mount of God,” interceding, as it were, on behalf of the Israelites; they were below, as we saw them in our last lesson, defiling themselves before the golden calf which Aaron had erected at their request.

Needless to say, God was fully aware of what was going on, for he said unto Moses, “Go, get thee down, for THY people, which THOU broughtest out of the land of Egypt, have corrupted themselves; they 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.” (Exod. 32:7, 8)

O, dear friends, how different our lives would be if we ever kept before our minds the fact that God sees and knows of our every turning aside out of the way which he has commanded us. Nor is there any more of an excuse for us than there was for them of old, in fact there is less, for their experiences, their failures, their disobedience, their unbelief, have all, by the Holy Spirit, been recorded for our admonition so that we might not fail as they did. (1 Cor. 10:6, 11, 15; Heb. 3:12, 16-19; 4:2, 6)

Note God’s sore displeasure with those of old, as it is recorded in Exod. 32:9, 10 “And the Lord said unto Moses, I have seen this people, and behold, it is a stiff- necked people; now therefore, let me alone, that my wrath may wax hot against them, and that I may consume them, and I will make of you a great nation.” Can we imagine of how much sorer punishment we ofttimes are worthy and are spared only because of that great love manifested on our behalf by our intercessor, and Advocate, Christ Jesus! The thought ought to spur us on with a renewed determination to so live as to merit his continued advocacy. What a wonderful Savior is he!

When we contemplate His righteousness, and his absolute obedience unto the Father’s will, and then take into account ourselves, and our continued and manifold short-comings, is it not easy to see how God’s wrath might long ere this have justifiably consumed us all? Yea, what a simple matter it would have been to destroy all of Adam’s posterity, and to bring out of the loins of the faithful Jesus a new race worthy of all the promises of God! Surely, it is something akin to this that is suggested in God’s words to Moses: “… and I will make of thee a great [new] nation.” From Charles H. Mackintosh “Notes on the Book of Exodus” 1880:

“Here was an open door for Moses; and here he displays uncommon grace and similarity of spirit to that Prophet whom the Lord was to raise up like unto him. He refuses to be or to have anything without the people. He pleads with God on the ground of his own glory, and puts the people back upon him in these touching words, ‘Lord, why doth thy wrath wax hot against THY people which THOU hast brought up out of the land of Egypt with great power and a mighty hand?…Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, thy servants, to whom thou swearest by thine own self, and saidst unto them, I will multiply your seed as the stars of heaven; and all this land that I have spoken of will I give unto your seed, and they shall inherit it forever.’ This was powerful pleading. The glory of God, the vindication of his holy name, the accomplishment of his oath. These are the grounds on which Moses entreats the Lord to turn from his fierce wrath. He could not find, in Israel’s conduct or character, any plea or ground to go upon. He found it all in God himself.

“The Lord has said unto Moses, “THY people which THOU broughtest up;” But Moses replies to the Lord, “THY people which THOU hast brought up”…Moses loses sight of himself entirely. His whole soul is engrossed with thoughts of the Lord’s glory and the Lord’s people. Blessed servant, how few like him!”

How beautifully this man Moses ofttimes typifies our blessed Lord, whose every breath was drawn in self- forgetfulness, and to the glory of God. There is a sense in which Moses by virtue of his intercession at this particular time, resulting in the turning aside of the wrath of God, became the savior of his people. What an apt picture of Christ who during this age as our intercessor saves us from eternal death. Nor is it only for us that he is to serve as intermediary, for in due time he is to be the mediator of the New Covenant for the world. In his own person, this latter title is already his, but since God has ordained that in this office he is not to serve alone, but is rather to have associates, he will not function as such until all the predestinated class have been conformed to his image and made partakers of his divine nature and glory. Accordingly we find that Moses as the savior of his people typified not only Christ himself, but also all those who by becoming joint-sacrificers together with him, attain to the glory of that great Mediator, the Prophet of whom Moses spoke, raising up “from the midst of thee, of thy brethren, like unto me; unto him shall ye hearken.” (Deut. 18:15; Acts 3:22) While each of those sharing in this glory shall have lost his identity in the Christ, there is a sense, nevertheless, in which they are all saviors of the people. Is this not the thought expressed in:

Obadiah 21 – “And Saviors shall come up on mount Zion, to judge the mount of Esau; and the kingdom shall be the Lord’s.”

Even as Moses in due time, i.e. when he again ascended the mount of God, staked his eternal existence for the benefit of the people, so too, did Christ, and so must every footstep follower of his, stake his eternal existence for the people.

Let it be noted, the glorious display of character on the part of Moses was not one he had just acquired for the occasion, but it rather was one which he had already developed in obedience to the will of God, and through contact with this people in their infirmities. Our love for the poor groaning creation, and more particularly our devotion to our brethren must all be developed now, else we shall never share a place in that great Mediator of the world. Anent this we quote from R4023:6:

“The spirit of Moses was not only typical of the spirit of Christ, but illustrative also of the spirit of all who will be members of the body of Christ. We too, must have this spirit of love and devotion, not merely to the members of the body of Christ, our own body, but a devotion to the mission, the work, to which in God’s providences we have been called. ‘Ye know your calling brethren.’ God has called us to be joint-heirs with his Son, to be the bride, the Lamb’s wife, to be participators with him in the great work of mediating the New Covenant, and under its blessed provisions, assisting and uplifting the world of mankind and leading them during the Millennial age along the highway of holiness to absolute perfection and eternal life at its further end, so many as will obey. It is for us to have the spirit of Moses, the spirit of Christ, in respect to this matter, to so far as possible measure up to the glorious privileges and calling which are ours, and in the present time to do all in our power, in harmony with the Lord’s providential leading, for the blessing and uplifting of mankind in general, for their guidance in the right way, but especially to prepare ourselves for the glorious work of the coming age.

“Chief amongst the elements of our preparation will be the spirit of sympathetic love which will enable us to be copies of our dear Master, who was kind to the unthankful and full of mercy and good fruits. Let us take this higher plane of thought in respect to our relationship to the world. Our Master declared, ‘Ye are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.’ We are members of the Christ – members of the great Mediator, undergoing schooling and preparation for the great work before us of leading the people into the promised land of God’s favor and life eternal – paradise restored. If we do not learn the necessary lessons, if we do not become copies of God’s dear Son, in sympathy, in love, in benevolence toward the world, we will be rejected from membership in the glorious body, the kingdom class, as unfit, the non- elect. Let us, then, give diligence, and remember that the great lesson to be learned is that of love – for God, for the brethren, for our neighbors, yea, for our enemies. If this love abound in us it shall make us neither barren nor unfruitful in God’s sight, and so through Christ an abundant entrance shall be granted us into the everlasting kingdom as associates with the King of Kings and Lord of Lords in his great work as the world’s mediator, the Mediator of the New Covenant, under which all the families of the earth are to be blessed.”

It will, however, be well for us here to view another side of Moses’ character, which clearly sets forth, not only his love for righteousness, but also his hatred of iniquity, two characteristics which must be borne by all those who are to be members of this antitypical Mediator. Perhaps it does seem strange, that after imploring God not to let his wrath wax hot against the children of Israel, his own anger should have waxed hot against them. (Exod. 32:19) We are inclined toward the thought that this anger was rather the display of a righteous indignation. Nor need we assume, that in this he sinned, else we would have to convict God of a similar offense. In fact, we are specifically admonished to “be angry and sin not.” (Eph. 4:26)

“There is a difference between anger that would be righteous indignation and anger that would be unloving, unkind, unjust. We know that God is angry with the wicked, for the Scriptures so tell us. (Psa. 7:11) This fact shows us that anger of itself does not necessarily imply a sinful condition; for God has no sin, and he judges himself by the same regulations under which he judges his creatures. Therefore anger of itself is not sin.

“In God’s case there is no danger that he will make a mistake and be angry with the right or approve the wrong, or that he will be lenient with the wrong and thus oppose the right. His knowledge is perfect, therefore his conduct is perfect. In our case however, if we feel that anger is proper for us, we should use a great deal of discretion. As the apostle Paul says, ‘Be angry and sin not’. (Eph. 4:26)” (R5417:5)

In line with Moses’ hatred of iniquity, we find him chastening the people, and rebuking Aaron. (Exod. 32:20, 21) It is evident, however, that there were some among them who despised the chastening and resented Moses’ rebuke. Well did Moses recognize that this little

bit of leaven in the camp of Israel would soon leaven the whole loaf. It became necessary therefore, lest the wrath of God again be aroused and all of Israel be thereby consumed, that the camp be purged of the rebels who had thus evidenced their unworthiness of any further grace and favor. Moses issued a challenge, standing in the gate he cried, “Who is on the Lord’s side? Let him come unto me.” (Exod. 32:26)

Neither Moses nor the golden calf was now the real issue, it was the Lord, whose voice they had all promised to obey, and whose covenant they had all promised to keep. Let it be noted too, that the challenge did not call for a separation from the land of Egypt, nor from the people of the land, but from those of their own kindred, who while desiring to be a “peculiar people – a peculiar treasure unto God” refused to yield themselves fully to his will. Let it be remembered the golden calf was not a denial of their belief in God, but rather a worship of him in a way which being in direct violation of his command was unacceptable.

This challenge has come to all of us, and will continue to come in every sifting of the Lord’s consecrated people down to the very end of the Gospel Age. It is an easy matter for us to separate ourselves from outsiders, but to separate from those whom we have learned to love and cherish more dearly than those who by nature are our own flesh and blood, is a thousand times more difficult. Yet the test inevitably must be along this line! “Who is on the Lord’s side?” We read, “And all the sons of Levi gathered themselves together unto him.” (Exod. 32:26) We are not to assume from this that none of the other tribes rallied unto Moses, but that the tribe of Levi showed in its response a lesser deflection than any of the others. This tribe surely in many respects is typical of the truly consecrated saints of God, whose loyalty is not indicated merely by their response to the call, but by their obedience to the will of God, whereby they have cut themselves off from fellowship with all who are not truly on the Lord’s side. Note the words of Moses:

Exod. 32:27 – “Thus saith the Lord God of Israel, put every man his sword by his side, and go in and out from gate to gate throughout the camp, and slay every man his brother, and every man his companion, and every man his neighbor.”

The tribe of Levi was obedient to this challenge. (Exod. 32:28, 29) It was thus that they confessed Moses, their deliverer, their savior, proving themselves worthy of his further intercession before the great God of Israel. We are reminded of the words of our dear deliverer and savior Jesus Christ as recorded in:

Matt. 10:32, 34-38 – “Whosoever therefore shall con- fess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father in heaven.…I came not to send peace, but a sword. For I came to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother…and a man’s foes shall be they of his own household. He that loveth father or mother more than me, is not worthy of me…he that taketh not his cross, and followeth after me, is not worthy of me.”

Ah, dear friends, the question for us must ever be, Who is on the Lord’s side? Each day brings us closer to the end of our pilgrim way! Each day calls for this loyalty to our God, but do we meet the challenge? Are we so thoroughly consecrated to the will of our heavenly Father that were even those who are our mothers and fathers, brothers or sisters in the Truth to fall by the wayside, we would still be able to stand on the Lord’s side? Yea, even should this mean for us to stand alone, are we able? What comfort there is for such as are able in the words of the Psalmist:

Psa. 91:7, 8, 10, 11, 15 – “A thousand shall fall at thy side, and ten thousand at thy right hand; but it shall not come nigh thee. Only with thine eye shalt thou behold, and see the reward of the wicked…there shall no evil befall thee, neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling, for he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways.…He shall call upon me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him and honor him.”

To appreciate the character of Moses even more fully let us now consider his plea before God when he again ascended the mount of God to obtain the second edition of the law on tables of stone. He says to Jehovah:

Exod. 32:31, 32 – “Oh, this people have sinned a great sin, and have made them gods of gold; yet now if thou wilt forgive their sin; and if not, blot me, I pray thee, out of thy book which thou hast written.”

Can mere words express the true glory of this great man of God? We are inwardly thrilled in the contemplation, yet find ourselves unable to describe our emotions. It almost seems that he could not have been a creature of the earth. At least, he was one of those of whom the world was not worthy! What faith, what love, what compassion, what self-renunciation and self-denial he displayed. Yet he was in all this merely a shadow of the great Mediator to be of which Christ Jesus is the Head, and the Church is to be the Body. Friends, not measuring ourselves by the stature of Christ Jesus, but merely placing ourselves beside that Man of God, Moses, how small, now insignificant we are. If there is no other lesson that we can learn from our meditation, this alone ought to be sufficient to inspire us with renewed effort and zeal to overcome our many, many short-comings and deficiencies. Nor should we put off for a more opportune time our resolves to attain unto those higher standards which God has set before us. Let our prayers be expressed in the words of Moses as recorded in the:

90th Psalm, vs. 12: – “So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom.”