Exodus 32

Exodus 32:1

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.

Stir up thyself, and make some visible image, that may bring to our minds the presence of God; and may give us a sensible representation of his going before us and assisting us: since both Moses is gone, and the cloud which was wont to direct us hath stood still thus long.

Exodus 32:4

And he received them at their hand, and fashioned it with a graving tool, after he had made it a molten calf: and they

EXODIS. CHAP. XXX.—XXXIII. said. These be thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt. Who received them at their hands, and, according to the people’s desire, cast it in a mould framed for that purpose, and polished it afterwards with tools; and the people said to each other. This is a representation, O Israel, of that God of thine, which brought thee out of the land of Egypt.

Exodus 32:5

And when Aaron saw it, he built an altar before it; and Aaron made proclamation, and said, To-morrow is a feast to the LORD.

When Aaron saw the importunity of the people, he yielded to have an altar built before the calf; and proclaimed publicly, To-morrow shall be the day, wherein ye shall solemnly worship God in this calf which is made.

Exodus 32:10

Now therefore let me alone, that my wrath may wax hot against them.

Now therefore do not thou, after thy wonted manner, pray so instantly for their remission; which if thou do, so great is my respect unto thee, that my mercy will not suffer a revenge to light upon them; only be thou silent, for whose sake I forbare them, and then shall my wrath shew itself.

Exodus 32:14

And the LORD repented of the evil which he thought to do unto his people.

Then the Lord, at Moses’s request, did not go on to bring that evil upon the Israelites, which he had conditionally threatened against them.

Exodus 32:32

Yet now, if thou wilt, forgive their sin; and if not, blot me, I pray thee, out of thy book which thou hast written.

Therefore now, if thou wilt pardon this their sin, thy mercy will be so much more magnified, by how much their sin is more heinous; but, rather than thou shouldest not, since I know thy glory with men doth so much depend upon it, I could be for thy sake contented even to be cast away myself from thee, at least to be wiped out of the catalogue of living men, here upon earth.

Exodus 32:34

Behold, mine angel shall go before thee: nevertheless in the day when I visit I will visit their sin upon them.

I will give them the same protection by my angel, which they have had; but I will notwithstanding find a time to correct them, for this their offence.