1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:04,720 You are listening to City Church Manchester. We are a church that invites 2 00:00:04,720 --> 00:00:09,760 everyone to enjoy Christ for the glory of God. If we can serve you in any way 3 00:00:09,760 --> 00:00:16,320 then visit our website at citychurchmanchester.org to find out more. 4 00:00:20,280 --> 00:00:29,320 Today's reading is Exodus chapter 32 starting at verse 1 to 35. Exodus chapter 5 00:00:29,320 --> 00:00:37,000 32 starting at verse 1. When the people saw that Moses was so long in coming 6 00:00:37,000 --> 00:00:41,480 down from the mountain they gathered around Aaron and said, come make us gods 7 00:00:41,480 --> 00:00:46,760 who will go before us. As for this fellow Moses who brought us up out of Egypt we 8 00:00:46,760 --> 00:00:50,720 don't know what has happened to him. Aaron answered them, take off your gold 9 00:00:50,720 --> 00:00:54,400 earrings that your wives your sons and your daughters are wearing and bring 10 00:00:54,400 --> 00:00:58,560 them to me. So all the people took off their earrings and brought them to Aaron. 11 00:00:58,560 --> 00:01:03,480 He took what they had handed him and made it into an idol cast in the shape 12 00:01:03,480 --> 00:01:08,920 of a calf fashioning it with a tool. Then they said these are your gods Israel 13 00:01:08,920 --> 00:01:13,480 who brought you up out of Egypt. When Aaron saw this he built an altar in 14 00:01:13,480 --> 00:01:18,120 front of the calf and announced tomorrow there will be a festival to the Lord. So 15 00:01:18,120 --> 00:01:21,680 the next day the people rose early and sacrificed burnt offerings and 16 00:01:21,680 --> 00:01:25,200 presented fellowship offerings. Afterwards they sat down to eat and 17 00:01:25,200 --> 00:01:30,320 drink and got up to indulge in revelry. Then the Lord said to Moses go down 18 00:01:30,320 --> 00:01:34,680 because your people whom you brought up out of Egypt have become corrupt. They 19 00:01:34,680 --> 00:01:38,000 have been quick to turn away from what I commanded them and have made themselves 20 00:01:38,000 --> 00:01:43,000 an idol cast in the shape of a calf. They have bowed down to it and sacrificed to 21 00:01:43,000 --> 00:01:47,320 it and have said these are your gods Israel who brought you up out of Egypt. I 22 00:01:47,320 --> 00:01:52,000 have seen these people the Lord said to Moses and they are a stiff-necked people 23 00:01:52,000 --> 00:01:56,040 now leave me alone so that my anger may burn against them and that I may destroy 24 00:01:56,040 --> 00:02:01,160 them then I will make you into a great nation. But Moses sought the favor of the 25 00:02:01,160 --> 00:02:05,800 Lord his God. Lord he said why should your anger burn against your people whom 26 00:02:05,800 --> 00:02:09,720 you bought out of Egypt with great power and a mighty hand? Why should the 27 00:02:09,720 --> 00:02:14,000 Egyptians say it was with evil intent that he bought them out to kill them in 28 00:02:14,000 --> 00:02:18,080 the mountains to wipe them off the face of the earth? Turn from your fierce anger 29 00:02:18,080 --> 00:02:22,760 relent and do not bring disaster on your people. Remember your servants Abraham 30 00:02:22,760 --> 00:02:27,120 Isaac and Israel to whom you swore by your own self. I will make your 31 00:02:27,120 --> 00:02:30,640 descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and I will give you your 32 00:02:30,640 --> 00:02:33,980 descendants all this land I have promised them and it will be their 33 00:02:33,980 --> 00:02:38,280 inheritance forever. Then the Lord relented and did not bring on the people 34 00:02:38,280 --> 00:02:43,040 the disaster he had threatened. Moses turned and went down the mountain with 35 00:02:43,040 --> 00:02:46,720 the two tablets of the Covenant law in his hands. They were inscribed on both 36 00:02:46,720 --> 00:02:51,280 sides front and back. The tablets were the work of God. The writing was with the 37 00:02:51,280 --> 00:02:56,160 was the writing of God engraved on the tablets. When Joshua heard the noise of 38 00:02:56,160 --> 00:02:59,680 the people shouting he said to Moses there is a sound of war in the camp. 39 00:02:59,680 --> 00:03:05,080 Moses replied it is not the sound of victory it is not the sound of defeat it 40 00:03:05,080 --> 00:03:09,600 is a sound of singing that I hear. When Moses approached the camp and saw the 41 00:03:09,600 --> 00:03:13,440 calf and the dancing his anger burned and he threw the tablets out of his 42 00:03:13,440 --> 00:03:17,700 hands breaking them to pieces at the foot of the mountain and he took the 43 00:03:17,700 --> 00:03:21,640 calf the people had made and burned it in the fire. Then he ground it to powder 44 00:03:21,640 --> 00:03:26,320 scattered it on the water and made the Israelites drink it. He said to Aaron 45 00:03:26,320 --> 00:03:31,320 what did these people do to you that led you into such great sin? Do not be angry 46 00:03:31,320 --> 00:03:35,960 my Lord Aaron answered you know how prone these people are to evil. They said 47 00:03:35,960 --> 00:03:40,480 to me make us gods who will go before us. As for this fellow Moses who brought us 48 00:03:40,480 --> 00:03:45,120 up out of Egypt we don't know what has happened to him. So I told them whoever 49 00:03:45,120 --> 00:03:49,520 has any gold jewelry take it off then they gave me the gold and I threw it into 50 00:03:49,520 --> 00:03:53,520 the fire and out came this calf. Moses saw that the people were running riled 51 00:03:53,520 --> 00:03:57,240 and that Aaron had let them get out of control and so had become a laughing 52 00:03:57,240 --> 00:04:01,840 stock to their enemies. So he stood at the entrance to the camp and said whoever is for 53 00:04:01,840 --> 00:04:06,560 the Lord come to me and all the Levites rallied to him. Then he said to them this 54 00:04:06,560 --> 00:04:11,000 is what the Lord the God of Israel says each man strap a sword to his side go 55 00:04:11,000 --> 00:04:14,960 back and forth through the camp from one end to the other killing each each 56 00:04:14,960 --> 00:04:19,160 killing his brother and friend and neighbor. The Levites did as Moses 57 00:04:19,160 --> 00:04:23,680 commanded and that day about three thousand of the people died. Then Moses 58 00:04:23,680 --> 00:04:28,000 said you have been set apart to the Lord today for you were against your own sons 59 00:04:28,000 --> 00:04:32,400 and brothers and he has blessed you this day. The next day Moses said to the 60 00:04:32,400 --> 00:04:37,680 people you have committed a great sin but now I will go up to the Lord perhaps 61 00:04:37,680 --> 00:04:41,960 I can make atonement for your sin. So Moses went back to the Lord and said oh 62 00:04:41,960 --> 00:04:45,560 what a great sin these people have committed they have made themselves 63 00:04:45,560 --> 00:04:50,920 gods of gold but now forgive their sin but if not then block me out of the book 64 00:04:50,920 --> 00:04:55,560 you have written. The Lord replied to Moses whoever has sinned against me I 65 00:04:55,560 --> 00:05:00,400 will blot out of my book now go lead the people to the place I spoke of and my 66 00:05:00,400 --> 00:05:04,600 angel will go before you however when the time comes for me to punish I will 67 00:05:04,600 --> 00:05:08,880 punish them for their sin and the Lord struck down the people with a plague 68 00:05:08,880 --> 00:05:14,360 because of what they did with the calf Aaron had made. We pray Lord in 69 00:05:14,360 --> 00:05:22,800 your mercy with the words of my mouth and the meditations of our hearts be 70 00:05:22,800 --> 00:05:34,760 pleasing in your sight our Lord our Rock and our Redeemer. Amen. Well last week was 71 00:05:34,760 --> 00:05:40,120 half term for my kids they were off school and so my middle son Zach and I 72 00:05:40,120 --> 00:05:45,600 went away for a few days. Now we did lots of fun things over those couple of days 73 00:05:45,600 --> 00:05:52,760 but one of the highlights for me at least was we went to a planetarium give 74 00:05:52,760 --> 00:05:58,400 me a nod if you know what a planetarium is. Not many of you okay this this is a 75 00:05:58,400 --> 00:06:03,200 picture of it on the screen behind me it is basically it's a building that has a 76 00:06:03,200 --> 00:06:11,080 big dome roof and the dome roof is used as a projector screen to show movies 77 00:06:11,080 --> 00:06:17,320 about space. I can see you all think that sounds terribly boring but for a space 78 00:06:17,320 --> 00:06:23,360 nerd like me that's pretty much the coolest thing you can do. Anyway we 79 00:06:23,360 --> 00:06:26,840 watched this film and the film was about the solar system what the solar system 80 00:06:26,840 --> 00:06:32,040 is and where the solar system has come from. Let me explain let me give you a 81 00:06:32,040 --> 00:06:35,080 quick lesson on the solar system okay the solar system is called the solar 82 00:06:35,080 --> 00:06:40,560 system because at the centre of it is the Sun okay and round the Sun in orbit 83 00:06:40,560 --> 00:06:45,280 going round and round are the planets and then round a lot of the planets go 84 00:06:45,280 --> 00:06:56,280 moons orbiting the planets. So moons orbit planets and planets orbit the Sun 85 00:06:56,280 --> 00:07:03,160 okay that's how it works so far so good right yeah everyone following me okay the 86 00:07:03,160 --> 00:07:08,960 thing I learned last week that I didn't know beforehand was where moons come 87 00:07:08,960 --> 00:07:14,520 from in the first place. Apparently apparently moons were either part of the 88 00:07:14,520 --> 00:07:18,000 planets and they they used to be part of the planets orbiting the Sun but then a 89 00:07:18,000 --> 00:07:22,280 meteor hit knocked them off and then they started orbiting the planet instead 90 00:07:22,280 --> 00:07:29,080 of the Sun or else they were asteroids that were orbiting the Sun but somehow 91 00:07:29,080 --> 00:07:35,680 went out of orbit and ended up orbiting planets instead. Now you're sitting here 92 00:07:35,680 --> 00:07:39,240 and you're thinking goodness this is boring why is he telling me all of this 93 00:07:39,240 --> 00:07:43,840 not just because I want you all to be space nerds as well but because I 94 00:07:43,840 --> 00:07:48,640 realized watching this film that it is an excellent excellent illustration of 95 00:07:48,640 --> 00:08:03,560 the human condition. But what are human beings? We were made by God for God. We 96 00:08:03,560 --> 00:08:11,560 derive our life and our health by orbiting our lives around him but but 97 00:08:11,560 --> 00:08:18,720 sin came into the world human rebellion and it knocked us out of orbit. Instead 98 00:08:18,720 --> 00:08:24,840 of having God at the center and orbiting our lives around him we've started to 99 00:08:24,840 --> 00:08:32,080 orbit our lives around other things things that God has made whether it be 100 00:08:32,080 --> 00:08:45,320 sex, money, power, good looks, family or success. We human beings we are planets 101 00:08:45,320 --> 00:08:54,920 who have become moons, dead moons. Anyway with that in mind let's turn to to 102 00:08:54,920 --> 00:08:59,480 Exodus chapter 32. Just a reminder of where we're up to in the book of Exodus. 103 00:08:59,480 --> 00:09:02,760 The Israelites they were slaves in Egypt that's what it was at the beginning 104 00:09:02,760 --> 00:09:09,040 Exodus chapter 1 but God miraculously rescued them out of Egypt. He led them 105 00:09:09,040 --> 00:09:13,360 through the parted Red Sea out into the wilderness there in the wilderness he 106 00:09:13,360 --> 00:09:18,000 fed them he gave them water to drink from a rock he defeated their enemies 107 00:09:18,000 --> 00:09:23,280 and he led them to Mount Sinai. Moses goes up onto Mount Sinai to receive the 108 00:09:23,280 --> 00:09:33,360 law and the people are left waiting. Which brings us to Exodus chapter 32 and 109 00:09:33,360 --> 00:09:44,080 our first point today what are you orbiting your life around? What we read 110 00:09:44,080 --> 00:09:50,680 in verses 1 to 6 of Exodus 32 it's it's shocking isn't it? 111 00:09:50,680 --> 00:09:56,560 Remember the Israelites had only just received the Ten Commandments just 112 00:09:56,560 --> 00:10:01,360 months earlier. Exodus chapter 24 verse 3 tells us that after receiving the 113 00:10:01,360 --> 00:10:07,520 commandments Moses came down from Mount Sinai and gave the commandments to the 114 00:10:07,520 --> 00:10:14,440 Israelite people. So they knew the Ten Commandments they knew commandment 1 115 00:10:14,440 --> 00:10:24,240 you shall have no other gods before me. They knew commandment 2 you shall not 116 00:10:24,240 --> 00:10:32,520 make yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven or on earth below. In 117 00:10:32,520 --> 00:10:41,000 other words you are only to worship me as I say I am to be worshiped and the 118 00:10:41,000 --> 00:10:47,180 people heard that and according to Exodus chapter 24 verse 3 they said the 119 00:10:47,180 --> 00:10:59,360 people everything the Lord has said we shall do. And then here in verse 1 of 120 00:10:59,360 --> 00:11:08,360 Exodus chapter 32 the people gather around Aaron they say come make us gods 121 00:11:08,360 --> 00:11:14,840 and so Aaron replies okay strip off all of your bling verse 2 let me smelt it 122 00:11:14,840 --> 00:11:18,920 down and then he takes out his little chisel and he chisels out of this this 123 00:11:18,920 --> 00:11:31,080 collection of bling a golden calf saying behold these are your gods Israel who 124 00:11:31,080 --> 00:11:39,040 brought you out of Egypt. It was great to have City Church youth up here reading 125 00:11:39,040 --> 00:11:41,440 the passage for us because they've been going through the book of Exodus 126 00:11:41,440 --> 00:11:45,880 alongside attending these sermons and a few weeks back the group came together 127 00:11:45,880 --> 00:11:50,600 and they they said about writing a list of questions that they wanted to have 128 00:11:50,600 --> 00:11:56,240 answered in this sermon series and one of them was this okay I'm quoting 129 00:11:56,240 --> 00:12:04,280 questions this the golden calf how could the people turn away from God so quickly 130 00:12:04,280 --> 00:12:10,360 when they could see God's presence on the mountain and when they'd only just 131 00:12:10,360 --> 00:12:16,880 committed themselves to the Ten Commandments. That's a pretty good 132 00:12:16,880 --> 00:12:30,560 question isn't it? Exodus 32 it it almost sounds unbelievable doesn't it? Well let's try to 133 00:12:30,560 --> 00:12:36,360 dig down into the psychology of the Israelites at this point in time what 134 00:12:36,360 --> 00:12:43,240 was going on in their heads and in their hearts. Well look at verse 1 verse 1 we 135 00:12:43,240 --> 00:12:48,400 find them grumbling why are they grumbling? Well because Moses was so 136 00:12:48,400 --> 00:12:55,360 long in coming down from the mountain. Now Exodus chapter 24 verse 18 tells us 137 00:12:55,360 --> 00:13:01,600 exactly how long Moses was up on the mountain for it was 40 days and 40 nights 138 00:13:01,600 --> 00:13:08,440 now granted that is not a short period of time but it's not that long either is 139 00:13:08,440 --> 00:13:16,920 it is just over a month and the people would become impatient. Now I want you to 140 00:13:16,920 --> 00:13:30,840 think what is impatience? What makes you feel impatient? When patience happens 141 00:13:30,840 --> 00:13:41,760 when when something you want depends upon someone or something other than you 142 00:13:41,760 --> 00:13:46,480 and you are not happy with the time frame in which is happening. That's what 143 00:13:46,480 --> 00:13:52,840 impatience is. I know what impatience is because I get impatient pretty much 144 00:13:52,840 --> 00:13:58,320 every single weekday morning okay I'm stood down there by the front door 145 00:13:58,320 --> 00:14:03,480 waiting to go on a school run and I am impatient because one of my children has 146 00:14:03,480 --> 00:14:07,320 forgotten a piece of their school uniform or forgotten to pack their school 147 00:14:07,320 --> 00:14:16,560 back. That's impatience. Impatience happens when we're not in control and we 148 00:14:16,560 --> 00:14:22,200 want to be and that was what the Israelites were experiencing at the 149 00:14:22,200 --> 00:14:29,120 start of Exodus chapter 32 and it led them to seek to wrestle back control and 150 00:14:29,120 --> 00:14:36,200 to make things happen on their own time frame. Now the Bible commentators they 151 00:14:36,200 --> 00:14:41,120 disagree about precisely what command the people were breaking at this moment in 152 00:14:41,120 --> 00:14:46,960 time. Were they breaking the first commandment or were they breaking the 153 00:14:46,960 --> 00:14:53,160 second commandment? So were they making, were they asking Aaron to make them a 154 00:14:53,160 --> 00:15:02,680 different God, a better God? Or were they asking him to make them a way to 155 00:15:02,680 --> 00:15:11,920 worship God in a different way? It's hard to know for sure. I mean verse one makes 156 00:15:11,920 --> 00:15:18,520 it sound like it's a first commandment issue. They want verse one God's plural 157 00:15:18,520 --> 00:15:27,960 who will go before them just like Yahweh only better. But then Aaron's reply it 158 00:15:27,960 --> 00:15:31,960 makes it sound like it's a second commandment issue. He makes him an idol 159 00:15:31,960 --> 00:15:41,800 verse four and he says to them these are your gods who brought you out of Israel. 160 00:15:41,800 --> 00:15:47,560 This is a representation of the Lord he's saying this is this is Israel's 161 00:15:47,560 --> 00:15:53,480 Redeemer and notice verse five when everything sets up Aaron announces 162 00:15:53,480 --> 00:16:00,280 tomorrow there will be a festival to the Lord. The word used there is that the 163 00:16:00,280 --> 00:16:05,040 Hebrew word Yahweh he's making his golden calf so they will have a festival 164 00:16:05,040 --> 00:16:15,320 to the Lord God the God of Israel. You know it's quite possible actually that 165 00:16:15,320 --> 00:16:19,640 there was really going on here is the people are asking for a different God 166 00:16:19,640 --> 00:16:26,560 and Aaron seeks to arrange a compromise. Instead of making a different God he'll 167 00:16:26,560 --> 00:16:34,080 make a new way to worship the Lord God a way to worship him right now on their 168 00:16:34,080 --> 00:16:46,480 terms and it's utterly tragic. You see while Aaron is saying all of this Moses 169 00:16:46,480 --> 00:16:52,320 is up on Mount Sinai and while he's up there he is receiving instructions from 170 00:16:52,320 --> 00:17:00,520 the Lord about how the people are to worship him. As Aaron is chiseling away 171 00:17:00,520 --> 00:17:07,200 on his pathetic lump of gold trying to make a golden calf Moses is up on Mount 172 00:17:07,200 --> 00:17:12,640 Sinai receiving instructions from the Lord about how Bezeleu and Ohiliab are 173 00:17:12,640 --> 00:17:20,000 to make gold silver and bronze furnishings for the temple. What Aaron 174 00:17:20,000 --> 00:17:26,160 does in these verses it is a pathetic attempt to do what God is already doing 175 00:17:26,160 --> 00:17:31,800 for Israel born out of a desire for them themselves to be in control and to make 176 00:17:31,800 --> 00:17:39,760 things happen when they want it to happen. The people they have been knocked 177 00:17:39,760 --> 00:17:48,040 out of their orbit around God and have started to orbit around created things 178 00:17:48,040 --> 00:18:02,160 instead and it is shocking. But it's not surprising is it? I mean don't we 179 00:18:02,160 --> 00:18:08,720 experience this all the time? A couple of months back we were thinking about 180 00:18:08,720 --> 00:18:13,760 money and anxiety and we looked at that passage Matthew chapter 6 verse 25 181 00:18:13,760 --> 00:18:20,520 where Jesus commands that we shouldn't worry not about money not about food not 182 00:18:20,520 --> 00:18:27,720 about clothing because God has it all in hand. We know that's God's promise to us 183 00:18:27,720 --> 00:18:37,040 don't we? But how many of us grow impatient and resort to overwork and 184 00:18:37,040 --> 00:18:44,080 constant fretting about finances as we orbit our lives around our jobs or 185 00:18:44,080 --> 00:18:52,560 around our bank balances rather than orbiting them around God? We know that 186 00:18:52,560 --> 00:18:58,320 God has promised to satisfy us relationally on the deepest most 187 00:18:58,320 --> 00:19:05,760 incredible level. In Matthew chapter 11 verse 28 Jesus says come to me all you 188 00:19:05,760 --> 00:19:15,680 who are weary and burdened and I will give you rest. We know in our heads that 189 00:19:15,680 --> 00:19:24,960 that is a promise of God. We know it's true but in our hearts so often we think 190 00:19:24,960 --> 00:19:32,840 well yeah that's okay but really I need to have a a satisfying sexual 191 00:19:32,840 --> 00:19:38,320 relationship in order to be whole and when that doesn't seem to come on our 192 00:19:38,320 --> 00:19:44,520 time frame we start to look for a relationship with someone else who's not 193 00:19:44,520 --> 00:19:53,760 a Christian or with someone of the same sex or we struggle with sin we struggle 194 00:19:53,760 --> 00:19:57,320 with this sin that we keep on struggling with again and again and again and we 195 00:19:57,320 --> 00:20:02,040 are just incredibly frustrated it's driving us crazy we want a way out and 196 00:20:02,040 --> 00:20:08,160 we know we know that according to the Bible God has given us everything we 197 00:20:08,160 --> 00:20:14,800 need in his word in the sacraments in the church but we think if I'm really 198 00:20:14,800 --> 00:20:23,800 gonna nail this sin I need something more and so we seek it out doubling in 199 00:20:23,800 --> 00:20:30,840 Catholic and Eastern Orthodox disciplines and rituals. Now I'm not 200 00:20:30,840 --> 00:20:33,760 saying that we haven't got anything to learn from those other Christian 201 00:20:33,760 --> 00:20:40,400 traditions but when we start to depend upon those things as if they are a 202 00:20:40,400 --> 00:20:47,160 silver bullet rather than depend on the ordinary means of grace well we're 203 00:20:47,160 --> 00:20:54,520 trying to worship God then on our own terms and on our own time frame. We 204 00:20:54,520 --> 00:21:01,360 started to orbit our lives around created things rather than the Creator 205 00:21:01,360 --> 00:21:10,520 himself. We've become moons instead of planets and that has consequences which 206 00:21:10,520 --> 00:21:15,560 brings us on to our second point today rescue from the solar flare. Now those 207 00:21:15,560 --> 00:21:21,080 moons that used to be parts of planets or asteroids orbiting around the Sun 208 00:21:21,080 --> 00:21:24,760 they were better protected when they were orbiting around the Sun they were 209 00:21:24,760 --> 00:21:28,640 better provided for by the Sun when they were orbiting around it and when they 210 00:21:28,640 --> 00:21:33,840 became moons they they lost their atmosphere and the Sun became a source 211 00:21:33,840 --> 00:21:41,800 of death instead of life. Well something similar happens when we cut ourselves 212 00:21:41,800 --> 00:21:50,360 off from the source of life. Take a look at verses 7 to 14 the Lord is speaking 213 00:21:50,360 --> 00:21:55,960 here to Moses but suddenly he cuts off what he's saying and says Moses you got 214 00:21:55,960 --> 00:22:02,240 to go down because your people have become corrupt and are worshipping an 215 00:22:02,240 --> 00:22:09,640 idol. Verse 9 your people they've become stiff-necked now that's a metaphor like 216 00:22:09,640 --> 00:22:15,640 an ox that won't bend and submit to a yoke so the people of Israel will not 217 00:22:15,640 --> 00:22:25,800 submit themselves to God's law and so verse 10 the Lord says leave me alone 218 00:22:25,800 --> 00:22:34,920 that my anger may burn against them and that I may destroy them. Now I think we 219 00:22:34,920 --> 00:22:40,160 read these verses and many of us will really struggle with them. It sounds 220 00:22:40,160 --> 00:22:47,480 like God's having a tantrum doesn't it? People aren't behaving and I am hopping 221 00:22:47,480 --> 00:22:57,080 mad with it and I am gonna go and smite them now. You know I think our problem is 222 00:22:57,080 --> 00:23:06,040 that we we view anger as always being a bad thing and of course for us for us 223 00:23:06,040 --> 00:23:14,040 fallen human beings anger almost always is a bad thing. We know that when we get 224 00:23:14,040 --> 00:23:21,120 angry usually we lose control of ourselves and usually our anger it is 225 00:23:21,120 --> 00:23:29,680 mixed with sinful feelings of pride of envy of self-pity but we mistakenly 226 00:23:29,680 --> 00:23:39,320 assume that anger is the opposite of love and it's not. I mean just for a 227 00:23:39,320 --> 00:23:48,280 minute think about the sort of things that you get angry about. Your work, family, 228 00:23:48,280 --> 00:23:57,200 church, Liverpool football club. We only get angry about the things that we 229 00:23:57,200 --> 00:24:03,320 really care about. The opposite of love is not anger. The opposite of love is 230 00:24:03,320 --> 00:24:08,800 indifference. We are indifferent about things we don't care about. We get angry 231 00:24:08,800 --> 00:24:15,760 when what we love is threatened. So God's anger doesn't show that he hates his 232 00:24:15,760 --> 00:24:22,440 people rather God's anger shows that he loves them and unlike our anger God's 233 00:24:22,440 --> 00:24:27,680 anger is not polluted by pride or selfishness or self-pity it is a holy 234 00:24:27,680 --> 00:24:35,800 anger. It is the just and proper response to humanity's rebellion against him. It's 235 00:24:35,800 --> 00:24:45,280 the right response to their decision to become moons instead of planets and his 236 00:24:45,280 --> 00:24:50,760 anger is tempered by compassion. I mean as we're reading through that you did 237 00:24:50,760 --> 00:25:01,920 notice that didn't you? The Lord told Moses what he intended to do. He told him. 238 00:25:01,920 --> 00:25:05,400 Why did he tell him? Why didn't he just wipe out the Israelites? 239 00:25:05,400 --> 00:25:13,680 Why tell Moses? Well take a look at verse 14. After Moses had pleaded, after he 240 00:25:13,680 --> 00:25:20,240 interceded on behalf of his people we read, the Lord relented and did not bring 241 00:25:20,240 --> 00:25:25,760 on the people the disaster he had threatened. Now that word relented is a 242 00:25:25,760 --> 00:25:36,200 Hebrew word nakham and it means to change one's mind. But of course God can't 243 00:25:36,200 --> 00:25:40,880 change his mind. God's unchanging. He does not change anything. He does not change 244 00:25:40,880 --> 00:25:51,680 his mind which means that what happens here is all part of God's plan. God's 245 00:25:51,680 --> 00:25:58,800 love for his people meant that he must be angry at their rebellion. His justice 246 00:25:58,800 --> 00:26:06,920 demands that he must judge. But he told Moses what he planned to do so that 247 00:26:06,920 --> 00:26:12,080 Moses could intercede for them. So that Moses could step into the breach 248 00:26:12,080 --> 00:26:19,360 representing the people of Israel and bring salvation to them as a 249 00:26:19,360 --> 00:26:26,480 representative of God. Moses intercession was God's chosen means to 250 00:26:26,480 --> 00:26:32,360 rescue the Israelites. So we need to look carefully at what Moses said. Look at 251 00:26:32,360 --> 00:26:38,480 these verses, verses 11 to 13. Moses makes four arguments, four reasons why God 252 00:26:38,480 --> 00:26:47,160 should not destroy Israel. Firstly, God's work. Moses points out all that God has 253 00:26:47,160 --> 00:26:51,560 already done for the people, verse 11. The plagues, the Passover, the parting of 254 00:26:51,560 --> 00:26:55,720 the Red Sea, the feeding with manna and he says having done all of that God are 255 00:26:55,720 --> 00:27:04,480 you really going to destroy them now? Secondly, Moses points to God's glory. 256 00:27:04,480 --> 00:27:11,440 Look at verse 12. He says if you destroy them now the Egyptians they're gonna 257 00:27:11,440 --> 00:27:23,800 mock you. Not for our sake Lord but for your own glory. Rescue them. Then thirdly God 258 00:27:23,800 --> 00:27:30,480 Moses points to God's character. Moses knows that the Lord is gracious and 259 00:27:30,480 --> 00:27:35,560 compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love so he asked him, verse 12, to 260 00:27:35,560 --> 00:27:46,360 relent. And then finally the clincher. Moses pleads God's promises. You promise 261 00:27:46,360 --> 00:27:53,320 Lord, not to me but to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, verse 13. You promised that their 262 00:27:53,320 --> 00:27:58,280 descendants would be more numerous than the stars in the sky. You can't just 263 00:27:58,280 --> 00:28:02,840 wipe them out because you promised that you wouldn't. You must find a way Lord 264 00:28:02,840 --> 00:28:11,560 both to judge sin and keep your promise to Israel. Friends I think this is so 265 00:28:11,560 --> 00:28:17,720 helpful, so helpful to us as we think about how we pray for our unbelieving 266 00:28:17,720 --> 00:28:26,640 friends and colleagues. I've got unbelieving friends and family and the 267 00:28:26,640 --> 00:28:32,520 thought of them spending eternity in hell, well it cuts me to the heart. It 268 00:28:32,520 --> 00:28:41,800 makes me feel deeply, deeply, deeply sad and uncomfortable and I'm tempted to 269 00:28:41,800 --> 00:28:49,480 think but there's not fair. I don't want to believe in a God like that and 270 00:28:49,480 --> 00:29:03,640 they're not that bad after all. But of course none of that is true. It is fair 271 00:29:03,640 --> 00:29:11,560 and me and you and everyone else in this room and in this city, we each of us 272 00:29:11,560 --> 00:29:19,440 we deserve to be judged by God. A God who cared nothing about our rebellion 273 00:29:19,440 --> 00:29:26,840 against him, well he would not be a God worth worshipping. Now we need to look 274 00:29:26,840 --> 00:29:36,120 not to ourselves but we need to look to God himself. When we pray for ourselves, 275 00:29:36,120 --> 00:29:40,680 when we pray for our unbelieving friends, when we pray for this city of 2.8 276 00:29:40,680 --> 00:29:48,520 million people, 95% of whom are heading towards an eternity of hell, we 277 00:29:48,520 --> 00:29:59,480 mustn't just pray excuses. Now we need to plead God's work, God's glory, God's 278 00:29:59,480 --> 00:30:13,400 character and God's promises. That and that alone is the only hope for rescue. 279 00:30:13,400 --> 00:30:18,800 Which brings us to our third and final point today, realigning our orbit around 280 00:30:18,800 --> 00:30:25,520 God. How do we get back to orbiting our lives around God rather than around 281 00:30:25,520 --> 00:30:30,720 created things? Well Moses comes down the mountain this point in time, he's carrying 282 00:30:30,720 --> 00:30:35,840 two stone tablets of the law and as he reaches the bottom he throws them to the 283 00:30:35,840 --> 00:30:45,680 ground smashing them into a million pieces. He's saying Israel this is what 284 00:30:45,680 --> 00:30:54,600 you've done to your covenant promises. You've shattered them. And notice the 285 00:30:54,600 --> 00:30:58,960 conversation that Moses and Joshua have as they head down. They hear this 286 00:30:58,960 --> 00:31:02,480 peculiar noise down in the camp. Now Joshua he's a military man so he assumes 287 00:31:02,480 --> 00:31:07,400 it must be war, what else could it be for a military man? But Moses knows it's not 288 00:31:07,400 --> 00:31:17,440 war. He knows it's something worse. Singing and dancing. Okay not that there 289 00:31:17,440 --> 00:31:23,000 is something wrong with singing itself. We love to sing here at City Church. 290 00:31:23,000 --> 00:31:28,280 Nor is there something wrong with dancing. Some of us love to dance here at 291 00:31:28,280 --> 00:31:37,920 City Church. But that word translated revelry back in verse 6, the end of verse 292 00:31:37,920 --> 00:31:49,360 6. It almost certainly refers to an orgy. You see singing and dancing for the 293 00:31:49,360 --> 00:31:58,840 Lord that is holy and that is good. But when it's for an idol, well we see here 294 00:31:58,840 --> 00:32:08,480 the sin leads to idolatry that leads to immorality. That is always always always 295 00:32:08,480 --> 00:32:17,840 the case. And that's why Moses does this peculiar thing in verse 20. He takes the 296 00:32:17,840 --> 00:32:22,040 idol and he he burns it and then he grounds it down like it's coffee grains. 297 00:32:22,040 --> 00:32:29,160 He mixes it with water and then he forces the Israelites to drink it. It's a 298 00:32:29,160 --> 00:32:37,600 lesson for the people. It's a lesson to help them to realign their orbit. That 299 00:32:37,600 --> 00:32:43,920 idol that was leading them into immorality, well where does it end up? 300 00:32:43,920 --> 00:32:55,760 It ends up as feces, as poo, as it goes out through their digestive tract and 301 00:32:55,760 --> 00:33:03,360 comes out the other end. Moses tries to realign the people's orbit by showing 302 00:33:03,360 --> 00:33:07,360 them the gravity of their sin, smashing the law and then showing the folly of their 303 00:33:07,360 --> 00:33:14,920 sin, showing exactly what the idols they were worshipping were in reality. And 304 00:33:14,920 --> 00:33:20,880 then we're given this this counterexample of Aaron. Aaron is an 305 00:33:20,880 --> 00:33:27,080 example of how not to repent. Take a look at the conversation that Moses and Aaron 306 00:33:27,080 --> 00:33:32,680 have in verses 22 to 24. Moses confronts Aaron and Aaron does three things here. 307 00:33:32,680 --> 00:33:37,280 There's three things that I am tempted to do every time that I am confronted by 308 00:33:37,280 --> 00:33:45,640 my sin. Firstly, he makes light of it, then he blames others and then thirdly he 309 00:33:45,640 --> 00:33:52,840 spins the story. So he makes light of it. Look at verse 22. Do not be angry my 310 00:33:52,840 --> 00:33:58,480 Lord. Oh little brother Moses, don't get so upset about it. It's just a 311 00:33:58,480 --> 00:34:05,240 little sin. It happened, it's done. Let's move on. Isn't that the way we so often 312 00:34:05,240 --> 00:34:11,880 think? Yeah perhaps me and my girlfriend we went too far last night but at least 313 00:34:11,880 --> 00:34:18,340 we didn't have sex. Yeah yeah I may have got a bit tipsy when I was out my 314 00:34:18,340 --> 00:34:24,600 friends but at least I wasn't paralysed like the rest of them. Friends we need to 315 00:34:24,600 --> 00:34:32,800 call sin sin. We need to treat it seriously. Next up Aaron blames the 316 00:34:32,800 --> 00:34:39,200 Israelites. It's all their fault he says verse 23. Again isn't that the way we so 317 00:34:39,200 --> 00:34:43,200 often think and justify our sin? The reason I'm so unkind to other people is 318 00:34:43,200 --> 00:34:49,960 because people are unkind to me. The reason I'm struggling in my walk with the 319 00:34:49,960 --> 00:34:53,480 Lord is because my Christian friends at church well they're just not encouraging 320 00:34:53,480 --> 00:35:01,320 me at the moment. And then thirdly Aaron spins the story. Up until the end of verse 321 00:35:01,320 --> 00:35:07,080 24 everything that Aaron has said has been factually true and then he says I 322 00:35:07,080 --> 00:35:14,960 threw the gold into the fire and out popped this calf. It was magic. No 323 00:35:14,960 --> 00:35:18,600 mention of the whole smelting it down, taking out a tool and delicately 324 00:35:18,600 --> 00:35:26,440 chiseling out the calf himself. No it just happened. Don't we say the same 325 00:35:26,440 --> 00:35:32,920 thing? We are masters of spin of keeping most of the facts as they are and then 326 00:35:32,920 --> 00:35:39,440 just ending it a little bit differently to make it look like we're in the right. 327 00:35:39,600 --> 00:35:45,920 Friends we need to repent. We need to call sin sin and we need to plead God's 328 00:35:45,920 --> 00:35:58,040 work, God's glory, God's character and God's promises. Now what happens in 329 00:35:58,040 --> 00:36:03,200 verses 25 to 29? Let's be honest about it. I think it makes all of us feel pretty 330 00:36:03,200 --> 00:36:08,120 uneasy. If we're Christians we know we shouldn't feel uneasy about this but 331 00:36:08,120 --> 00:36:13,280 that doesn't stop us feeling uneasy about it. After all isn't this what 332 00:36:13,280 --> 00:36:17,160 underlies pretty much all the religious conflict we see going on around the 333 00:36:17,160 --> 00:36:24,040 world? People thinking that they have a license from God to kill the heathen? 334 00:36:25,960 --> 00:36:34,280 But look at what actually happened here. Look carefully. Verse 26. Moses calls on 335 00:36:34,280 --> 00:36:45,600 the people. He says whoever is for the Lord come to me. He gives them a choice. 336 00:36:45,600 --> 00:36:55,680 Every single one of them has a choice. Choose the Lord or choose your idol. The 337 00:36:55,680 --> 00:37:00,240 implication being it was only those who were the ringleaders of the idol worship 338 00:37:00,240 --> 00:37:11,280 who then subsequently failed to repent who were killed. And 3,000 men die in 339 00:37:11,280 --> 00:37:19,600 total. Now that's a lot of people. But it was just half a percent of the men in 340 00:37:19,600 --> 00:37:27,860 Israel at the time. It was just 0.15 percent of the total Israelites. Back in 341 00:37:27,860 --> 00:37:32,640 verse 10 of Exodus 32 the whole nation of Israel every man woman and child 342 00:37:32,640 --> 00:37:40,320 would have been judged and destroyed but God in his mercy simply removed those 343 00:37:40,320 --> 00:37:45,000 who chose to lead the people into idolatry and then subsequently refused 344 00:37:45,000 --> 00:37:52,080 to repent and turn back. It's important to say that this all happened under the 345 00:37:52,080 --> 00:37:59,840 old covenant where God's people were ethnically defined. The only way people 346 00:37:59,840 --> 00:38:03,760 could be removed from the people of Israel was by death. There was no other 347 00:38:03,760 --> 00:38:09,640 option. We today live under the new covenant where God's people come from 348 00:38:09,640 --> 00:38:15,720 all peoples and all nations and removal for unrepentant sin comes through church 349 00:38:15,720 --> 00:38:21,800 discipline and removal from church membership. And that's something we've 350 00:38:21,800 --> 00:38:30,320 had to do here at City Church. And if we're honest when we do that we often 351 00:38:30,320 --> 00:38:34,800 feel much the same way as we feel when we read these verses, verses 25 to 29. It 352 00:38:34,800 --> 00:38:43,440 makes us feel icky. None of us, certainly not the leaders of City Church enjoy 353 00:38:43,440 --> 00:38:52,200 exercising church discipline. But it is necessary when people are unrepentant 354 00:38:52,200 --> 00:39:04,600 if we as a church want to realign our orbit around God. But as we close we need 355 00:39:04,600 --> 00:39:09,680 to ask the question how is any of this possible? Yes Moses and Israel say take 356 00:39:09,680 --> 00:39:15,400 steps to put away their idols, to treat them like their dung. They remove those 357 00:39:15,400 --> 00:39:19,680 who refuse to repent from the people of Israel. They trust in God's grace and 358 00:39:19,680 --> 00:39:28,720 God's promises. But how can God forgive them and still be just? How can he 359 00:39:28,720 --> 00:39:36,560 fulfill his promises while still judging sin? We'll turn over and take a look at 360 00:39:36,560 --> 00:39:42,200 verses 30 to 35. Moses tells the people that he's going back up the mountain, 361 00:39:42,200 --> 00:39:51,720 verse 30, to make atonement for their sin. And notice what he does, verse 31, he 362 00:39:51,720 --> 00:39:55,800 doesn't do an errand. He doesn't try and excuse their sin and make light of it. 363 00:39:55,800 --> 00:40:03,440 No, he confesses their sin. No excuses, no spin. And then verse 32 he offers to be 364 00:40:03,440 --> 00:40:13,640 punished in their place, to be blotted out of God's book of life. Try to get 365 00:40:13,640 --> 00:40:19,560 your heads around this. Back in verse 10 the Lord looks at Moses and says, Moses 366 00:40:19,560 --> 00:40:23,720 I'm willing to start afresh with you. You can be king of the world, you can be a 367 00:40:23,720 --> 00:40:29,560 new Noah, a new Abraham, the whole of my people can descend from you. This is what 368 00:40:29,560 --> 00:40:47,360 I'm offering you. But verse 33, Moses offers to die instead of the people, 369 00:40:47,360 --> 00:41:04,040 eternally be damned in their place. In verse 33 God says, no. Why? Well because 370 00:41:04,040 --> 00:41:10,560 verse 34, sinners must be punished for their own sin. And you see the problem 371 00:41:10,560 --> 00:41:18,560 for Moses was that he had his own sin to pay for. He didn't have the power to 372 00:41:18,560 --> 00:41:25,000 realign the people's orbit back around God because Moses himself was part of 373 00:41:25,000 --> 00:41:38,240 the problem. A better Moses was needed, a sinless Moses. Someone who like Moses 374 00:41:38,240 --> 00:41:50,120 had the offer to rule from a throne, yet like Moses, chose to die in the place of 375 00:41:50,120 --> 00:41:57,120 his people, chose to be blotted out of the book of life. And that's what 376 00:41:57,120 --> 00:42:01,480 happened 2,000 years ago. That's what verse 34 is pointing forwards to. The 377 00:42:01,480 --> 00:42:06,720 Israelites were punished for their sin as Jesus Christ hung upon that Roman 378 00:42:06,720 --> 00:42:12,920 cross, dying in their place. He was blotted out so that they didn't have to 379 00:42:12,920 --> 00:42:22,280 be, so that we don't have to be. That is the only way we can be returned to 380 00:42:22,280 --> 00:42:28,320 orbiting our lives around God rather than orbiting our lives around ourselves. 381 00:42:28,320 --> 00:42:37,680 So my question for you this afternoon is this, will you come to the Lord? Will you 382 00:42:37,680 --> 00:42:46,320 come to him today to receive forgiveness for your sin? Will you come to him today 383 00:42:46,320 --> 00:42:54,920 so that he will restore you to orbiting around the source of life itself? Let me 384 00:42:54,920 --> 00:43:03,240 pray. Father God, thank you so much that you have made a way for us to be 385 00:43:03,240 --> 00:43:09,680 forgiven. You have made a way for us to be restored to what we should have been. 386 00:43:09,680 --> 00:43:14,320 Thank you Lord Jesus that you are a better Moses. You are the one who 387 00:43:14,320 --> 00:43:24,200 perfectly intercedes for us. Pleading your work, your finished work, pleading 388 00:43:24,200 --> 00:43:34,120 God's glory, pleading your own character, and fulfilling every single promise with 389 00:43:34,120 --> 00:43:42,040 a yes and amen. Thank you that because of that there need be no fear, there need be 390 00:43:42,040 --> 00:43:47,960 no death. For you Lord Jesus have conquered sin and death and Satan 391 00:43:47,960 --> 00:43:54,640 forever. Amen.