Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Exodus 32:11
And Moses besought the LORD his God, and said, LORD, why doth thy wrath wax hot against thy people, which thou hast brought forth out of the land of Egypt with great power, and with a mighty hand?
11. besought ] properly, as Arabic seems to shew, ‘ made sweet the face of,’ fig. for, entreated, sought to conciliate: a frequent idiom, e.g. 1Sa 13:12 , 1Ki 13:6, Jer 26:19; with a human object, Psa 45:12, Pro 19:6, Job 11:19. In the prayer which follows, Moses urges four motives for mercy: (1) Israel is Jehovah’s people; (2) its deliverance has demanded the exertion of great power; (3) the mockery of the Egyptians, if it now perish; (4) the oath to the forefathers. Cf. the intercession in Num 14:13-19.
a mighty hand ] See on Exo 3:19.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Exo 32:11-14
Moses besought the Lord.
The intercession
We find him in succession–
1. Highly privileged.
2. Deeply grieved.
3. Raised to a holy frame of mind.
4. Visibly answered.
5. Abundantly strengthened.
I. Many events have taken place since Moses, at the Lords command, drove back the waters of the Red Sea, and the song of deliverance voiced forth from heart and mouth of many myriads. Amidst the sound of thunder and of trumpets, heaven has already spoken to the earth, and Israels camp has now for weeks been gathered round Mount Sinai, waiting patiently till Moses shall return. Return! Where is he, then, you ask, and where can Amrams son remain with more advantage than amidst the people, who, as is already fully evident, cannot remain without his help and guidance for another single day? Where? As if Moses could have been himself had he been always living in the abject sphere in which this Israel moved; as if a man to whom the Lord Almighty has vouchsafed a look into celestial mysteries should hasten back to earth again! The story of those forty days is written in heavens register; and if Moses were himself still here to give his witness as to what occurred, perhaps he would repeat the words of Paul regarding the most blessed hour of his experience, Whether it took place in the body, or out of the body, I cannot tell–God knoweth. It is enough for us that he receives the law there through the medium of angels; that at this time he may have had withdrawn from him the cloud, which hitherto had quite concealed from human eyes Gods counsel in its grand development, as now revealed in these last times; that there is now made known to him, not merely the grand principles of law to regulate the Jewish commonwealth, but Gods express appointments as to everything relating to the life, both civil and religious, of the chosen nation, even to minute details; that he is now allowed (and this, the greatest privilege of all, I mention last) to pray in such a way that he most truly lives in close communion with the Infinite. Oh, happy Moses! who shall tell in what a stream of deep enjoyment you must then have bathed; how much refreshment your soul must have drawn from the full cup of Gods delights; and how oblivious you must have now become of all the troubles which so often, like a leaden weight, oppressed your soul on earth? How high stands this great man of God above the carnal Israelites, who long for nothing so incessantly as for Egyptian flesh! Among those born of women, there has not been one, belonging to the days of the Old Covenant, that stood in such an intimate relation to Jehovah, except, it may be, Abraham alone: in this respect, then, we look upon Moses as a happy man. But the greatest privilege which Moses had at Sinai–confidential intercourse with God–is granted to each one of us who know Him in His Son.
II. Yet do not think that such a privilege exempts you from a multitude of struggles on this earth; rather, when you but look at Moses case, and find how deeply grieved he was, the contrary seems true. He is still standing in Gods holy presence, raised above the dust of earth, when suddenly he hears the words addressed to him, Go, get thee down; for thy people, which thou broughtest out of the land of Egypt, have corrupted themselves. Thy people: these are bitter, cutting words. Is it not just as if Jehovah meant to say, A people such as this can no more be accounted Mine? What has occurred to rouse the Holy One to wrath? These be thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt. Oh, wretched nation, thus, when not much more than called to liberty, to stretch their hands out for the fetters of unrighteousness, and, as it were, before the eyes of that Jehovah who touched yonder mountain-top and made it tremble, thus so quickly to transgress the first requirement of His holy laws! But we may also readily imagine what unutterable grief it was to Moses in particular, that even while in the immediate presence of his God, a dark cloud rises on His face. Is this, then, the reward for all the faithfulness with which he has devoted his whole energies to such an arduous work as Israels deliverance? Is this the seal confirming what the people, scarcely forty days before, declared, All that the Lord hath spoken we will do? Where are the songs of thanksgiving that echoed all along the shores of the Red Sea? They now are changed into the shouts of a rebellious mob. Where is the spoil that the dismayed Egyptians gave up? It has been spent on the adorning of an idol. Where is the prospect now of national prosperity to be enjoyed if men observed the ordinances of the Lord? 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. Let Me alone! How well we recognize in these few words the living God, who glories in omnipotence combined with faithfulness, and who will not even let His anger burn without forewarning this His faithful servant of the dreadful work He is about to do. But ye should be in something like a proper state to understand the depth of this mans sorrow–ye who had saved your dearest child from certain death, and who, just at the very moment when you fancied all was safe, beheld the one whom you had rescued rushing wilfully into the jaws of death. But which of us, my fellow Christians, has not at some time had experience like Moses in that memorable hour? We may have deemed ourselves blest in our fellowship with God, when suddenly the harsh, discordant sound of sin was heard–the clash of weapons in the struggle of this life. For the disciple always finds even yet, as did his Lord of old, that the desert where he undergoes temptation immediately adjoins the Jordan of self-dedication; yea, just in proportion as, like Moses, we are placed in higher station, and more privileged than other men, we often find our trials too are heavier. Like Moses, too, we often see our noblest efforts for the good of men in general rewarded with most base ingratitude; or, in a few brief hours, what we have raised by dint of sweat and toil, continued through successive years and months, is broken down through careless weakness on anothers part. In utter disappointment, we pour out our grief before the ruins of the edifice we reared so carefully; and when we would continue to rejoice in hope that God will yet fulfil His promises, it seems as if God hid His face from us, and we are terrified.
III. Would that we all were but of such a holy frame of mind as was the servant of the Lord, whose utter disappointment you have hitherto been witnessing. Does not the simple fact that Moses, at a moment such as this, betakes himself to prayer say very much for him? But which of us that suddenly perceives what deeply grieves us is at once inclined to pray, and not, instead, disposed to cry out in despair, but most of all disposed to silence and to utter inactivity? Now, it is well for him that he still lingers at the top, not at the foot, of Sinai, for he is near that God to whom he never called in vain. Moses pours out his supplications in the quiet solitude–for whom? Is it for himself, that God may give him strength to bear the burden of such oft rejection by the people? But wherefore should he think about himself, when his heart is filled with the thought of Israels salvation? Why should he think of men in their rejection of himself, when they so shamefully provoked the Lord? Nay, here the lawgiver becomes a mediator, interceding for his people in their sins, with but his prayers for an offering; words fail me in attempting to describe his true nobility of soul, which comes out in his prayers and pleadings here. Does it not seem as if love were exhausting all its energies in trying to find out, not some slight palliations of the shameful conduct which must be pronounced quite inexcusable, but some good grounds for not requiring, in this case, full satisfaction for the vast amount of guilt incurred? Now he reminds Jehovah of the great deliverance He has already wrought for Israel, and asks Him if He really intends to bring destruction upon His own handiwork. Then He points out to Him what the Egyptians and the other nations well might say when they would learn that the object of their hatred was destroyed. Again, he lays before Jehovah His own promise made to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; and he asks what must become of that, if He do not turn from His wrath in time. And, finally, he earnestly entreats the Lord, if it must even be so, to take away his life, if Israels life, now forfeited, cannot be bought at any other price. In the full strength of interceding love he can be quite oblivious of everything except the sinful Israel; nor does he leave the mountain-top till he brings down with him the promise that the sentence, merited even though it is, shall be delayed at least, if not repealed. Does not a holy rapture seize you when you listen to a prayer like this? Here, we deliberately say, there is one greater even than Abraham when pleading in behalf of the guilty Sodom; for those wicked men had not rejected Abraham, at least in person, and the patriarch did not express his readiness to give his own life as an offering for sin. Who does not feel that prayer like this truly deserves the name; while, on the other hand, so much of what bears that fair name is little more than a mere mumbling over of some forms, and that, too, in a way the most mechanical–if it be not: indeed, but covert sin? Nay, it is not enough that you should cry to God for help whenever your own want and misery oppress your soul; Moses calls loudly, Pray for others too–and the more earnestly for them, as they are more unfortunate, more sinful than yourselves, and more unthankful and unkind to you! Neither is it enough that you present to Him your own and others miseries; for Moses says again, Gods honour must be made the one great object in your prayer; woe to the man whose prayer is but self-seeking who does not endeavour to extol Gods majesty! Nor yet, again, is it enough that you should raise your heart at special times in prayer, but soon abate your zeal; Moses cries out to every one who strives on earth, Continue, persevere in prayer; the faithful friends of God are the best friends of men!
IV. But does not this still further and more plainly show itself when you perceive how Moses was heard in prayer? There is (may I express it so?) something beyond description, human or Divine, in these words found in Exo 32:14 : Then the Lord repented of the evil which He thought to do unto His people. Nay, what man could expect by prayer to make God alter His decree? what godly man could wish to have such power? God has determined at all times to show His grace to sinful men, but He is gracious only to the humble prayer; and now, when Israel themselves neglect to pray that He may take away impending judgments, Moses puts himself in the position of the sinners; and no sooner does he venture on his intercession than he obtains Gods pardon for them all. Moses has prayed for grace, but grace does not in every case mean quite the same thing as impunity; and Moses himself is fully conscious that the nation must atone for its own sins, even when it is not visited according to its sins. Thou wast a God that forgavest them, though Thou tookest vengeance of their inventions. These words, penned by the Psalmist, form the motto of Gods dealings with Israel. When God exterminates some hundreds, He acts like the surgeon, sparing not the knife though it inflicts much pain, nor hesitating to remove most precious, yea, important, members, that the body may itself be saved from otherwise inevitable death. Yea, what is it that prayer cannot do–humble, believing, fervent, persevering prayer? It opens up the treasures hid in Gods paternal heart, and shuts the flood-gates of His penal judgments; it brings blessings down upon the head already laden with the curse of sin; nor has it lost its power, although the mouth of him who offered it is long since silent in the dust of death. And is the history of the Israel of the New Covenant less rich in illustrations of the truth that God desires to have entreaty made to Him, not merely by, but also for, His people, so that He may pity them? Run over, then, yourselves the annals of Christs reign, and ponder specially the record made of your own history. What keeps the sword from Peters head when that of James already is removed? The Church sends up in his behalf a constant prayer that keeps the rock from falling down. What has the Christian Church to thank for her great teacher, Augustine? The prayer of Monica; because a child for whom so many tears were shed could not by any possibility be lost. Christians! if you most truly seek your brothers and your own salvation, persevere in prayer!
V. Your own salvation–yes; it is just here that our own interest, which we so fully understand, combines most beautifully with our brothers too. Come, look at Moses, in the last place, fully strengthened after prayer. Let us once more look to the sequel of the history. When you behold the man of more than eighty years descending from the mountain of the Lord with all the fire of youth still full in him, do you not recognize in that the power of fellowship with God in heaven? What calmness in his eye, what firmness in his gait, what firm decision in his actions, and what strength combined with moderation, as this very page can testify! Surely you do not disapprove of what he did, when, in a boiling rage, he cast away the tables made of stone, so breaking them, and strewed the dust obtained by pounding down the golden calf upon the water used to quench the thirst of Israel? See my zeal for the Lord! So Moses might have said with better right than Jehu did in later times, for his was anger without sin. And we confess that we would scarce have looked on him as Moses–yea, would almost have despised him–had he not on this occasion cast a single glance of deepest anger upon the abomination now committed by the Israelites. What would have been the meaning of such intercession for a race of sinners if the intercessor had esteemed the sin itself as trivial? Then, even though the world be all opposed to us, the Lord, in His eternal faithfulness, remains upon our side; though even our dearest friends may fall, the Friend who cannot die still watches us; although the head may bend through weariness, the heart that still can pray renews its youth. Behold in this the explanation of the mystery why two men, both engaged in the selfsame life-struggle, may yet fight in ways so utterly dissimilar, that while the one sinks under wounds he has received, the other issues from the fight victorious; the one required to carry on the war at his own charges, while the other had Omnipotence itself upon his side. On Sinai Moses prays for a rebellious nation; on Golgotha you hear Jesus pleading for His executioners when He was being crucified. Moses invokes God for His grace towards Israel only; Jesus for that same grace to sinners of all tribes and tongues, peoples and nations–yea, even towards you and me, in all our guilt. Moses but offers to make his own life a sacrifice for sin, while Jesus actually gives His life as a ransom for many. Moses obtains for Israel no more than mitigation of the penalty, not full forgiveness; Jesus can bestow a full salvation on all those who come to God by Him. Moses expires when he has watched and prayed for forty years, seeking the good of Israel; but Jesus ever lives, appearing in Gods presence for our interest. Nay, Israel, we do not envy you of this your prayerful mediator; we thank God that we look unto a higher One. (J. J. Van Oosterzee, D. D.)
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
The Lord his God; emphatically so called: q.d. Moses had not lost his interest in God, though Israel had.
Why doth thy wrath wax hot, so hot as to consume them utterly? For though he saw reason enough why God should be angry with them, yet he humbly expostulates with God whether it would be for his honour utterly to destroy them. Or this is a petition delivered in form of an interrogation or expostulation, as Mat 8:29, compared with Luk 8:28.
Against thy people, an ingenious retortion: q.d. They are not my people, as thou calledst them, Exo 32:7, but thy people, which he proves in the following words.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
7-14. the Lord said unto Moses, Go,get thee downIntelligence of the idolatrous scene enacted atthe foot of the mount was communicated to Moses in language borrowedfrom human passions and feelings, and the judgment of a justlyoffended God was pronounced in terms of just indignation against thegross violation of the so recently promulgated laws.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
And Moses besought the Lord his God,…. As the Lord was the God of Moses, his covenant God, and he had an interest in him, he made use of it in favour of the people of Israel:
and said, why doth thy wrath wax hot against thy people? so as to think or speak of consuming them utterly; otherwise he knew there was reason for his being angry and wroth with them; but though they were deserving of his hot wrath and displeasure, and even to be dealt with in the manner proposed, yet he entreats he would consider they were his people; his special people, whom he had chose above all people, and had redeemed them from the house of bondage, had given them laws, and made a covenant with them, and many promises unto them, and therefore hoped he would not consume them in his hot displeasure; God had called them the people of Moses, and Moses retorts it, and calls them the people of God, and makes use of their relation to him as an argument with him in their favour; and which also shows that Moses did not understand that the Lord by calling them his people disowned them as his:
which thou hast brought out of the land of Egypt with great power, and with a mighty hand? this the Lord had ascribed to Moses, and observes it is an aggravation of their ingratitude to Moses, and here Moses retorts, and ascribes it to God, and to his mighty power; as for himself he was only a weak feeble instrument, the Lord was the efficient cause of their deliverance, in which he had shown the exceeding greatness of his power; and he argues from hence, that seeing he had exerted his mighty arm in bringing them from thence, that he would not now lift it up against them and destroy them.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
11. And Moses besought the Lord his God It is clear that this prayer sprang from faith, though in it he seems to fight against the very word of God; for God had said, Get thee down to thy people; but his answer is, Nay, it is thine. But, as I have lately stated, inasmuch as he firmly grasped the principle, that it was impossible for God’s covenant to be made ineffective, he breaks through or surmounts all obstacles with closed eyes as it were. He proves them to be God’s people by the benefit they had so recently received; yet he mainly relies on the covenant; nay, he mentions their deliverance as a result of it; for he proceeds afterwards to say, “Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel.” We see, therefore, that the first ground of his confidence is the promise, although Moses refers first of all to the fact that the people had been delivered by the hand of God. He so expressly particularizes His “mighty hand,” and “great power,” to signify that the more conspicuous God’s miracles had been, the more was His glory exposed to the calumnies of the ungodly; and this he immediately afterwards explains, “Wherefore should the Egyptians speak,” etc.
The particle, ברעה, beragnah, which the old interpreter (336) renders craftily, and others maliciously, I prefer simply to translate unto evil, (ad malum,) as denoting an unprosperous and unhappy issue. The exposition which others give, “under an unlucky star,” seems to me to be too far-fetched. (337) I have no doubt, therefore, but that Moses signifies that this would be a consolation to the Egyptians in their misfortunes if the people should be destroyed, as if God had thus avenged them against their enemies; besides, by this misapprehension, the memory of God’s grace, as well as of His judgment, would have been destroyed; for the Egyptians would have hardened themselves, and would have been untouched by any sense of guilt, deeming that God would shew no mercy to His elect people.
What follows, “repent of this evil,” is spoken in accordance with common parlance, for the saints often stammer in their prayers, and, whilst unburdening their cares into the bosom of God, address him in their infirmity as by no means befits His nature; as, for instance, when they ask Him, How long wilt thou sleep? or be forgetful? or shut thine eyes? or hide thy face? But with God repentance is nothing but a change of dealing, wherein He seems to retrace His course, as if He had conceived some fresh design. When, therefore, it is said a little further on that “the Lord repented of the evil,” it is tantamount to saying, that He was appeased; not because He retracts in Himself what He has once decreed, but because He does not execute the sentence He had pronounced. If my readers (338) desire more on this point, let them consult my Comments on Genesis and the Prophets.
(336) “For mischief.” — A.V. By the old interpreter ( C. means the V. which renders the word “callide,” craftily. The version of LXX. is μετὰ πονηρίας, with maliciousness. “Some thus, (says Poole,) malo sidere, under an evil star; because the Egyptians attributed all things to the stars. Fagius, Vatablus.”
(337) Addition in Fr. , “et profane.”
(338) See on Gen 6:6, (Calvin Soc. Edit., vol. 1, pp. 248, 249,) the latter part of which passage is quoted by Hengstenberg on the Pentat., vol. 2, p. 373, “On the repentance of God,” with the following remark: “These last words show how very deeply Calvin had gained the right point of view in reference to Anthropomorphisms. In his esteem they formed a glorious ornament of holy writ. How totally different the apologists since the times of Deism! One remarks, on all occasions, how gladly they would dispense with Anthropomorphisms. They try to be satisfied only with that which they cannot alter.” See also C. on Minor Prophets, vol. 1, p. 402; 2, p. 61; 3, pp. 115, 126, 408; and Institutes, Book 1, ch. 17. Section 13, vol. 1, p. 263. (Calvin Soc. editions.)
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
MOSES REPLY, AND GODS REPENTANCE.
(11-13) Moses has three arguments: (1) God has done so much for His people, that surely He will not now make all of none effect (Exo. 32:11); (2) their destruction will give a triumph to the Egyptians (Exo. 32:12); (3) it will nullify the promises made to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (Gen. 15:5; Gen. 17:2-6; Gen. 26:1; Gen. 28:12; Gen. 35:11), causing Moses to eclipse their glory, and to be looked upon as the true patriarch and progenitor of the peculiar people (Exo. 32:13). To these arguments he adds entreaties that God will be merciful, and change His purpose (Exo. 32:12).
(14) The Lord repented of the evil.Moses intercession was effectual. God spared the people at his desire. He is, therefore, said to have repented; not that He had really changed His purpose, for He had known from the beginning that Moses would intercede and that He would spare, but because He first announced a (conditional) purpose, and then announced a different one. The mode of speech is, as so frequently, anthropomorphic.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
11-13. Moses besought The intercession of Moses is seen in its graphic outline by the two words of interrogation, Why and wherefore, (the same word in the Hebrew, ,) and the three verbs in the imperative turn repent remember. It consists of solemn appeal and earnest petition . The appeals are of the nature of exclamations of soul-anguish over the thought of such penal wrath after such a triumph as the exodus, and of the reproach which the Egyptians might then exultingly and contemptuously utter. The petitions end with a pleading of the promises made to the great patriarchs.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Exo 32:11. Moses besought the Lordand said This intercession of Moses for the people, reminds us of that of Abraham for the devoted Sodomites, Genesis 18. The reason why God’s wrath waxed hot against his people is very evident; and therefore our translation, why doth thy wrath wax hot? would be improved by reading (which the original will well bear) for what end will thy wrath wax hot? As much as to say, what good purpose will be answered by it? It is a mode of solemn deprecation, and the context sufficiently shews the force of the argument; especially the next verse. See Psa 44:24. Mar 5:39 compare with Luk 8:52.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
If we lose sight of Moses in this place, in order to behold him whom Moses typified, even the Lord Jesus Christ, in his glorious character of intercessor, this passage is uncommonly beautiful. Isa 59:16 .
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Exo 32:11 And Moses besought the LORD his God, and said, LORD, why doth thy wrath wax hot against thy people, which thou hast brought forth out of the land of Egypt with great power, and with a mighty hand?
Ver. 11. Lord, why doth thy wrath. ] God offered Moses a great fortune. Exo 32:10 He tendering God’s glory refused, and makes request for the people. It is the ingenuity of saints to study God’s ends more than their own, and drown all self-respects in his glory. Good servants, such as were Bacon and Burleigh to Queen Elizabeth should consult their master’s praise, rather than their own profit. “Moses was faithful in all God’s house as a servant.” Heb 3:2 ; Heb 3:5
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
the LORD. Hebrew “the face of Jehovah”: i.e. before, or in the presence of Jehovah.
God. Hebrew. Elohim. App-4.
Thy . . . Thou. This is the reply of Moses. He knows they were not “cast off” (Rom 11:2), but only “cast aside” (Rom 11:11) for a little moment. See notes on Rom 11:2, Rom 11:15.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
besought: Deu 9:18-20, Deu 9:26-29, Psa 106:23
the Lord his God: Heb. the face of the Lord
why doth: Num 11:11, Num 16:22, Deu 9:18-20, Psa 74:1, Psa 74:2, Isa 63:17, Jer 12:1, Jer 12:2
which thou: Exo 32:7
Reciprocal: Exo 6:26 – Bring Exo 8:12 – General Exo 16:6 – the Lord Exo 32:1 – the man Exo 32:10 – my wrath Exo 32:19 – anger Num 21:7 – And Moses Num 27:4 – Why Deu 9:19 – For I Jdg 2:20 – the anger 1Ki 8:51 – thy people Neh 1:10 – Now these Psa 85:3 – turned Psa 99:6 – they called Isa 63:11 – Where is he that brought Jer 15:1 – Moses Lam 2:20 – consider Eze 13:5 – have not Eze 36:20 – These Dan 9:15 – that hast Joe 2:17 – Spare Amo 7:2 – O Lord Zec 7:2 – pray before the Lord Mal 1:9 – God Luk 13:8 – let Luk 15:30 – this 1Pe 5:6 – the
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Exo 32:11. And Moses besought the Lord his God If God would not be called the God of Israel, yet he hoped he might address him as his own God. Now Moses is standing in the gap to turn away the wrath of God, Psa 106:23. He took the hint which God gave him when he said, Let me alone, which, though it seemed to forbid his interceding, did really encourage it, by showing what power the prayer of faith hath with God.