Exodus 32:25-29
~15 min read
💭 Consider this: “Who is on the Lord’s side?” — What does that question mean to you in your present situation? Where in your life do you feel challenged to take a stand for God?
TRANSCRIPT
Our text for tonight's message is taken from Exodus 32:25–29.
The children of Israel had sinned against God at the foot of the mountain by building and worshipping the golden calf. Indeed, whenever a sin is committed, there will be consequences. And when faced with the consequences, rather than taking full responsibility, oftentimes people will try to shift the blame to someone or somewhere else, or try to minimise the sin by downplaying it, or try to give excuses. That was exactly what happened; the children of Israel put the blame on Moses. They said it was because of his delay that led us to build the golden calf. Aaron put the blame on the people, ‘It was because of them’. He said to Moses, ‘You knew the people, they were stiffnecked. They were the ones who pressured me to do it. My involvement was only minimal. All I did was to throw the gold into the fire, and out came the golden calf.’ (Exodus 32:22-24)
But Moses was different. He saw sin as sin. It was a transgression of God's law. And the first thing he did was to break the two tablets of the Ten Commandments. In other words, if the people were not prepared to obey the commandments, they did not deserve to have the physical commandments. Subsequently, he reduced the golden calf to dust, mixed it with water, and made the people drink it (Exodus 32:20). It was like making the people swallow their idolatry, or taste the bitterness of their sin, or eat their own words, because they had previously promised to keep God's commandments, but they did not.
But that was not the end of it. The children of Israel still had not suffered the full consequences of their sin. In fact, at this point in time, even though the golden calf was gone, they were still continuing in their sin. How do we know? Look at verse 25, of Exodus chapter 32, "And when Moses saw that the people were naked; (for Aaron had made them naked unto their shame among their enemies:)". The basic meaning for the word “naked” is to let loose. It can mean letting loose of one's clothes, being physically naked, or going out of control. I believe here it can mean both. They were indulging in sexual activities in their worship, and they were out of control. Some theologians believe that even without the golden calf, they were still dancing in their nakedness.
The lingering effects of sin
There are several important lessons we can learn from here. Firstly, we see the lingering effects of sin. Oftentimes, people take sin very lightly in the sense that they think sin is like something they can switch on and switch off. In other words, they think the moment they stop in a particular sin, everything will return to normality. But they fail to understand the lingering effects of sin.
Allow me to give you an example. For those people who commit the sin of pornography, our mind is not like a computer, when we press the delete button, everything is erased—it does not work that way. All those immoral images that they have watched are embedded in their minds, and in the deepest recesses of their hearts. And when they are not careful, those sinful images will pop up from time to time and show their ugly heads to cause them to yield to temptation.
The same thing applies to all the other sins. Therefore, you and I must nip sin in the bud. Do not even start it. Otherwise, it will be very difficult to stop. But if we have already committed the sin, then we must pray that God will forgive us and cleanse our hearts and minds through His Word. The more we gravitate toward God and His Word, and the further we stay away from sin, those lingering effects of sin will slowly fade away from our memories, by the grace of God.
The responsibility of the spiritual leader
Secondly, notice Moses put the blame on Aaron, "for Aaron had made them naked unto their shame among their enemies" (Exodus 32:25). As their spiritual leader, it was Aaron's responsibility not only to lead the people in the right path but also to discipline them if they had fallen into sin. As long as there was no discipline, no accountability, no confrontation, the situation would only get worse. Likewise, that is why church discipline is so important. If the people were left to themselves with no discipline, no accountability, no leadership, no confrontation of sin, it is only a matter of time, anything and everything goes. There will be no difference between the church and the world.
Have you allowed for Christianity to be mocked?
Thirdly, whenever God's people sin, they become a laughingstock to their enemies—the unbelievers. That is what it means, “naked unto their shame among their enemies” (Exodus 32:25). As believers, we must be the salt of the earth and the light of the world. The unbelievers are watching us. If you and I fail to be godly, they will mock at Christianity. When Christianity is mocked, our Lord's name is punished.
Have you ever encountered anyone who says to you as a Christian, ‘How can you do this? You mean you can talk like this or behave like this?’ Instead of pointing the people to Christ, we are driving them away from Him. God forbids. We must never do that.
Finally, when the people have fallen into sin, something had to be done. And this is what we want to learn from this passage.
The title of our message is ‘Who is On the Lord's Side?’
I. To Take A Stand
Our first point is, ‘To Take A Stand’.
Verse 26, “Then Moses stood in the gate of the camp, and said, Who is on the Lord's side? let him come unto me. And all the sons of Levi gathered themselves together unto him.” (Exodus 32:26). As Moses stood at the entrance of the camp, in the aftermath of the golden calf, with the people still in their nakedness, he called out, "Who is on the Lord's side?"
Some people take this call to mean that not all the Israelites had sinned in the golden calf worship. But verse 3 tells us that “all the people” took of their earrings and gave them to Aaron (Exodus 32:3), it implies the entire nation was involved.
Here, what it meant is that God was willing to show mercy. There was a way for the people to come to Him and receive forgiveness. However, they must first take a stand. Physically, they must come out of the camp of sin. Spiritually, they must come unto God and be on the Lord's side. So there was this biblical separation.
In life, there are many things we can stay neutral for. For example, it may be physical things, or secular opinions, or political views. We do not need to take a stand. But as far as spiritual things are concerned—whether it be God and His Word, salvation and condemnation, believer and unbeliever, heaven and hell, truth and error—there is no such thing as being spiritually neutral. We are either with God or not. We are either for Him or against Him. There is no halfway house.
Our Lord Himself said in Matthew 12:30, "He that is not with me is against me”. Dear friend, this is the decision everyone has to make—and continue to make—until the day we die. It is a decision we make when we first come to Jesus Christ, trusting and believing in Him as the only Saviour of the world. It is also a decision we continue to make every day as we live the Christian life.
Every thought we think, every word we speak, and every action we take, we have to make a decision. We have to take a stand. Are we on the Lord's side? Are we for Christ or against Him?
If our thoughts are not pure, we are unholy. If our words are not true, we are false. If our actions are prideful and full of anger, we are sinful. In our workplace and school, we must decide whether or not to join our unbelieving colleagues and classmates in their ungodly conversation and activities. In our society, we must decide whether or not to follow the vast majority in the way they view the world, make decisions, and prioritise their values. In our relationship with the government, we must decide whether or not to be honest in paying our taxes, or manipulate the system in order to pay lesser taxes.
Every day of our lives we are challenged with decisions. We have to take a stand. We are taking sides—either for God or against Him. There is no spiritual neutrality.
Taking a stand can be painful
So when Moses called out to the people, "Who is on the Lord's side? let him come unto me" (Exodus 32:26), only the Levites answered and came unto him. Moses was from the tribe of Levi, and it does not mean that they came to support him, but rather they took a stand with God. As Levites, they were the priestly tribe called to serve and worship God in the tabernacle. It must have dawned on them, ‘What are we doing? How can we sin by breaking the very commandments we promised to keep and to teach the people to keep?’
In order for them to take a stand with God, physically they had to separate themselves from the rest. Spiritually, they had to separate themselves from their sins. Most certainly, emotionally they would be affected. Those were the people they had grown up with, loved, lived side by side for years.
This is a reminder to us that when you and I take a stand for God, oftentimes we have to cut ourselves from people whom we are familiar with—people whom we are friends with, people whom we love. It can be very painful. But no matter how painful it may be, our attitude should be: I love my God. My first allegiance is to my God. If you are not for my God, then I'm not for you. I will not stand with you, no matter who you are. This principle should be applied into every aspect of our lives.
One day, a young person asked me, ‘I know I have to marry a believer, but recently I came to know an unbeliever, and that person seems to be so nice. Can I consider her for marriage? I will pray for her salvation, evangelise to her, and bring her to my church.’
My response to him is: As far as evangelism is concerned, you are to pray and reach out to her like the way you would do to anyone else. But as far as marriage is concerned, you are not to consider it. Because if she is not for your God, then you are not for her. You must take a stand.
But taking a stand for God is not just paying lip service. We have to be willing to do what He says. That is what it means to be on the Lord's side—on the side of the Lord, to obey Him no matter what.
II. To Put Idolatry To Death
This brings us to our second point, ‘To Put Idolatry To Death’.
Let us move on to verse 27, “And he said unto them, 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 neighbour.” (Exodus 32:27). A “brother” is a reference to someone born into the same family. A “companion” is a close friend. And a “neighbour” speaks of kinship or relative. Since the children of Israel live according to their own tribes, his neighbour would be his relative.
Take note of the phrase “thus saith the Lord God of Israel”, which means this command came directly from God. Usually, God does not tell us in advance what taking a stand for Him will include. Along the way, we will experience what it means—what is required of us. For example, when we take a stand for the perfect Bible, the preservation of Holy Scriptures, along the way we may lose our friends. When we take a stand to serve God, along the way we may face persecution. When we take a stand to go into the mission field to serve in a hostile environment, along the way we may face even death, and so forth.
But we ought to understand that the moment you and I trust and believe in the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation, we die to ourselves. It is no longer I that live, but Christ liveth in me (Galatians 2:20). And from then onwards, everything we are and everything we have is at His disposal. We are instruments for Him to use in whatever ways He deems best.
You can imagine the Levites who took a stand and came to Moses, only to be given a most shocking assignment. Now, this is one of the most difficult passages in the Bible—difficult in a sense because many people will question, ‘how can a loving God give such a command to kill one's brother, companion, and neighbour?’
There are several things we need to understand.
A just command from God
Firstly, this was a just command. Obviously, God is just, and everything that comes from Him is righteous. But remember, the children of Israel had made a blood covenant with God in which they had promised not to make graven images and to worship no other gods. Once they broke those commandments, they had forfeited their lives. God had every right to put all of them to death.
For a very serious sin
Secondly, this was a very serious sin, and it jeopardised the whole plan of salvation. What do we mean by that? You see, Israel was called to be a holy nation, and through her, all the other nations of the world would be blessed. At that time, the only way the unbelievers could come and believe in Jehovah God was through Israel. But instead of being this light, the people turned away from God and worshipped the golden calf. Unless God did something to bring them back, they would no longer be called a holy nation. So the whole plan of salvation was in jeopardy.
God’s everpresent mercy
Thirdly, even in executing His judgment, God was merciful. Look at verse 28, “And the children of Levi did according to the word of Moses: and there fell of the people that day about three thousand men.” (Exodus 32:28). The Bible did not tell us who these 3,000 men were. Most likely, they were the instigators. They were the ones most responsible to urge the people to sin. So the command to slay every man his brother, and every man his companion, and every man his neighbour does not mean everyone—only these 3,000 men.
Even then, can you imagine the Levites having to kill their own people? Life is precious. One life is already one too many. How much more 3,000 lives? Here, the whole point was that whosoever was guilty had to be punished, no matter who that person was—even if they were the closest people. The Levites must not let the family ties, blood relations, and friendships hinder them from serving God.
Dear friend, the children of Israel were living under the Old Covenant. At that time, they were a theocratic nation with God ruling as their king. And as their king, He not only had the right to judge, but to choose whosoever He wants to execute His judgment. Today, you and I are living in the New Covenant. God has not given to us the power of the sword to kill, but He has given to us another sword—the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God (Ephesians 6:17).
God has commanded us to confront sin
Remember, Hebrews 4:12 says, "For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart." So although we do not apply this passage literally, the spiritual principle is still applicable to us. God has given to us His precious Word, and He wants us to preach against sin, idolatry, immorality, and so forth.
And if anyone violates His commandments—it doesn't matter whether the violators are our husbands, our wives, our children, our family members, or our friends—we must deal with them in the same way we treat others. I dare say that most people have no problem dealing with the sins of others. But when it comes to the sins of their own loved ones, it is a very difficult thing.
Sometimes, instead of confronting their sins, they will try to give excuses on their behalf.
‘Well, you cannot blame my husband for his sin, it is because of the church.’
‘You cannot fault my wife, it is because of the other women in the fellowship groups.’
‘You cannot confront my child, it is because the worship service is so boring. The church is to be blamed.’
We have to be like Moses. We have to be like the Levites. When we take the Lord's side, we obey Him no matter what, regardless of who that person is. And we must always subscribe to the Word of God.
The Bible has given to us specific instructions on how to deal with sin, in Matthew 18:15–17. First we take the Word of God and we confront the person one-on-one. If he does not repent, we take two or three brethren together with us to confront his sin. If he does not repent, we go to the church leaders. And if he still does not repent, then church discipline would have to be exercised, which includes excommunication—regardless of who he or she is.
The question is, why God would give such a duty to the Levites? If God wanted to, He could have punished them all by Himself. Instead, He gave the Levites the command to execute His judgment, which they faithfully did. And they were commended for it. Verse 29: “For Moses had said, Consecrate yourselves to day to the Lord, even every man upon his son, and upon his brother; that he may bestow upon you a blessing this day” (Exodus 32:29).
Because of their faithfulness, God consecrated the Levites. In other words, they were set apart specially for His sacred ministry. As Levites, if they wanted to serve God in His holy tabernacle, there was only one way—they had to pursue after absolute purity. They had to put sin to death.
Again, this is a reminder to all the spiritual leaders as well. If we want to serve God—and it is truly a blessing to serve Him—but that service and blessing comes with an awesome responsibility. We must keep the church pure by pursuing after absolute purity, by putting sin and idolatry to death.
Allow me to end by saying this: who is on the Lord's side? It is the true believer, the one who has been saved by the precious blood of the Lord. He or she will carefully scrutinise every situation in life, consider every thought, word, and action, and look at everything in view of God and His Word.
This is the side of my Lord. This is sin and the world. And I will choose the Lord's side. Even if all my friends and loved ones are standing on the other side, I will still choose to be on the Lord's side. And I pray in my heart that God will use me to bring them over to His side—all to the glory of His precious name.
Who is on the Lord's side? I pray that all of us will be able to say, ‘I am on the Lord's side. And I want to continue to be on the Lord's side no matter what happens, by the grace and mercy of God.’
Let us pray.
Our Father in heaven, indeed even as we consider this portion of Scriptures, we know that it is a most painful thing to see our own people sinning against Thee. But we have to distinguish between sin, the world, and Thee and Thy Word.
Just as Moses asked the people, Who is on the Lord's side? we have to take a stand. Every day of our lives we are faced with decisions, challenges of all sorts. We are taking sides. We are either on Your side, or we are against it. And we pray that we will always be faithful to Thee and to take a stand with Thee. It’s not just paying lip service. We are willing to do what You say. Whatever the Bible commands us, we will obey no matter what.
When it comes to sin, we will confront—regardless of whether the violators are our own loved ones: our husbands, our wives, our parents, our children, family members and friends. It doesn't matter. We will deal with them the way we deal with everyone, including ourselves.
O Lord, teach us and grant to us the strength to stand on Your side. Along the way, many things may come. We will experience different things: persecutions, hostilities, animosities, rejections, and so forth. But we will still remain on Thy side—not because we are able, but because Thou art able. Thou who hast called us will help us to make such a decision and to continue to stand on Your side—to the glory of Thy precious name.
We pray all this in Jesus’ name, Amen.
THE BOOK OF EXODUSGod’s Prophecy and Promise Had Come To PassGod’s Prophecy and Promise Had Come To PassExodus 1:1-7
From Prosperity to PersecutionFrom Prosperity to PersecutionExodus 1:8-14
God’s Protection in the Midst of AdversitiesGod’s Protection in the Midst of AdversitiesExodus 1:15-21
The Faith of JochebedThe Faith of JochebedExodus 1:22-2:10
The Faith Of A Beloved MotherThe Faith Of A Beloved MotherExodus 1:22-2:10; Hebrews 11:23
Moses in EgyptMoses in EgyptExodus 2:11-15
Moses in the Desert of MidianMoses in the Desert of MidianExodus 2:16-25
Moses and the Burning BushMoses and the Burning BushExodus 3:1-9
Who Are You?Who Are You?Exodus 3:10-15
Who Am I?Who Am I?Exodus 3:10-15
God’s Message to Israel and EgyptGod’s Message to Israel and EgyptExodus 3:16-22
What If They Still Don’t Believe?What If They Still Don’t Believe?Exodus 4:1-9
Send Someone ElseSend Someone ElseExodus 4:10-17
Moses’ Return to EgyptMoses’ Return to EgyptExodus 4:18-20
When Things Seemed to Get Better, They Got WorseWhen Things Seemed to Get Better, They Got WorseExodus 5:10-21
When We Have Done Everything Right, and Yet Trouble ComesWhen We Have Done Everything Right, and Yet Trouble ComesExodus 5:22-6:5
Having to Learn the Same Lesson TwiceHaving to Learn the Same Lesson TwiceExodus 6:6-12
Faithful or UnfaithfulFaithful or UnfaithfulExodus 6:13-27
What God Wants Is Our Faithfulness and ObedienceWhat God Wants Is Our Faithfulness and ObedienceExodus 6:28-7:7
The First Plague - The River of BloodThe First Plague - The River of BloodExodus 7:14-25
The Second Plague - The FrogsThe Second Plague - The FrogsExodus 8:1-15
The Third PlagueThe Third PlagueExodus 8:16-19
The Fourth PlagueThe Fourth PlagueExodus 8:20-32
The Fifth PlagueThe Fifth PlagueExodus 9:1-7
The Sixth PlagueThe Sixth PlagueExodus 9:8-12
The Seventh PlagueThe Seventh PlagueExodus 9:13-35
The Eighth PlagueThe Eighth PlagueExodus 10:1-20
The Tenth PlagueThe Tenth PlagueExodus 11:1-10
The First PassoverThe First PassoverExodus 12:1-13
The Feast of the Unleavened BreadThe Feast of the Unleavened BreadExodus 12:14-28
Departure From EgyptDeparture From EgyptExodus 12:29-42
This Do In Remembrance of MeThis Do In Remembrance of MeExodus 12:43-51; 1 Corinthians 11:23-32
Message 2: What is Church to you? My Covenantal Family!Message 2: What is Church to you? My Covenantal Family!Exodus 12:48-49, Colossians 2:11-12
Redemption and ConsecrationRedemption and ConsecrationExodus 13:1-2, 11-16
Precious Lord, Take My HandPrecious Lord, Take My HandExodus 13:17-22
Between the Desert and the Red SeaBetween the Desert and the Red SeaExodus 14:1-14
Crossing the Red SeaCrossing the Red SeaExodus 14:15-31
The Song of PraiseThe Song of PraiseExodus 15:1-21
Will You Obey Or Not?Will You Obey Or Not?Exodus 15:22-27
The Danger of a Complaining SpiritThe Danger of a Complaining SpiritExodus 16:1-3
God’s Response to Israel’s ComplaintsGod’s Response to Israel’s ComplaintsExodus 16:1-10
The Test of FaithThe Test of FaithExodus 16:11-20
Lessons About the SabbathLessons About the SabbathExodus 16:21-36
Do Not Test GodDo Not Test GodExodus 17:1-17
Lift Up Your HandsLift Up Your HandsExodus 17:8-16
The Blessedness of ReunionThe Blessedness of ReunionExodus 18:1-12
Why Do We Have Leaders?Why Do We Have Leaders?Exodus 18:13-27
I Will Carry You On Eagles’ WingsI Will Carry You On Eagles’ WingsExodus 19:1-6
Approach God Fearlessly or FearfullyApproach God Fearlessly or FearfullyExodus 19:7-15
God Reached Out And SpokeGod Reached Out And SpokeExodus 19:16-25
Thou Shalt Have No Other GodsThou Shalt Have No Other GodsExodus 20:1-3
Thou Shalt Not Make Graven ImagesThou Shalt Not Make Graven ImagesExodus 20:4-6
Thou Shalt Not Dishonour God’s NameThou Shalt Not Dishonour God’s NameExodus 20:7
Thou Shalt Keep The Sabbath DayThou Shalt Keep The Sabbath DayExodus 20:8-11
Honour Thy Father And Thy MotherHonour Thy Father And Thy MotherExodus 20:12
Thou Shalt Not KillThou Shalt Not KillExodus 20:13
Thou Shalt Not Commit AdulteryThou Shalt Not Commit AdulteryExodus 20:14
Thou Shalt Not StealThou Shalt Not StealExodus 20:15
Thou Shalt Not LieThou Shalt Not LieExodus 20:16
Thou Shalt Not CovetThou Shalt Not CovetExodus 20:17
The Response To The Ten CommandmentsThe Response To The Ten CommandmentsExodus 20:18-21
How God Wants Us To Worship HimHow God Wants Us To Worship HimExodus 20:22-26
Why Would God Allow Slavery?Why Would God Allow Slavery?Exodus 21:1-11
The Punishment Fits The Crime — a life for a lifeThe Punishment Fits The Crime — a life for a lifeExodus 21:12-17
The Punishment Fits The Crime — an eye for an eyeThe Punishment Fits The Crime — an eye for an eyeExodus 21:18-36
The Punishment Deters The Crime — property lawsThe Punishment Deters The Crime — property lawsExodus 22:1-15
The Character Of GodThe Character Of GodExodus 22:16-20
Reaching Out To The Down-And-OutReaching Out To The Down-And-OutExodus 22:21-24
The Compassion, Authority & Holiness Of GodThe Compassion, Authority & Holiness Of GodExodus 22:25-31
Truth Cannot Be Subjected To Anything But TruthTruth Cannot Be Subjected To Anything But TruthExodus 23:1-9
Remember Who God IsRemember Who God IsExodus 23:10-19
What Must We Do To Have VictoryWhat Must We Do To Have VictoryExodus 23:20-33
How We Ought To Worship GodHow We Ought To Worship GodExodus 24:1-4, 7
On What Basis Can We Approach His Majesty?On What Basis Can We Approach His Majesty?Exodus 24:4-8
Responding To God’s InvitationResponding To God’s InvitationExodus 24:9-18
The Right Attitude Of GivingThe Right Attitude Of GivingExodus 25:1-8
There I Will Meet YouThere I Will Meet YouExodus 25:9-22
Physical Or Spiritual Bread, Which Is More Important?Physical Or Spiritual Bread, Which Is More Important?Exodus 25:23-30
Let Your Light So Shine Before MenLet Your Light So Shine Before MenExodus 25:31-40
The Veil That SeparatesThe Veil That SeparatesExodus 26:1-37
A Day In Thy Court Is Better Than A ThousandA Day In Thy Court Is Better Than A ThousandExodus 27:1-19
Who Can Represent Us Before God?Who Can Represent Us Before God?Exodus 27:20-28:14
How Can We Know God’s Will?How Can We Know God’s Will?Exodus 28:15-30
Is Our Worship Attire Really Important?Is Our Worship Attire Really Important?Exodus 28:31-43
The Ordination Of PriestsThe Ordination Of PriestsExodus 29:1-21
The Provision For PriestsThe Provision For PriestsExodus 29:22-29
Remind Us For We Always ForgetRemind Us For We Always ForgetExodus 29:36-46
Sweet Hour Of PrayerSweet Hour Of PrayerExodus 30:1-10
The Danger Of The Number GameThe Danger Of The Number GameExodus 30:11-16
The Importance Of SanctificationThe Importance Of SanctificationExodus 30:17-21
The Anointing Of OilThe Anointing Of OilExodus 30:22-38
No Such Thing As An Unimportant Calling Or GiftNo Such Thing As An Unimportant Calling Or GiftExodus 31:1-11
The Most Ignored CommandmentThe Most Ignored CommandmentExodus 31:12-18
We Forget So QuicklyWe Forget So QuicklyExodus 32:1-6
Guilty As ChargedGuilty As ChargedExodus 32:7-14
Who Is To Be Blamed?Who Is To Be Blamed?Exodus 32:15-24
Who Is On The Lord’s Side?Who Is On The Lord’s Side?Exodus 32:25-29
I Will Die For You If I CanI Will Die For You If I CanExodus 32:30-35
I Will Not Go With YouI Will Not Go With YouExodus 33:1-11
If Thy Presence Go Not With Me, Carry Us Not Up HenceIf Thy Presence Go Not With Me, Carry Us Not Up HenceExodus 33:12-23
If Thy Presence Go Not with Me, Carry Us Not Up HenceIf Thy Presence Go Not with Me, Carry Us Not Up HenceExodus 33:12-23
I Will Show You Who I AmI Will Show You Who I AmExodus 34:1-7
What It Means To Be In A Covenant Relationship With GodWhat It Means To Be In A Covenant Relationship With GodExodus 34:8-17
