Seeing the golden calf and the people dancing, Moses threw the stone tablets to the ground and shattered them, because through their idol worship, they had already broken the covenant. He burned the idol, ground it into powder, scattered it on the water, and made the people drink it. Aaron should have taken responsibility for this grave sin, but instead he excused himself and blamed the people. Moses acted quickly and decisively. He separated those who stood on the Lord’s side from the unrepentant and put three thousand idol worshipers to death. He refused to compromise in the fight against sin and restored the community to God. Sin must not be compromised or negotiated with. It must be confronted seriously and dealt with quickly, or it will destroy us.
Moses knew the wages of sin is death. So, he returned to God and pleaded with him to forgive his
people. If not, he asked that his own name be blotted out of God’s book. As a shepherd, Moses risked his own life in intercession, begging God to forgive the people. Because of Moses’ intercession, God did not destroy them all. On the cross, Jesus pleaded with God to forgive sinners and offered his own life as atonement. We, too, are called to be shepherds who intercede for others who do not know what they are doing.
Aug 7, 2026
PLEASE FORGIVE THEIR SIN
Passage: Exodus 32:15-35
Key verse: 32
NIV
chapter 32
15. Moses turned and went down the mountain with the two tablets of the covenant law in his hands. They were inscribed on both sides, front and back.
16. The tablets were the work of God; the writing was the writing of God, engraved on the tablets.
17. When Joshua heard the noise of the people shouting, he said to Moses, "There is the sound of war in the camp."
18. Moses replied: "It is not the sound of victory, it is not the sound of defeat; it is the sound of singing that I hear."
19. When Moses approached the camp and saw the calf and the dancing, his anger burned and he threw the tablets out of his hands, breaking them to pieces at the foot of the mountain.
20. And he took the calf the people had made and burned it in the fire; then he ground it to powder, scattered it on the water and made the Israelites drink it.
21. He said to Aaron, "What did these people do to you, that you led them into such great sin?"
22. "Do not be angry, my lord," Aaron answered. "You know how prone these people are to evil.
23. They said to me, ’Make us gods who will go before us. As for this fellow Moses who brought us up out of Egypt, we don’t know what has happened to him.’
24. So I told them, ’Whoever has any gold jewelry, take it off.’ Then they gave me the gold, and I threw it into the fire, and out came this calf!"
25. Moses saw that the people were running wild and that Aaron had let them get out of control and so become a laughingstock to their enemies.
26. So he stood at the entrance to the camp and said, "Whoever is for the LORD, come to me." And all the Levites rallied to him.
27. Then he said to them, "This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: ’Each man strap a sword to his side. Go back and forth through the camp from one end to the other, each killing his brother and friend and neighbor.’"
28. The Levites did as Moses commanded, and that day about three thousand of the people died.
29. Then Moses said, "You have been set apart to the LORD today, for you were against your own sons and brothers, and he has blessed you this day."
30. The next day Moses said to the people, "You have committed a great sin. But now I will go up to the LORD; perhaps I can make atonement for your sin."
31. So Moses went back to the LORD and said, "Oh, what a great sin these people have committed! They have made themselves gods of gold.
32. But now, please forgive their sin - but if not, then blot me out of the book you have written."
33. The LORD replied to Moses, "Whoever has sinned against me I will blot out of my book.
34. Now go, lead the people to the place I spoke of, and my angel will go before you. However, when the time comes for me to punish, I will punish them for their sin."
35. And the LORD struck the people with a plague because of what they did with the calf Aaron had made.
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Prayer: Lord, grow me as a shepherd for others. Forgive our sins through Jesus’ blood.
One Word: Please forgive their sin