1. The DARK SIDE! (Exo 32:1-6)

“And when the people saw that Moses delayed to come down out of the mount, the people gathered themselves together unto Aaron, and said unto him, Up, make us gods, which shall go before us; for as for this Moses, the man that brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we wot not what is become of him. 2And Aaron said unto them, Break off the golden earrings, which are in the ears of your wives, of your sons, and of your daughters, and bring them unto me. 3And all the people brake off the golden earrings which were in their ears, and brought them unto Aaron. 4And he received them at their hand, and fashioned it with a graving tool, after he had made it a molten calf: and they said, These be thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt. 5And when Aaron saw it, he built an altar before it; and Aaron made proclamation, and said, To morrow is a feast to the LORD. 6And they rose up early on the morrow, and offered burnt offerings, and brought peace offerings; and the people sat down to eat and to drink, and rose up to play.”

Learning Lessons:
When you are TEMPTED to be IMPATIENT, WATCH OUT for falling into IDOLATRY- (vv1, 2-4)

2. The BRIGHT SIDE! (Exo 32:7-14)

“7And the LORD said unto Moses, Go, get thee down; for thy people, which thou broughtest out of the land of Egypt, have corrupted themselves: 8They have turned aside quickly out of the way which I commanded them: they have made them a molten calf, and have worshipped it, and have sacrificed thereunto, and said, These be thy gods, O Israel, which have brought thee up out of the land of Egypt. 9And the LORD said unto Moses, I have seen this people, and, behold, it is a stiffnecked people: 10Now therefore let me alone, that my wrath may wax hot against them, and that I may consume them: and I will make of thee a great nation.

11And 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? 12Wherefore should the Egyptians speak, and say, For mischief did he bring them out, to slay them in the mountains, and to consume them from the face of the earth? Turn from thy fierce wrath, and repent of this evil against thy people. 13Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, thy servants, to whom thou swarest by thine own self, and saidst unto them, I will multiply your seed as the stars of heaven, and all this land that I have spoken of will I give unto your seed, and they shall inherit it for ever. 14And the LORD repented of the evil which he thought to do unto his people.”

Learning Lessons: **God is just. He must deal with sin (vv7-10). Watch out! Get back!!

“….Now therefore let me alone, that my wrath may wax hot against them, and that I may consume them: and I will make of thee a great nation.”

**Intercessory prayer can be POWERFUL! With the right motives, it can, “MOVE the HAND of GOD”!

**So Moses interceded for the people with PREVAILING PRAYER!

“…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? 12Wherefore should the Egyptians speak, and say, For mischief did he bring them out, to slay them in the mountains, and to consume them from the face of the earth? Turn from thy fierce wrath, and repent of this evil against thy people. 13Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, thy servants, to whom thou swarest by thine own self, and saidst unto them, I will multiply your seed as the stars of heaven, and all this land that I have spoken of will I give unto your seed, and they shall inherit it for ever.”

Conclusion: Because of Moses’ prevailing prayer, which “MOVED the PROVIDENTIAL HAND” of the Lord, God’s fierce judgement was restrained.

“And the LORD repented of the evil which he thought to do unto his people.” (Exo 32:14)

[The word “repent” is נָחַם, naw-kham’, which means to be sorry, console oneself. Browns Commentary defines the word in this way: be sorry, rue, suffer grief, repent, of one’s own doings.]

This is difficult to fully understand that God would change His mind.

In this Pastor’s own words, it appears that God’s perfect will was to bring His people into Canaan land; however, due to their disobedience, the wrath of God was stirred. But finding a man after His own heart named Moses who was willing to PRAY and STAND in the GAP (Ezek 22:30), was the key to the heart of God; and consequently, the Lord spared some of the people even though many were destroyed.