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Faithfully following the leadership and direction of the Lord, Moses had led the people of Israel to Mt. Sinai, the mount of God! The arrival at Mt. Sinai is the actual fulfillment of the promise of the Lord to Moses. He had assured His servant while sharing in prayer at the burning bush; "Certainly I will be with thee; and this shall be a token unto thee, that I have sent thee: When thou hast brought forth the people out of Egypt, ye shall serve God upon this mountain." (Exodus 3: 12)

"Israel camped before the mount. And Moses went up unto God, and the LORD called unto him out of the mountain, saying, Thus shalt thou say unto the house of Jacob, and tell the children of Israel; Ye have seen what I did unto the Egyptians, and how I bare you on eagles' wings, and brought you unto Myself. Now therefore, if ye will obey My voice indeed, and keep My covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people: for the all earth is Mine: And ye shall be unto Me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation. These are the words which thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel." (Exodus 19:2- 6) What a glorious promise!

The initial response of the Israelites to the obvious evidence of the Lord on the Mount was: "All the people that was in the camp trembled." (19:16) But things began to change with the passing of time. The people became accustomed to the dramatic demonstrations of the Lord's presence. There developed the familiarity which breeds contempt! "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, ...we wot not what is become of him!" (32: 1) Yielding to their insistent demands, Aaron made a "molten calf and they said: These be thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt!" (32:4)

All of this took place in the shadow of Mt. Sinai, the Mount of God. Everything was said and done while within clear view of all of the astonishing effects revealing the personal presence of the Lord! It all took place while Moses was on the Mount sharing in personal prayer with the Lord: a fact which Aaron and the people chose to completely ignore.

"And the LORD said unto Moses, Go, get thee down; for thy people, which thou broughtest out of the land of Egypt, have corrupted themselves." (v.7)

What a most incredible experience this had been for Moses. Day after day he had shared in the most wonderful privilege of being in the personal presence of the Lord ... listening to the Lord, as He revealed to His servant all of the exciting details of His perfect plan for His people. Moses was shown the actual plans for the tabernacle. He listened intently as the Lord explained to him the meaning of all of the various aspects of the tabernacle, its various items of furniture, and the worship which would take place there. Day after day this most thrilling and amazing experience continued, the Lord revealing in detail His order and His purposes for His people.

Then, so suddenly, so unexpectedly, all of the wonder and glory came to an abrupt end! This most precious experience was interrupted by this most devastating statement which was made by the Lord. "Go! Get thee down!" This was so completely unexpected ... so abrupt! Yet the Lord's Word made it unmistakably clear that Moses could remain on the Mount of God no longer. He must withdraw from the place of prayer! There was such a strong, insistent note of urgency in the Word of the Lord. Why?

The Lord was reminding Moses that He had made the Israelites the responsibility of His servant. In doing this, the Lord had a specific purpose in mind. These people, who are your responsibility, have "corrupted themselves!" That is a most ominous way for the Lord to describe them. Very strong terminology: "Corrupted themselves!"

There are many Christians today who would plead that less offensive terminology be applied--a description which would prove to be not so abrasive. Perhaps, "They have erred a little?" Maybe, "They have been somewhat sidetracked ... become a little self-willed?" Why is it that there are so many who do react so negatively to the fact that the Lord and His Word does use strong expressions? The Lord is revealing man's condition and conduct -- exactly as He sees it!

The Lord was right! He always is right! We need to hear His Word so we will readily grasp how He feels about such things as sin ... disobedience ... corrupting themselves! This was His evaluation of the situation: "they have corrupted themselves!" His evaluation is the only one which counts. We must never forget that fact!

"They 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." (v. 8)

Moses heard the Lord declare that the Israelites had corrupted themselves. This added information must have had an astonishing impact on his heart and mind. How could they do what they have done? After all the Lord had done for them in delivering them from the bondage in Egypt ... along with the repeated demonstrations of His mighty power, including the evidence of His intervention and all-sufficient protection at the Red Sea. We see His unfailing provision of their every need!

Yet -- in the face of all that -- so very quickly, "They turned aside!" They renounced the Word of the Lord. They renounced His presence with them ... His will and plan for them. In fact, the renunciation of His plan for them, His will for their future, inevitably meant that they had renounced the Lord Himself. They would rather have a golden calf than the Lord!

Why? The Lord Jesus answers this question as He reveals the fundamental fact from which such attitudes develop: "If a man love Me, he will keep My Words! … He that loveth Me not keepeth not My sayings: and the Word which ye hear is not Mine, but the Father's which sent Me!" (John 14: 23, 24)

The issue is clear. It has to do with the genuineness of the relationship we claim to have with the Lord. The genuine love which is devoted to the Lord will always be expressed in willing obedience to His Word. Wherever such willing and sincere obedience is lacking, it is clear evidence that there is no true love for the Lord! He says so!

Therefore, those who are diverted from living in faithful obedience to His Word, are providing irrefutable evidence that they have left their first love! This means that in all such cases, there is the imperative need to come to the place of humble repentance ... to sincerely confess the sin involved.

In renouncing the way in which the Lord commanded them to walk, the Israelites quickly opted to hasten along the broad path which inevitably led them to disaster. "They have made them a molten calf, and have worshipped it, and have sacrificed thereunto!" The Israelites had demanded of Aaron, "Up, make us gods, which shall go before us!"

The spiritual condition involved is so well described by Paul. The Holy Spirit inspired his words: "Because that, when they knew God, they glorified Him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened. Professing themselves to be wise, they become fools!. And changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image!" (Romans 1: 21, 22, 23)

In this case, it was an image of a golden calf! Could anything be more foolish ... or more tragic? They had seen the most incredible evidence that the Lord was personally committed to them. He was powerfully involved in intervening on their behalf. True, they could not see Him, yet they could see the most compelling and astonishing evidence of His sovereign authority and power at work for them! Yet He did not satisfy them! "Up, make us gods!" "They made them a golden calf!" The Lord was dethroned! Pagan heathen idolatry was honored with a coronation and celebration!

It happened then! It happens now! Perhaps not quite so blatantly all the time, yet so many who have witnessed the most dramatic evidence of the amazing love and grace of God have so quickly turned aside! They have chosen to go after their own "golden calf!" It comes in many forms: money or possessions, power or influence, fame, or one of the many other "idols" which continue to enslave millions today. Whatever it is, they have revolted against the sovereignty of God ... all to have their own way!

It was a lie! They knew that it was a lie, yet they so willingly embraced it! Why? For the same reason that there are so many "Christians" today who will so readily excuse and condone such lies ... even embrace them!

Why? It permits them to do what they want to do! Then, as now, this tactic of the devil worked. The effect? The most disastrous of consequences! They swallowed another lie, i.e. "Such rebellion is excusable ... even acceptable!" This position is embraced, even though it is obvious that it is flying in the face of the total weight of evidence which points in the opposite direction.

They embraced the lie of the devil. It enabled them to plunge into the darkness of debauchery and depravity. They knew that their "gods” which had brought them (as they claimed), up out of Egypt, would neither oppose or protest their desire and actions. Rather, their "gods" actually condoned and encouraged such vile and reprehensible conduct!

So it is today! People will willfully believe a lie so that they can reject the challenge and claims of Jesus and Him crucified! Why? The cross demands that the exceeding sinfulness of sin be exposed and acknowledged! So, it is more convenient to set aside the light of the cross, and willfully plunge into the darkness of self-deception where "anything goes!" At what a staggering cost! Then ... now!

First, the Lord had revealed to Moses the sinful, rebellious conduct of the people. Then He proceeded to reveal the spring from which that vile stream of depravity had flowed.

"I have seen this people!" He saw every detail of their personalities and their character ... every aspect of their inmost heart and mind. According to their actual condition as He saw it, He passed His verdict: "They are a stiffnecked people!" They were proud! Self-willed! Arrogant! Resisting reproof and correction. Unwilling to receive any guidance. Insisting on having their own way and doing their own thing.

With no thought of everything He had already done for them, they flatly refused to acknowledge the Lord as God. It was to people with a similar attitude that the Lord Jesus said, "Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do!" (John 8: 44)

There are many such people still with us today. This is true of large numbers of those who profess to be Christians. People who want to insist that Jesus is their Saviour, yet they will not acknowledge Him as the Lord of their lives. "Stiff necked!" The term is so very appropriate!

"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." (v. 10)

What an extremely strong response from the Lord! Yet as we really grasp the issues which are involved here, we will have to admit that the Lord was fully justified in every word of this response. The Israelites deserved to come under such strong condemnation. They had so willfully brought on themselves this ominous threat. They deserved to be subjected to the full impact of the wrath of God in judgement on their sin. Only those who, for self-centered reasons, want to minimize the exceeding sinfulness of sin would dispute these facts.

This kind of reaction so clearly reveals the cause of a large part of our problem today. It has become so fashionable to excuse sin ... to condone it ... or to ignore it as though sin is no longer an issue. If that is the way we have come to think about sin, we need to wake up to this reality: This is certainly not the way God looks at sin. He still condemns sin.

"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?" (v. 11)

Remember, the Lord was communicating with His servant in "the most Holy Place ... the place of prayer!" It was in the place of prayer that Moses accepted the challenge of responding to this most awesome Word of God. We need to be aware that it is at this point we see so clearly illustrated those vital spiritual principles of prayer which relate to intercession ... those principles which make true intercession such an effective, powerful, and vital spiritual force.

In his prayerful, careful response, Moses focuses on the Lord ... on the Word of the Lord ... the will of the Lord ... the activity of the Lord His central focus is the Lord! That is always the case with true intercession. " LORD, why dost Thou?" - "Thy!" - "Thou!"

Moses did not miss the significance of the challenge of the Word of the Lord to him. "My people!" "I brought out!" Lord, all I am in all this is ... Your servant! You have used me as Your instrument to accomplish Your plan! You, Lord, You alone, are the source of the sovereign power and effectiveness! Lord, you revealed these people as Your people. You revealed the amazing wonder and glory of Your plan and purpose for Your people!

Central to all true intercession is this focus on the Lord! All He is ... His Word ... His work ... His plan ... His power ... His involvement ... His commitment! All is of Him ... on the foundation of this effective focus, in his intercession Moses moves on to:

Lord, You brought Your people out of Egypt. You did so as the expression of Your perfect will, in the fulfillment of your Word of covenant -- the covenant which You Yourself established with Abraham. So, Lord, as I come to you in intercession for the people of Israel, I claim Your Word ... Your will ... the fulfillment of Your covenant plan and promise. Yes, these people have once more demonstrated how utterly unworthy they are -- completely undeserving of any consideration. If it was a matter of what they deserved, You, Lord, would carry out Your Word of condemnation and judgement.

Moses did not plead on the basis of what the Israelites deserved, nor any merit they could attempt to claim. Moses knew that true intercession was, and still is, based on this central fact: the grace and power of God accomplishing the plan and purpose of God.

God has established a covenant. This covenant is the decisive expression of His will. He reveals it in His Word. It involves the fulfillment of His perfect plan and purpose. This covenant has been written in, and sealed by, the precious blood of the Lamb of God.

In true intercession, we are required to stand on this fact and make our plea according to this fact. Those for whom we are called to intercede are, in and of themselves, completely unworthy of the intervention of God. This is not the issue. The only thing we are to consider is the will and the Word of God. The precious blood of the Lamb of God by which the covenant of God has been sealed. It is in this we discover that God has made possible the prayerful approach of the faithful intercessor.

This is the only way to approach God. This way stands open to us. The Lord inspired His people to come and plead at the throne of mercy by this "new and living way"!

"Wherefore 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?" (v. 12)

It is of the utmost importance that we recognize the one issue which was of the greatest importance to Moses as he interceded. It was not to plead for mercy for the people of Israel! His greatest concern was the glory of the name of the Lord! He knew how the Egyptians would respond if the Lord did in fact carry out the threatened judgement on the people of Israel. They would ridicule the name of the Lord ... claiming that He only brought the people out of Egypt to destroy them.

Perverted sinful nature is always ready to grasp any opportunity to accuse God of unfairness and injustice. God's name had already been greatly dishonored by the willful sin of the Israelites. Nathan emphasized that this is always the effect of sin in the lives of those who are the people of God: "Because by this deed thou hast given great occasion to the enemies of the LORD to blaspheme." (2 Samuel 12: 14)

The first consideration of Moses, his highest priority, as he interceded was the glory of the name of the Lord. This is always the emphasis of the faithful intercessor. Every other consideration is secondary to exalting the name of the Lord.

This was a most tragic incident, yet it had a crucial part to play in the lessons Moses was still learning in the school of prayer. The Lord Himself had already taken into account all of the issues which Moses raised. He wanted Moses to see things as He Himself saw them. The evidence that Moses was learning these lessons is evident from way in which he prayed.

Remember, God had said to Moses, "I will make of thee a great nation" ... in the place of Israel! Yet in his intercession, Moses revealed his total loyalty to the work which the Lord had called him -- the task of leading Israel to the promised land. His intercession reflects quite clearly the heart of God! Yes, God could judge! Israel did deserve that! Yet how much more would His glory be revealed in His response of grace and mercy!

Every Christian needs to learn these vital lessons today. True intercession is motivated by the desire to glorify the Lord, even as it reveals genuine faithfulness to the mission of bringing God's grace and mercy to those who need it most!

"Remember 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 forever." (v.13)

Moses prayed, "Lord, You have committed Yourself in Your Word to Abraham, Isaac, and Israel. You have pledged Yourself, Your honor in Your promises." To carry out this threatened judgement would make His promise null and void!

This aspect of the prayer of Moses demonstrates one of the most effective parts of the prayer of intercession: plead with God -- His Word of promise! Humbly, yet boldly, remind the Lord of His commitment!

Some seem to feel that Christians should not do this. Yet God does honor those who honor Him by pleading His Word of promise in prayer! This is one of the most fundamental reasons for all such promises. We are to claim them in faith in the place of prayer. Remember -- God is faithful! It always pleases Him when His people honor Him by demonstrating this confidence in His faithfulness to His Word!

Because he knew the Word of God, Moses was convinced that he was pleading according to the will of God. The result was guaranteed! "And the LORD repented of the evil which He thought to do unto His people." (v. 14)

Moses accepted the responsibility of pleading the Word of God in his intercession. As intercessor, he stood in the gap between God and His sinful people! God honored his faithful intercession. But, what if Moses had failed in his responsibility as intercessor? What if we fail to stand in the gap, fail to intercede for others in their time of urgent need?

God has made our intercession essential! He has! John reminds us of the absolute assurance which the Lord gives to us when, in faithful intercession, we plead His will by claiming His Word for others. "And this is the confidence that we have in Him, that, if we ask any thing according to His will, He heareth us!: And if we know that He hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of Him." (1 John 5:14, 15)

"And it came to pass on the morrow, that Moses said unto the people, Ye have sinned a great sin: and now I will go up unto the LORD; peradventure I shall make an atonement for your sin." (v. 30)

His words exposed the true condition of the people. "Ye have sinned a great sin!" This statement was absolutely essential for two reasons. The people had to know and to accept that they were guilty of great and inexcusable sin. They must be made to face the stark reality of the depravity of the sin. Unless they were convinced of the exceeding sinfulness of their sin, to respond in appropriate repentance and confession, it would be useless to pray for them!

Also, Moses clearly emphasized that he was in complete agreement with God in His estimate of this situation. God had called it "great sin!" Moses called it "great sin!" To fail at that point would be to render all prayer useless and ineffective.

We must understand that any attempt to minimize any sin, strips prayer of its power and effectiveness. We must always fully agree with God's estimate of sin!

"I will go up unto the LORD!" Moses purposed to meet with the Lord in the place of prayer, seeking God's direction as to how "I shall make atonement for you!" To seek to enter the presence of the Lord left Moses with no choice. He must seek to find a way to atone for the sin. To fail to do so would be to discover that the sin shut him out of the presence of the Lord.

"If I regard iniquity in my heart, the LORD will not hear me." (Psalm 66:18) Yet so many today foolishly ignore this truth. Sin is not taken seriously by man. Yet it is always taken seriously by God! "Behold, the Lord's hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; neither His ear heavy, that it cannot hear: But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid His face from you, that He will not hear." (Isaiah 59:1, 2)

Moses knew that this fact never varied. He went to the place of prayer with the compelling conviction: their sin must be confessed. Atonement must be made, or God would not hear his prayer for the people. We must honor these vital Biblical principles today. Our failure to do so will exact a price which none will ever be able to afford.

"And Moses returned unto the LORD, and said, Oh, this people have sinned a great sin, and have made them gods of gold." (v. 31) He repeated the charge which God Himself had made against the people the previous day. He did so in the humble, broken confession which completely agreed with God.

Confession can be correctly defined as: saying the same word in agreement. This is exactly what Moses did. He did so because he knew that God required it. Anything less would have been rejected as completely unacceptable. God still looks for this attitude in the heart and mind of the one who would come to Him in intercession. Complete willing agreement with Him and His Word, including humble, honest confession of sin.

The intercession of Moses emphasized a very narrow focus at this point. At this stage, only one thing mattered. He urgently pleaded for the forgiveness of the people. If his intercession for their forgiveness failed, all else was utterly lost. He knew it! There was no other way out of their terrible self-inflicted dilemma. There was no hope. They would have no future.

This reality emphasizes the crucial need to take seriously these two things: the exceeding sinfulness of sin, and the urgent need to seek and receive forgiveness. Wherever there is any unconfessed and unforgiven sin in the life, there is inevitable self-inflicted tragedy. There is no hope. No future!

Moses had weighed these issues most carefully. The urgency of his prayer demonstrates his understanding of the true spiritual reality. He pleads: "Forgive!"

This is a most astonishing statement, revealing the great depth of genuine identification in intercession. Moses could have acted like the majority of Christians do today. He could have taken the more comfortable path. After all, it was the people who had sinned in worshipping the golden calf. Moses had had no part in that. If they had to pay a very high price for their foolishness, why should he have to be party to it?

True spiritual intercession sees things so very differently. Moses chose the path of complete identification. His intercession involved his personal commitment of all he was. If the Israelites were not to be forgiven, then let me share with them in their rejection! So many would claim that this is far too high a price to pay! Moses did not see it that way!

This was the price which the Lord Jesus actually did pay so that we could be forgiven. His intercession included His total identification with all those for whom He interceded. How else can we explain, "My God, My God, Why hast Thou forsaken Me?" (Matthew 27: 46)

If we would enter fully into the experience of being transformed into His likeness, we must also learn to daily walk this same path ... this highway of intercession which willingly agrees to pay the price of true identification with those for whom we pray.

First, He honored the genuine, sacrificial identification expressed by Moses in his prayer of intercession. Moses honored the Lord in that, and He in turn honored His servant. This is not correction! This is strong commendation!

Also, the eternal principle -- "Whosoever hath sinned, him will I blot out of My book!" The issue is sin. The Lord saw no such sin in the heart nor in the attitude of His servant, but where He did identify sin, He insisted that the consequences of the sin were inevitable. God always takes sin -- all sin -- seriously!

"Therefore now go, lead the people unto the place of which I have spoken unto thee: behold, Mine Angel shall go before thee: nevertheless in the day when I visit I will visit their sin upon them!" (v.34)

The prayer of Moses had prevailed! Possibly not in the way Moses expected, yet the evidence that his intercession was effective is quite clear. "That I may consume them: and I will make of thee a great nation," -- had become: "Go, lead the people. My Angel shall go before thee!"

God did this ... in answer to the prevailing prayer of His faithful servant! Moses had because he asked! Yet God did not overlook nor excuse the sin. Rather, judgement was still determined! "When I will visit them I will visit their sin upon them."

Intercession won this expression of the gracious patience of God ... giving opportunity to repent! Prayer prevailed ... gloriously honoring God.

This was an act of severe chastisement ... the application of reproof and correction to make the people realize the exceeding sinfulness of their sin. This was a warning given in grace, reminding them that they had no reason to imagine that they had been able to get away with their sin.

This chastising reveals both the grace of God to His sinning people, as well as the inevitable severity of God's judgement on all sin! These reveal eternal spiritual principles which we need to honor today, learning from these events and God's demonstration of all He holds as being vital.

“God never does anything, expect in answer to prayer." Moses prayed that most intense, sacrificial prayer of genuine intercession. God used his prayer to make the difference. It was the difference between immediate and total judgement and postponed judgment, as grace gave the people time to repent and return to loyalty to the Lord.

Grace is 'used' intercession ... pursuing the promise ... making possible forgiveness ... extending hope. Why? Because one person prayed!

How many today have no experience of such grace and forgiveness because no one cares enough to intercede for them in urgent sacrificial prayer? Will we stand in the gap as true intercessors?