By the Word of the LORD the heavens were made: all the host of them by the breath of His mouth. Â Psalm 33:6
Exodus 32-33
Exodus 32
The Golden Calf
1 When the people saw that Moses delayed in coming down from the mountain, they gathered together to Aaron and said to him, âCome, make us gods which shall go before us, for this Moses, the man who brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.â
2Â Aaron said to them, âTake off the golden rings that are on the ears of your wives, your sons and your daughters, and bring them to me.â
3Â All the people took off the golden rings which were on their ears and brought them to Aaron. 4Â He received what they handed him, fashioned it with an engraving tool, and made it into a molten calf. Then they said, âThese are your gods, Israel, which brought you up out of the land of Egypt.â
5Â When Aaron saw this, he built an altar before it, and Aaron made a proclamation and said, âTomorrow shall be a feast to the LORD.â
6Â They rose early the next day and offered burnt offerings and brought peace offerings, and the people sat down to eat and to drink and rose up to play.
7Â The LORD spoke to Moses, âGo, get down there, for your people, who you brought up out of the land of Egypt have corrupted themselves! 8Â They have turned away quickly from the way which I commanded them. They have made for themselves a molten calf and have worshiped it and have sacrificed to it and said, âThese are your gods, Israel, which brought you up out of the land of Egypt.â â
Moses Intercedes for the Israelites
9Â The LORD said to Moses, âI have seen these people and they are a stiff-necked people. 10Â Now therefore leave me alone, that my wrath may burn hot against them and that I may destroy them, and I will make of you a great nation.â
11Â Moses begged the LORD his God and said, âO LORD, why does your wrath burn hot against your people that you have brought out of the land of Egypt with great power and with a mighty hand?
12Â Why should the Egyptians talk, saying, âHe brought them out with malicious intent, to kill them in the mountains and to destroy them from the face of the earth?â Turn from your fierce wrath and turn away from this destruction of your people.
13Â Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, your servants, to whom you swore by your own self and said to them, âI will multiply your offspring like the stars of the sky and all this land that I have spoken of I will give to your offspring, and they shall inherit it forever.â â
14Â So the LORD turned away from the destruction which he said he would do to his people.
Moses Descends with the Tablets
15 Moses turned and went down from the mountain, with the two tablets of the covenant in his hand, tablets that were written on both sides, front and back. 16 The tablets were the work of God, and the writing was the writing of God, engraved on the tablets.
17Â When Joshua heard the noise of the people as they shouted, he said to Moses, âThere is the sound of war in the camp.â
18Â He said, âIt is not the sound of those who shout for victory.
It is not the sound of those who cry from being overcome,
but it is the sound of singing that I hear.â
19Â As soon as he came near to the camp, he saw the calf and the dancing. Then Mosesâ anger grew hot, and he threw the tablets out of his hands and broke them at the foot of the mountain. 20Â He took the calf which they had made and burned it with fire, ground it to powder, and scattered it on the water and made the Israelites drink it.
21Â Moses said to Aaron, âWhat did these people do to you, that you have brought a great sin on them?â
22Â Aaron said, âDonât let the anger of my lord grow hot. You know the people, that they are prone to evil. 23Â For they said to me, âMake us gods, which shall go before us. As for this Moses, the man who brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we donât know what has become of him.â
24Â I said to them, âWhoever has any gold, let them take it off.â So they gave it to me, and I threw it into the fire and out came this calf.â
25Â When Moses saw that the people were out of control (for Aaron had let them get out of control, to their shame before their adversaries), 26Â then Moses stood in the gate of the camp and said, âWhoever is on the LORDâs side, come to me!â All the Levites gathered together to him.
27Â He said to them, âThe LORD, the God of Israel, says, âEach of you, put your sword on your thigh and go back and forth from gate to gate throughout the camp, and each of you kill your brother, your companion, and your neighbor.â â
28Â The Levites did according to the word of Moses, and among the people, about 3,000 men fell that day.
29Â Moses said, âToday you have consecrated yourselves to the LORD, for each of you turned on his son and on his brother so that the LORD may bestow a blessing upon you today.â
Moses Intercedes for Israel
30Â The next day, Moses said to the people, âYou have committed a great sin. Now I will go up to the LORD. Perhaps I shall make atonement for your sin.â
31Â Moses returned to the LORD and said, âOh, these people have committed a great sin and have made themselves gods of gold. 32Â Yet now, if you will, forgive their sinâand if not, please blot me out of your book which you have written.â
33Â The LORD said to Moses, âWhoever has sinned against me, I will blot him out of my book. 34Â Now go, lead the people to the place of which I have spoken to you. My angel shall go before you. Nevertheless, on the day when I punish, I will punish them for their sin.â
35Â The LORD struck the people because of what they did with the calf which Aaron made.
Exodus 33
The Command to Leave Sinai
1Â The LORD spoke to Moses, âDepart, go up from here, you and the people that you have brought up out of the land of Egypt, to the land of which I swore to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, saying, âI will give it to your offspring.â
2Â I will send an angel before you, and I will drive out the Canaanite, the Amorite, and the Hittite, and the Perizzite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite.
3Â Go to a land flowing with milk and honey, but I will not go up among you, for you are a stiff-necked people, lest I destroy you on the way.â
4Â When the people heard this bad news, they mourned, and no one put on his jewelry.
5Â The LORD had said to Moses, âTell the Israelites, âYou are a stiff-necked people. If I were to go up among you for one moment, I would destroy you. Therefore now take off your jewelry, that I may know what to do to you.â â
6Â The Israelites stripped themselves of their jewelry from Mount Horeb onward.
The Tent of Meeting
7Â Now Moses used to take the tent and pitch it outside the camp, far away from the camp, and he called it âThe Tent of Meetingâ. Everyone who sought the LORD went out to the Tent of Meeting, which was outside the camp.
8Â When Moses went out to the Tent, all the people rose up and stood, everyone at their tent door and watched Moses until he had gone into the Tent.
9Â When Moses entered into the Tent, the pillar of cloud descended, stood at the door of the Tent, and the LORD spoke with Moses. 10Â All the people saw the pillar of cloud stand at the door of the Tent, and all the people rose up and worshiped, everyone at their tent door.
11Â The LORD spoke to Moses face to face, as a man speaks to his friend. He returned back to the camp, but his servant Joshua, the son of Nun, a young man, did not depart from the Tent.
The Glory of the LORD
12Â Moses said to the LORD, âLook, you have told me, âBring this people up,â and you have not let me know whom you will send with me. Yet you have said, âI know you by name, and you have also found favor in my sight.â
13Â Now therefore, if I have found favor in your sight, please show me your ways, that I may know you, so that I may find favor in your sight, and remember that this nation is your people.â
14Â He said, âMy presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.â
15Â Moses said to him, âIf your presence does not go with me, do not lead us up from here. 16Â For how would the people know that your people and I have found favor in your sight? Is it not by you going with us that we are distinguished as a separate people from all the people on the face of the earth?â
17Â The LORD said to Moses, âI will do this thing also that you have spoken, for you have found favor in my sight, and I know you by name.â
18Â Moses said, âPlease show me your glory.â
19Â He said, âI will make all my goodness pass before you and will proclaim the name of the LORD before you. I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious and will show mercy on whom I will show mercy.â 20Â He said, âYou cannot see my face, for man may not see me and live.â
21Â The LORD also said, âThere is a place near me, and you shall stand upon a rock. 22Â It will happen, while my glory passes by, that I will put you in a cleft of the rock, and will cover you with my hand until I have passed by. 23Â Then I will take away my hand, and you will see my back, but my face shall not be seen.â
Matthew 27:1-14
Jesus Delivered to Pilate
1Â Now when morning had come, all the chief priests and the elders of the people schemed together against Jesus to put him to death, 2Â and they bound him and led him away and delivered him up to Pontius Pilate, the governor.
Judas Hangs Himself
3Â Then when Judas, who betrayed him, saw that Jesus was condemned, he felt remorse and brought back the 30 pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders, 4Â saying, âI have sinned in that I betrayed innocent blood.â
But they said, âWhat is that to us? See to it yourself.â
5Â He threw down the pieces of silver in the sanctuary and departed. He went away and hanged himself.
6 The chief priests took the pieces of silver and said, âItâs not lawful to put them into the treasury since it is blood money.â 7 They consulted together and bought the potterâs field with it, a burial site for foreigners. 8 Therefore that field was called âThe Field of Bloodâ to this day. 9 Then that which was spoken through the prophet Jeremiah was fulfilled, saying,
âThey took the 30 pieces of silver,
the value of him whose price
had been set by the Israelites,
10Â and they gave it for the potterâs field,
as the Lord commanded me.â a
Jesus Before Pilate
11Â Now Jesus stood before the governor, and the governor asked him, âAre you the King of the Jews?â
Jesus said to him, âSo you say.â
12Â When he was accused by the chief priests and elders, he answered nothing. 13Â Then Pilate said to him, âDonât you hear all the things they are testifying against you?â
14Â He gave him no answer, not even one word, so that the governor marveled greatly.
Psalm 33:1-11
Praise to the Almighty Creator
1Â Rejoice in the LORD, you righteous!
Praise is fitting for the upright.
2Â Praise the LORD with the harp.
Sing to him with the ten stringed lyre.
3Â Sing to him a new song.
Play skillfully with a shout of joy!
4Â For the Word of the LORD is right.
All his work is done in truth.
5Â He loves righteousness and justice.
The covenant loyalty of the LORD fills the earth.
6Â By the Word of the LORD the heavens were made:
all the host of them by the breath of his mouth.
7Â He gathers the waters of the sea together like a heap.
He lays up the depths in storehouses.
8Â Let all the earth fear the LORD.
Let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him.
9Â For he spoke, and it was done.
He commanded, and it stood fast.
10Â The LORD brings the counsel of the heathen to nothing.
He makes ineffective, the schemes of the people.
11Â The counsel of the LORD stands fast forever,
the thoughts of his heart to all generations.
Proverbs 8:33-36
Wisdom
33Â Hear instruction, and be wise.
Do not refuse it.
34Â Blessed is the man who hears me,
watching daily at my gates,
waiting at the posts of my doors.
35Â For whoever finds me, finds life,
and will obtain favor from the LORD.
36Â But he who sins against me wrongs his own soul.
All those who hate me love death.â