FRIDAY
Towards the end of the chapter, we run into another very interesting theme—atonement.
Exodus 32:30-34 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.”
Moses tells the people that he is going to petition God and attempt to “make atonement” for the sins of the people. The term atonement means “to cover.” The people have sinned, violating the terms of the covenant they have made with God. The three thousand have been punished but the rest who participated have not been. Something must be done if God is to be just. Something must cover that sin.
Moses asks God to forgive the people, but if not, to also blot him out of his story. It’s difficult to ascertain what Moses intends with this comment. He could be attempting to “twist God’s arm” into forgiving the people. God has already told Moses that he would start over with him, so Moses knows God doesn’t hold blame against him for this act. So he may be attempting to leverage that and essentially tell God, “If you destroys them, you will have to destroy me too.” He would have to destroy the righteous with the unrighteous.
Alternatively, Moses could be offering himself, the mediator, as a substitutionary atonement for the people. It may be similar to what Paul writes in Romans 9:3.
Romans 9:3 (NIV) 3 For I could wish that I myself were cursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my people, those of my own race,
In this way he would be a biblical type, again pointing ahead to Christ and setting the tone for the theology of one man dying to atone for the sins of God’s people. God’s refusal of Moses’ offer reveals that he is not the atoning sacrifice who will cover the sins of God’s people. He is about 1,500 years too early and not the sinless Son of God. So, his sacrifice would not be sufficient to cover the sins of all God’s people. But this may be among the early developments of this theme.
A decision is difficult, as the text doesn’t say. Although I would like to see some more context clues, I think the latter, a crude continuation of the atonement theme, is the better option. It’s likely Moses doesn’t know that he is moving this biblical theme forward as a type pointing ahead to Christ. Yet, in the progressive revelation of Scripture, I think that’s what is happening here.
This theme of atonement will be worked out in much more detail in the sacrificial system, culminating in the death of Jesus on the cross. We all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God (Rom. 3:23). The wages of that sin is death (Rom. 6:23). To not die, atonement must be made for our sins. Jesus is the atoning sacrifice that covers our sins. On the cross, Jesus satisfies the just requirements of punishment that our sins deserve. He has died in our place, substituting himself on our behalf. Without his blood atoning for our sin (applied to each of us by faith), we are still facing the just wrath of God. All sin will be justly punished. Is yours atoned for by the blood of Jesus, or are you going to pay the penalty yourself?
Reflection
Thank Jesus for his atoning sacrifice on the cross. Thank him for covering your sin with his blood so that you can live eternally with God. Thank him for his love and his mercy in atoning for your sin.