Exodus 30-32    Listen

The altar of incense (Exodus 30:1-10)

1 “You shall make an altar to burn incense on; you shall make it of acacia wood.
2 A cubit shall be its length and a cubit its width—it shall be square—and two cubits shall be its height. Its horns shall be of one piece with it.
3 And you shall overlay its top, its sides all around, and its horns with pure gold; and you shall make for it a molding of gold all around.
4 Two gold rings you shall make for it, under the molding on both its sides. You shall place them on its two sides, and they will be holders for the poles with which to bear it.
5 You shall make the poles of acacia wood, and overlay them with gold.
6 And you shall put it before the veil that is before the ark of the Testimony, before the mercy seat that is over the Testimony, where I will meet with you.
7 ¶ “Aaron shall burn on it sweet incense every morning; when he tends the lamps, he shall burn incense on it.
8 And when Aaron lights the lamps at twilight, he shall burn incense on it, a perpetual incense before the LORD throughout your generations.
9 You shall not offer strange incense on it, or a burnt offering, or a grain offering; nor shall you pour a drink offering on it.
10 And Aaron shall make atonement upon its horns once a year with the blood of the sin offering of atonement; once a year he shall make atonement upon it throughout your generations. It is most holy to the LORD.”

Notice that this altar of incense was about 18 inches square (1 cubit) on the top. It had one purpose, to burn incense unto the Lord. It was placed immediately outside the curtain that separated the Holy Place from the Most Holy Place. A special blend of incense (Exodus 30:34-38, see below) was burned on it in the morning and evening. The Levites carried it with poles through the rings just like the Ark of the Covenant and Brazen Altar. The location directly in front of the curtain that led to the Holy of Holies was strategic. Smoke from this altar found its way into the Holy of Holies. One special activity each year on the Day of Atonement involved using coals from this Altar of Incense (Leviticus 16, see notes) for the purpose of filling a censer for use directly inside the vail. It apparently was to create smoke that would prevent a clear visual image on the part of the High Priest of the Ark of the Covenant.

The cost of being an adult Hebrew male (Exodus 30:11-16)

11 ¶ Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying:
12 “When you take the census of the children of Israel for their number, then every man shall give a ransom for himself to the LORD, when you number them, that there may be no plague among them when you number them.
13 This is what everyone among those who are numbered shall give: half a shekel according to the shekel of the sanctuary (a shekel is twenty gerahs). The half-shekel shall be an offering to the LORD.
14 Everyone included among those who are numbered, from twenty years old and above, shall give an offering to the LORD.
15 The rich shall not give more and the poor shall not give less than half a shekel, when you give an offering to the LORD, to make atonement for yourselves.
16 And you shall take the atonement money of the children of Israel, and shall appoint it for the service of the tabernacle of meeting, that it may be a memorial for the children of Israel before the LORD, to make atonement for yourselves.”

We saw God's insistence in the building of this tabernacle that all donations be voluntary but not here. This appears to be a flat tax on all adult males to support the service of the Tabernacle along with a count - a census. All the adult men (20 years old and older) would be responsible for this "donation." Rich or poor - everybody paid the same amount for the continuing service of the tabernacle. This tax amounted to about 1/5th of an ounce of silver. That was then used in Exodus 38:25-28 (see notes) to make the sockets, hooks, and rods. Incidentally, 1/5th of an ounce of silver would have been little more than lunch money for even the poor. However, with this contribution from all the adult men, everyone had a financial stake in the building of the tabernacle. We also see this tax collected in Nehemiah 10:32 (see notes) when the exiles returned to their land. Moreover, this temple/tabernacle tax becomes an issue during the ministry of Jesus in Matthew 17:24-27 (see notes). This temple tax/census as specified here would have exempted the Levites, since they were never part of the count of 20+ year-old males. As a matter of fact, this tax was collected in order to support the work of the Levites.

The laver - a very nice place to wash up (Exodus 30:17-21)

17 ¶ Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying:
18 “You shall also make a laver of bronze, with its base also of bronze, for washing. You shall put it between the tabernacle of meeting and the altar. And you shall put water in it,
19 for Aaron and his sons shall wash their hands and their feet in water from it.
20 When they go into the tabernacle of meeting, or when they come near the altar to minister, to burn an offering made by fire to the LORD, they shall wash with water, lest they die.
21 So they shall wash their hands and their feet, lest they die. And it shall be a statute forever to them—to him and his descendants throughout their generations.”

This laver doesn't seem to be very large, although we don't have any dimensions for it. It was made of brass - actually the brass taken from the mirrors of the women. Polished brass was the primary means of seeing one's reflection back then. This laver was placed just outside the tent door. The priests had to wash up (hands and feet) before entering "lest they die" (verse 21). Whoa! Maybe "cleanliness really is next to godliness" (an old-timer extra-scriptural saying). And just as we pointed out in Exodus 28 (see notes), their feet were uncovered (no shoes) after they washed them at the laver.

The anointing of the facilities and priests (Exodus 30:22-38)

22 ¶ Moreover the LORD spoke to Moses, saying:
23 “Also take for yourself quality spices—five hundred shekels of liquid myrrh, half as much sweet-smelling cinnamon (two hundred and fifty shekels), two hundred and fifty shekels of sweet-smelling cane,
24 five hundred shekels of cassia, according to the shekel of the sanctuary, and a hin of olive oil.
25 And you shall make from these a holy anointing oil, an ointment compounded according to the art of the perfumer. It shall be a holy anointing oil.
26 With it you shall anoint the tabernacle of meeting and the ark of the Testimony;
27 the table and all its utensils, the lampstand and its utensils, and the altar of incense;
28 the altar of burnt offering with all its utensils, and the laver and its base.
29 You shall consecrate them, that they may be most holy; whatever touches them must be holy.
30 And you shall anoint Aaron and his sons, and consecrate them, that they may minister to Me as priests.
31 ¶ “And you shall speak to the children of Israel, saying: ‘This shall be a holy anointing oil to Me throughout your generations.
32 It shall not be poured on man’s flesh; nor shall you make any other like it, according to its composition. It is holy, and it shall be holy to you.
33 Whoever compounds any like it, or whoever puts any of it on an outsider, shall be cut off from his people.’ ”
34 ¶ And the LORD said to Moses: “Take sweet spices, stacte and onycha and galbanum, and pure frankincense with these sweet spices; there shall be equal amounts of each.
35 You shall make of these an incense, a compound according to the art of the perfumer, salted, pure, and holy.
36 And you shall beat some of it very fine, and put some of it before the Testimony in the tabernacle of meeting where I will meet with you. It shall be most holy to you.
37 But as for the incense which you shall make, you shall not make any for yourselves, according to its composition. It shall be to you holy for the LORD.
38 Whoever makes any like it, to smell it, he shall be cut off from his people.”

God gives a specific recipe for making the anointing substance for this tabernacle in the wilderness and then some special tabernacle perfume - all to be applied to the tabernacle furnishings. So, do you like the new-tabernacle smell? I wouldn't advise making up your own brew of these two substances at home for personal use (verses 33 and 38). Look at Exodus 30:38, "Whoever makes any like it, to smell it, he shall be cut off from his people." This phrase, "cut off from" is used frequently in the Torah (first five books of Old Testament) for various offenses. No one can say for certain whether that means excommunicated from Israel or put to death. Sometimes the context seems to give a hint. In this passage, there's no way to be certain. Either way, don't try to duplicate that tabernacle smell at home. You will notice that Aaron and his sons were also anointed with this same oil in verse 30. David makes reference to this in Psalms 133:2 (see notes), "It is like the precious oil upon the head, Running down on the beard, The beard of Aaron, Running down on the edge of his garments."

The contract is awarded (Exodus 31:1-11)

1 Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying:
2 “See, I have called by name Bezalel the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah.
3 And I have filled him with the Spirit of God, in wisdom, in understanding, in knowledge, and in all manner of workmanship,
4 to design artistic works, to work in gold, in silver, in bronze,
5 in cutting jewels for setting, in carving wood, and to work in all manner of workmanship.
6 ¶ “And I, indeed I, have appointed with him Aholiab the son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan; and I have put wisdom in the hearts of all the gifted artisans, that they may make all that I have commanded you:
7 the tabernacle of meeting, the ark of the Testimony and the mercy seat that is on it, and all the furniture of the tabernacle—
8 the table and its utensils, the pure gold lampstand with all its utensils, the altar of incense,
9 the altar of burnt offering with all its utensils, and the laver and its base—
10 the garments of ministry, the holy garments for Aaron the priest and the garments of his sons, to minister as priests,
11 and the anointing oil and sweet incense for the holy place. According to all that I have commanded you they shall do.”

Hur's grandson, Bezaleel, is awarded the building contract. You will recall that Hur was placed in charge (along with Aaron) back in Exodus 24:12-18 (see notes) when Moses ascended the mountain. Hur was married to Moses' sister, Miriam. Hur must be very proud of his grandson, Bezaleel, who heads up this sacred project.

Sabbath keeping (Exodus 31:12-18)

12 ¶ And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying,
13 “Speak also to the children of Israel, saying: ‘Surely My Sabbaths you shall keep, for it is a sign between Me and you throughout your generations, that you may know that I am the LORD who sanctifies you.
14 You shall keep the Sabbath, therefore, for it is holy to you. Everyone who profanes it shall surely be put to death; for whoever does any work on it, that person shall be cut off from among his people.
15 Work shall be done for six days, but the seventh is the Sabbath of rest, holy to the LORD. Whoever does any work on the Sabbath day, he shall surely be put to death.
16 Therefore the children of Israel shall keep the Sabbath, to observe the Sabbath throughout their generations as a perpetual covenant.
17 It is a sign between Me and the children of Israel forever; for in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, and on the seventh day He rested and was refreshed.’ ”
18 ¶ And when He had made an end of speaking with him on Mount Sinai, He gave Moses two tablets of the Testimony, tablets of stone, written with the finger of God.

Here we go on this Sabbath-keeping issue again. Don't you get the impression that this was a very important component of keeping the Law of Moses. In verse 13 God says of Sabbath keeping, "...it is a sign between Me and you throughout your generations..." And then here's the "cut off from" phrase again in verse 14 for the violators. Interestingly enough, we do see that "cut off from" with regard to keeping the Sabbath did mean death in Number 15:35 (see notes). For those people who are convinced that New Testament Believers are required to keep the law, they really need to consider these verses and then decide what they intend to do about the Sabbath. But then there's verse 17, "It is a sign between Me and the children of Israel forever." We don't keep the Sabbath because we are not the "children of Israel." Maybe you see it now; the whole Law of Moses was given as a covenant between God and Israel. As Believers, our covenant is based upon the blood sacrifice of Jesus on the cross. The Law of Moses belonged to the Hebrews; the cross belongs to Believers.

What's the deal with the calf anyway? (Exodus 32:1-6)

1 Now when the people saw that Moses delayed coming down from the mountain, the people gathered together to Aaron, and said to him, “Come, make us gods that shall go before us; for as for this Moses, the man who brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.”
2 ¶ And Aaron said to them, “Break off the golden earrings which are in the ears of your wives, your sons, and your daughters, and bring them to me.”
3 So all the people broke off the golden earrings which were in their ears, and brought them to Aaron.
4 And he received the gold from their hand, and he fashioned it with an engraving tool, and made a molded calf. ¶ Then they said, “This is your god, O Israel, that brought you out of the land of Egypt!”
5 ¶ So when Aaron saw it, he built an altar before it. And Aaron made a proclamation and said, “Tomorrow is a feast to the LORD.”
6 Then they rose early on the next day, offered burnt offerings, and brought peace offerings; and the people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to play.

Moses headed up to the top of the mountain way back in Exodus 24:15 (see notes). Hey! This kind of revelation doesn't come overnight! Moses has been gone for nearly seven weeks (40 days altogether, Exodus 24:18). The Hebrews become very restless. Somebody do something!

Secular historical sources tell us that the bull was an important symbol in ancient Egyptian life. The sun was revered as the “valiant bull” and the reigning Pharaoh as “Bull of Bulls.” But far more important in this connection is the fact that “calf” worship was almost universal among all the ancient Semitic peoples. So, when the Hebrews panicked, where did they turn? Aaron, of course - he and Hur had been left in charge. Aaron, Israel's future High Priest, is the answer man. When the people ask for a god, Aaron rolls into action. Hur seems to have stayed out of it. Aaron comes up with a golden calf. In retrospect, it seems like a goofy move on his part. Keep in mind, however, Aaron has had very little in the way of "priesting" instruction. Their cows seem to be, to some extent, sacred. When they were very hungry, they still didn't eat them, and he knew that, from time to time, God did command them to sacrifice some of their cattle on an altar. They only ate them when God told them to do so. I guess, given his background and experience, it just made sense to Aaron to make a golden calf.

Look at Aaron's comment upon completion of his masterpiece in Exodus 32:5, "Tomorrow is a feast to the LORD." He even uses the word "Jehovah" here in verse 5, but notice what he had said in verse 4, "This is your god, O Israel, that brought you out of the land of Egypt!" Just to be clear, his statement in verse 4 regarding "your god" simply isn't compatible with his reference to "Jehovah" in verse 5. Aaron, at this point, was undoubtedly a very confused leader. It's interesting that, after Solomon's kingdom split, Jeroboam (king of the Northern Kingdom) quotes these words of Aaron in verse 4 to justify his two-calf worship in I Kings 12:28 (see notes) when he says, "...Here are your gods, O Israel, which brought you up from the land of Egypt!"

God tips Moses off (Exodus 32:7-14)

7 ¶ And the LORD said to Moses, “Go, get down! For your people whom you brought out of the land of Egypt have corrupted themselves.
8 They have turned aside quickly out of the way which I commanded them. They have made themselves a molded calf, and worshiped it and sacrificed to it, and said, “This is your god, O Israel, that brought you out of the land of Egypt!’ ”
9 And the LORD said to Moses, “I have seen this people, and indeed it is a stiff-necked people!
10 Now therefore, let Me alone, that My wrath may burn hot against them and I may consume them. And I will make of you a great nation.”
11 ¶ Then Moses pleaded with the LORD his God, and said: “LORD, why does Your wrath burn hot against Your people whom You have brought out of the land of Egypt with great power and with a mighty hand?
12 Why should the Egyptians speak, and say, “He brought them out to harm them, to kill them in the mountains, and to consume them from the face of the earth’? Turn from Your fierce wrath, and relent from this harm to Your people.
13 Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, Your servants, to whom You swore by Your own self, and said to them, “I will multiply your descendants as the stars of heaven; and all this land that I have spoken of I give to your descendants, and they shall inherit it forever.’ ”
14 So the LORD relented from the harm which He said He would do to His people.

While on the mountain, God tells Moses what's going on down below with the people and the calf. God even quotes Aaron's words in verse 8, "This is your god, O Israel, that brought you out of the land of Egypt!" Aaron declared those words to the people in verse 4. An interesting discussion takes place between God and Moses. God indicates that he can make a great nation (to fulfill his promises to the patriarchs) from the descendants of Moses alone. Moses pleads with God for the people to have another chance. It's amusing to see Moses' negotiating skills here. He reminds God that the Egyptians will get satisfaction out of the demise of the Israelites and then invokes the covenant made with Abraham, Isaac, and Israel (aka Jacob). Ok, Moses, take care of it.

Don't make me come down there! (Exodus 32:15-20)

15 ¶ And Moses turned and went down from the mountain, and the two tablets of the Testimony were in his hand. The tablets were written on both sides; on the one side and on the other they were written.
16 Now the tablets were the work of God, and the writing was the writing of God engraved on the tablets.
17 ¶ And when Joshua heard the noise of the people as they shouted, he said to Moses, “There is a noise of war in the camp.”
18 ¶ But he said:
“It is not the noise of the shout of victory,
Nor the noise of the cry of defeat,
But the sound of singing I hear.”
19 ¶ So it was, as soon as he came near the camp, that he saw the calf and the dancing. So Moses’ anger became hot, and he cast the tablets out of his hands and broke them at the foot of the mountain.
20 Then he took the calf which they had made, burned it in the fire, and ground it to powder; and he scattered it on the water and made the children of Israel drink it.

Moses makes his trip down off the mountain with the stone tablets containing God's commandments in hand. Look at Exodus 32:19, "So it was, as soon as he came near the camp, that he saw the calf and the dancing. So Moses’ anger became hot, and he cast the tablets out of his hands and broke them at the foot of the mountain." Wow! Forty days' work down the drain! Now there's an interesting punishment in verse 20. Is that the equivalent of making kids put soap in their mouths? He ground up the golden calf into powder, sprinkled it into the water and made them drink it. Now that's some expensive water! Oh...a couple of other indications here make this occasion even more disgusting. In verse 25 we see that the people around the golden calf were "unrestrained." This "unrestrained" activity likely resulted in nakedness as well, and probably even more. Add to that the indication of verse 6 which says the Israelites "rose up to play." That Hebrew word for "play" (tsaw-khak´) there is the same one used in Genesis 26:8 (see notes) to describe the activities of Isaac and Rebekah and is translated "showing endearment" where it says, "and there was Isaac, showing endearment to Rebekah his wife." Whatever this activity was between Isaac and Rebekah, Abimelech is certain that it's not appropriate behavior between a brother and a sister. Therefore, it is logical to conclude that the "play" while they were "unrestrained" around the golden calf here is something more than just bingo.

So, Aaron, what do you have to say for yourself? (Exodus 32:21-25)

21 And Moses said to Aaron, “What did this people do to you that you have brought so great a sin upon them?”
22 ¶ So Aaron said, “Do not let the anger of my lord become hot. You know the people, that they are set on evil.
23 For they said to me, “Make us gods that shall go before us; as for this Moses, the man who brought us out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.’
24 And I said to them, “Whoever has any gold, let them break it off.’ So they gave it to me, and I cast it into the fire, and this calf came out.”
25 ¶ Now when Moses saw that the people were unrestrained (for Aaron had not restrained them, to their shame among their enemies),

Moses doesn't beat around the bush in talking with Aaron in verse 21, "And Moses said to Aaron, 'What did this people do to you that you have brought so great a sin upon them?'" If somehow Aaron believed he had done the right thing, this question from Moses should have cleared that misconception up immediately. How about Aaron's reply? Did you ever say the wrong thing under pressure and wish you could just take it back? I'm guessing that's exactly the way Aaron felt after his reply in verse 24, "And I said to them, “Whoever has any gold, let them break it off.’ So they gave it to me, and I cast it into the fire, and this calf came out." Now really, Aaron, who believes that? Look at verse 25 to recognize the magnitude of what Aaron had done as the first in command while Moses was away, "Now when Moses saw that the people were unrestrained (for Aaron had not restrained them, to their shame among their enemies)," The people were acting like the heathens from whom God had separated them.

Whoa! This turns out to be a capital offense! (Exodus 32:26-29)

26 then Moses stood in the entrance of the camp, and said, “Whoever is on the LORD’S side—come to me!” And all the sons of Levi gathered themselves together to him.
27 And he said to them, “Thus says the LORD God of Israel: ‘Let every man put his sword on his side, and go in and out from entrance to entrance throughout the camp, and let every man kill his brother, every man his companion, and every man his neighbor.’ ”
28 So the sons of Levi did according to the word of Moses. And about three thousand men of the people fell that day.
29 Then Moses said, “Consecrate yourselves today to the LORD, that He may bestow on you a blessing this day, for every man has opposed his son and his brother.”

The Levites step up to the plate here as the designated police force for phase one of cleaning up the camp. They slay 3,000 by the sword. Who knows for certain what distinguished these 3,000 as worthy of death while others were spared. However, obviously there was a distinction. It appears that the distinction is found in Exodus 32:26, "then Moses stood in the entrance of the camp, and said, “Whoever is on the LORD’S side—come to me!” And all the sons of Levi gathered themselves together to him." It looks like the sons of Levi were a few among many who came to the side of Moses. Those who did not come to the side of Moses were slain by the Levites. In other words, it was a choice.

It should be noted that verse 26 marks the turning point for the Tribe of Levi. You will recall that Levi (along with Simeon) was cursed by Jacob in Genesis 49:5-7 (see notes) for their murderous act against the men of Shechem. They were told by Jacob on his deathbed, "I will divide them in Jacob And scatter them in Israel." With the combination of that "scattering" curse by Jacob along with their noble act here as they stand with Moses, they later become the designated tribe of priests in Israel in Numbers 3 (see notes). However, Jacob's words are still fulfilled, inasmuch as they are scattered among the Tribes of Israel without their own specific tribal inheritance when they enter Canaan under Joshua.

What do we do now? (Exodus 32:30-35)

30 ¶ Now it came to pass on the next day that Moses said to the people, “You have committed a great sin. So now I will go up to the LORD; perhaps I can make atonement for your sin.”
31 Then Moses returned to the LORD and said, “Oh, these people have committed a great sin, and have made for themselves a god of gold!
32 Yet now, if You will forgive their sin—but if not, I pray, blot me out of Your book which You have written.”
33 ¶ And the LORD said to Moses, “Whoever has sinned against Me, I will blot him out of My book.
34 Now therefore, go, lead the people to the place of which I have spoken to you. Behold, My Angel shall go before you. Nevertheless, in the day when I visit for punishment, I will visit punishment upon them for their sin.”
35 ¶ So the LORD plagued the people because of what they did with the calf which Aaron made.

We see in these verses that the rest of the Hebrews still must pay a penalty for the sin of calf worship they have committed. I guess we're already seeing how severely God will be dealing with the violators of the first four commandments. Moses makes a plea on behalf of his people.

In analyzing these 6 verses, let's recap what has taken place. The Levites have slain 3,000 of the stubborn sinners, the ones who did not correctly answer the question, "Who is on the LORD'S side?" Moses makes an impassioned plea in verse 32, "Yet now, if You will forgive their sin—but if not, I pray, blot me out of Your book which You have written." Whoa...that's heavy! What is this "book" anyway? Now don't jump to conclusions here. Obviously the 3,000 people slain by the Levites are blotted out of the "book." We're talking about physical (not spiritual) salvation here; "blot out" here means the loss of physical life (i.e. death). It would be a spiritual impossibility for Moses to lose his spiritual life here as he makes this offer before God. He is offering his physical life to God on behalf of his Israelite kin. In other words, "If you're going to kill them, just go ahead and kill me while you're at it." THERE ARE NO IMPLICATIONS OF SPIRITUAL SALVATION IN THIS PASSAGE.