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Texts -- Exodus 32:20 (NET)

Context
32:20 He took the calf they had made and burned it in the fire , ground it to powder , poured it out on the water , and made the Israelites drink it.

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Expository Notes on the Bible (Constable)

  • One of the significant changes in the emphasis that occurs at this point in Genesis is from cursing in the primeval record to blessing in the patriarchal narratives. The Abrahamic Covenant is most important in this respect. H...
  • Exodus embraces about 431 years of history, from the arrival of Jacob and his family in Egypt (ca. 1876 B.C.) to the erection of the tabernacle in the wilderness of Sinai (ca. 1445 B.C.). However 1:1-7 is a review of Jacob's ...
  • I. The liberation of Israel 1:1-15:21A. God's preparation of Israel and Moses chs. 1-41. The growth of Jacob's family 1:1-72. The Israelites' bondage in Egypt 1:8-223. Moses' birth and education 2:1-104. Moses' flight from Eg...
  • 3:1-12 Horeb is another name for Sinai (v. 1). It probably indicates a range of mountains rather than a particular mountain peak. The writer called it "the mountain of God"because it was the place where God later gave the Mos...
  • The Lord had liberated Israel from bondage in Egypt, but now He adopted the nation into a special relationship with Himself."Now begins the most sublime section in the whole Book. The theme of this section is supremely signif...
  • 23:13 This verse is a summary warning against idolatry (cf. 20:22-23)."The continual return to the theme of idolatry throughout this section of the book is preparation and background for an appreciation of the incident of the...
  • "The great event in chapter 24 is the climax of the Book of Exodus."41324:1-8 The remaining verses in this section contain God's directions to Moses personally. He, Aaron, Aaron's two eldest sons, and 70 of the elders of Isra...
  • "As a sign of the Noahic covenant is the rainbow (Gen. 9:13), and as the sign of the Abrahamic covenant is circumcision (Gen. 17:11), the sign of the Mosaic covenant is the observance and celebration of the Sabbath day (Exod....
  • "If a narrative paradigmatic of what Exodus is really about were to be sought, Exod 32-34 would be the obvious first choice."That these chapters are paradigmatic of Israel's relationship with Yahweh throughout the OT is also ...
  • Moses broke the tablets of the law (v. 19) symbolizing the fact that Israel had broken its covenant with Yahweh. He then proceeded to destroy the golden calf, the symbol of the illicit covenant into which they had entered (cf...
  • The Israelites erected the tabernacle on the first day of the first month, almost exactly one year after the Israelites left Egypt (vv. 2, 17). This was about nine months after Israel had arrived at Mt. Sinai (cf. 19:1).First...
  • Ironically the first sacrifice Aaron had to offer was a calf, as if to atone for making the golden calf (cf. Exod. 32). The sinfulness of man is clear in that Aaron had to offer many different offerings to cover his sins and ...
  • We move from public regulations in chapter 16 to intimate regulations in chapter 18 with chapter 17 providing the transition. In contrast to the first sixteen chapters, chapter 17 says very little about the role of the priest...
  • "This section . . . consists of a list of twenty-one (3x7) laws. These laws are broken up into smaller units by the sevenfold repetition of the phrase I am the LORD (your God)' (19:3, 4, 10, 12, 14, 16, 18)."225"I am the Lord...
  • The fact that God granted the people pardon in response to Moses' intercession is another indication of His grace (vv. 20-21).The failure of the Israelites would not frustrate God's purpose to manifest His glory throughout th...
  • Having received their sentence from the Lord, the people then presumptuously proceeded to go up on their own to take the land (vv. 40-42)."They are like children who had broken a valuable vase and decided to make it better' b...
  • "As the laws increase and the constraints grow, the people seem less willing or less capable of following them. At this point in the narrative we see that the whole order of the priesthood is thrown open to direct confrontati...
  • This chapter contains one of the great failures of Israel that followed one of its great blessings.238As God was preparing to bless His people they were preparing to disobey Him."So now we come to the ultimate rebellion of Is...
  • Moses turned in his address from contemplating the past to an exhortation for the future. This section is the climax of his first speech."The parallel between the literary structure of this chapter and that of the Near Easter...
  • The writer told us nothing about Micah's background except that he originally lived in the Hill Country of Ephraim with or near his mother (vv. 1-2). Micah's name means "Who is like Yahweh."As is true of so many details in th...
  • 106:6 The psalmist confessed that Israel had been unfaithful to God. This was true of his own generation as it had been true of former generations. This confession introduced a review of specific iniquities and wickedness.106...
  • 23:1-3 The Lord gave Ezekiel a story about two sisters who had one mother (cf. Jer. 3:7). These young girls became prostitutes in Egypt and allowed men to fondle their breasts. That is, they allowed the Egyptians to become in...
  • This is the sixth and last message that Ezekiel received from the Lord the night before the refugees reached the exiles with the message that Jerusalem had fallen (cf. 33:21-22). It too deals with God's plans for Israel in th...
  • The Book of Ezekiel begins with a vision of God's glory (ch. 1), records the departure of God's glory (chs. 8-11), and ends with another vision of God's glory (chs. 40-48). This is the longest vision outside the Book of Revel...
  • 5:25 The Lord now returned to explain further what He did not want (vv. 21-23). With another rhetorical question (cf. v. 20) the Lord asked if His people really worshipped Him with their animal sacrifices and grain offerings ...
  • Luke gave his readers an overview of Jesus' ministry (4:14-5:11) and then presented His relationship to His opponents (5:12-6:11). Next he described Jesus' relationship with His disciples (6:12-49). He arranged his material t...
  • "The author steadily develops his argument that Jesus is supremely great. He is greater than the angels, the author of a great salvation, and great enough to become man to accomplish it. Now the author turns his attention to ...

Expositions Of Holy Scripture (Maclaren)

  • Exodus 32:15-26Moses and Joshua are on their way down from the mountain, the former carrying the tables in his hands and a heavier burden in his heart,--the thought of the people's swift apostasy. Joshua's soldierly ear inter...
  • He dashes the tables on the rock, as if to break the record of the useless laws which the people have already broken, and, with his hands free, flings himself without pause into the midst of the excited mob. Exodus 32:19-20, ...
  • Exodus 32:12-23The calf worship broke the bond between God and Israel. Instead of His presence, an angel' is to lead them, for His presence could only be destruction. Mourning spreads through the camp, in token of which all o...
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