Sabbath: Apostasy and Intercession
Daily Lesson for Sabbath 6th of September 2025
Image © Pacific Press
Read for This Week’s Study: Exodus 32:1-6; Psalms 115:4-8; Isaiah 44:9-10; Romans 1:22-27; Exodus 32:7-32; Isaiah 53:4.
Memory Text:
“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! Yet now, if You will forgive their sin—but if not, I pray, blot me out of Your book which You have written’ ” (Exodus 32:31-32, NKJV).
Moses had been absent from the camp of Israel for only 40 days, and what happened? God’s people had turned away from Him and worshiped a human-made idol, a golden calf. After so many mighty signs, experiences, and miracles, how could they have done that?
There could be many answers, and perhaps some truth in them all. Did the people not understand who God really was? Or were their powerful experiences with Him overshadowed by their carnal and sinful desires? Did they not appreciate what God had done for them and, instead, took it all for granted? Was their understanding clouded, marred by their everyday preoccupations and old sinful thinking? Were they simply ungrateful for God’s merciful actions on their behalf? Had they so quickly forgotten the mighty acts of God (Psalms 106:13,21-23)? Or could it all be blamed on Aaron’s failed leadership? “ ‘The Lord was very angry with Aaron and would have destroyed him’ ” (Deuteronomy 9:20, NKJV).
Whatever the reasons for this terrible apostasy, what lessons can we draw from it, not only about human sinfulness but about God’s gracious love for humans, despite their sinfulness?
*Study this week’s lesson to prepare for Sabbath, September 13.
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We look at the spiritual journey of the Hebrews, not only during the Exodus, but through their entire life as a nation and find they repeatedly changed their allegiance. Sometimes they worshipped him and sometimes they worshipped other gods. Their spiritual historical track looks like a zig-xag! And in our short-sighted analysis we “Tut-tut!” and accuse them of all sorts of things that we would never do.
If we are truly honest with ourselves our own track is often crooked and shows waywardness as well. Many of us wear our religion like a garment. When the fashion changes it’s “Out with the old, and dress with the new!”
With the Hebrews, the absence of their charismatic leader for 6 weeks was enough to sow seeds of doubt and recrimination in their minds to the extent they forgot their direct communication with God and went back to their old ways. Their Egyptian baggage was just to heavy to shrug off.
This week we need to think about how we can learn from the Herew “boom and bust” spiritual journey – not just criticise them.
David said:
The question I asked my team this week was, Indirectly, I was asking them how they would behave when no one was watching. The answers I received were quite sanitized and clean-cut. However, the truth is that most humans have a tendency to switch between being "publicly" good and being their true selves.
This "on/off" switch attitude has also infiltrated the church, where two-faced Christianity is alarmingly visible. It's not a new phenomenon – just 40 days was all it took for those who had pledged, to turn away. It's a sobering reminder that our true character is revealed not in the crowd, but in solitude.
When we're alone, with no one watching, would we still remain true to our worship? Would our actions align with our professed faith? These are questions that warrant honest introspection.
"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! Yet now, if You will forgive their sin—but if not, I pray, blot me out of Your book which You have written’" (Exodus 32:31-32, NKJV).
Who can possibility not be touched or moved by the man Moses! Moses was willing get his named erased from the book life if that would be the cost of saving his people. Moses was so committed and actually loved his people so much that he was ready to trade off his eternal destiny for the sake of having God to forgive the Israelites for the sin done. How can a mortal human being come such noblest commitment? It is no wonder the Bibles says, “Now Moses was a very humble man, more humble than anyone else on the face of the earth."(Numbers 12:3, NIV). This passage of scripture tells us that we mortal sinners by God’s grace can rise up and conquer the love of self. This is also captured is Paul’s sentiment.
“For my people, my Jewish brothers and sisters. I would be willing to be forever cursed—cut off from Christ!—if that would save them” (Romans 9:3, NLT).
Moses was a true servant leader. His willingness to sacrifice himself to be identified with his people even when they were guilty, should be an example to our leaders. Leaders should bear the burden of their people and not self-serving. Moses is teaching us that selfless love is sacrificial. Moses interceding for his guilty people serves as a lesson to us that we should pray even for those whom we consider undeserving.
It is interesting to note that God did not take Moses’ offer. “Whoever has sinned against me I will blot out of my book” (Exodus 32:33). There are important lessons to from God’s response. Firstly, each person is responsible for his/her sin. Secondly, even when other people intercede for us, we have got personal responsibility to accept Jesus Christ as our personal Saviour. Human intercession has got a limit. Each person is accountable to God. Praise be to our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ who is our good shepherd who died for our sins.
“I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd sacrifices his life for the sheep” (John 10:11, NLT).