Holly Bible - KJV with Concise Commentaries by Z Selam - HTML preview
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out of a bad cause. By this likewise it was shown that the law made those priests who had infirmity, and needed first to offer for their own sins.
7 And the Lord said unto Moses, Go, get thee down; for thy
people, which thou broughtest 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 them a molten calf, and have worshipped it, and have sacrificed thereunto, and said, these be thy gods, O Israel, which have brought thee up out of the land of Egypt.
Here, God acquaints Moses with what was doing in the camp while he was absent, Ex 32:7,8. He could have told him sooner, as soon as the first step was taken towards it, and have hastened him down to prevent it; but he suffered it to come to this height, for wise and holy ends, and then sent him down to punish it.
Note, It is no reproach to the holiness of God that he suffers sin to be committed, since he knows, not only how to restrain it when he pleases, but how to make it serviceable to the designs of his own glory. Observe what God here says to Moses concerning this sin.
1. That they had corrupted themselves. Sin is the corruption or depravation of the sinner, and it is a self-corruption; every man is tempted when he is drawn aside of his own lust.
2. That they had turned aside out of the way. Sin is a deviation from the way of our duty into a by-path. When they promised to do all that God should command them, they set out as fair as could be; but now they missed their way, and turned aside.
3. That they had turned aside quickly, quickly after the law was given them and they had promised to obey it, quickly after God had done such great things for them and declared his kind intentions to do greater. They soon forgot his works.