Exodus 32:25

32:21-29 Never did any wise man make a more frivolous and foolish excuse than that of Aaron. We must never be drawn into sin by any thing man can say or do to us; for men can but tempt us to sin, they cannot force us. The approach of Moses turned the dancing into trembling. They were exposed to shame by their sin. The course Moses took to roll away this reproach, was, not by concealing the sin, or putting any false colour upon it, but by punishing it. The Levites were to slay the ringleaders in this wickedness; yet none were executed but those who openly stood forth. Those are marked for ruin who persist in sin: those who in the morning were shouting and dancing, before night were dying. Such sudden changes do the judgments of the Lord sometimes make with sinners that are secure and jovial in their sin.

Exodus 32:25 . Moses saw that the people were naked — This is the most common and obvious meaning of the word פרע , paruang, here used, as many examples in the Old Testament show, and it is the sense which seems best to suit this place. They were stripped of their ornament and armour, not only of their jewels, but of the innocence of their minds and lives, and of their defence, the favour and protection of God, by which alone they were secured from the Egyptians, and by which they were to be defended against those many and mighty enemies toward whom they were about to march, and to whom, being thus disarmed and helpless, they would become an easy prey.

(25) When Moses saw that the people were naked .—Most modern commentators prefer to translate “that the people were licentious,” or “unruly.” But the rendering of the Authorised Version may be defended. In the lewd and excited dancing of idolatrous orgies, garments were frequently cast aside, and the person exposed indecently. Egyptian dancers are represented on the monuments with scarcely any clothing. Among their enemies.—Amalekites may have held many fastnesses among the hills, from which they may have been able to see what was going on in the camp.

i.e. That they were stripped both of their ornament, which was not so much the jewels of their ears, as the innocency of their minds and lives; and of their defence, to wit, of the favour and protection of God, by which alone they were secured from the Egyptians, and were to be defended against those many and mighty enemies towards whom they were about to march; and that being thus disarmed and helpless, they would be a prey to every enemy: when Moses considered this, he took the following course to cover their nakedness, to expiate their sins, to regain the favour of God, and by punishing the most eminent and incorrigible offenders, to bring the rest to repentance. Aaron had made them naked , as Ahaz is said to have made Judah naked , 2 Chronicles 28:19 . Quest . How were they made naked or ashamed amongst their enemies, when at this time they were in their own camp, remote from all their enemies? Answ . He speaks not only of their present shame, but of their everlasting reproach, especially among their and God’s enemies, who, being constant to their idols, would justly scorn the Israelites for their levity in forsaking their God so quickly and easily. See Jeremiah 2:11 . But the Hebrew word may be, and is by some, translated thus, amongst those that do or shall rise up or be born of them i.e. that shall succeed them; for so the word rising is used Exodus 1:8 Matthew 11:11 .

Verses 25-29. - MOSES PUNISHES THE RINGLEADERS. The presence of Moses in the camp - his impressive act in breaking the tables - even his seizure of the idol and consignment of it to destruction - did not arrest the licentious orgy in which the people had engaged before his coming. The "play" that had followed on the feasting still continued; though we may suppose that many had been impressed and had desisted. Moses felt that an example must be made, and a stop put to conduct which was more and more provoking the Almighty, and might at any moment bring down the judgment of complete destruction upon the whole people. He therefore took his station at the main gate of the camp (ver. 26), and shouted the words "Who is on Jehovah's side? Here, to me!" The sound of the words could not, of course, have reached very far - but they rallied to him those of his own tribe who stood near, and thus placed a strong force at his disposal. Moses bade them get their swords, and proceed through the camp from end to end, slaying the idolaters - not, we may be sure, indiscriminately, but executing God's judgment on those who were most conspicuous and persistent. They were especially bidden not to spare their own nearest and dearest, which implies that many Levites were among the ringleaders. The result was the destruction by the sword of three thousand men - and the suppression of the festival. It is not to be doubted that Moses had Divine sanction for what he did in this matter (ver. 27).

Verse 25. - The people were naked . It has been suggested that "licentious" or "unruly" would be a better rendering (Gesenius, Dathe, Rosenmuller, Kalisch, Cook), but the primary sense of pharua is "naked," "stript;" and of the licentious orgies of the East, stripping or uncovering the person was a feature (Herod. 2:60), so that there is no reason for changing the expression used in the Authorised Version. Moses saw that most of the people were still without the garments that they had laid aside when they began to dance, and were probably still engaged in dancing and shouting. Aaron had made them naked . Aaron is said to have done that to which his actions had led. He had made the calf and proclaimed a festival. The "nakedness" had naturally followed. Unto their shame among their enemies . Amalekites were no doubt still hovering about the camp; indeed, the tribe probably still held most of the surrounding mountains. They would witness the orgy, and see the indecent and shameful exposure. Exodus 32:25

25 . broken loose … let them loose ] viz. from their allegiance to Jehovah, under Aaron’s leadership: cf. for the word Exodus 5:4 . for a whispering (i.e. a derision : LXX. ἐπίχαρμα ) among them that rose up against them ] The expression is poetical, and may have been taken from an ancient song (so Ew. Hist. ii. 182). Their foes would deride, when they heard that they had deserted their national God, who they boasted had led them out of Egypt. 25–29 . The people being in rebellion, the Levites, responding in a body to Moses’ appeal for help, seize their swords, and slay 3000 of them. For the zeal thus displayed on Jehovah’s behalf, they are rewarded with the priesthood. It is noticeable that, though Aaron is a ‘Levite’ ( Exodus 4:17 : see note), the other ‘Levites’ here take part against him. For another view of these verses,—viz. that they are not in their original context, and that they describe the punishment, not for the worship of the Golden Calf, but for some independent act of rebellion against Jehovah,—see Di., C.-H., and McNeile (pp. xxxiv f., 207 f.).