39. Moses the Rebels in Broken Stone: Just after making a covenant with God, they immediately broke it. Are you familiar with this scene?

“Even if some of them don’t believe it, so what? Would their unbelief invalidate God’s faithfulness? Absolutely not! ” [Romans 3:3]

The Israelites kneeling to the golden calf heard the sound of stone slabs shattering on the ground. Startled, they looked toward the sound and saw Moses with hair standing on end, his feet covered in rubble. Behind him, Joshua held Moses’ staff, and Aaron, looking guilty, stood nearby. They instinctively know that the brief happy times are over, but the happiness is just beginning.

While enslaved in Egypt, seeing the Egyptians they served indulge in festivities and revelry, they could only envy in vain. When Moses led them out of Egypt, they were chased by chariots, like lost dogs, unable to attend to anything else. Once in the wilderness, still shaken, they began to suffer from shortages of water and food, struggling to survive. Stationed at the foot of Mount Sinai, they finally found peace, but it was a desolate wilderness, lifeless, and terrified out of their wits by the god on the mountain.

Finally, Moses died on the mountain. After enduring a life of slavery, hunting, hunger and thirst, and boredom, they were suddenly shocked to find that the authority that suppressed their nature had completely vanished, and even the great, awe-inspiring, and supremely holy true God had vanished. In the vast wilderness, in the boundless desert, in the silent sea of sand, they suddenly tasted the pleasure of indulgence—God had disappeared, Moses was gone, Aaron was shrinking, and who could stop them from compensating for the festivities they had never experienced in their lives? Life is short; how could they not indulge in pleasure drunkenly and madly, or do whatever they wanted like madness? But Moses actually came back alive! Forty days on the mountain, and he was still alive! The God behind him must still be there.

The sound of shattering stones was deafening, recalling the covenant with the true god just made and the holiness and awe-inspiring nature of the gods. Their conscience awakened like a dream, like a lighthouse lighting in the deep night, driving away the fog that filled the sea of desire. They had to stop and look at Moses.

Moses stood at the entrance to the camp, seeing the dejected expressions of the crowd, still in their excitement but forced to stop. He saw everything in his eyes and couldn’t help but feel indignant, trembling with anger. These people personally experienced the ten plagues in Egypt, yet were protected by God and remained safe; Chased by Egyptian chariots, yet crossed the Red Sea opened by God unscathed; When he was extremely thirsty, God had Moses strike the rock, and the rock split open and water flowed out; After the wilderness ran out of food, the gods sent quail and manna to satisfy their appetites. When they made a covenant with God, they clearly agreed to keep the Ten Commandments and the law, yet they quickly became idols.

Disappointment swept through Moses’ heart like a cold current. Before descending the mountain, when he pleaded with God, he never imagined that the people below would fall so “freely” and be so ungrateful and ungrateful so quickly. A group of slaves saved by God actually fell together and acted recklessly just months later.

When God personally wrote the covenant on the stone tablets on the mountain, He had already foreseen their rebellious resolve, but He suppressed his anger and poured out only to Moses. As for himself, he hadn’t expected that once he saw the filthy scene below the mountain, his anger would erupt like a volcano—uncontrollable, and the promise to the stone tablet in his hand hadn’t even been announced before it had already been broken.

What use is it to keep the stone tablets! How could I fully vent my inner grief and anger after falling? God’s stone tablet shattered, but the golden calf still shone with golden light. O idol that binds the heart, how many men and women you have caused to perish, and how many nations will be ensnared.

Moses shouted loudly, “Throw that golden calf into the fire, melt it into juice, grind it into powdered gold, and throw it into this spring.” All of you who have worshipped it should drink from the spring. Let your idols become dung, so that you may remember the false gods you worshipped! “Idols can be easily broken, but how can one easily remove the idol in a person’s heart!” Among the people, over three thousand saw the statue of their jewelry burned by Moses and was consumed with rage. Since they had tasted the pleasure of indulgence for the first time, why not just kill this troublesome old man? They wielded sharp weapons, shouted loudly, and jumped out of their tents, trying to gather together, supporting each other and rebellion.

Moses saw that the leaders were acting recklessly and the riot was rising, fearing that the destruction God had warned of would suddenly come upon all the people. So he stood at the camp gate and shouted loudly, “Everyone who follows the LORD, stand with me.” As soon as he finished speaking, the sons of the tribe of Levi, where Moses was, gathered around him.

God designated the tribe of Levi as a priestly family on the mountain, but Moses had not yet had time to tell them. At the critical moment of national survival, the Levites bravely and chivalrous stepped forward to protect Moses. Moses looked around at them: “This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says, ‘Each of you take up your sword and go from one gate of camp to the other, through the whole camp. If you find anyone who causes trouble, whether it is friends or family, you shall kill them without mercy.’ “” When the Levites heard this, they shouted and charged into the camp.

They targeted the troublemakers who were looking for an opening, splitting into smaller groups, raising their blades to strike. Blood splattered instantly, cries of grief filled the air, and corpses fell to the ground one after another.

As dusk approached, the sounds of slaughter gradually ceased, the cries of mourning faded, and only the stench of blood drifted with the dust, spreading throughout the camp. The surviving civilians were so terrified their faces turned ashen, all prostrating themselves on the ground, not daring to move, like the dead.

The entire camp fell silent, with only the sons of Levi stepping forward with swords and striding through the camp. They ensured that all the troublemakers were eliminated and returned to Moses’ side.

Because of idolatry, the Israelites’ first collective rebellion was personally quelled by Moses. The setting sun slants and the dusk is blood-reddened. The camp is littered with corpses. Moses surveys the entire camp, saying nothing, his heart filled with grief and anger. In the morning, they descended the mountain in high spirits, expecting the people to cheer and rejoice, but unexpectedly, three thousand men and women, driven by selfish desires, chose to oppose the gods and lost their lives.

God, this remaining people have completely broken their covenant with you. The stone tablet has shattered, just like my heart. What lies ahead? I am confused and confused. God, early tomorrow morning, please allow me to climb to the top again and plead with you.