Yesterday, we saw how important it is to confess our sin and to repent of it, turning away from anyone and anything that might be standing between us and God. But confession and repentance alone are useless unless Christ stands between us and the Father, pleading the blood of His perfect sacrifice on behalf of all who trust in Him. And in today’s passage, Moses models for us what the mediating work of Christ involves.

Most obviously, Moses offers to take the punishment of the people upon himself so that God might forgive them (Exodus 32:32). And this is exactly what Jesus has done for all who trust in Him: “But He was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; The chastening for our well-being fell upon Him, And by His scourging we are healed. All of us like sheep have gone astray, Each of us has turned to his own way; But the LORD has caused the iniquity of us all To fall on Him” (Isaiah 53:5-6).

And just as Jesus’ cross fulfilled the promise that God had made through Isaiah, so Moses based his appeals to God on the promises that God had made to Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, promises to multiply their descendants and to give them a place to live (Exodus 32:13). Just so, we can trust in the promises of God to welcome all those who come to Him in faith (John 6:37), promises to raise up a Church from every tribe and people and tongue (Revelation 7:9).

And just as God agreed to go with His people because Moses found favor in His sight (Exodus 33:17), so the Lord has promised to dwell among His people forever (Revelation 21:3) because of the work of Christ. And even though Moses could only see God’s back (Exodus 33:23), Jesus promises that, when He comes again, all who trust in Him will see the very face of God (Revelation 22:4).

Moses pled for God to forgive His people so that God’s reputation would not be damaged, so that God’s glory would not be sullied in the eyes of the Egyptians (Exodus 32:11-12). So how much more should we, those who have been forgiven and freed, washed clean of our sin by faith in the blood of Christ, give Him all the glory for our salvation, with our lips as well as with our lives? How much more should we desire that everyone around us see and hear about the mercy and grace of our Savior?

Exodus 32:11-14, 30-35 (NASB)

11 Then Moses entreated the LORD his God, and said, “O LORD, why doth Thine anger burn against Thy people whom Thou hast brought out from the land of Egypt with great power and with a mighty hand?
12 “Why should the Egyptians speak, saying, ‘With evil intent He brought them out to kill them in the mountains and to destroy them from the face of the earth ‘? Turn from Thy burning anger and change Thy mind about doing harm to Thy people.
13 “Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, Thy servants to whom Thou didst swear by Thyself, and didst say to them, ‘I will multiply your descendants as the stars of the heavens, and all this land of which I have spoken I will give to your descendants, and they shall inherit it forever.'”
14 So the LORD changed His mind about the harm which He said He would do to His people.

30 And it came about on the next day that Moses said to the people, “You yourselves have committed a great sin; and now I am going up to the LORD, perhaps I can make atonement for your sin.”
31 Then Moses returned to the LORD, and said, “Alas, this people has committed a great sin, and they have made a god of gold for themselves.
32 “But now, if Thou wilt, forgive their sin– and if not, please blot me out from Thy book which Thou hast written!”
33 And the LORD said to Moses, “Whoever has sinned against Me, I will blot him out of My book.
34 “But go now, lead the people where I told you. Behold, My angel shall go before you; nevertheless in the day when I punish, I will punish them for their sin.”
35 Then the LORD smote the people, because of what they did with the calf which Aaron had made.

Exodus 33:1-3, 12-17 (NASB)

Then the LORD spoke to Moses, “Depart, go up from here, you and the people whom you have brought up from the land of Egypt, to the land of which I swore to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, saying, ‘To your descendants I will give it.’
2 “And I will send an angel before you and I will drive out the Canaanite, the Amorite, the Hittite, the Perizzite, the Hivite and the Jebusite.
3 “Go up to a land flowing with milk and honey; for I will not go up in your midst, because you are an obstinate people, lest I destroy you on the way.”

12 Then Moses said to the LORD, “See, Thou dost say to me, ‘Bring up this people!’ But Thou Thyself hast not let me know whom Thou wilt send with me. Moreover, Thou hast said, ‘I have known you by name, and you have also found favor in My sight.’
13 “Now therefore, I pray Thee, if I have found favor in Thy sight, let me know Thy ways, that I may know Thee, so that I may find favor in Thy sight. Consider too, that this nation is Thy people.”
14 And He said, “My presence shall go with you, and I will give you rest.”
15 Then he said to Him, “If Thy presence does not go with us, do not lead us up from here.
16 “For how then can it be known that I have found favor in Thy sight, I and Thy people? Is it not by Thy going with us, so that we, I and Thy people, may be distinguished from all the other people who are upon the face of the earth?”
17 And the LORD said to Moses, “I will also do this thing of which you have spoken; for you have found favor in My sight, and I have known you by name.”