Seeing that Aaron was the high priest to the nation and Moses had little responsibility over the tabernacle and sacrificial duties, what does this speak to us when looking at the larger picture? There are many ministers who think that the supreme job and duty in life is the corporate worship and everything else that surrounds it. I am not saying that they should not feel that way, it is what God positioned them to do. Is it really the highest thing in life to perform? The bible is full of examples of people who carried out their spiritual corporate duty only to find themselves on the wrong side of God. I’m sure that the Pharisees of Jesus’ time were very exacting in carrying out their responsibility to the corporate worship yet Jesus had little good to say to them. Many of the greatest men of the bible were not involved with the corporate spiritual duty of the nation but their personal spiritual commitment propelled them into a national spotlight that enabled them to rule in a political way. Those who were involved with the national religion sometimes transcended the gulf between religious and national duty. They ended up ruling not only in a religious way but also in a political fashion. It is these men and women who straddle this divide that portray themselves the most like Moses in authority. Moses was not consumed by the many sacrifices that needed slaughtered, or the daily grind of the repetition that it would bring. Even the small and ordinary grievances that plague humanity were passed off to others who were capable of judging the issues. Moses straddled this political and spiritual divide that many times pins us in one camp or the other but seldom both.

A person can be a spiritual Christian and have a job in political realms but not keep a foot in both worlds like Moses. Moses possessed not only the authority over these realms but the ability to change, influence and alter them. This ability to mold the political and spiritual aspects of a nation is rare. Moses was being obedient to God and because of this, declared faithful in God’s house. (Heb 3:5) We can say it in another way, Moses wore two hats, the first is he was the supreme spiritual leader and the other was as the supreme political leader. Even ministers today have very little influence over their congregation let alone the spiritual life of the nation. Most politicians have little or no influence to change things unless many other people agree. Moses on the other hand had the final word on all matters. He could have chosen to ignore God and His voice and do his own thing, but in this case Moses chose to obey and heed God’s word.

We will see later how this division of tasks, the spiritual and political, play into other people’s calling and how God’s will is carried out through them. We must not allow the idea that the religious side of authority is more important than the political and vice versa. Many people teach that the spiritual is the highest and most important and we should not engage at all in the political. God positioned Moses as the spiritual and the political authority. Jesus when he sets up his kingdom on earth will also reign as the political ruler and the spiritual. Jesus when asked by his disciples to teach them to pray said, pray this way, MAT 6:10 “'Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, On earth as it is in heaven.” If we dismiss the political as unimportant then we cannot pray this prayer. We are to be expecting God’s will and kingdom to be manifested upon the earth in the same way it is in the heavens. We should understand the principles of God’s kingdom in order to establish His will on earth and not try to establish it through carnal means. If we fail to get engaged in our world how can we be salt and light? If Lot had been more involved with Sodom and Gomorrah, he may have been used to establish ten righteous people in the city and thus be responsible for sparing the destruction of the area. This point is perfectly explained in Ezekiel’s vision. (Ez 47:1-12) 

Ezekiel was being lead around the temple in a vision and when he got to the east side or the front of the temple he noticed water coming from the right side of the building. This water was very shallow and it flowed to the outside of the outer wall. Scripture states that Ezekiel went out the east Gate and then went around to the south wall and noticed the water trickling past the wall to the

south east. This water was just a trickle. Most people believe that this water refers to the anointing of God, as I do. First of all what is the temple? In this case it is the Jewish center of worship. This is the place where all the super spiritual people work. The people working here are the spiritual giants of their day, right? No! It is a mistake to think that the workers within the temple or church are more spiritual or have more wisdom then those who don’t work there. We should understand that the people who worked in the temple had a job to do and so do we. They may be different jobs but one is no more anointed or important than the other. Did you notice how much anointing is flowing from the temple? JUST A TRICKLE! This is not a mistake that Ezekiel saw it, this is the spiritual reality that he is seeing. Ezekiel is not seeing a great river flowing from this place of worship but just a trickle. It is true that the origin of this trickle is at the temple but it is just a trickle nonetheless. This trickle not only flows from the temple but it is still just a trickle by the time it passes the outer wall. It is not until he is outside the wall that the angel tells Ezekiel to measure off a thousand cubits and tests to see how deep the water is. Now a thousand cubits is about 500 yards, one third of a mile or about a half a kilometer. At the wall the water was a trickle, 500 yards away it was ankle deep. Now do you see what is going on? The further away from the center of worship we get the deeper the water. Now as we should all know, they measure four times a thousand cubits (which is over a mile in distance) and the river is so deep that they cannot cross it. This trickle that flowed from the temple was a river by the time it reached a mile from the outer wall.

Now some may be wondering how can this be? Why would the water (the anointing) get deeper as you move away from the center of worship? The reason is because God doesn’t want His people stuck thinking that to worship and pray all day at the temple is the thing to do. It is not the place where the greatest anointings exist. Look at what this angel says to Ezekiel. EZE 47:6 And he said to me, "Son of man, have you seen this?" Do you see this and do you understand the ramifications? Many Christian ministers want you to believe just the opposite. They think and want you to think the only place to be is in church all the time and involved with everything the local body does. We should be understanding that just because the flow of water or “anointing” originates with the place of worship that God established, which in this case is the temple, doesn’t make it the place we should spend our lives. This is what is happening in our day and time. Too many people are spending all of their free time in church services and in service to the local body. They somehow think they are more righteous and holy than those who don’t. God doesn’t expect His children to be so narrow minded and limited as to invest their lives only for those who are already partakers of salvation.

If we believe that the flow of water represents the anointing of God, then we must also understand that this flow does not have full strength nor does it have enough force to bring change near the place of worship. The further away from the temple it flows the more force and ability to bring change. If the flow stopped at the temple or even just outside the wall it would end in failure to affect people’s lives and the world around us. Ezekiel however did not see the end of the flow. He saw it continuing until it reached the sea. 

Once Ezekiel got finished swimming this river that could not be forded, he noticed that there were many trees that grew along the bank. These trees were not only on one side but both sides of the river. The angel that was showing him these things said to him,  EZE 47:8  "These waters go out toward the eastern region and go down into the Arabah; then they go toward the sea, being made to flow into the sea, and the waters of the sea become fresh.”  The word Arabah means desert or wilderness. These waters did not stay where they originated but moved into wild and dry places before terminating into the sea. At this point the angel makes sure that Ezekiel knows that when the waters reach the sea it actually will affect it by making the salt water fresh. This idea of making the salt waters fresh is important because most land creatures cannot survive drinking salt water, only fresh water. If all you have to drink is salt water you will die.

This angel continues talking about the life giving powers of this fresh water by stating that wherever this river flows will bring life. It will change any contaminated or stagnant water into water that can and will sustain sea life. Not only will there be many fish but also, EZE 47:9 ".. it will come about that every living creature which swarms in every place where the river goes, will live. ... so everything will live where the river goes.” This river is said to bring life to the whole area not just to the fish, though there will be many varieties as well as an abundance of fish.

The sea that this river flows into is not just any sea, it is the Dead Sea. Now if you know anything about the Dead Sea you know that it is the lowest place on earth. It not only has the lowest elevation but it does not sustain any animal life because of the high level of salt content. This sea is also surrounded by a very dry and inhospitable desert. We could view this reference to the Dead Sea and the desert that surrounds it as the very worst the world has to offer. The most morally bankrupt and heinous lifestyles that people live are thoroughly dead and dried out much like the Dead Sea and the desert that surrounds it.

The angel tells Ezekiel that not only will this river make the Dead Sea fresh but will allow it to support fish and other wildlife. This abundance of fish will draw fishermen who will cast nets and catch many different species of fish. Now if we stay with the understanding of the river being the anointing we should understand that the fish refers to people whom the fishermen (evangelists) capture for the sake of God and His kingdom. This is why the anointing becomes greater and more life changing the further away from the temple. When the river flows into the barrenness of the world, life automatically springs forth. That life is viewed as much greater and more expansive than it is at the temple. This life giving river has the ability to flow into the lowest portions (as referred to by the reference to Dead Sea²) of the immoral, irreligious and corrupt society we live in and bring it to life. Wherever the river flows it brings life. Conversely, if the river does not flow there, it cannot be rejuvenated and life will not be the outcome. This is why verse eleven is included in Ezekiel’s vision. EZE 47:11 "But its swamps and marshes will not become fresh; they will be left for salt.” These swamps and marshes were not touched by the river and because of this they could not be changed into an environment for life. We may even look at it another way. The people responsible to bring this river to the untouched swamps and marshes refused to do it, thus condemning them to death. What area of our lives are we refusing to bring God’s life into? God expects you and me to carry His presence and His will into every part of our life regardless of the consequences. Any job loss or rejection we may experience here will pale in comparison to those damned to hell because of our unwillingness to carry out our responsibility. We need to be involved with society and especially the political aspects of it. This section of scripture tells us that we can bring life to a nation, territory, state, city, county or town if we allow the river to flow through us into these areas. God wants good Christian people positioned as governors, mayors, congressmen, Supreme Court judges and even president. If the river of life does not flow into these areas, life will not flow out of them.

The reason this section of scripture is so important to our understanding of authority and especially the fact that authority is divided into two separate realms, the spiritual and political is related to the last verse of Ezekiel’s vision. Ezekiel said in verse seven that when he got out of the river he noticed that many trees were growing alongside the banks. He did not explain what these trees represented until the very end. EZE 47:12 "And by the river on its bank, on one side and on the other, will grow all kinds of trees for food. Their leaves will not wither, and their fruit will not fail. They will bear every month because their water flows from the sanctuary, and their fruit will be for food and their leaves for healing." The result of the river flowing through the dry and desolate places produce trees (all kinds of trees, not all the same variety) that will bear fruit that will not fail. These trees will not be fruitless but fruitful. This is a guarantee. Not only will they be fruitful once a year, but every month of every year. The outcome of this river is continual fruitfulness that provides nourishment, but that is not all. The leaves of these trees are said to be for healing. Healing? For what? In order to answer this question we must look at a verse in the book of Revelation. REV 22:2 in the middle of its street. And on either side of the river was the tree of life, bearing twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit every month; and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. This verse is similar to the one we have been looking at and actually gives us some insight into certain aspects of the Ezekiel scriptures. The nourishment from the fruit is from the tree of life. These trees growing alongside the river produce fruit that brings life because the tree is one of life. If there is no river there is no life. The river carries life because it flows from the temple, which in turn causes trees to grow alongside it which produce the fruit of life. Not only does the fruit bring life but the leaves even have life in them. Revelation states that the leaves are for the healing of the nations. Leaves are not fruit nor are they usually viewed as food but scripture states that the leaves have the ability to heal nations. I am not sure what the leaves illustrate but I do know that without leaves there can be no fruit. God is concerned about the nations and the world. The words, “thy kingdom come thy will be done on earth” are not just a novel sentiment but an actual desire and plan. God expects us to be involved with the world but not similar to it. If we do not carry the river with us as we go into the worst places on earth there will be no hope or life to transform it. Unless we actually leave the comfort of the church and reach every aspect of our society, there will be no chance for the river to flow. If we do not desire the world to be changed, nor God’s will done here as it is in heaven, then all we must do is stay huddled in some local body every night of the week and refuse to get involved in our world. We as the Church must come to the understanding of our responsibility and authority to effect change so that we can do the works God wants us to accomplish. 

Ezekiel’s vision not only spoke to him and his generation but also our generation today. We must not close our ears to what God is saying but we should be encouraged that God has a job for each and every one of us. God’s desire is for His life to touch each and every place that it can possibly touch. If God’s life remains within the walls of our centers of worship and does not flow out into our communities, how can it renew and change the death that abounds? The point of introducing the section from Ezekiel is to show us why Moses’ attention was not focused on the temple worship. The temple is vitally important but it is just one aspect of the bigger picture.

Moses on one of his trips up the holy mountain (Exo 24:1-14) was told by God to bring Aaron and his sons Abihu and Nadab along with seventy elders of Israel in order to worship Him from a distance. Now we must ask who appointed the seventy elders? How did they get authority? When did God appoint them? It cannot be established how or when elders were first established in Israel. We can make an educated guess at how they attained their position if we understand what was already addressed in this study of authority. We must first realize that the Hebrew word that is translated elder really means “old, and old man or woman.” (B.D.B. pg 278)  We should also realize that Israel is really an extended family unit. While it may now be a very large family, it started off with just one man, Abraham. It was already seen that parents have authority over their children and pass on blessings and curses based on their behavior. All the sons of Jacob, with the exception of Joseph who was in Egypt, looked to Jacob their father as their authority. GEN 42:1 “Now Jacob saw that there was grain in Egypt, and Jacob said to his sons, "Why are you staring at one another?" v2 And he said, "Behold, I have heard that there is grain in Egypt; go down there and buy some for us from that place, so that we may live and not die." v3 Then ten brothers of Joseph went down to buy grain from Egypt.” It would seem from this set of scriptures that the sons of Jacob were just sitting around in a quandary not knowing what to do until Jacob told them to go to Egypt and buy food. This idea of the oldest patriarch being the authority of a family is not a foreign concept in today’s world. While western civilizations may have abandoned this concept, many third world countries still practice such beliefs. So what does this have to do with elders? As a family grows in size so will the number of people who are the authority for their families. A good example of this is Jacob and his sons. Once Jacob died there was no longer one authority over the family. The twelve sons of Jacob were then equal in their authority towards one another and the ultimate authority over their own families. This would establish them as twelve elders (old men) over the families of Jacob. We see this in the fact that the tribes of Israel are named after the twelve sons of Jacob (of course Joseph’s sons were adopted by Jacob, thus making them somewhat equal to their uncles.) We have not seen God establish any elders up to this point. Neither can we find any place in scripture where these elders are selected or elected to fill the position. God told Moses at the burning bush that there were elders in Israel. EXO 3:16 "Go and gather the elders of Israel together, and say to them, 'The Lord, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, has appeared to me, saying," I am indeed concerned about you and what has been done to you in Egypt. So these elders are a well established entity in Israel. Moses did establish a group to Judge Israel at the suggestion of Jethro but these men were not taken from the eldership that existed (EXO 18:17-26) but were made leaders over the people. EXO 18:25 And Moses chose able men out of all Israel, and made them heads over the people, leaders of thousands, of hundreds, of fifties and of tens.

These elders were different than the Judges Moses commissioned earlier. They were even different than the political structure already explained. In this situation Moses complained about the burden of carrying this great responsibility and God responded by having him chose seventy elders to help carry the burden. NUM 11:16 The Lord therefore said to Moses, "Gather for Me seventy men from the elders of Israel, whom you know to be the elders of the people and their officers and bring them to the tent of meeting, and let them take their stand there with you. Some of these men could very well stand in other positions already established but we really do not know who they were except that Moses chose them. It would seem that there were more than seventy elders among the people but Moses was to choose only seventy. The purpose for having these men come to the tent of the meeting was to have them share in Moses’ anointing and thereby help carry the load of the nation. NUM 11:17 "Then I will come down and speak with you there, and I will take of the Spirit who is upon you, and will put Him upon them; and they shall bear the burden of the people with you, so that you shall not bear it all alone.

These elders represented Israel. God calls Moses, Aaron and his sons as well as seventy elders up the mountain to meet with Him. While on the mountain with Moses these elders are said to have seen God! EXO 24:10 and they saw the God of Israel; and under His feet there appeared to be a pavement of sapphire, as clear as the sky itself.  While the scriptures state they saw God, it is interesting to note that all they could describe was what God was standing on. We should also note that Moses and Joshua were the only ones that went further up the mountain. This in a way set the ministry of Aaron and his sons on equal standing to that of the elders. Aaron had been up the mountain on other occasions and being high priest he is actually given a greater position then his sons or the elders. Once Aaron is gone Aaron’s sons cannot claim superiority. It is also worth noting that Moses’ replacement is allowed to follow him up the mountain into the greater presence of God. Joshua is not a priest nor is he aware that he would replace Moses after he is gone. Moses is the ultimate political and spiritual leader but Joshua will only be a political leader. Aaron’s sons will spend their lives involved with the spiritual aspects of God and God’s presence that surrounds the tabernacle. Joshua on the other hand will be burdened with the future of the people as a nation. Joshua needs this time of intimacy with God in order to prepare him for his future work.

While Moses received some final instructions from God, discontentment and fear stirred in the camp of Israel. It may seem difficult to understand why Aaron and Israel would wander off into error so easily but we are as prone to wander as they were. The people of Israel began to wonder what came of Moses, seeing that he did not return from his trip up the mountain. They went to Aaron and told him to make them a god to lead them. (Ex 32:1) Aaron surrenders to their request and collects gold from the people and creates a golden calf and the people declare it their god. (Ex 32:4) We know that Aaron is called to be the high priest and that his sons after him will be succeeding priests for the nation of Israel. We have also seen how God chose Aaron to speak for Moses to Pharaoh and to the elders of Israel. He was even called Moses’ prophet seeing that Moses told Aaron what to speak. Yet, now by himself, when the people come to him and address an issue in Moses’ absence, instead of inquiring of God he just decides to follow the people’s desire. It would even seem that Moses already had given the answer to this request. Moses made several trips up the mountain into the presence of God. During one of the very first trips Moses was given the Ten Commandments verbally and it would appear he spoke them to all of Israel (Ex 20:1-17). Not only did Moses declare the Ten Commandments to the people but EXO 20:22 Then the Lord said to Moses, "Thus you shall say to the sons of Israel, 'You yourselves have seen that I have spoken to you from heaven. 23 'You shall not make other gods besides Me; gods of silver or gods of gold, you shall not make for yourselves. All that Aaron had to do was obey what God already spoke to Moses and yet he could not even do that. Aaron and his sons after him would have great authority on behalf of Israel and yet when confronted with his first decision Aaron makes the wrong one.

We should not think badly of Aaron for we do the very same thing. When being confronted by difficult issues many times we fail to seek God and see what He would say. We also ignore the written word which already reveals God’s will for our lives. We may even take it a step further then Aaron. We may know what the scriptures have to say about an issue and we go to God and ask that He would allow us to do that which is contrary to His will and word. If we do not hear God’s instruction to us, or even if we do, we may go to some “spiritual authority” to find permission to disobey the word. Many believe that “spiritual authorities” have the right to alter God’s word and His will.  Thus, their permission on the issue allows us to do what we wanted to do anyway, without any responsibility or judgment. There is no doubt that “spiritual authorities” will in fact bear responsibility before God for anything they permit which is not God’s will. We should not be deceived to think that just because some authority says we can do something that we will escape judgment when we knew spiritually or intellectually or by our conscience that we should not do a thing. Scripture declares in many ways our own responsibility before God. ROM 14:23 ... and whatever is not from faith is sin. JAM 4:17 Therefore, to one who knows the right thing to do, and does not do it, to him it is sin. ROM 1:28 And just as they did not see fit to acknowledge God any longer, God gave them over to a depraved mind, to do those things which are not proper.  We should not be deceived and think that we will be innocent when we do something we know is wrong if some “spiritual authority” says it is okay to do.

Jesus had to address some error Moses allowed that was against God’s will. It is hard to say whether or not Moses actually knew what God’s will on the subject was but Jesus makes it clear that Moses was wrong. MAT 19:7 They said to Him, "Why then did Moses command to give her a certificate of divorce and send her away?" 8 He said to them, "Because of your hardness of heart, Moses permitted you to divorce your wives; but from the beginning it has not been this way. 9 "And I say to you, whoever divorces his wife, except for immorality, and marries another woman commits adultery." It is hard to say if Moses will be judged for endorsing this error. I suppose it will depend on what he knew concerning the issue.

After the declaration that this idol that Aaron made is their god, Aaron tells the people that they would have a feast to honor the lord the following day. The following day Aaron made burnt offerings and peace offerings and then they had a party. God informs Moses of the Israelites activities and God threatens to destroy them all and make Moses into a great nation. EXO 32:7 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, "Go down at once, for your people, whom you brought up from the land of Egypt, have corrupted themselves. 8 "They have quickly turned aside from the way which I commanded them. They have made for themselves a molten calf, and have worshiped it, and have sacrificed to it, and said, 'This is your god, O Israel, who brought you up from the land of Egypt!'" 9 And the Lord said to Moses, "I have seen this people, and behold, they are an obstinate people. 10 "Now then let Me alone, that My anger may burn against them, and that I may destroy them; and I will make of you a great nation." Here we see God not only informing Moses of what is happening in the camp but also His intention of destroying all of Israel. We have seen how Moses is a type of Jesus. I have stated that no one person besides Jesus will ever have this kind of anointing or gifting that Moses had. Yet there are aspects of Moses ministry that we can have functioning in our lives. God tells Moses in verse ten “now then let me alone.” God is trying to head off Moses so that he will allow God to destroy the people. God wants to destroy everyone but cannot without Moses agreeing to it. God even refers to the people as Moses’ when He says, your people whom you brought up out of Egypt. This whole discourse shows whose responsibility the people are. Moses stands between God and the destruction of Israel much like Abraham stood between God and Sodom and Gomorrah. Yet we should realize that Aaron is responsible for the position that Israel is in. Aaron’s disregard for what God declared has placed the whole nation on the brink of destruction. Neither Aaron nor anyone else spoke up and declared that these actions where against God, but everyone seemed compliant to follow Aaron’s leading. This should have every Christian shaking in their shoes when they see local leaders doing wrong things and calling them right. Many people today will not tip the apple cart for fear of rejection and abuse by those in “authority” but will do even as the Israelites did, just go along. Churches even teach their people not to question the direction of the leadership for fear of God judging them. If even one person would have stood up and declared that Aaron was going in the wrong direction it may have prevented him from sinning against God.

If it had not been for Moses (in our case Jesus) being the one who was ultimately responsible for the affairs of Israel they would have perished that day. Moses informs God that it was He who brought the people out of Egypt and that if God killed the people His enemies would impute evil to God. (Ex 32:11-12) Moses does not stop there but also brings up what He declared to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and how their descendants would inherit the land. (Ex 32:13) The outcome of Moses boldness in intercession is: EXO 32:14 So the Lord changed His mind about the harm which He said He would do to His people.

Up to this point in the story what do we have? 1) Aaron and all of Israel sinning against God with no one opposing 2) God seeing what Aaron and Israel are doing and wanting to rain judgment upon them. 3) God wanting Moses to not stand in His way so that He can destroy Israel. 4) Moses reasoning with God concerning what God wants to do.

Seeing we are talking about authority, how has authority played a role in this situation? First realize that Aaron is not the ultimate authority in Israel yet his position of authority has been established from the very beginning of Israel’s deliverance from Egypt. Aaron has a spiritual and physical position of authority before God and Israel. Aaron does not represent Israel in every aspect of authority but just in the responsibility as priest. Even though Moses may have expected Aaron to handle the crowd he lacked authority to do so. In the very beginning of this story what do we see? EXO 32:1 Now when the people saw that Moses delayed to come down from the mountain, the people assembled about Aaron, and said to him, "Come, make us a god who will go before us; as for this Moses, the man who brought us up from the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him." The people surrounded Aaron and wanted him to make this god. Seeing no one opposed making the idol all became guilty of the sin. Aaron’s authority coupled with the political authority of all the people (no one opposed it) made Israel totally guilty before God. Seeing that Moses was not just a spiritual authority but also the political authority before God he had full responsibility over the actions of the nation. God tells Moses what is going on and seeks Moses’ permission to destroy them. Moses reasons with God and sets his will to Israel’s defense thus preventing their destruction. 

Moses and Joshua approach the camp and they see the idol and Israel dancing and partying and Moses is filled with rage and throws the tablets containing the Ten Commandments off the mountain and they shatter into pieces. After Moses burns and grinds the idol into powder he scatters it over a body of water which Israel is made to drink. Moses then turns his attention to Aaron and asks; EXO 32:21... "What did this people do to you, that you have brought such great sin upon them?" I am sure that Moses expected Aaron to control the people but the story seems to allude to the fact that Aaron did not even give the slightest hesitation to the people’s request for an idol. All the people knew Aaron was the mouth piece for Moses and when he did not object to the idol, they must have thought they were standing on good ground. By the question Moses asks it is evident that he is blaming Aaron for the sin. To some degree Moses is right to blame Aaron because besides Joshua, Aaron has spent more time in God’s presence than anyone else. Aaron and all of Israel already knew that they were not to create a likeness for God.

Aaron makes a lame excuse, blaming the people for the situation and then explains that they asked him to create a god who will go before them. Moses and Joshua had spent an extended period of time up on the mountain and everyone began to wonder what had happened to them. Aaron may have thought that they had perished and was too afraid to oppose the general consensus, so he gave in to the people’s desire. Aaron’s authority at this time was limited to speaking what Moses told him and he had no authority besides that. Even though Moses saw Aaron as having more authority then just his mouth piece Aaron had not been ordained as high priest yet. EXO 32:25  Now when Moses saw that the people were out of control‑‑ for Aaron had let them get out of control to be a derision among their enemies– Again we see a statement that Moses blamed Aaron for the people being out of control. It is true that Aaron could have stopped this by declaring the word of God as spoken by Moses but instead he willingly complied with the people. EXO 32:26 then Moses stood in the gate of the camp, and said, "Whoever is for the Lord, come to me!" And all the sons of Levi gathered together to him. v27 And he said to them, "Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, 'Every man of you put his sword upon his thigh, and go back and forth from gate to gate in the camp, and kill every man his brother, and every man his friend, and every man his neighbor.'" v28 So the sons of Levi did as Moses instructed, and about three thousand men of the people fell that day. Moses is so mad and offended that he has the sons of Levi kill three thousand men. The scripture does not state whether they were guilty but just that they were killed.

Moses, after having confronted Aaron and having three thousand people killed, goes back to God and tells Him what transpired. I really do not understand why Moses tells God what God told him before he returned to the camp but Moses seems to have a need to reiterate the facts to God. Moses may not have believed that Aaron and the people would have done such a rebellious act when God told him that it was happening. Moses’ outrage may be further evidence that he really did not believe God was telling him the truth. Moses tells God the sad truth of the issue and says, EXO 32:32 "... if Thou wilt, forgive their sin‑‑ and if not, please blot me out from Thy book which Thou hast written!" Moses does not make a case as before but only says; please forgive them and if not, hold me guilty as well. Moses takes his stand with the people and decides to partake in their punishment. Moses is willing to give his life and destiny on behalf of the people he led out of bondage and is now leading into life. God however has different plans for the people whom He knows sinned against Him. EXO 32:33 And the Lord said to Moses, "Whoever has sinned against Me, I will blot him out of My book. This statement is evidence that there were some people who knew that what was happening was not right and did not speak up. God held all guilty because no one spoke up against the golden calf. God would have destroyed them all had Moses agreed to it. God had already forgiven them of their sin before Moses returned to the camp but is now explaining to Moses that he would only hold guilty those who actually sinned against Him.