Exodus 32:29 - "Consecration to the LORD"

Exodus 32:29

 "For Moses had said, Consecrate yourselves today to the Lord, even every man upon his son, and upon his brother; that he may bestow upon you a blessing this day."

In this solemn verse, we behold a scene that lays bare both the depth of man’s sin and the riches of God’s sovereign Grace in Christ. Israel had corrupted itself at the foot of Sinai; the golden calf stood as a testimony to the depravity of the human heart. Yet into that dark moment, God spoke of consecration — not as a work by which sinners earn favor, but as the fruit of His own redeeming mercy. The Levites, set apart by God’s sovereign choice, act not to secure grace but because Grace had already purposed their forgiveness.

Here, then, we see that true consecration is never the cause of God’s blessing but its evidence. It is Christ—the One greater than Moses—Who sanctifies His people by His Own blood and gathers to Himself a people wholly set apart for His glory (John 17:19). Where sin abounded, Grace did much more abound; and even in the shadow of idolatry, the LORD reveals that all blessing flows not from man’s devotion, but from His sovereign purpose fulfilled in Christ our Mediator.

The Holy God calls sinners to consecration to the LORD. This is not an invitation to add a little religion to a life of idolatry, but a command: “Consecrate yourselves today to the Lord, even every man upon his son, and upon his brother; that he may bestow upon you a blessing this day” (Exodus 32:29). To be consecrated is to be set aside wholly to Him, to own Him for Who He is in Truth and Justice, to glorify Him in worship, will, and walk before Him.

This consecration begins where God teaches a sinner Who He is. To be on the LORD’s side means to take sides with the LORD against yourself, whatever that consequence may be. The sinner is brought to say, “I’m the sinner. I’m condemned. If God should put me in hell, I’ll have to praise Him for doing so because He’s the just God. I’m guilty.” An unregenerate, natural man could never utter those words; he does not want to. He wants his life, and at the same time hopes that somehow all will be well. It won’t be. When the LORD opens the heart, the cry becomes that of Isaiah: “Woe is me! for I am undone” (Isaiah 6:5).

In Exodus 32, Moses stands as a type of the Mediator. He comes down the mountain with the tables of stone in his hand, showing that the law must be honored, for God to be just. When he sees the golden calf and the dancing, he breaks the tables beneath the mount, a visual aid that the law has been broken in its very first commandment. Later, the LORD writes the same words again on new tables and has them placed in the ark, covered by the mercy seat, where blood is sprinkled (Exodus 25:16). There, all the law can do on its own is condemn, but there is mercy with the LORD when Righteousness has been honored. This ark, this mercy seat, all point to Christ, the True Mediator, Who has satisfied the law’s precept and penalty,

Moses’ call, “Who is on the Lord’s side? let him come unto me” (Exodus 32:26), is the language of a mediator. Our safety is not in our decisions, our works, our golden calves of religion, but in coming to the Person Whom God has set up. The Levites, the ones appointed to carry the sacrifices and offerings, gathered themselves unto him. It is as though the LORD opened their eyes: “We’ve got to stand with this man. We’ve got to stand with this mediator, come what may.” That is what Faith does. It stands with God’s Mediator, even when it does not know what He will do, trusting His Justice and Mercy together.

All of this is but a shadow of Christ. Christ is the Mediator Whose one purpose is to bring reconciliation, but to do it in a just way. There are only two ways the Holy God will be satisfied: either He will be satisfied with the work of the Substitute, fulfilling all Righteousness on behalf of His people, or His Justice will be satisfied in casting from His Presence everyone who does not have that Righteousness. Some in this passage are delivered despite apostasy; others pay with their lives, eternally separated from God. If any are saved, it is because of His Mercy and Grace alone, but God is just in condemning the wicked.

False religion, decisionism, and works‑religion are nothing more than worshiping a golden calf. Men set up their own wills as idols, thinking, “I want the Lord’s blessing, I’ll consecrate myself again, etc.” starting with “I” and looking for something in it for themselves. They are made to believe that somehow the power of salvation is in their hands, just as Israel made a calf with their own hands. But the Gospel takes man’s will and puts it under the Power of Grace. It strips man of boasting and gives all the honor to the God Who makes His chosen ones to differ. Any “jesus” of our own imagination, any religion that allows man to boast in his willingness, is just another golden calf.

Into this darkness, the Voice of the True Mediator sounds: “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28). The same LORD Who upbraids the cities that repented now declares that the Father has hidden these things from the wise and prudent and revealed them unto babes, “for so it seemed good in thy sight” (Matthew 11:25-26). All things are delivered unto this Son; no man knows the Father but by Him (Matthew 11:27). That is where consecration leads: away from man’s altar calls, away from coming to the preacher, to being drawn by and coming to Christ Himself. “Consecrate yourselves today to the Lord” is therefore urgent. It is not “if you will, when you’re ready,” but today. To come out from idols, from works religion, from unequal yokes in worship, is to heed that call: “Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord” (2 Corinthians 6:17).

The heart must be kept, for apostasy begins there, (Proverbs 4:23). When God leaves a man to himself, he will soon find a way to cast his jewelry into the fire and pretend the calf just “came out," (Exodus 32:24). But where God gives the desire to honor Him and glorify His Son, where He brings a sinner to take sides with God against himself and to flee to the Mediator He has established, there is His Blessing. There, in Christ alone, is Rest, Grace and Mercy, and true consecration to the LORD.