Exodus 34: 21 says, Six days thou shalt work, but on the seventh day thou shalt rest: in earing time and in harvest thou shalt rest.  Once again, God told Moses that the seventh day, the Sabbath, was a day of rest.  This was true no matter what was going on in life.  Even though we celebrate the Lord's day, this is still true.  Verse twenty-two,  And thou shalt observe the feast of weeks, of the firstfruits of wheat harvest, and the feast of ingathering at the year’s end.   God then began to tell Moses the other special days the people were to celebrate, all to show their honor to God.  Verse twenty-three adds, Thrice in the year shall all your men children appear before the Lord GOD, the God of Israel.  God said there were to be three times a year when the people appeared before him.  As followers of Christ, we are continually in God's presence, but we still have those special days that we dedicate to Him, but we need to make sure that He is always the focus of those days.  Christmas is one of those days, but the world has tried to turn it into something else.  Verse twenty-four proclaims, For I will cast out the nations before thee, and enlarge thy borders: neither shall any man desire thy land, when thou shalt go up to appear before the LORD thy God thrice in the year.  God said that He would not only protect the people when they appeared before Him, but that He would enlarge their borders.  God may not enlarge our borders in this world, but if we are faithful to Him, one day we will have all of heaven as our home.  Verse twenty-five says, Thou shalt not offer the blood of my sacrifice with leaven; neither shall the sacrifice of the feast of the passover be left unto the morning.  God reminded Moses about the law of the Passover.  Verse twenty-six states, The first of the firstfruits of thy land thou shalt bring unto the house of the LORD thy God. Thou shalt not seethe a kid in his mother’s milk.  Then, God reminds Moses of the law for the first fruits.  Again, God determined the way these days were to be observed, just as He should determine the way that we observe the days set aside for Him today.  Verse twenty-seven declares, And the LORD said unto Moses, Write thou these words: for after the tenor of these words I have made a covenant with thee and with Israel.  God told Moses to write these words down because they were a part of God's covenant with the people of Israel.  We still read these words today, and they are still God's words.  We have a new covenant through Christ, but we still need to learn from God's written word.  Verse twenty-eight declares, And he was there with the LORD forty days and forty nights; he did neither eat bread, nor drink water. And he wrote upon the tables the words of the covenant, the ten commandments.  Moses was with God for forty days and nights, and he did not eat or drink during this time.  Moses spent the time writing the words of the covenant on the tablets, as well as the Ten Commandments.  The first time God had inscribed the words, but this time Moses was required to do it.  It may be that when we do not obey God that we have to spend time redoing what He has already done for us.  Of course, this will never apply to salvation, which we can never accomplish on our own.  Verse twenty-nine says,:And it came to pass, when Moses came down from mount Sinai with the two tables of testimony in Moses’ hand, when he came down from the mount, that Moses wist not that the skin of his face shone while he talked with him.  When Moses came down off the mountain, his face glowed, but he did not realize this.  We cannot spend time with God, especially intense personal time, without being changed.  Our face may not glow, but our spirit should.  Verse thirty states, And when Aaron and all the children of Israel saw Moses, behold, the skin of his face shone; and they were afraid to come nigh him.  Aaron and the people of Israel were afraid to come near Moses when they saw him.  The first time Moses came down the mountain, they were dancing and worshipping the idol that they had made, but this time their focus was on Moses.  If we are to worship God today, our focus must be on Him.  Moses was not God, but he was the one who represented God to the people.  Verse thirty-one declares, And Moses called unto them; and Aaron and all the rulers of the congregation returned unto him: and Moses talked with them.  Moses called them, and Aaron and the rulers of the congregation came and talked with him.  We need to listen to and talk with those who are sharing God's word today, and we need to share God's good news with those that we encounter in life.   Verse thirty-two says, And afterward all the children of Israel came nigh: and he gave them in commandment all that the LORD had spoken with him in mount Sinai.  Next, the rest of the people of Israel came near, and Moses shared with them the commandments of God.  Verse thirty-three states, And till Moses had done speaking with them, he put a vail on his face.  Moses covered his face while he was speaking to them.  Moses was not to be the focus, but God's commandments were.  We today when we serve and worship God must keep the focus on Him.  Verse thirty-four adds, But when Moses went in before the LORD to speak with him, he took the vail off, until he came out. And he came out, and spake unto the children of Israel that which he was commanded.   When Moses went to speak to God, he uncovered his face.  When we speak to God today, we should not attempt to hide anything from him.  Moses did not have to worry about outshining God and neither do we.  Verse thirty-five declares, And the children of Israel saw the face of Moses, that the skin of Moses’ face shone: and Moses put the vail upon his face again, until he went in to speak with him.  Moses still covered his face when he was speaking to the people if Israel.  It would be nice if people could see the truth of our relationship with God reflected in our faces, but we must rely on our actions doing so.

Exodus 34:10 says, And he said, Behold, I make a covenant: before all thy people I will do marvels, such as have not been done in all the earth, nor in any nation: and all the people among which thou art shall see the work of the LORD: for it is a terrible thing that I will do with thee.  God told Moses that He would make a covenant with the people, and that He would do works among them the like of which had never been seen and all those around them would see it.  God said it was a terrible thing that He would do.  The covenant that we have with God today is through our faith in Christ, and the sacrifice of Christ is the greatest work that God ever did for us.  To those who do not believe in Christ as their Savior and Lord, it is indeed a terrible thing.  Verse eleven declares, Observe thou that which I command thee this day: behold, I drive out before thee the Amorite, and the Canaanite, and the Hittite, and the Perizzite, and the Hivite, and the Jebusite.  God told Moses to make note of what He was going to do, and that was to drive out all their enemies.  We to can make note of, or put our faith in, the fact that as followers of Christ God will defeat all our enemies for us.  As a matter of fact, He already has.  We will never be spiritually defeated by the world as long as we keep our faith in God.  Verse twelve warns, Take heed to thyself, lest thou make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land whither thou goest, lest it be for a snare in the midst of thee:  Moses was warned against making covenants with the people they came in contact with, because it could become a snare to them.  We today cannot compromise with the world, and if we do, it will be a trap to our faith.  Verse thirteen adds, But ye shall destroy their altars, break their images, and cut down their groves:  God told Moses to have the people of Israel to destroy all the false gods and their altars.  We today must also destroy all the false gods in our lives if we are to successfully follow Christ.  Verse fourteen declares, For thou shalt worship no other god: for the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God.  Moses was warned against worshipping other gods, because God is a jealous God.  As Creator and Redeemer of the world, God has a right to be jealous of His relationship with His people.  Verse fifteen adds, Lest thou make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land, and they go a whoring after their gods, and do sacrifice unto their gods, and one call thee, and thou eat of his sacrifice;  God warned Moses of the danger of the people of Israel compromising faith and being led into the worship of false god.  The same warning still applies to us today.  We cannot compromise with the world and still faithfully serve God.  Verse sixteen adds, And thou take of their daughters unto thy sons, and their daughters go a whoring after their gods, and make thy sons go a whoring after their gods.  Moses was warned of the danger of marrying those who were not a part of the nation of Israel, just as we today are warned against marrying outside those who are part of the family of God.  Unfortunately, when this happens, too often the believer is led away from God.  Verse seventeen declares,Thou shalt make thee no molten gods.  This was a warning against making idols, and it is just as true for us today.  Verse eighteen says, The feast of unleavened bread shalt thou keep. Seven days thou shalt eat unleavened bread, as I commanded thee, in the time of the month Abib: for in the month Abib thou camest out from Egypt.  Moses was told that the people were to observe the feast of unleavened bread by eating unleavened bread for a week in the month that God had brought them out of Egypt.  We celebrate the Lord's Supper today, however often we celebrate it, to commemorate Christ dying to free us from our sins and from the power of the forces of evil in the world.  Verse nineteen adds, All that openeth the matrix is mine; and every firstling among thy cattle, whether ox or sheep, that is male.  The first born males of the animals were still to be given to God to be used as He saw fit.  Vere twenty adds, But the firstling of an ass thou shalt redeem with a lamb: and if thou redeem him not, then shalt thou break his neck. All the firstborn of thy sons thou shalt redeem. And none shall appear before me empty.  God made  a provision to redeem the first born ass and also the first born sons, but this required the sacrifice of a lamb.  Christ became the sacrifice for all people for all time, and though we have nothing else to offer, we do not come to God empty handed when we accept Christ as our Savior and Lord.  We offer our life and all that we have to God.

Exodus 34:1 says, And the LORD said unto Moses, Hew thee two tables of stone like unto the first: and I will write upon these tables the words that were in the first tables, which thou brakest.  God told Moses to make two new tablets like the ones that he had broken, and then God would write the words that He had written on them again.  Moses did not write the law of God either time, but God did.  Today, if we have broken the law of God, we cannot rewrite it.  We can only come back to God as ask Him to forgive us and then to rewrite His word in our heart.  Verse two states, And be ready in the morning, and come up in the morning unto mount Sinai, and present thyself there to me in the top of the mount.  God gave Moses time to get ready, then he was to come up the mountain to God.  Whether we are a follower of Christ or not, God is going to call us to Him and give us time to get ready to do what He is calling us to do.  Verse three adds, And no man shall come up with thee, neither let any man be seen throughout all the mount; neither let the flocks nor herds feed before that mount.  Like Moses, when we come to God for salvation and to seek his will for our life, we come alone.  No one else can accept salvation for us, nor can we accept salvation for others.  Verse four says, And he hewed two tables of stone like unto the first; and Moses rose up early in the morning, and went up unto mount Sinai, as the LORD had commanded him, and took in his hand the two tables of stone.  Moses hewed the two tablets of stone, then he rose up early in the morning and went up the mountain as God had instructed him to do.  When God instructs us to do something, after we prepare ourselves according to His guidance, we should not delay in doing what He has called us to do.  Like Moses, we need to begin as soon as God allows us to.  Verse five states, And the LORD descended in the cloud, and stood with him there, and proclaimed the name of the LORD.  Moses went up the mountain, but he did not reach God.  God still had to come down to Moses.  We cannot reach God by our own abilities, but must wait for God to come to us.  Even after we accept Christ as Savior and Lord, and are indwelled by the Holy Spirit, God is not ours to command.  We must still wait on God to reveal His will to us.  The Holy Spirit is not with us to do whatever we desire of Him, but is with us to reveal God's will to us and to empower us to accomplish His will.  Verse six declares And the LORD passed by before him, and proclaimed, The LORD, The LORD God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth,  Then verse seven adds, Keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and that will by no means clear the guilty; visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the children’s children, unto the third and to the fourth generation.  God passed before Moses, and made it clear exactly who He was.  God was not bragging about Who He was, He was just making sure that Moses understood Who He was.  When God comes to us today, He will make sure that we know exactly Who He is, not to brag on Himself, but to help us understand exactly Who He is.  We cannot accept the salvation of Christ if we do not know Who God is.  Verse eight says, And Moses made haste, and bowed his head toward the earth, and worshipped.  Moses quickly bowed his head and worshipped God.  When we come into God's presence, we should always come humbly and with an attitude of worship.  We too often act as though the only time that we need ot worship God is when we gather together in His name, but we are to worship God whenever we are in His presence.  I believe that since we as Christians have the Holy Spirit with us always, this means that we should always be in an attitude of worship to God.  Verse nine declares, And he said, If now I have found grace in thy sight, O Lord, let my Lord, I pray thee, go among us; for it is a stiffnecked people; and pardon our iniquity and our sin, and take us for thine inheritance.  Moses still prayed for the people of Israel.  He acknowledged that they were a stiff necked people who often rebelled against God.  Moses could pray for them, but he could not gain salvation for them.  We today can intercede for others, but we cannot claim salvation for them.

Exodus 33:11 says, And the LORD spake unto Moses face to face, as a man speaketh unto his friend. And he turned again into the camp: but his servant Joshua, the son of Nun, a young man, departed not out of the tabernacle.  God spoke to Moses face to face, as two friends speak to each other.  Matthew Henry says this means that Moses saw God with a greater clarity, which was an encouragement to him.  Joshua remained in the tabernacle since Moses did not want to leave it empty.  When we accept Christ as our Savior and Lord today, we see God with a greater clarity than we have ever seen Him before.  God talks to us as to a friend.  Verse twelve states, And Moses said unto the LORD, See, thou sayest unto me, Bring up this people: and thou hast not let me know whom thou wilt send with me. Yet thou hast said, I know thee by name, and thou hast also found grace in my sight.  Moses told God that He had called him to bring up the people, out of the land of Egypt, but that God had not told him who He would send with him.  Moses said that God had said that He knew Moses by name and that he had found grace in God's sight.  We may not know all the details when God calls us to a particular task today, but we can know that God knows us by name and that we have found grace in His sight if we have accepted Christ as our Savior and Lord.  Of course, this grace of God is available to all, but they must put their faith in Christ for it to apply to them.  Verse thirteen adds, Now therefore, I pray thee, if I have found grace in thy sight, shew me now thy way, that I may know thee, that I may find grace in thy sight: and consider that this nation is thy people.  Moses asked God to show him that he had found grace with God so that he could lead the nation of Israel as God's people.  We through our faith in Christ are shown that we have found grace in the sight of God, but we can only claim this grace for our self.  We can only point others to Christ.  Verse fourteen declares, And he said, My presence shall go with thee, and I will give thee rest.  God told Moses that He would go before him, and that because of that Moses would find rest.  This required Moses to go in faith.  Today as Christians, no matter where God leads us, He will go before us and we should rest assured in His presence when we are following Him.  Verse fifteen says,:And he said unto him, If thy presence go not with me, carry us not up hence.  Moses told God if God's presence was not to go with him, then he didn't want to go any farther.  We need to make sure that wherever we are that we are following God's will.  We cannot go ahead of God and still be successful in doing what He has called us to do.  Verse sixteen asks, For wherein shall it be known here that I and thy people have found grace in thy sight? is it not in that thou goest with us? so shall we be separated, I and thy people, from all the people that are upon the face of the earth.  Moses asked God how he could know that he and the people of Israel had found grace with God and would it be because they were separated from the rest of the people of the world.  We today can only know that we have found grace with God by faith in Christ, and when we accept salvation through Him, we are indeed separated from the world spiritually.  Verse seventeen declares, And the LORD said unto Moses, I will do this thing also that thou hast spoken: for thou hast found grace in my sight, and I know thee by name.  God said that He would still be with Moses and the people of Israel even though they had rebelled against Him.  We today as followers of Christ can be certain that God is still with us even if we do rebel against His will at times.  Verse eighteen adds, And he said, I beseech thee, shew me thy glory.  Moses asked for God to show him His glory.  I believe that Moses just wanted assurance that God was still going to be with him.  We today can rest assured that if we are a Cristian that God will always be with us, and we should need no sign to know it.  Verse nineteen proclaims, And he said, I will make all my goodness pass before thee, and I will proclaim the name of the LORD before thee; and will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will shew mercy on whom I will shew mercy.  I believe that God was basically sayin that Moses would simply have to put his faith in God because of Who God is.  We today must do the same.  We cannot dictate to God who will be saved, but we can follow Him in faith when we are.  Verse twenty adds, And he said, Thou canst not see my face: for there shall no man see me, and live.  Though we were told that Moses and God talked as friends, Moses was still not allowed to see God's face, and neither is anyone else in this lifetime.  Verse twenty-one states, And the LORD said, Behold, there is a place by me, and thou shalt stand upon a rock:  Verse twenty-two adds, And it shall come to pass, while my glory passeth by, that I will put thee in a clift of the rock, and will cover thee with my hand while I pass by:  Then  verse twenty-three concludes, And I will take away mine hand, and thou shalt see my back parts: but my face shall not be seen.  Like Moses, we can stand on the rock of salvation, but we can never see God in His entirety.  This will only occur when we are called home to heaven.

Exodus 33;1 says, And the LORD said unto Moses, Depart, and go up hence, thou and the people which thou hast brought up out of the land of Egypt, unto the land which I sware unto Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, saying, Unto thy seed will I give it: God told Moses that it was time for the people of israel to go on to the land that He had promised to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.  God will never forget His promises to us, no matter how many years it takes for them to come to pass.  Verse two states,  And I will send an angel before thee; and I will drive out the Canaanite, the Amorite, and the Hittite, and the Perizzite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite:  God also told Moses that He was going to send an angel before them to drive out the people in the land.  All the people of Israel had to do was go.  When God calls us to a particular task today, all we have to do is go.  God will go before us and prepare the way, and the Holy Spirit will be with us to equip us, which is even better than an angel going before us.  Verse three adds, Unto a land flowing with milk and honey: for I will not go up in the midst of thee; for thou art a stiffnecked people: lest I consume thee in the way.  God told Moses that He was sending an angel, but that He Himself would not be in their midst, since they were a stiff necked people who He might destroy along the way because of their rebellion and lack of faith.  Though the Holy Spirit is always with Christians, we may not always receive the benefit of this because we are a stiff necked people.  When we doubt or defy God, the Holy Spirit can only bring us regret and call us back to the Father.  We cannot expect to claim God's victory over the obstacles of the world at such times.  Verse four declares, And when the people heard these evil tidings, they mourned: and no man did put on him his ornaments.  The people of Israel mourned when they heard this, and we today as followers of Christ should mourn when we know that we are out of the will of God.  This is never a time to adorn, or wrap, ourselves in the things of his world.  Verse five adds, For the LORD had said unto Moses, Say unto the children of Israel, Ye are a stiffnecked people: I will come up into the midst of thee in a moment, and consume thee: therefore now put off thy ornaments from thee, that I may know what to do unto thee.  God had given the people a warning through Moses.  They were to put off their ornaments, so that God would know that they were listening to Him.  We today need to put off the things of the world so that God will know that we are listening to Him.  The warning was that God could come in a moment and destroy them if they were not obedient.  We today, as followers of Christ, must never allow the things of this world to come between God and us.  Verse six proclaims, And the children of Israel stripped themselves of their ornaments by the mount Horeb.  The people of Israel obeyed Moses, at least in the physical demand.  This did not mean that they were spiritually faithful to God.  People today may go through the motions of being obedient to God, but this does not men that they are saved.  It is only when someone accepts Christ by faith that that person is truly saved.  Verse seven says,  And Moses took the tabernacle, and pitched it without the camp, afar off from the camp, and called it the Tabernacle of the congregation. And it came to pass, that every one which sought the LORD went out unto the tabernacle of the congregation, which was without the camp.  Moses placed the tabernacle outside the camp, since it represented God's presence and God had said He would not be in their midst.  Until we accept Christ as our Savior and Lord, God will always be outside of our life.  When we accept Christ, we will never be out of the presence of God, even if we are disobedient to Him.  The people had to go outside the camp to worship God, just as we today must go outside influence of the material things of the world if we are to follow God.  Verse eight states, And it came to pass, when Moses went out unto the tabernacle, that all the people rose up, and stood every man at his tent door, and looked after Moses, until he was gone into the tabernacle.  When Moses went out to the tabernacle and went inside, all the people of Israel stood at their tent door and watched him.  When we as followers of Christ go to worship God today, the world will be watching.  Even more importantly, when we are out in the world and are followers of Christ, the world will be watching to see if we put God above the things of this world.  Verse nine adds, And it came to pass, as Moses entered into the tabernacle, the cloudy pillar descended, and stood at the door of the tabernacle, and the LORD talked with Moses.  When Moses entered the tabernacle, the cloudy pillar, representing God's presence with the people, descended, and God talked with Moses.  We have no visible sign today that God is with us, but if we are truly following God by faith, the world should be able to see His presence in our lives.  Verse ten concludes, And all the people saw the cloudy pillar stand at the tabernacle door: and all the people rose up and worshipped, every man in his tent door.  The people of Israel all rose up and worshipped God where they were.  We today should always rise up and worship God where we are,  We do not have to go to a particular place to worship God, but we are to worship Him wherever we are.  We are not just saved on a particular day or in a particular place, but we are saved every second of the every day wherever we are, and because of this we should continually worship God.

Exodus 32:30 says, And it came to pass on the morrow, that Moses said unto the people, Ye have sinned a great sin: and now I will go up unto the LORD; peradventure I shall make an atonement for your sin.  Moses told the people of Israel that they had sinned a great sin and that he would go up the mountain and see if he could make atonement for them with God.  We today have committed a great sin anytime we do not follow God's word, and there is no one in the world who can make atonement for us.  Fortunately, atonement has already been made by Jesus, Who died to make atonement for us.  He is the only One Who can.  We can only point the lost to Jesus.  Verse thirty-one states, And Moses returned unto the LORD, and said, Oh, this people have sinned a great sin, and have made them gods of gold.  Moses returned to God and confessed the sin of the people to Him.  Moses was there to intercede for the people of Israel, since he himself had not participated in this sin.  If we are to make intercession for others, we must first make sure that we are not guilty of unconfessed sins our self.  Then, we must acknowledge that they need forgiveness, and bring our concern for them to God.  We cannot demand forgiveness for them, but can only ask that God forgive them.  Of course, if they are lost, then we can only ask that God help them to accept Christ as their Savior and Lord.  Verse thirty-two  adds, Yet now, if thou wilt forgive their sin—; and if not, blot me, I pray thee, out of thy book which thou hast written.  Moses told the LORD that he was willing to be blotted out of God's book of life if God would forgive the people of Israel.  We may be willing to be blotted out of God's book of life if He would forgive others, but it doesn't work that way.  There is only One Who can give Himself in our place, and that is Jesus Christ, and He already did.  Verse thirty-three proclaims, And the LORD said unto Moses, Whosoever hath sinned against me, him will I blot out of my book.  God told Moses that each person was responsible for his or her sin, and that has always been true.  We either attempt to find forgiveness on our own, which we cannot do, or we accept the forgiveness that comes by putting our faith in Christ's atonement, which is already an accomplished fact.  Verse thirty-four adds, Therefore now go, lead the people unto the place of which I have spoken unto thee: behold, mine Angel shall go before thee: nevertheless in the day when I visit I will visit their sin upon them.  Moses was told to go and lead the people to where God had directed him to go.  God did not say that Moses had obtained forgiveness for their sins.  Their sins would still be dealt with when God visited them.  When Christ returns, God will judge all people, and we will either stand before Him with our sins forgiven because of our acceptance of Christ as our Savior and Lord, or we will stand having to answer for our own sins, for which we cannot find forgiveness without having accepted Christ.  God did not immediately blot out all sinners, just as He doesn't today.  Verse thirty-five concluded, And the LORD plagued the people, because they made the calf, which Aaron made.  God plagued the people of Israel because of their sin of idolatry.  Notice that Aaron was given the responsibility of having made the golden calf.  Even if we have accepted Christ as our Savior and Lord, we may still suffer the consequences of our sins in this world.  We can never take sin lightly, because God certainly doesn't.

Exodus 32:19 says,  And it came to pass, as soon as he came nigh unto the camp, that he saw the calf, and the dancing: and Moses’ anger waxed hot, and he cast the tables out of his hands, and brake them beneath the mount.  When Moses saw the golden calf and the people dancing naked around it, he was very angry.  Moses may have felt that God shouldn't be angry, without knowing what was going on, but when he saw, he was angry himself.  We often hear of breaking God's law, but Moses did so literally when he threw the stone tablets down and broke them.  Verse twenty states,And he took the calf which they had made, and burnt it in the fire, and ground it to powder, and strawed it upon the water, and made the children of Israel drink of it.  Moses reduced the golden calf to powder, put it in water, and had the people drink it.  Not only did they lose their golden calf idol, but they lost all the gold that they had given Aaron to make it.  When we worship the things of this world, we will ultimately lose everything that we put into that worship.  Verse twenty-one adds, And Moses said unto Aaron, What did this people unto thee, that thou hast brought so great a sin upon them?   Moses questioned Aaron, since he was God's priest and Moses' second in command.  Moses wanted to know what the people did to Aaron to cause him t6o turn away from God.  We better hope that God never asks us what the world did to us to cause us to turn away from Him.  Verse twenty-two states, And Aaron said, Let not the anger of my lord wax hot: thou knowest the people, that they are set on mischief.  Aaron began to offer excuses, blaming things on those who were to be God's people instead of on himself.  We cannot shift the blame for our sins to others, though like Aaron, we may often try to.  Verse twenty-three adds, For they said unto me, Make us gods, which shall go before us: for as for this Moses, the man that brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we wot not what is become of him.  Aaron basically implied that it was Moses fault because the people did not know what had become of him.  Had they really put their faith in God, and not just when Moses was with them, they would not have so easily abandoned God.  If we are truly a follower of Christ, we should be faithful to him at all times, and not just when we are physically in the presence of other Christians.  Verse twenty-four declares, And I said unto them, Whosoever hath any gold, let them break it off. So they gave it me: then I cast it into the fire, and there came out this calf.  Then, Aaron lied.  He said the people brought him gold, he threw it in the fire, and the golden calf came out.  We were already told that Aaron fashioned the golden calf.  A golden calf forming itself in the fire is about as likely as the universe being formed by some cosmic accident.  Both required a creative force behind them, the golden calf Aaron and the universe God.  God took credit for His creation, but Aaron didn't.  We must take responsibility when we sin, then ask God for forgiveness.  We cannot blame our sins on others.  Verse twenty-five declares, And when Moses saw that the people were naked; (for Aaron had made them naked unto their shame among their enemies:)  Aaron had made the people get naked to shame them among their enemies.  Without God, we will always stand spiritually naked among our enemies.  Verse twenty-six adds, Then Moses stood in the gate of the camp, and said, Who is on the LORD’s side? let him come unto me. And all the sons of Levi gathered themselves together unto him.  Moses asked those who were on God's side to come and join him, and the sons of Levi came to him.  There will always be a time when we must decide whether we are going to stand with God or with the people of the earth who reject God.  Verse twenty-seven continues,  And he said unto them, Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, Put every man his sword by his side, and go in and out from gate to gate throughout the camp, and slay every man his brother, and every man his companion, and every man his neighbour.  Those who did not stand for God were to be killed.  Ultimately those who do not stand for God today will face a much greater punishment, and that is everlasting separation from God.  Verse twenty-eight states, And the children of Levi did according to the word of Moses: and there fell of the people that day about three thousand men.  The children of Levi obeyed Moses and killed about three thousand men that day.  Sin always has and always will bring serious consequences, but as followers of Christ, He has taken that penalty on Himself for us.  Verse twenty-nine concludes, For Moses had said, Consecrate yourselves to day to the LORD, even every man upon his son, and upon his brother; that he may bestow upon you a blessing this day.  Moses told the people that they had to make a choice, to either follow God or deny Him.  We today have that same choice, and even as Christians, we are often called on to do what the world says or do what God says.  Hopefully, we will always chose to do what God says.