Can God Use the Fallen to Lead?Exodus 32:25-28 KJV, “And when Moses saw that the people were naked; (for Aaron had made them naked unto their shame among their enemies:) (26) 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. (27) 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. (28) And the children of Levi did according to the word of Moses: and there fell of the people that day about three thousand men.”

“Though God had granted the prayer of Moses in sparing Israel from destruction, their apostasy was to be signally punished. The lawlessness and insubordination into which Aaron had permitted them to fall, if not speedily crushed, would run riot in wickedness, and would involve the nation in irretrievable ruin. By terrible severity the evil must be put away. Standing in the gate of the camp, Moses called to the people, “Who is on the Lord’s side? let him come unto me.” Those who had not joined in the apostasy were to take their position at the right of Moses; those who were guilty but repentant, at the left. The command was obeyed. It was found that the tribe of Levi had taken no part in the idolatrous worship. From among other tribes there were great numbers who, although they had sinned, now signified their repentance. But a large company, mostly of the mixed multitude that instigated the making of the calf, stubbornly persisted in their rebellion. In the name of “the Lord God of Israel,” Moses now commanded those upon his right hand, who had kept themselves clear of idolatry, to gird on their swords and slay all who persisted in rebellion. “And there fell of the people that day about three thousand men.” Without regard to position, kindred, or friendship, the ringleaders in wickedness were cut off; but all who repented and humbled themselves were spared.” PP 324.1

The sin was awful. The result of withdrawing from the Lord was that they were without the protection of the Lord. The Lord would not force them to follow Him. Something must be done to stop this evil in its tracks to save the nation from being left exposed to the attacks of the enemies of God and His people.

Moses took action. He did not ask who is guilty. He asked, “Who is on the Lord’s side?” Moses was not looking backward. He was looking

forward. Who IS on the Lord’s side, right now? It required that the people each make a choice. When the dust settled there were three groups of people divided into two main groups.

1. Those who had NOT joined in the apostasy2. Those who HAD joined in the apostasy and were repentant3. Those who stubbornly persisted in their rebellion.

The latter group who remained stubbornly persistent in their rebellion were slain by command of Moses. Those who had no part in the apostasy and those who were repentant were all invited to rededicate themselves to the Lord.

Exodus 32:29-30 KJV “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. (30) 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.”

It was a terribly wicked thing they did, yet after all had repented and consecrated themselves to the Lord, and all were treated the same. After this it was put behind them, and Aaron who presided over this great evil was chosen by God to serve as High Priest. He was not called to serve because he had misled the people. He was called to serve the Lord as High Priest in spite of his fall.

God treats repentant believing sinners as righteous. God asks repentant believing sinners to learn from their mistakes and take leadership roles in His cause!

This whole incident could have been avoided! God dealt with the problem with an eye on building up His cause. How much better if the time had been spent well and all including Aaron might have been ready to deal with the temptation.

“During this period of waiting, there was time for them to meditate upon the law of God which they had heard, and to prepare their hearts to receive the further revelations that He might make to them. They had none too much time for this work; and had they been thus seeking a clearer understanding of God’s requirements, and humbling their hearts before Him, they would have been shielded from temptation. But they did not do this, and they soon became careless, inattentive, and lawless. Especially was this the case with the mixed multitude. They were impatient to be on their way to the Land of Promise—the land flowing with milk and

honey. It was only on condition of obedience that the goodly land was promised them, but they had lost sight of this. There were some who suggested a return to Egypt, but whether forward to Canaan or backward to Egypt, the masses of the people were determined to wait no longer for Moses.” PP 315.2