Love God Above All

Sermon on Exodus 32:15-29

Text: Moses turned and went down the mountain with the two tablets of the covenant law in his hands. They were inscribed on both sides, front and back. 16 The tablets were the work of God; the writing was the writing of God, engraved on the tablets.
17 When Joshua heard the noise of the people shouting, he said to Moses, “There is the sound of war in the camp.”
18 Moses replied:
“It is not the sound of victory,
it is not the sound of defeat;
it is the sound of singing that I hear.”
19 When Moses approached the camp and saw the calf and the dancing, his anger burned and he threw the tablets out of his hands, breaking them to pieces at the foot of the mountain. 20 And he took the calf the people had made and burned it in the fire; then he ground it to powder, scattered it on the water and made the Israelites drink it.
21 He said to Aaron, “What did these people do to you, that you led them into such great sin?”
22 “Do not be angry, my lord,” Aaron answered. “You know how prone these people are to evil. 23 They said to me, ‘Make us gods who will go before us. As for this fellow Moses who brought us up out of Egypt, we don’t know what has happened to him.’ 24 So I told them, ‘Whoever has any gold jewelry, take it off.’ Then they gave me the gold, and I threw it into the fire, and out came this calf!”
25 Moses saw that the people were running wild and that Aaron had let them get out of control and so become a laughingstock to their enemies. 26 So he stood at the entrance to the camp and said, “Whoever is for the LORD, come to me.” And all the Levites rallied to him.
27 Then he said to them, “This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: ‘Each man strap a sword to his side. Go back and forth through the camp from one end to the other, each killing his brother and friend and neighbor.’” 28 The Levites did as Moses commanded, and that day about three thousand of the people died. 29 Then Moses said, “You have been set apart to the LORD today, for you were against your own sons and brothers, and he has blessed you this day.”

The First Commandment that God gave Moses on Mt. Sinai was “You shall have no other gods.” In Dr. Martin Luther’s explanation to this commandment, we learn that “We should fear, love, and trust in God above all things.” When it says that we are to “fear” God, it doesn’t mean that we are to be afraid of God, but that we hold him in the highest respect. We are in awe of him. Trusting in God above all things means that we rely on him more than anyone or anything else. This morning, as we meditate on our text, we are going to focus on the thought that we are to LOVE GOD ABOVE ALL. We are reminded that 1. Many Things Want This Position, but that 2. Only God Deserves Our Highest Love.

Just prior to our text, we have the familiar account of the golden calf. Moses was on Mt. Sinai, receiving the law from God. Meanwhile, the nation of Israel was encamped at the foot of the mountain. They grew restless and impatient. They came to Moses’ brother, Aaron, with this request, “Come, make us gods who will go before us. As for this fellow Moses who brought us up out of Egypt, we don’t know what has happened to him.” (Exodus 32:1) Aaron complied with their request and fashioned a golden calf form the gold they gave him. The people said, “These are your gods, Israel, who brought you up out of Egypt.” (Exodus 32:4) Then, we read in Exodus 32:6, “The next day the people rose early and sacrificed burnt offerings and presented fellowship offerings. Afterward they sat down to eat and drink and got up to indulge in revelry.” The Lord told Moses what was happening in the camp and said that he was going to destroy the people. After Moses pleaded for the people, the Lord relented. Then, Moses went down the mountain, carrying the two tablets of the law on which the Lord had inscribed the law.

Joshua, his aide, joined Moses and, as they drew closer to the camp, Joshua said, “There is the sound of war in the camp.” (Verse 17) There was so much noise coming from that location that Joshua assumed a battle was happening. In reply, Moses said, “It is not the sound of victory, it is not the sound of defeat; it is the sound of singing that I hear.” (Verse 18) The noise they heard was the people worshiping the golden calf. When Moses observed what was going on, “His anger burned and he threw the tablets out of his hands, breaking them to pieces at the foot of the mountain.” (Verse 19) He was so frustrated and angry at what he was seeing. How could the people show such an obvious act of disobedience to the God who had only shown them love? The people said that this god led them out of Egypt. Their worship of this calf allowed them to indulge in all sorts of sensual behavior. By their act of worshipping the golden calf, they showed that they loved this idol far more than they loved God.

While we may never be able to see ourselves falling down and worshipping an idol like the golden calf, how many things in our lives end up taking the place of deepest affection in our lives? There are the obvious things that are sinful, that the world tells us are the way to have a truly happy life. However, there can be things that are blessings from God that, at times, can take the highest point of our affection. For instance, there is our family. If I see them doing or saying something that is contrary to God’s Word, what do I do? If I don’t say anything, I’m saying that they are more important to me than God is. There is the blessing of wealth and possessions. If I do whatever I can to obtain them, whether it hurts someone else or not, they have become more precious to me than God. The list could go on and on, but the fact remains, there are things that I have, at times, loved more than God.

When Moses confronted Aaron about what had he done, Aaron can up with feeble excuses for his actions. “You know how prone these people are to evil. They said to me, ‘Make us gods who will go before us. As for this fellow Moses who brought us up out of Egypt, we don’t know what has happened to him.’ 24 So I told them, ‘Whoever has any gold jewelry, take it off.’ Then they gave me the gold, and I threw it into the fire, and out came this calf!” (Verses 22-23) Moses, it was beyond my control. You know what these people are like. They were getting impatient. You weren’t here. This seemed to be an easy solution to keep the people happy. We just threw the gold into the fire and this calf appeared! How feeble his excuses were!

When we think about the times that we have put something ahead of God, are our excuses any better? I would talk to that family member, but then there would be tension. Family gatherings would be a disaster. If I can get this or that, or get enough money, my life would be so much easier. I’ve got to look out for myself. Besides, if I get more, I can give more. Whatever excuse we might come up with, the fact remains that that person or those possessions or whatever it might be has become more precious to me than God. Just as the people of Israel faced consequences for their idolatry, we also deserve to face the consequences of hell for all that times that we have not loved God with all that we are and all that we have.

Let’s step back a moment and think about why we are to love God above all things. First, he demands it. It is one of his commands. We read in Deuteronomy 6:5, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.” As the God of all, he has every right to demand it. Second, God deserves our highest love. For example, think about the wonderful way that he made us and provides for us. If we take a good look at the world in which we live, how can we not love God? We have this wonderful planet on which to live. By means of nature, God provides everything that we need to live. He gives us food, drink, shelter, clothing, medicine, and so on. Or look at our bodies. All our various systems work together in harmony to keep us alive. When someone gives you a wonderful gift, don’t you feel affection for them? How much more so, then, don’t we love God for all the various physical gifts that he has given to us!

As wonderful as these gifts are, they pale in comparison to the greatest gift that has been given to us. We certainly deserved to spend our eternity apart from God in hell for all our misplaced affections, for all our idolatries. But God, in his infinite love for us, didn’t want us to suffer in hell. So, he provided a rescue for us. The Father sent his Son into the world to be our Savior. Because a perfect life was needed for entrance into heaven, Jesus, true God and true man, lived a perfect life in our place. Never once was his highest affection for anything or anyone else, not his family, his friends, wealth, or power. His love was, first and foremost, for his Father and his will. Part of his Father’s will was that Jesus would go to a cross, where he would suffer and die to pay for the sins of the world. The punishment that you and I deserved was faced by Jesus. In his love for us, Jesus rose from the dead, thereby, assuring that our sins had been completely paid for and eternal life is ours. As a further act of love, the Holy Spirit has entered our hearts and created the faith that trusts that Jesus has, indeed, done it all for me. I am saved. Heaven is waiting for me. We have many other spiritual gifts, such as prayer and hope, that have been given to us. When we think of all that God has done for us, how can we help but love him above all else?

Loving God above all else means that we want to put him above all else. It will not always be easy. We look at our text and see Moses as he dealt with these idolatrous people. He said, “Whoever is for the LORD, come to me.” (Verse 26) The tribe of Levi rallied to Moses. They were told to go throughout the camp and cut down the people. 3,000 Israelites died that day. After this was done, Moses said to the Levites, “You have been set apart to the LORD today, for you were against your own sons and brothers, and he has blessed you this day.” (Verse 29) It wasn’t so much the killing that Moses was commending, but that the Levites showed that it wasn’t family or nation that mattered the most to them. They were showing that the Lord was the most important to them.

May that same resolve be in our lives, as well. May we see everything in our lives and put them in their proper place. They may be wonderful and have our affection. But we are to love God more than them all. Our God not only demands that we love him above all else, but he, also, certainly deserves our highest love, as well. So, we conclude our sermon with a prayer: “Lord God, I confess, to my great shame, that there have been many times in my life when I have loved things or people more than you. Please, forgive me. Remind me again and again of all that you have done for me; how much you love me. Help me to put things in their proper place. Help me to love you above all else. Amen.”