Truth Is Fact

And the LORD said to me, I have seen this people, and they are a stiff-necked people indeed!

When we return to the given text there is a word which can be carved into a compound word. Let’s spend just a few moments on it. The word is, indeed and it carries a double meaning in this sentence. It describes exactly how God’s children are. We may take it therefore, as an adverb, which gives undeniable description to how these people are. The verb to be is in its present tense. They are. There is nothing about; they were - past tense, or they will be - future tense. They are a stiff-necked people indeed!

The origin of the word, indeed, comes from that which means, ‘in fact’ or ‘in truth’. When the word, indeed, is used, it emphasises, underscores and gives weight to the fact that what is being said is factual or true. The word, indeed, is saying most loudly and vehemently that what has been spoken or written is undeniably true, a matter of fact. Whatever word God used to Moses, whether it be the word, behold, in the KJV; or indeed in the NIV, the meaning remains the same.

The other meaning comes from the compound word in-deed. It means that in the deeds of the people, their actions and behaviour, they deserve God’s wrath fully. What exactly was the deed, or were the deeds Moses saw, when he hurried down the Holy Mountain that was blazing with fire? So I turned and went down from the mountain while it was ablaze with fire. And the two tablets of the covenant were in my hands. When I looked, I saw that you had sinned against the LORD your God; you had made for yourselves an idol cast in the shape of a calf. You had turned aside quickly from the way that the Lord had commanded you. Deuteronomy 9: 15 – 16.

So what did Moses see when he looked?

First, he saw sin. He saw that the children of God had sinned against the LORD their God. The unasked question being answered is this. Can others see my sin against my God? The answer is a resounding, yes. Straightway, Moses saw sin. He saw it because God had told him about the deeds or works of the Israelites, and called it sin. God is the Person who told Moses that the liberated people, have become corrupt. Corruption is sin.

Second, he saw more sin. He saw that they had turned aside, or disobeyed the ways of God. They had turned aside quickly from the way, the Lord had commanded them to obey. Disobedience is sin.

Third, he saw much more of sin. He saw an idol cast in the shape of a calf, as large as life, before him. God had also told him that the Israelites had made an idol and they were worshipping it. They have made an idol for themselves. Idolatry is sin.

Idolatry is abhorred by God. When God had Moses on the sacred, holy Mountain with Him, one of the first things God wrote was that His children shall have, no other gods before me. Exodus 20: 3b. Worse still, they were not to make unto themselves any kind of idols and worship them. Idolatry was and still is utterly abhorred by God.

May these scripture verses give us an idea of how sinful and detestable idolatry is before God.