Myself study on exodus chapter 32, the “golden calf”: 1. It was always difficult to me to think about the “wrath” of our God in this chapter, especially my “advanced study commentary” on ESV bible says God executes judgment on “some” of the people through a. using Moses as an instrument: “However, Moses himself will be a means of judgment on some of the people (Ex. 32:26–29), “ b. God sent a plague to the people as mentioned at the end of the chapter. 2. However, I noticed that, at the first before Moses came down the mountain, he interceded with the Lord by using God’s own word made a case to “not destroy the ‘whole people’”——but I didn’t see (in ESV) that God agreed verbally, like saying “okay, I will not do it”, the Scripture just reads that “the Lord “ relented from the disaster; we don’t read how God relented. In fact, notice that previously God said even his angry will burn hot against the people but still will make a nation out Of Moses (verse 10). It makes me thinking that, the Lord maybe not really meant to destroy the “whole people “ at the first place. 3. The Moses role on the event that asked all sons of Levi to kill (even their own sons, brothers and neighbors): it should not really interpreted as Moses was used by God as an instrument to carried out the all-scale just judgments. Just ask the question “if this event is all just and right “ why then God still have to sent out a plague into the people later at the end of the chapter? For me, it probably means there are still unfaithful , sinned people need to be removed from the “book of life”. As towards the end of the chapter, the Scripture notes clearly that God himself is responsible to decide who will in the book and who will not. Only our God is fully just and also merciful. 4. So, the moral here , at least for me is: a. Moses’s action of the Levi at least was not perfect or probably should be avoid; Moses might also think for himself that he need so something so that he would had some justification later for his intercession second time back on the mountain. b. Only God’s action is fully just. Just imagine, because of “fear”, some Levi would pretend on God’s side, because weapons and power to bully and execute others make you feel safe. My study guide said, they Levi were unlikely just randomly choose people to be executed; and even my Easy To Read version of Bible said they go from door to door to judge a person if is on God’s side or not. Now just imagine how many people will also under pressure and fear or even violent threats by a Levi to admit they were not in God’s side and next thing they knew were killed by the Levis. Scripture does not describe how everything happened, but the history of mankind teaches us how things would go worse and worse by our humans. I am thinking the plague sent by God was to execute real rightful judgement on the people, even on some Levis —— though the Scripture says “all the sons of Levi” show they are with God (verse 26). And lastly, 3. It is vitally important that we aware the danger that we ourselves think that “we are chosen by God as instrument to execute out His judgement “. NT makes it very clear that revenge is not ours. The idea that a self-righteous powerful person thinks he has the right to take other people’s lives, especially someone might have his figure on the nuclear missiles —— is just send a cold down through my spines.