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Testimonies for the Church Volume 3
silent when their influence is needed to stand in defense of the right
against any pressure, may avoid many heartaches and escape many
perplexities, they will also lose a very rich reward, if not their own
souls. Those who are in harmony with God, and who through faith in
Him receive strength to resist wrong and stand in defense of the right,
will always have severe conflicts and will frequently have to stand
almost alone. But precious victories will be theirs while they make
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God their dependence. His grace will be their strength. Their moral
sensibility will be keen and clear, and their moral powers will be able
to withstand wrong influences. Their integrity, like that of Moses, will
be of the purest character.
The mild and yielding spirit of Aaron, and his desire to please the
people, blinded his eyes to their sins and to the enormity of the crime
that he was sanctioning. His course in giving influence to wrong and
sin in Israel cost the lives of three thousand men. In what contrast with
this is the course of Moses. After he had evidenced to the people that
they could not trifle with God with impunity; after he had shown them
the just displeasure of God because of their sins, by giving the terrible
decree to slay friends or relatives who persisted in their apostasy; after
the work of justice to turn away the wrath of God, irrespective of their
feelings of sympathy for loved friends and relatives who continued
obstinate in their rebellion—after this, Moses was prepared for another
work. He proved who was the true friend of God and the friend of the
people.
“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. And Moses
returned unto the Lord, and said, Oh, this people have sinned a great
sin, and have made them gods of gold. Yet now, if Thou wilt forgive
their sin—; and if not, blot me, I pray Thee, out of Thy book which
Thou has written. And the Lord said unto Moses, Whosoever hath
sinned against Me, him will I blot out of My book. 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. And the Lord plagued the people,
because they made the calf, which Aaron made.”
Moses supplicated God in behalf of sinning Israel. He did not try
to lessen their sin before God; he did not excuse them in their sin. He