Exo 32:25-29 | TNotes | STEP | 32:25 much to the amusement of their enemies: After the Israelites’ great show of worshiping the Lord as a different kind of God, their actions proclaimed that he was merely another of the idols that their enemies had been worshiping all along (see Ezek 36:19-20 ).

bEzek 36:19-20►

c32:26-29►

‏ Exodus 32:25-29

32:25 ^a much to the amusement of their enemies: After the Israelites’ great show of worshiping the Lord as a different kind of God, their actions proclaimed that he was merely another of the idols that their enemies had been worshiping all along (see Ezek 36:19-20 ^b).
Summary for Exod 32:26-29: 32:26-29 ^c Moses had asked God to spare the people, but now he called on those who followed the Lord to kill those who had sinned. The Levites (32:26 ^d) were willing to confront the sin that Aaron had let loose. Although Moses commanded them to kill everyone (32:27 ^e), the number 3,000 (32:28 ^f) makes it clear that the word everyone had a restricted meaning. The reference to your own sons and brothers suggests that as Aaron had led in the idolatry, many of the Levites had led in the worship of the idol, and they were the ones that the rest of the Levites killed. Aaron may have escaped because God had already designated him as high priest (28:1 ^g).