EverydayWord · Pastor Derrick J Dawkins

“GLORY AFTER THE FALL: THE GOD WHO RESTORES”

February 20, 2026·1 hr 11 min·6 clips

What happens when people who have seen God's power still fall into sin, and is there hope after rebellion?

1. Everyday Word broadcast 1,281, hosted by Pastor Derek Dawkins, covers Exodus chapters 32, 33, and 34 under the theme 'Glory After the Fall: the God Who Restores,' recorded on Friday, February 20. 2. Pastor Derek Dawkins serves as teacher and host; named online participants include Sister Watson, Sister Turner, and Brother Mitch. 3. The episode's core thesis is that even redeemed people are capable of devastating disobedience, but God's mercy exceeds human failure — restoration after idolatry is possible, but only through intercession and grace. 4. Exodus 32:1-6 describes the Israelites growing impatient during Moses' 40-day absence on Sinai and pressuring Aaron to make a god; Aaron collects gold earrings, fashions a calf with an engraving tool, and the people declare 'these are our gods who brought you up out of Egypt.' 5. Dawkins emphasizes that Aaron did not simply throw gold in a fire and watch a calf appear — 'he crafted the calf with his hands' — treating Aaron's excuse in verse 24 as 'feeble' and 'horrible,' a deflection of accountability that Moses flatly rejects. 6. God's response in Exodus 32:7-14 is to tell Moses his people have 'acted corruptly' and threaten to destroy them and start a new nation through Moses; Moses intercedes by appealing to God's reputation before the Egyptians and the covenant sworn to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and God relents from immediate destruction. 7. Moses descends with the divinely inscribed tablets, hears the party noise, sees the calf and dancing, and hurls the tablets to shatter them at the mountain's base; he burns the calf, grinds it to powder, scatters it on water, and forces the Israelites to drink it. 8. Moses commands the Levites to move through the camp 'entrance to entrance' with swords; approximately 3,000 men die that day, and Moses declares the Levites have dedicated themselves to the Lord. 9. Moses returns to God the next day to plead for the people's forgiveness, offering his own erasure from God's book as the price — but God responds that only those who sinned against him will be erased, sends a plague on the people, and commands Moses to lead them onward. 10. Dawkins applies the golden calf to contemporary life: identifying modern 'golden calves' such as skin color, jobs, television, and food — anything that takes precedence over relationship with God. 11. Exodus 33:1-6 shows God commanding Israel to proceed toward the promised land but refusing to travel with them because they are 'stiff-necked' and he might destroy them in anger; the people mourn and strip off their jewelry at Mount Horeb as a sign of grief. 12. Moses pitches a temporary tent of meeting outside the camp; when Moses enters, the pillar of cloud descends and the Lord speaks with him 'face to face, as a man speaks with his friend,' while the whole camp watches in reverent awe. 13. Moses presses God in Exodus 33:15 with the condition: 'If your presence does not go with us, do not lead us up from here' — and God grants it: 'My presence will go with you and I will give you rest.' 14. Moses then boldly asks to see God's glory; God responds by proclaiming his name, demonstrating mercy and compassion, but warning that no human can see his face and live — Moses is placed in a rock crevice, covered by God's hand, and permitted only to see God's back after he has passed. 15. Exodus 34:1-10 depicts God commanding Moses to cut two new stone tablets and climb Sinai alone; God descends in a cloud, stands with Moses, and proclaims: 'The Lord is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in faithful love and truth, maintaining faithful love to a thousand generations.' 16. Moses falls face down and worships, then intercedes again: 'please go with us, even though this is a stiff-necked people, forgive our iniquity and accept us as your own possession' — and God makes a new covenant, promising wonders never done in any nation. 17. Exodus 34:29-35 describes Moses descending with his face radiating light from speaking with God; Aaron and all the Israelites are afraid to come near him, so Moses delivers God's commands and then covers his face with a veil, removing it only when speaking directly with God. 18. The episode is preached in a Black Protestant preaching style with personal testimony, call-and-response, rhetorical escalation, humor (noting that Moses 'made them drink the calf'), and direct social commentary including a reference to current news about child abuse and Dawkins's statement that those responsible 'will absolutely pay.' 19. The format covers three chapters in sequence with full reading, chapter summary, lesson extraction, and practical applications — longer than average Everyday Word sessions at approximately 71 minutes. 20. Christians processing personal failure and wanting a biblical framework for restoration and God's sustained presence through moral collapse will find this episode deeply applicable; those seeking concise or academic treatments will likely find it too long and repetitive.

As heard by us

A devotional reading of Exodus that finds mercy, restoration, and glory after failure.

EverydayWord stays in Exodus 32 through 34, where people who have seen God's power still slip into sin and idolatry. The episode keeps that tension plain.

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