- Blot Sin out of the Book
Exodus 32:33 And the Lord said unto Moses, Whosoever hath sinned against me, him will I blot out of my book.
Moses had been pleading with the Lord with intense interrogatory prayer. He was interceding for the people after they had sinned in the Golden Calf incident. Moses had asked the Lord to forgive them, and if He wouldn’t forgive, then blot his name out of the book He has written. This was a bold and courageous prayer request spoken with daring audacity. Moses was willing to sacrifice his own salvation if God would forgive the people their great sin.
The Lord’s response was to say that the one who has sinned against Me is the one whom I will blot out of My book. “In My book (The Book of Life) are only those who have no sins on their record. Only the sinless, holy ones can be accepted into my kingdom, my family, my presence, my home, my heaven, and my life.” The opposite side of this negative threat implies a positive promise: he who has no sins on his record I will not blot out of the Book. In the Final Judgment the books (that record every thought, word, and deed of a life) are opened for all to see and just judgment is rendered; but then the book of life is opened. The names of those who have had their sins erased are written there. And those whose names are not found written in the book of life are thrown into the lake of fire, the second death[Revelation 20:12, 15]. The positive promise in Revelation 3:5 is for the one who conquers (believes in Jesus Christ): “I will never blot his name out of the book of life.”
The metaphor of the two “books” shows these truths: 1) if one’s name has been blotted out or is not in the book of life then he has to rely on the book of his own life, which includes a full record of all his sins, and the just judgment follows, or 2) if one’s name is in the Book of Life and has not been blotted out then it is revealed for all to see, and the just judgment follows and he is told to “inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.” Either Sin is blotted out or Life is blotted out. Forgiveness is vital for life and it is eternal. We may never underestimate or diminish the power of Sin and the overpowering power of the Forgiveness of Sin. We do not take it for granted. More true power is unleashed through the forgiveness of sins then we can ever imagine.