Exodus 31: 18 When the LORD had finished speaking with Moses on Mount Sinai, He gave him the two tablets of the Testimony, tablets of stone inscribed by the finger of God.”
Moses is really excited! God has just given him the entire plans for the Tabernacle and has also given him tablets of stone on which God Himself has written the Ten Commandments. How fantastic is this! Moses can scarcely wait to get back and share the wonders of God’s instructions with the Israelites! BUT meanwhile, back at the camp, things are going very, very wrong.
Exodus 32:1 – 6 “Now when the people saw that Moses was delayed in coming down from the mountain, they gathered around Aaron and said, “Come, make us gods who will go before us. As for this Moses who brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has happened to him!” So Aaron told them, “Take off the gold earrings that are on your wives and sons and daughters, and bring them to me.” Then all the people took off their gold earrings and brought them to Aaron. He took the gold from their hands, and with an engraving tool he fashioned it into a molten calf. And they said, “These, O Israel, are your gods, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt!”
When Aaron saw this, he built an altar before the calf and proclaimed: “Tomorrow shall be a feast to the LORD.”So the next day they arose, offered burnt offerings, and presented peace offerings. And the people sat down to eat and drink, and got up to indulge in revelry.”
While Moses is a hero of faith, Aaron is far weaker and more easily manipulated. Remember that the Israelites have barely come out of Egypt, where they probably worshiped the Egyptian gods along with vaguely remembering the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. But 400 years is a long time to be without a reminder of the One True Living God.
As long as Moses was around, people were complaining about his leadership. But once Moses was up on the mountain, these same people began to complain because they no longer had a visible leader. In Egypt, the Pharaoh was regarded as divine, so it’s possible that the Israelites also regarded Moses as divine; after all, look at all the miracles that Moses performed.
Aaron isn’t sure what to do. Things are turning ugly and Moses has yet to return. Perhaps when Aaron asks the Israelites to strip off all their gold jewelry, he is hoping that they will balk at this request and give more time for Moses to come down off the mountain. This jewelry is the same jewelry the Egyptians thrust upon the Israelites as they were leaving Egypt, jewelry God probably has intended to be used for constructing the Tabernacle.
Why a golden calf? In Egyptian mythology, the bull, Apis, was sacred to the god Ptah and was a symbol of strength and virility. Bulls were associated with the worship of Hathor as indicated in the picture above. Other cultures also worshiped golden calves and this symbol would continue to be a major problem throughout the history of the Northern Kingdom.
Unfortunately, Aaron is stuck. Having requested that the Israelites give up their gold jewelry, he is probably horrified when everybody immediately strips off their gold and gives it to him! These people feel so threatened that they will do anything for more security. Perhaps Aaron tries to excuse what he is doing by silently cutting a deal with God, “See, Lord, I am making this calf as a symbol of Your power.” But God has already commanded the Israelites not to make molded images of anything on earth, and this is exactly what Aaron is about to do. Aaron deliberately takes engraving tools, fashions the calf, and then proclaims a feast day. It’s not surprising but very tragic when the “feast to the Lord” turns into a drunken orgy.
APPLICATION: HOW MUCH WOULD YOU GIVE UP FOR SECURITY? HOW FAR WOULD YOU TRUST GOD? It’s tempting when we read this story to feel morally superior to Aaron and the Israelites. How can any group of people be so foolish? God has delivered them miraculously several times. God is continuing to feed them miraculously. God continues to provide water for this huge number of people. Even now, God is still present with the Israelites as a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night, something that is really hard to ignore.
But logic has no place in this situation. As far as the Israelites are concerned, they want a god “with skin on.” If Moses isn’t available, they want a big impressive symbol…. and perhaps there are a number of people who have been frustrated because they haven’t had the chance to have the kind of orgiastic worship that they might have enjoyed in Egypt.
The most tragic part of the entire story is that God has every intention of blessing the Israelites beyond any other people on earth. God has chosen the Israelites to be a holy people and to demonstrate His praise and His glory. And just as Moses is coming down with tablets of stone on which God Himself has written, the Israelites lose patience and go in for an orgy.
The question for us is this: Are we settling for something far less than the glory of God in our lives? Are we willing to give up everything precious in our lives to buy security, even though we are actually creating an idol that is worthless? And on what do we base our sense of security? Are we trusting in God or are we trusting in leaders who cannot actually help us? May God help us to examine our hearts and lives so that we will fully put our trust in the One True Living God and refuse to worship idols!
PRAYER: Father God, forgive us for trusting in anybody or anything other than You! Please help us to give up our idols and to trust You and You alone! In the matchless Name of King Jesus. Amen.
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