January 11, 2021
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Reading along with us in some Exodus? Here’s today’s reading:
Exodus 32 (NIV)
The Golden Calf
1 When the people saw that Moses was so long in coming down from the mountain, they gathered around Aaron and said, “Come, make us gods who will go before us. As for this fellow Moses who brought us up out of Egypt, we don’t know what has happened to him.”.......Continue Reading
How quickly the people began to doubt and went to idolatry and putting things before God. But God knew what they were doing…I noticed that when God told Moses of the peoples sins He referenced them as “your people” to Moses clearly disappointed and separating Himself from them.
Aaron’s excuse for the golden calf is such a classic human response…a lie and denial…”it just kinda happened” is an excuse we all so easily fall into. 3,000 paid for their flagrant disobedience but God did show mercy and grace after Moses’ pleading. He listens to His people.
Exodus 31
Exodus 31 and 32
Exodus 32
I read this chapter last night and it just might be the saddest in the Bible. After all that God had done for them to bring them to this spot and then all the ways He revealed Himself at Sinai and the people ask the second in command to make them and idol and the second in command says yes. To say they should have known better is an understatement. It just reenforces how important it is to not use people and circumstances as a reference point for faith. It was pretty clear what Moses was up to, but even if they questioned that, they would be able to trust in God to provide and direct them. Far better to turn to Him with whatever doubt or fear they had. It also shows the importance of leaders standing up to people and redirecting them from a wrong path. How dare they say these were the gods who brought them out of Egypt. How dare they say we are going to worship these gods and sacrifice to them and refer to them as Lord. It does encourage us to think about ways that we dismiss God so readily….but may the stark nature of their deception and disobedience call us to be much different.
God’s response is warranted and He is gracious and merciful not to execute it. It is neat that God listens to Moses’ defense of the people and that Moses even does the defending. But notice his greatest appeal is to God’s character. What would that make you look like he says. It is interesting to see though that once Moses sees the people, he too gets angry and throws the tablets. One wonders if he regretted defending these people.
Moses discipline is swift and sure as a leader’s should be when a situation like this calls for it. I do like when he makes them drink the powder made from the calf. And isn’t Aaron’s explanation sad? But also not uncommon as we typically like to divorce ourselves from responsibility. And as Moses sees the revelry going on he does another thing that is needed, draws a line in the sand and calls people to decide whose side they are on. The people’s disobedience called for drastic measures and Moses shines where Aaron had failed.
Exodus 33 and 34
I have been reading several Psalms per day and today I read Ephesians 6, about the armor of God. I noticed the first thing we are to put on is truth.
As I read this I thought of how we are consumed with the physical. Moses was away. They didn’t see the smoke and fire anymore (I’m assuming), so they wanted something tangible to worship. They convinced Aaron to make them something. It seems unthinkable, after their experience after receiving the 10 Commandments: “Now all the people witnessed the thunderings, the lightning flashes, the sound of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking; and when the people saw it, they trembled and stood afar off. 19 Then they said to Moses, “You speak with us, and we will hear; but let not God speak with us, lest we die.”
20 And Moses said to the people, “Do not fear; for God has come to test you, and that His fear may be before you, so that you may not sin.” 21 So the people stood afar off, but Moses drew near the thick darkness where God was.” They didn’t have any FEAR OF GOD about making an idol! How often, though, is God “out if sight, out of mind” with us and we commence with our sin thinking that He won’t notice or at least there will be no noticeable consequences. We ARE covered by the blood of Christ, but in my own life, I am seeing how much I have missed in my relationship with God, just because of my own complacency, laziness, and distraction with leisure. I have been so much in prayer about the state of our country, that I am experiencing things in my personal walk with God that I haven’t in a long time.
Another thing that I noticed in this chapter was that Moses says to God, “Turn from Your fierce wrath, and relent from this harm to Your people.” He reminds God of His promise to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. He reasons with God and God relents.
30The next day Moses said to the people, “You have committed a great sin. But now I will go up to the Lord; perhaps I can make atonement for your sin.”
31So Moses went back to the Lord and said, “Oh, what a great sin these people have committed! They have made themselves gods of gold. 32But now, please forgive their sin—but if not, then blot me out of the book you have written.”
33The Lord replied to Moses, “Whoever has sinned against me I will blot out of my book. 34Now go, lead the people to the place I spoke of, and my angel will go before you. However, when the time comes for me to punish, I will punish them for their sin.”
35And the Lord struck the people with a plague because of what they did with the calf Aaron had made.