Exodus 32:1-6
“And when the people saw that Moses delayed to come down out of the mount, the people gathered themselves together unto Aaron, and said unto him, Up, make us gods, which shall go before us; for as for this Moses, the man that brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we wot not what is become of him.” (Exodus 32:1)
The people had been terrified when God spoke to them in Exodus 20:18-19. "And all the people saw the thunderings, and the lightnings, and the noise of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking: and when the people saw it, they removed, and stood afar off. And they said unto Moses, Speak thou with us, and we will hear: but let not God speak with us, lest we die.” They had chosen not to have direct communication because of their fear.
They readily agreed to follow the commands God gave in Exodus 19:7-8. “And Moses came and called for the elders of the people, and laid before their faces all these words which the LORD commanded him. And all the people answered together, and said, All that the LORD hath spoken we will do. And Moses returned the words of the people unto the LORD.”
God then gave them the commandment in Exodus 20:2-6. “I am the LORD thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. Thou shalt have no other gods before me. Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth: Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me; And showing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments.”
Watching nature movies it is astounding how panic stricken a herd of animals will be when attacked by a pride of lions, yet within minutes of a kill being made, they are relaxed and grazing as if nothing happened. Israel’s behavior was very similar. Less than forty days after being so frightened and agreeing to God‘s command, they were asking Aaron to make them another God because Moses hadn’t come back down to them. People today are no different.
“And Aaron said unto them, Break off the golden earrings, which are in the ears of your wives, of your sons, and of your daughters, and bring them unto me. And all the people brake off the golden earrings which were in their ears, and brought them unto Aaron. And he received them at their hand, and fashioned it with a graving tool, after he had made it a molten calf: and they said, These be thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt.” (Exodus 32:2-4)
Aaron had been one of the priests who went up to meet with God face to face, and had been left in charge until Moses returned. He knew exactly what they were to do, yet when the asked to make gods for them, he complied with their wishes. Asking them to donate gold for their idols, he built the necessary molds and crucibles and a forge or furnace for melting the metal and cast a gold calf. He finished it by engraving the fine details. Having done a little metal casting, I know it was a major project.
Despite having seen all God’s workings for over four months, destroying the Egyptian army and crossing the Red Sea and hearing his voice on the mountain, the people then announced that the golden calf and Aaron were the ones who brought them out of Egypt. What an insult to God!
“And when Aaron saw it, he built an altar before it; and Aaron made proclamation, and said, To morrow is a feast to the LORD.” (Exodus 32:5)
Flattered, Aaron declared the following day as holiday to worship their new God. This was the man God had chosen to be his high priest encouraging their disobedience! It is a warning not to depend on even the best men to always lead us properly.
“And they rose up early on the morrow, and offered burnt offerings, and brought peace offerings; and the people sat down to eat and to drink, and rose up to play.” (Exodus 32:6)
Even while God was meeting with Moses to explain the details of their covenant with God, Israel was breaking the covenant, worshipping another god, dancing around naked in lewd sexual fashion, as we see in verse 25, at Aaron’s suggestion. They went far beyond the moral restraints they would normally have observed to worship this false God. Caught up emotionally in a false religion, people often do things they would not even consider in normal life.
“And when the people saw that Moses delayed to come down out of the mount, the people gathered themselves together unto Aaron, and said unto him, Up, make us gods, which shall go before us; for as for this Moses, the man that brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we wot not what is become of him.” (Exodus 32:1)
The people had been terrified when God spoke to them in Exodus 20:18-19. "And all the people saw the thunderings, and the lightnings, and the noise of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking: and when the people saw it, they removed, and stood afar off. And they said unto Moses, Speak thou with us, and we will hear: but let not God speak with us, lest we die.” They had chosen not to have direct communication because of their fear.
They readily agreed to follow the commands God gave in Exodus 19:7-8. “And Moses came and called for the elders of the people, and laid before their faces all these words which the LORD commanded him. And all the people answered together, and said, All that the LORD hath spoken we will do. And Moses returned the words of the people unto the LORD.”
God then gave them the commandment in Exodus 20:2-6. “I am the LORD thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. Thou shalt have no other gods before me. Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth: Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me; And showing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments.”
Watching nature movies it is astounding how panic stricken a herd of animals will be when attacked by a pride of lions, yet within minutes of a kill being made, they are relaxed and grazing as if nothing happened. Israel’s behavior was very similar. Less than forty days after being so frightened and agreeing to God‘s command, they were asking Aaron to make them another God because Moses hadn’t come back down to them. People today are no different.
“And Aaron said unto them, Break off the golden earrings, which are in the ears of your wives, of your sons, and of your daughters, and bring them unto me. And all the people brake off the golden earrings which were in their ears, and brought them unto Aaron. And he received them at their hand, and fashioned it with a graving tool, after he had made it a molten calf: and they said, These be thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt.” (Exodus 32:2-4)
Aaron had been one of the priests who went up to meet with God face to face, and had been left in charge until Moses returned. He knew exactly what they were to do, yet when the asked to make gods for them, he complied with their wishes. Asking them to donate gold for their idols, he built the necessary molds and crucibles and a forge or furnace for melting the metal and cast a gold calf. He finished it by engraving the fine details. Having done a little metal casting, I know it was a major project.
Despite having seen all God’s workings for over four months, destroying the Egyptian army and crossing the Red Sea and hearing his voice on the mountain, the people then announced that the golden calf and Aaron were the ones who brought them out of Egypt. What an insult to God!
“And when Aaron saw it, he built an altar before it; and Aaron made proclamation, and said, To morrow is a feast to the LORD.” (Exodus 32:5)
Flattered, Aaron declared the following day as holiday to worship their new God. This was the man God had chosen to be his high priest encouraging their disobedience! It is a warning not to depend on even the best men to always lead us properly.
“And they rose up early on the morrow, and offered burnt offerings, and brought peace offerings; and the people sat down to eat and to drink, and rose up to play.” (Exodus 32:6)
Even while God was meeting with Moses to explain the details of their covenant with God, Israel was breaking the covenant, worshipping another god, dancing around naked in lewd sexual fashion, as we see in verse 25, at Aaron’s suggestion. They went far beyond the moral restraints they would normally have observed to worship this false God. Caught up emotionally in a false religion, people often do things they would not even consider in normal life.
Because of our sin nature, how easy it is to get caught up in false teachings and false gods and to forget God's faithfulness and daily blessings. May we keep our eyes fixed on Him and avoid those traps. Thanks as always for the great post!
ReplyDeleteGod bless,
Laurie