Moses’ long stay on the mountain made the people impatient.
They came to Aaron and asked for him, not for a leader, but for a god to go before them. They probably intended to trust the man as their leader who was able to make them a god.
When the people saw that Moses delayed to come down from the mountain, the people gathered around Aaron and said to him,
“Come, make gods for us, who shall go before us; as for this Moses, the man who brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him” (Exodus 32.1).
Even though the Hebrew children had experienced God’s mighty power in their exodus from Egyptian slavery, and had seen His glory on Mount Sinai, they were still new in their faith.
They didn’t yet understand the power of a living God. When He was not visible to them, their faith was shaken.
Thus, they asked for a god that they could see, like the ones in Egypt.
We do well to ask ourselves: how might we be similar to the Israelites in their experience? How do we become impatient with God and, instead of waiting on Him, turn to substitutes?
A Delaying Tactic
In today’s YouTube video, Rudy Ross sympathizes with Aaron. He believes Aaron was trying to get the people to slow down in their desire for an idol by having them get gold from the jewelry of their family members.
Aaron said to them, “Take off the gold rings that are on the ears of your wives, your sons, and your daughters and bring them to me” (Exodus 32.2).
Aaron possibly thought the men would face opposition because their family members wouldn’t want to relinquish their newly acquired gold and silver. Unfortunately, this wasn’t the case.
So all the people took off the gold rings from their ears and brought them to Aaron (Exodus 32.3).
Idolatry is an act that is ego-driven. When people are in that state, there is no sacrifice that the human heart will not readily make to fulfill self-will.
The people willingly gave up their jewelry because they desired a god who would be visible to them and lead them. Faith was surrendered to a vastly inferior substitute for God.
God and the gods
The problem of idolatry is as old as humankind. When the prophet Isaiah confronted the idolatry of the Jewish people, one thing became clear: they wanted both God and their gods.
This is true of the golden calf, too.
He took these from them, formed them in a mold, and cast an image of a calf, and they said, “These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt!”
When Aaron saw this, he built an altar before it, and Aaron made a proclamation and said, “Tomorrow shall be a festival to the Lord” (Exodus 32.4-5).
There are similarities between the calf that was made and the golden calves that were worshipped back in Egypt. One twist to the story is the last word of verse 5, “Lord.” “Lord” here in Hebrew refers to Jehovah.
What Aaron was doing was blending the worship of the one true God with a substitute for God based on their experience in Egypt. This is an attempt to have both God and gods.
The people had blended their worship of Jehovah with the idols they had served or seen previously in Egypt.
They demonstrated a principle: what we truly believe is shown by our behavior.
Thus, they sacrificed and engaged in a festival that would have been completely opposite to a faithful relationship with the one true God.
They rose early the next day and offered burnt offerings and brought sacrifices of well-being, and the people sat down to eat and drink and rose up to revel (Exodus 32.6).
Present-Day Application
The story of the golden calf transcends time. It will guide us in navigating the complexities of our faith in the modern world. Here are a few things to consider as we think about this story.
(1) Idolatry is always an attempt to secure our world apart from reliance upon God.
Just as the Israelites grew impatient, waiting for Moses to come back from the mountain, we often struggle with impatience. God seems to not be working on our timetable and we take matters into our own hands.
The best thing we can do is to be patient and trust that God’s timing is perfect. Moments of uncertainty are opportunities to experience Him more deeply.
(2) The issue of God and the gods, blending the two, highlights the danger of mixing genuine worship with idolatry. This fact reminds us about the importance of discernment and authenticity in our worship practices.
We need to examine whether our worship is rooted in real reverence for God, or if we are allowing distractions and inferior substitutes for God to creep into our spiritual practices.
(3) As a spiritual leader, I am aware of the role the leader plays in the lives of the followers.
All spiritual leaders need to be concerned that we do not mislead or misguide other believers. We should strive for spiritual integrity, both in what we speak and do.
(4) Rudy Ross, Whispering Danny, and I discussed this passage in our YouTube video today. One of the things we agreed upon is our gratitude for God’s grace.
We are all tempted to provide substitutes for God, to have God and gods. Praise God for His grace, and how He forgives us and restores us.
YouTube Video
Rudy Ross, Whispering Danny, and I discuss this passage on YouTube today. It is on the Bob Spradling channel.
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