Exodus 32 is a clear picture of the character of God and the nature of man. As Moses went to be with God on Mt. Sinai for 40 days Aaron his brother was left behind with the people. Notice how the nature of man is when God is not with them. Man is made to worship. We have the free will to worship whatever we want but everyone worships something. When the Israelites realized that Moses still had not come down from the mountain they started making their own assumptions about what had happened to Moses so they built their own idol out of their most prized possessions. They took their gold, put it together and made a golden calf. Then Aaron (who was supposed to be the one to hold the people accountable to the Lord while Moses was gone) gave in to peer pressure and built an altar to worship calf that the people had made out of Gold. Now before you read this and think this is absolutely crazy we must took a good look in the mirror. Is there anything in our lives that we put before God? It could be money, possessions, or an addiction. It could also be things we deem good like our wives, our kids, or our jobs. Whatever we choose to put before God is what the Golden Calf is for the Israelites. Moses shows us what a true leader is supposed to do in this situation. He repents for his people and God relents his judgement on the ones that notice they had done wrong and turned back to him. None of us are perfect and are going to mess up one way or another. When you mess up or sin against God do you do like Moses and repent or do you try to hide in your shame and guilt as though God doesn’t see what you are doing? A non repentful heart is a dangerous thing. Choosing to do what your flesh wants and ignoring Gods commands by not seeking him in our lives is a physical and emotional way of separating ourselves from God. God honors and blesses those who have a heart that takes responsibility for their sins and actions and ask for God’s help and forgiveness. He will not tolerate a heart that doesn’t call out to him. I don’t say this to try to scare anyone but it is the truth. Everyone should took a good hard look in the mirror today and ask themselves if they have put anything in their lives before God and repent. This is essential to obtaining and keeping a heart that is humble towards the Lord. God shows here in this chapter that he has mercy and grace for those that seek his forgiveness with a truly genuine humble heart. Make it a habit to start and end your day in prayer and never forget to repent to the Lord. Do this and you will find that you will start to naturally have a humble heart towards God. Repentance is essential in receiving God’s mercy and grace. Laying our sins at the foot of the cross is why Jesus laid his life down for me and for you. He carried the weight of sin that you and I could not carry when he sacrificed himself for us. Love y’all! Have a great day!
Exodus 32:1-35
Read scripture…
“When the people saw that Moses delayed in coming down from the mountain, they gathered around Aaron and said to him, “Come, make gods for us who will go before us because this Moses, the man who brought us up from the land of Egypt — we don’t know what has happened to him! ” Aaron replied 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.” So all the people took off the gold rings that were on their ears and brought them to Aaron. He took the gold from them, fashioned it with an engraving tool, and made it into an image of a calf. Then they said, “Israel, these are your gods, who brought you up from the land of Egypt! ” When Aaron saw this, he built an altar in front of it and made an announcement: “There will be a festival to the Lord tomorrow.” Early the next morning they arose, offered burnt offerings, and presented fellowship offerings. The people sat down to eat and drink, and got up to party. The Lord spoke to Moses: “Go down at once! For your people you brought up from the land of Egypt have acted corruptly. They have quickly turned from the way I commanded them; they have made for themselves an image of a calf. They have bowed down to it, sacrificed to it, and said, ‘Israel, these are your gods, who brought you up from the land of Egypt.’ ” The Lord also said to Moses, “I have seen this people, and they are indeed a stiff-necked people. Now leave me alone, so that my anger can burn against them and I can destroy them. Then I will make you into a great nation.” But Moses sought the favor of the Lord his God: “Lord, why does your anger burn against your people you brought out of the land of Egypt with great power and a strong hand? Why should the Egyptians say, ‘He brought them out with an evil intent to kill them in the mountains and eliminate them from the face of the earth’? Turn from your fierce anger and relent concerning this disaster planned for your people. Remember your servants Abraham, Isaac, and Israel — you swore to them by yourself and declared, ‘I will make your offspring as numerous as the stars of the sky and will give your offspring all this land that I have promised, and they will inherit it forever.’ ” So the Lord relented concerning the disaster he had said he would bring on his people. Then Moses turned and went down the mountain with the two tablets of the testimony in his hands. They were inscribed on both sides — inscribed front and back. The tablets were the work of God, and the writing was God’s writing, engraved on the tablets. When Joshua heard the sound of the people as they shouted, he said to Moses, “There is a sound of war in the camp.” But Moses replied, It’s not the sound of a victory cry and not the sound of a cry of defeat; I hear the sound of singing! As he approached the camp and saw the calf and the dancing, Moses became enraged and threw the tablets out of his hands, smashing them at the base of the mountain. He took the calf they had made, burned it up, and ground it to powder. He scattered the powder over the surface of the water and forced the Israelites to drink the water. Then Moses asked Aaron, “What did these people do to you that you have led them into such a grave sin? ” “Don’t be enraged, my Lord,” Aaron replied. “You yourself know that the people are intent on evil. They said to me, ‘Make gods for us who will go before us because this Moses, the man who brought us up from the land of Egypt — we don’t know what has happened to him! ’ So I said to them, ‘Whoever has gold, take it off,’ and they gave it to me. When I threw it into the fire, out came this calf! ” Moses saw that the people were out of control, for Aaron had let them get out of control, making them a laughingstock to their enemies. And Moses stood at the camp’s entrance and said, “Whoever is for the Lord, come to me.” And all the Levites gathered around him. He told them, “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says, ‘Every man fasten his sword to his side; go back and forth through the camp from entrance to entrance, and each of you kill his brother, his friend, and his neighbor.’ ” The Levites did as Moses commanded, and about three thousand men fell dead that day among the people. Afterward Moses said, “Today you have been dedicated to the Lord, since each man went against his son and his brother. Therefore you have brought a blessing on yourselves today.” The following day Moses said to the people, “You have committed a grave sin. Now I will go up to the Lord; perhaps I will be able to atone for your sin.” So Moses returned to the Lord and said, “Oh, these people have committed a grave sin; they have made a god of gold for themselves. Now if you would only forgive their sin. But if not, please erase me from the book you have written.” The Lord replied to Moses, “Whoever has sinned against me I will erase from my book. Now go, lead the people to the place I told you about; see, my angel will go before you. But on the day I settle accounts, I will hold them accountable for their sin.” And the Lord inflicted a plague on the people for what they did with the calf Aaron had made.”
Leave a Reply