The Golden Calf — Andrew Forrest

Exodus 32:1-6

1 When the people saw that Moses delayed to come down from the mountain, the people gathered themselves together to Aaron and said to him, “Up, make us gods 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.” 2 So Aaron said to them, “Take off the rings of gold that are in the ears of your wives, your sons, and your daughters, and bring them to me.” 3 So all the people took off the rings of gold that were in their ears and brought them to Aaron. 4 And he received the gold from their hand and fashioned it with a graving tool and made a golden calf. And they said, “These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt!” 5 When Aaron saw this, he built an altar before it. And Aaron made a proclamation and said, “Tomorrow shall be a feast to the Lord.” 6 And they rose up early the next day and offered burnt offerings and brought peace offerings. And the people sat down to eat and drink and rose up to play.

Some background is in order.

· Adam and Eve rebel against the Lord in the Garden of Eden (Genesis 3) and the ruined state of the world results (Genesis 4-11).
· But the Lord does not give up on humanity; rather, He begins again with one man—Abraham—and promises to use that man’s family to bring blessing to the entire world (Genesis 12:1-3).
· Abraham’s family (now called the children of Israel) becomes enslaved in Egypt.
· The Lord sends Moses to Egypt and with power brings them out of slavery to the foot of Mount Sinai.
· At Sinai, the Lord makes a covenant with the people and tells them that they will be His representatives to the nations. They agree.
· The presence of the Lord is still up on the mountain, and the people are afraid to go up.

18 Now when all the people saw the thunder and the flashes of lightning and the sound of the trumpet and the mountain smoking, the people were afraid and trembled, and they stood far off 19 and said to Moses, “You speak to us, and we will listen; but do not let God speak to us, lest we die.” 20 Moses said to the people, “Do not fear, for God has come to test you, that the fear of him may be before you, that you may not sin.” 21 The people stood far off, while Moses drew near to the thick darkness where God was. [Exodus 20:18-21]

· So, Moses goes up into the presence of the Lord, while the people stay below. On the mountain the Lord gives Moses additional laws to help the people live rightly and gives specific instructions about how the Israelites can feel safe to approach the Lord.
· The Lord is like the sun—the source of light and life and power, but if you aren’t careful His glory will burn you up.
· The goal with the tabernacle is for the presence of the Lord to dwell in the midst of the people!

And, with all that in mind, we come to the incident of the golden calf.

Moses has been up on the mountain, and the people begin to panic, even though they can see the Lord’s presence on the mountain!

So, they come to Aaron and ask for an idol they can see and control.

32 When the people saw that Moses delayed to come down from the mountain, the people gathered themselves together to Aaron and said to him, “Up, make us gods 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]

Aaron, who comes across as weak and cowardly in this entire episode, acquiesces to their demands. He does not remind them of the Ten Commandments or otherwise remonstrate with them.

2 So Aaron said to them, “Take off the rings of gold that are in the ears of your wives, your sons, and your daughters, and bring them to me.” 3 So all the people took off the rings of gold that were in their ears and brought them to Aaron. 4 And he received the gold from their hand and fashioned it with a graving tool and made a golden calf. And they said, “These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt!” [Exodus 32:2-3]

Note that Aaron makes the idol, but it is the people who immediately name it as their delivering god. Have they forgotten everything they saw with their own eyes that the Lord did for them?!

It’s almost as if Aaron is trying to save face by pretending that the idolatrous worship is really worship of the Lord and so he declares a feast day to the Lord!

5 When Aaron saw this, he built an altar before it. And Aaron made a proclamation and said, “Tomorrow shall be a feast to the Lord.” [Exodus 32:5]

The narrative has set us up for the presence of the Lord to come and dwell with the people, just as it was in Eden. But, now with the idolatry of the golden calf, everything will have to be reset.

Sin has consequences. How can you flee from sin today?