The Golden Calf
So there were so many things that struck me about the story of the Golden Calf this time so I'm just going to try and briefly list each one in this post. Here we go...
This Moshe -- we don't know what has become of him
Moses (Moshe) was gone a long time. I was talking to Garrett (my husband) a few weeks ago about this because not many people in modern-day America would have patience to sit on a mountain for days, waiting for God to speak. But now I'm looking at it from the people of Israel's perspective. How many of us would have the patience to wait for Moses, while he was on the mountain for so long?
When you think about it, they've been rescued from Egypt, led across the sea on dry land, fed with manna and quails, miraculously provided with water, and marched out to this mountain. There, they've seen God on the mountain and now they are waiting down below while God speaks with Moses.
It probably still seems a little surreal. And they have still spent most of their lives as slaves in Egypt. Now they are sitting down there with nothing to do in the middle of nowhere.
So they go to Aaron (Aharon). He's supposed to be their priest. All the gods of Egypt were visible as idols. If you want a god to go with you, you need to carry an idol of him, right? Get busy, Aaron. Make us some gods. That man Moses -- who knows what has become of him. With all that thunder and lightning -- maybe he's dead up there and we're on our own. Who knows?
Fake priests
Aaron takes their gold and makes it into the shape of a calf. Israel proclaims it to be their god. So Aaron builds an altar for it and sets up a Feast Day for it. The next day, they get up and offer sacrifices and throw a party.
Later, when Moses comes down and sees what happened, he asked Aaron how the people managed to force him into this. Aaron blames it on the wayward hearts of the people. And he also says he threw their gold into the fire "and out came this calf!" It reminds me of the fake priests in my earlier post. Priests of other gods can fashion an idol and tell people that it divinely appeared from the fire. The idol doesn't care.
A Corrupt Bride
This story of the people of Israel makes me think of a corrupt bride.
Imagine a good man who had lived a righteous life. In the land where he is from, marriage is precious. Men and women are faithful and true. A wedding day is something you prepare for your whole life. And it marks the start of a beautiful covenant relationship, where two people (who have never known someone so intimately before) come together and know each other's heart and soul completely. The whole land is beautiful and peaceful and happy. People are good and kind and wise.
And he falls in love with a girl from another place. Where this girl is from, drunkenness and revelry and immorality is normal. Everybody does it. It's so common that you would be strange if you didn't act this way.
But this place is a rough place -- a dangerous place, full of evil. She is a slave there.
So this man rescues her. And he brings her to his mountain and offers to marry her. He presents the terms of his covenant. And she says "I do."
But one day, not long after they were married, he was at work, staying later than usual to provide good things for his wife. And when he returned to her, he found her drunk, having a party with her old friends in his house and committing adultery like it was no big deal.
Because, for her, it wasn't a big deal. Her mind was so corrupted that the beauty and uniqueness of what he was offering her did not even compute.
He wants to take her home -- to take her to his good land -- but she wants to bring her old land with her -- the land that he just rescued her from, the land where she was abused.
She wants to go to the good land. Yeah, I mean, that sounds a lot better than being a slave. He's told her about all the wonderful things in his land, and she really wants to go live there. But she doesn't have a clue how to give up her past lifestyle. And she doesn't understand that her past lifestyle will ruin the good land. If she brings her drunkenness and revelry and immorality to the new land, it will become just as vile and dangerous as the old one.
And now the man is there, seeing just how ruined his wife is, seeing how she doesn't even seem to want to learn. What does he do?
So Maybe You're Not Ready to Walk with GOD...
God told Moses that it wouldn't be safe for the people to walk with Him. Thinking back to my analogy of electricity...if you were teaching an electrician's apprentice, and you found him to be careless and unwilling to follow your instructions, then it would perhaps be wise to recommend he pursue a different trade.
God is holy. You can't walk close to Him with sin in your life. You'll die.
I like the fact that God still promises to provide for them. He gives Moses instructions for the journey. He promises to send an angel ahead of them to clear the way so they can go to the good land He promised them. The only difference is that He won't be on the journey with them.
But the children of Israel went into mourning when they heard this.
I think back to my story of the corrupt bride. At first the husband thinks she deserves to die. But then he resigns himself to a new plan. If all she wants is to be rescued from her slavery and moved to a good land, so be it. He will send her ahead with a servant. All of her needs will be provided for. She'll get what she wanted. And he'll take himself out of the picture. Goodbye.
But she is heartbroken.
She wants to be with him. She wasn't just coming for the food and nice house. She truly did want to be with him.
And that makes all the difference in the world.
Maybe she isn't ready to be a good wife. But if her heart is turned toward him, and she is willing to learn, he can teach her. He'll find a way.
There is so much more in this passage, but you'll have to read it yourself to seek out the rest! (Exodus 32:1 - 34:35)
This Moshe -- we don't know what has become of him
Moses (Moshe) was gone a long time. I was talking to Garrett (my husband) a few weeks ago about this because not many people in modern-day America would have patience to sit on a mountain for days, waiting for God to speak. But now I'm looking at it from the people of Israel's perspective. How many of us would have the patience to wait for Moses, while he was on the mountain for so long?
When you think about it, they've been rescued from Egypt, led across the sea on dry land, fed with manna and quails, miraculously provided with water, and marched out to this mountain. There, they've seen God on the mountain and now they are waiting down below while God speaks with Moses.
It probably still seems a little surreal. And they have still spent most of their lives as slaves in Egypt. Now they are sitting down there with nothing to do in the middle of nowhere.
So they go to Aaron (Aharon). He's supposed to be their priest. All the gods of Egypt were visible as idols. If you want a god to go with you, you need to carry an idol of him, right? Get busy, Aaron. Make us some gods. That man Moses -- who knows what has become of him. With all that thunder and lightning -- maybe he's dead up there and we're on our own. Who knows?
Fake priests
Aaron takes their gold and makes it into the shape of a calf. Israel proclaims it to be their god. So Aaron builds an altar for it and sets up a Feast Day for it. The next day, they get up and offer sacrifices and throw a party.
Later, when Moses comes down and sees what happened, he asked Aaron how the people managed to force him into this. Aaron blames it on the wayward hearts of the people. And he also says he threw their gold into the fire "and out came this calf!" It reminds me of the fake priests in my earlier post. Priests of other gods can fashion an idol and tell people that it divinely appeared from the fire. The idol doesn't care.
A Corrupt Bride
This story of the people of Israel makes me think of a corrupt bride.
Imagine a good man who had lived a righteous life. In the land where he is from, marriage is precious. Men and women are faithful and true. A wedding day is something you prepare for your whole life. And it marks the start of a beautiful covenant relationship, where two people (who have never known someone so intimately before) come together and know each other's heart and soul completely. The whole land is beautiful and peaceful and happy. People are good and kind and wise.
And he falls in love with a girl from another place. Where this girl is from, drunkenness and revelry and immorality is normal. Everybody does it. It's so common that you would be strange if you didn't act this way.
But this place is a rough place -- a dangerous place, full of evil. She is a slave there.
So this man rescues her. And he brings her to his mountain and offers to marry her. He presents the terms of his covenant. And she says "I do."
But one day, not long after they were married, he was at work, staying later than usual to provide good things for his wife. And when he returned to her, he found her drunk, having a party with her old friends in his house and committing adultery like it was no big deal.
Because, for her, it wasn't a big deal. Her mind was so corrupted that the beauty and uniqueness of what he was offering her did not even compute.
He wants to take her home -- to take her to his good land -- but she wants to bring her old land with her -- the land that he just rescued her from, the land where she was abused.
She wants to go to the good land. Yeah, I mean, that sounds a lot better than being a slave. He's told her about all the wonderful things in his land, and she really wants to go live there. But she doesn't have a clue how to give up her past lifestyle. And she doesn't understand that her past lifestyle will ruin the good land. If she brings her drunkenness and revelry and immorality to the new land, it will become just as vile and dangerous as the old one.
And now the man is there, seeing just how ruined his wife is, seeing how she doesn't even seem to want to learn. What does he do?
So Maybe You're Not Ready to Walk with GOD...
God told Moses that it wouldn't be safe for the people to walk with Him. Thinking back to my analogy of electricity...if you were teaching an electrician's apprentice, and you found him to be careless and unwilling to follow your instructions, then it would perhaps be wise to recommend he pursue a different trade.
God is holy. You can't walk close to Him with sin in your life. You'll die.
I like the fact that God still promises to provide for them. He gives Moses instructions for the journey. He promises to send an angel ahead of them to clear the way so they can go to the good land He promised them. The only difference is that He won't be on the journey with them.
But the children of Israel went into mourning when they heard this.
I think back to my story of the corrupt bride. At first the husband thinks she deserves to die. But then he resigns himself to a new plan. If all she wants is to be rescued from her slavery and moved to a good land, so be it. He will send her ahead with a servant. All of her needs will be provided for. She'll get what she wanted. And he'll take himself out of the picture. Goodbye.
But she is heartbroken.
She wants to be with him. She wasn't just coming for the food and nice house. She truly did want to be with him.
And that makes all the difference in the world.
Maybe she isn't ready to be a good wife. But if her heart is turned toward him, and she is willing to learn, he can teach her. He'll find a way.
There is so much more in this passage, but you'll have to read it yourself to seek out the rest! (Exodus 32:1 - 34:35)
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