271. THE GOLDEN CALF

"Thou shalt have no other gods before me"

God visited and delivered Israel from Egypt. They were His people in every sense of the term. It was His purpose to establish them as a beacon of light to attract others to His truth (cp. 2 Pet. 3:9). They were intended to be "a kingdom of priests" (Ex. 19:6), radiating the light of God's truth to the world. It was to emphasize Israel's role in the world, that God said He would dwell among them, enthroned in their midst (Ex. 25:8; 29:45, 46). It would be no more possible, however, for God to dwell among them if they continued a sinful and idolatrous people, than it would be possible for "Light" and "Darkness" to co-exist (cp. 2 Cor. 6:14-18; Eph. 5:8).

The aim of this lesson is to show how changeable is human nature; not long after Moses had disappeared into Mt. Sinai, Israel forgot the lesson of the plagues and all of God's wonders, and turned back to idols.

Exodus 32

MOSES ASCENDS THE MOUNT (Ex. 24).

The sin of the golden calf occurred on the occasion of Moses' fifth as cent into Mount Sinai (vv.9-18), while he was being shown the pattern of the Tabernacle.

The occasion of this fifth ascent was a momentous one. After his fourth descent, the covenant had been solemnly ratified (vv. 3-8). Now he was to receive the two tables of stone inscribed with the ten command ments by "the finger of God" (Deut. 9:9-11), and also the details of the Tabernacle. It was a big assignment, so leaving Aaron and Hur in charge of the camp (v. 14), and taking Joshua with him at least part of the way he remained there forty days and forty nights (v. 13; cp. 32:17).

THE PEOPLE IN APOSTASY WHILE MOSES ABSENT (Ex. 32:1-6).

Moses had probably been away about a month when signs of restlessness began to appear among the people of Israel. The pillar of cloud was removed from the camp and abode upon the mount (24:15), the impatient people thought Moses was dead, contemptuously dismiss ing him as "this Moses". As day followed day, their impatience grew, and before long murmuring and discontent were everywhere in evidence. The people presented themselves before Aaron and demanded that he make them a god to go before them (v.1).

Aaron capitulated before the threats of the people. He ordered them to bring their golden earrings and with them he fashioned a golden calf or young bull (vv.2-4). Their ears had truly been turned away from hearing the words of Yahweh (contrast Prov. 25:11-12). The voice of Yahweh, which they had heard but weeks earlier, forbidding them to have any gods before Him and condemning the worship of molten idols, had either been forgotten or set aside (Ex. 20:1-4).

The calf, or young bull, was one of the gods of Egypt. This fact seems to have been in the minds of the people, for Stephen says that "in their hearts they turned back again into Egypt" (Acts 7:38-41). Later in their history, the ten tribes in their apostasy adopted this Egyptian idol as the centre of their worship: and almost the same words were uttered, "Behold thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt" (1 Kgs. 12:28-30).

The people could hardly wait for the next day to dawn, for "early on the morrow" they rose to continue with their riotous merrymaking (v.6). Paul comments on their idolatry in 1 Cor. 10:7 (Note v.14).

THE DESTRUCTIVE NATURE OF IDOLATRY.

The first of the ten commandments is, "Thou shalt have no other gods before me"; and the second is, "Thou shalt not make thee any graven image" (Ex. 20:3-4). Aaron does not appear to have regarded his actions as a breach of these commandments. He may not have thought of the calf as an idol, but as a reminder to Israel of Yahweh € for the feast he proclaimed was a feast to Yahweh, not the calf (v.5). But it was certainly on his part a breach of the second commandment, and in Ex. 33:8 the people were charged with deserting Yahweh for another god. One sin led quite naturally to another. Worship of God by means of images degrades God in the eyes of the worshippers, in whose mind the images come to usurp God's place.

Man is reluctant to accept discipline from God upon his actions € so he "changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and four-footed beasts, and creeping things" (Rom. 1:23; Psa. 106:19-20). When man refuses to obey the true God who holds men responsible to Him, he creates a "god", dictates the standards he wishes to observe and he then bows before its throne (Col. 3:5).

THE INTERCESSION OF MOSES (Ex. 32:7-14).

Up on the mount, Moses was unaware of the apostasy. God informed him of it and urgently charged him to go down. Yahweh, through His angel with whom Moses was communing (Acts 7:38), pointed out that the covenant had been broken. He told Moses He would blot Israel out of ex istence and make a fresh start with him, as He had earlier done with Abraham.

Moses' noble character shines forth in his reply in which he intercedes for Israel, without in any way minimizing their sin. He pointed out that €

1. they were the people God had redeemed from Egypt;
2. the Egyptians would regard their destruction as a triumph;
3. it would make of none effect the promises made to Abraham, Isaac and Israel € this name being used in preference to "Jacob", because it suggested "the prince that had power with God and prevailed" (cp. Gen. 32:28).

Because of Moses' intercession, God turned from His purpose and did not destroy them (Psa. 99:6).

THE SUPPRESSION OF THE IDOLATRY (Ex. 32:15-29).

Moses hurriedly descended. In his two hands he carried the tables of stone inscribed by God with the ten commandments (Deut. 9:15). On the way down, he was met by Joshua. As they descended they could hear the noise of shouting in the camp. Joshua mistook it for the noise of war. But Moses knew better (cp. vv.7-8). He said, "It is not the voice of them that shout for the mastery, neither is it the voice of them that cry for being overcome: but the noise of them that sing do I hear" (v.19). As they neared the camp, Moses "saw the calf and the dancing," and in anger at their waywardness, "he cast the tables out of his hands and broke them beneath the mount."

In three deliberate steps, Moses then set out to overcome the idolatry:

1. He destroyed the idol, grinding it to dust and casting it into their drinking water. They were made to drink their own "god" (v.20)!
2. He then dealt with Aaron, whose weakness promoted the idolatry (when a demonstration of strength may have stopped it). He was spared and pardoned because Moses prayed for him (Deut. 9:20).
3. He then sought out those primarily responsible for the idolatry, and with the assistance of the tribe of Levi, which stood faithfully with him, he executed 3,000 idolaters (vv.26-28).

MOSES' SECOND INTERCESSION FOR ISRAEL (Ex. 32:30-35).

Moses punished Israel's sin, but was still conscious of the division bet ween God and His people. What was needed was reconciliation, and on the morrow Moses ascended the Mount for the sixth time € this time pleading for Israel's forgiveness. He was prepared to die himself if it meant the pardon of their sins, and their salvation. This God rejected on two main grounds:

1. Atonement through a substitute is not part of God's method (v.33; Ezek. 18:4); Israel had sinned, therefore they should be punished. The same principle applies in the case of salvation in Christ. He died that our sins might be forgiven, but it is also necessary for us to "die unto sin" in baptism into his name. In this way we associate ourselves with the principle of the cross € we put aside the way of sin and instead render obedience to God (Rom. 6:4-6). As Jesus said, we must also take up our cross and follow him (Matt. 16:24). It is not correct to say, as do the churches, that Jesus died instead of us, or as our substitute.

2. Sin itself may be pardoned (as indicated by the commandment to go forward to the land), though its effects remain. They could not expect matters to be the same as if they had not sinned. On the contrary, they would suffer because of it (vv.34-35).

The struggle against sin must be individual and personal, and we dare not voluntarily give ourselves to any sin (Rom. 6:15). At all moments of the day we must be on guard, lest the sin which "so easily besets us", finds expression in our thoughts, words or deeds.

LESSONS FOR US:

• Moses ascended the Mount to receive directions from God; in the same way, our Lord Jesus Christ ascended into heaven for a season (Lk. 19:12; Acts 1:7, 11).
• Moses was away so long that Israel doubted whether he was still alive. In the same way, scoffers say of Christ's return, "Where is the promise of his coming?" (2 Pet. 3:3-4). We must not consider our Lord's absence to be an opportunity to indulge in worldly pursuits and ambi tions € we must not be like the evil servant who said in his heart, "My Lord delayeth his coming" (Matt. 24:48-51).
• The desire to satisfy their lusts caused Israel to worship idols. Covetousness can lead to the same thing today (Col. 3:5). The world has much to offer in terms of ease and pleasure, and we should be aware of the dangers in these things to our faith.
• When Moses returned he judged those who were guilty of sin, but he in terceded with God in order to save those who were faithful. Christ will do the same (2 Cor. 5:10).

REFERENCE LIBRARY:

"The Visible Hand of God" (R. Roberts) € Chapter 17

"The Story of the Bible" (H. P. Mansfield) € Vol. 1, Pages 321-327

PARAGRAPH QUESTIONS:

1. Why did Moses ascend the mount on the fifth occasion? Whom did he take with him?
2. Why did the people want to construct the golden calf? Why was it wrong for them to do so?
3. What was Moses' reaction when God wanted to destroy the nation after their worship of the golden calf and to make of him a great na tion?

ESSAY QUESTIONS:

1. Describe the incident of the golden calf. What lessons does it teach us?
2. What parallels between the days of Moses and our time emerge from the incident of the golden calf?
3. What lessons do we learn from Moses' intercession to God on behalf of the people, when they had sinned in the matter of the golden calf?
4. Explain what Moses did when he descended Mount Sinai and found that the people had turned to idols? How does this incident parallel what Jesus Christ will do when he returns?

PLAN of the FOURSQUARE ENCAMPMENT