Exodus 32
-This important chapter of Scripture involves the saga of
the golden calf and the obstinate children of Israel at the foot of Mt. Sinai.
The people grew impatient with the return of Moses, who was up on the mount for
40 days and nights with the LORD (Exodus 24:18). They assembled around Aaron
and wanted him to make them an object of worship since they had no idea what
had happened to Moses. They gathered gold, and Aaron fashioned a molten calf
with a graving tool and called it the god who lead them out of Egypt
proclaiming a feast to the LORD for the next day. This was understandable when
we consider the nature of man and the culture that these individuals lived in.
In Egypt, ultra popular gods were Hapi (Apis) and Hathor, which were thought of
as a bull and a heifer. This would appeal to the Israelites because of their work
with livestock in Goshen. In Canaan, where they were headed, the primary form
of worship revolved around Baal, who was also thought of as a bull. Baal was a
sacred symbol of power and fertility and was closely related to immoral sexual
practices. It would have been natural for the people to turn away from a God
that they could not see to a form of god they worshipped in ignorance made of
gold, which was tangible and understandable. They quickly forgot the God
without a face and His command just given them about not making an idol, or
“any likeness of what is in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the
water under the earth (Exodus 20:4).” *Application* Our conceptions of God can
easily be swayed in the same direction if we are not careful. We must stay on
the straight line of Scripture (the cannon) to gain our understanding of the
LORD. We can easily venture off the straight and narrow into man-made
constructions of who and what God is. Anything that deviates off of what the
Bible gives as the truth of who God is will lead into idolatry. If we are not
careful we can be persuaded to follow the gods of this age and culture. These
are misrepresentations of who God really is. Trust in His Word; it is the truth
as to who the actual God is. Don’t make a form of god in your own image. The
problem is that the Israelites, like ourselves, wanted to figure God out and
comprehend Him. This is impossible other than His Divine revelation. In many
ways we will never figure God out and comprehend Him on this side of heaven.
This is a good thing because He is above us, His creation, in every way.
-God knew they had corrupted themselves in turning away from
His recent commands that they said they would follow (Exodus 24:3). God called
them obstinate and His anger burned against them to the point He was going to
destroy them and rebuild His nation through Moses. I believe this was simply a
test to see Moses’ response. The prophecies of the LORD would have to remain
intact. He had promised the Messiah through Judah’s line of which Moses was not
(Genesis 49:10). Moses’ response was correct and cooled the anger of God, yet
when he saw the apostasy for himself his anger burned equally as strong. The
important point here is that God relented from His anger. Here is a translation
issue that I believe many well intentioned translators misrepresent. The term,
which is primarily translated “relented, repented, or changed his mind” has the
meaning actually of “compassion, feeling sorry for, and taking pity” in the
Hebrew (check any Hebrew lexicon, Exodus 32:12, 14). This gives us a better
description of what was happening in the mind of the LORD as He dealt with the
disobedience of His people. They deserved harm. They had transgressed His
commands and were under His just wrath. They were worshipping falsely and were
engaging in pagan forms of celebratory feasting that could be termed almost as
being an orgy. This is what the term often translated “rose up to play,” or
“revelry” is all about (Exodus 32:6). *Application* God has every right to
destroy us when we rebel against His authority and transgress His ways.
Thankfully for us, He is a God who is gracious and compassionate taking pity on
us when we sin (Exodus 34:6, 2 Chronicles 30:9, Nehemiah 9:31, Psalm 103:8,
Joel 2:13, Jonah 4:2 to name just a few instances of this phrase). This is the
heart of God. His mercy endures forever! Thank You Jesus!
Verse to Memorize:
Exodus 32:14
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