Exodus 32:1-35
The Golden Calf
1When the people saw that Moses(A) delayed to come down from the mountain, the people gathered themselves together to Aaron and said to him,(B) "Up, make us gods who shall(C) 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." 2So Aaron said to them, "Take off the(D) rings of gold that are in the ears of your wives, your sons, and your daughters, and bring them to me." 3So all the people took off the rings of gold that were in their ears and brought them to Aaron. 4(E) And he received the gold from their hand and fashioned it with a graving tool and made a golden[a] calf. And they said,(F) "These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt!" 5When Aaron saw this, he built an altar before it. And Aaron(G) made proclamation and said, "Tomorrow shall be a feast to the LORD." 6And they rose up early the next day and offered burnt offerings and brought peace offerings. And(H) the people sat down to eat and drink and rose up(I) to play.7And the LORD said to Moses,(J) "Go down, for your people, whom you brought up out of the land of Egypt, have(K) corrupted themselves. 8They have turned aside quickly out of the way that(L) I commanded them. They have made for themselves a golden calf and have worshiped it and sacrificed to it and said, 'These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt!'" 9And the LORD said to Moses, "I have seen this people, and behold,(M) it is a stiff-necked people. 10Now therefore(N) let me alone, that(O) my wrath may burn hot against them and(P) I may consume them, in order that(Q) I may make a great nation of you."
11But(R) Moses implored the LORD his God and said, "O LORD, why does your wrath burn hot against your people, whom you have brought out of the land of Egypt with great power and with a mighty hand? 12(S) Why should the Egyptians say, 'With evil intent did he bring them out, to kill them in the mountains and to consume them from the face of the earth'? Turn from your burning anger and(T) relent from this disaster against your people. 13Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, your servants, to whom you(U) swore by your own self, and said to them,(V) 'I will multiply your offspring as the stars of heaven, and all this land that I have promised I will give to your offspring, and they shall inherit it forever.'" 14And the LORD(W) relented from the disaster that he had spoken of bringing on his people.
15Then(X) Moses turned and went down from the mountain with the(Y) two tablets of the testimony in his hand, tablets that were written on both sides; on the front and on the back they were written. 16(Z) The tablets were the work of God, and the writing was the writing of God, engraved on the tablets. 17When(AA) Joshua heard the noise of the people as they shouted, he said to Moses, "There is a noise of war in the camp." 18But he said, "It is not the sound of(AB) shouting for victory, or the sound of the cry of defeat, but the sound of singing that I hear." 19And as soon as he came near the camp and(AC) saw the calf and the dancing, Moses’ anger burned hot, and he threw the tablets out of his hands and broke them at the foot of the mountain. 20He took the calf that they had made and burned it with fire and ground it to powder and scattered it on the water and made the people of Israel drink it.
21And Moses said to Aaron,(AD) "What did this people do to you that you have brought such a great sin upon them?" 22And Aaron said, "Let not the anger of my lord burn hot.(AE) You know the people, that they are set on evil. 23For(AF) they said to me, '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.' 24So(AG) I said to them, 'Let any who have gold take it off.' So they gave it to me, and I threw it into the fire, and out came this calf."
25And when Moses saw that the people had broken loose (for Aaron had let them break loose,(AH) to the derision of their enemies), 26then Moses stood in the gate of the camp and said, "Who is on the LORD’s side? Come to me." And all the sons of Levi gathered around him. 27And he said to them, "Thus says the LORD God of Israel, 'Put your sword on your side each of you, and go to and fro from gate to gate throughout the camp, and each of you(AI) kill his brother and his companion and his neighbor.'" 28And the sons of Levi did according to the word of Moses. And that day about three thousand men of the people fell. 29And Moses said, "Today you have been(AJ) ordained for the service of the LORD, each one at the cost of his son and of his brother, so that he might bestow a blessing upon you this day."
30The next day Moses said to the people,(AK) "You have sinned a great sin. And now I will go up to the LORD;(AL) perhaps I can make atonement for your sin." 31So Moses returned to the LORD and said, "Alas,(AM) this people has sinned a great sin. They have(AN) made for themselves gods of gold. 32But now, if(AO) you will forgive their sin—but if not, please(AP) blot me out of(AQ) your book that you have written." 33But the LORD said to Moses,(AR) "Whoever has sinned against me, I will blot out of my book. 34(AS) But now go, lead the people to the place about which I have spoken to you;(AT) behold, my angel shall go before you. Nevertheless, in the day when I visit, I will visit their sin upon them."
35Then the LORD sent a plague on the people, because they made the calf, the one that Aaron made.
After all the Israelites had experienced leaving Egypt, how can they turn from God and worship a golden calf? "Out of sight; out of mind." "Stinking thinking." Did the Israelites think the golden calf they made led them out of slavery? Did the Israelites think the golden calf would lead them to the the promise land?
- What does God feel about this?
The Israelites wanted a physical God of their own making. Do we make golden calf gods and then worship them? What are some of our "golden calf gods?"
What happened to Aaron? "The devil made me do it." "The people wanted to do it; what could I do."
- What is wrong with us? We have been on this path for a long time.
Why do some kids hang out at the mall?
Some problems are broken homes, materialism, Mothers work, Grandmothers raising children, peer pressure, too much television, low self-esteem, and a parental agenda where the job comes first.
At the mall food court kids do not make eye contact with adults, kids do not relate to adults, there is safety in numbers for kids so they band together.
- We must become Christian Soldiers. We must plant seeds. We must stop being judgmental and take action.
1 comment:
There is so much we can learn from this lesson, however, it isn't, or at least it shouldn't be anything new to any of us who call ourselves Christian. There is so much that all of us can do to reach out to others, especially the kids, but... I think mostly it is just easier to sit and discuss the problems than it is to get off of our duffs and do something. We all have been given different gifts and the way that may seem right for me may be completely different than what you can do. That doesn't mean that one way is better than the other, but various persons will respond better to some than to others.
Don't let this keep you from trying though. Gaining a person's trust and friendship is the first step. Without that, little else can be accomplished.
I encourage everyone to get out of their comfort zone and do what YOU can do, whether it be helping an elderly or handicapped person with chores and repairs around their house, or whether it is just caring or words of encouragement that you can give to someone. What ever we do, as long as it is done in God's name and for His glory, the blessings will be yours.
God bless,
Don
Post a Comment