The Golden Calf

When the people saw that Moses was so long in coming down from the mountain, they gathered around Aaron and said, “Come, make us gods who will go before us. As for this fellow Moses who brought us up out of Egypt, we don’t know what has happened to him.” Exodus 32:1

If this were an animated thing, I'd press pause and do all the fancy footwork in reverse. You know what I mean. The awkward rewind back to a point where we should've started in the first place? So let's do that. Back story. You know the one...

During the night Pharaoh summoned Moses and Aaron and said, “Up! Leave my people, you and the Israelites! Go, worship the Lord as you have requested. Take your flocks and herds, as you have said, and go. And also bless me.” Exodus 12:31-32

We all know the story of the exodus of God's people from Egypt. We all know the miracles and signs and wonders. We all know the stories of the 10 plagues and the chaos that ensued. We know how God parted the waters and they walked through the Red Sea on dry ground. We know how miraculously God showed up and showed out.

Yet, here we are. 

Exodus 32 has found us in our impatient human flesh. Is anyone surprised? Oh. No? Yeah, same. Not even a little. But let's unpack it. 

From what I can tell, Moses went up Mount Sinai in chapter 19. We start this story in chapter 32. 40 days and 40 nights. (Exodus 24:18). We know Israel to be an impatient people. We know they struggle with just being still.

They have just walked through the plagues, walked through battles that seemed unwinnable, and literally walked through the Red Sea. They wanted for nothing in the way of miracles to show the glory of God. They saw His hand at work. He was feeding them by random morsels from Heaven on the ground and quail that just so happened to be there when they needed it. (Exodus 16) I mean, come on, He provided water from a rock for crying out loud.

Yet, here we are.

Impatient. Ornery. Unwilling to be uncomfortable. That was the state we find the Israelite nation in with this passage. They had apparently tried being patient? I guess? But 40 days and nights were seemingly too long for this group of people that had literally been walking in the hand of God. They couldn't handle it. They wanted what they wanted when they wanted it, which happened to be RIGHT NOW. It's comical if it weren't so sad and relatable. 

When the people saw that Moses was so long in coming down from the mountain,... Exodus 32:1a

He was taking SO long. 40 days and 40 nights. So what did they do? Did they remind each other what they'd already been through? Did they speak to how God had already provided? Did they acknowledge that God had already been working on their behalf? Did they pay any attention to the fact that they were covered in His favor and love every step of the way?

Nope. They were impatient. They were selfish. They were focused on only what they wanted and on what they thought they needed. They lost sight of what actually mattered. 

“Come, make us gods who will go before us. As for this fellow Moses who brought us up out of Egypt, we don’t know what has happened to him.” Exodus 32:1b

We don't know what happened to O Dude so we're going to move forward. That plan doesn't seem to be working so I'm going to try my own. Things don't seem to be going as planned so I'm going to step in and try.... this. 

The facepalming God must do with us!!! Actually, that's not true. 

“I have seen these people,” the Lord said to Moses, “and they are a stiff-necked people. Now leave me alone so that my anger may burn against them and that I may destroy them. Then I will make you into a great nation.” Exodus 32:9-10

Anger. Willing to destroy. But can you blame Him??? With how ignorant we humans can be, I can't say that I do. We have all the obvious signs, we've seen His hands at work, and yet we still pursue our own ways, knowing FULL well His plans are better.

But sure, let's make a god to worship. Man. The absolute stupidity. 

He took what they handed him and made it into an idol cast in the shape of a calf, fashioning it with a tool. Then they said, “These are your gods, Israel, who brought you up out of Egypt.” Exodus 32:4

All the signs and wonders, all the efforts God put in, and they choose to give the credit to gold earrings. Seriously??

Wait.

Hold on a minute.

Oh snap.

How many times have I done this very thing in my own life? I've never melted down earrings and bowed before them to worship but haven't I done the very same thing? How many times have I forgotten His plans are better and tried to solve something on my own? How many times do I try to jump ahead and 'fix' what He's trying to do? 

Sometimes we find ourselves in the seasons of 40 days and 40 nights. Sometimes we find that we have circumstances where we're seeking His face, asking Him to move, and all we're seeing is just the idleness. So we get impatient and decide to take matters into our own hands. Well, He doesn't seem to be doing anything so I'm going to have to make something happen here. Or perhaps it's more like, I'm tired of waiting for God's move so I'm going to start something on my own and He can bless it while I go. 

But we forget.

We sit there, impatient and perhaps even angry, but we're missing the point. While we wait, God is on the mountain top providing all the instructions, paving the paths, setting things up. What we see as idle, He's using to bless us. He's providing our every need, paving every path. He wants nothing but good for us. We always seem to get in our own way.

We talk about how much we want what He wants. We speak to following His plan and not our own. However, when it delays and seems idle, we are so quick to jump in with both feet and try to fix it. Trying to fix what doesn't need to be fixed! What He's doing is trying to teach us to be still and trust. He uses our stillness to work. Because when we move, we make messes. When we move, "Clean up on aisle nine!".

Maybe one day we will learn. Maybe one day we'll figure out that He truly does have our best interests in mind. (Romans 8:28) One day we'll pay attention to the fact that He gives us all the information we need to make the right decisions but we have to pay attention. God was literally working out all the things with Moses on that mountain top while the Israelite people were losing their minds waiting. 

And then there's Aaron. Man, if he's not the perfect example of how much your circle matters, I'm not sure what is. 

He said to Aaron, “What did these people do to you, that you led them into such great sin?” “Do not be angry, my lord,” Aaron answered. “You know how prone these people are to evil.They said to me, ‘Make us gods who will go before us. As for this fellow Moses who brought us up out of Egypt, we don’t know what has happened to him.’ So I told them, ‘Whoever has any gold jewelry, take it off.’ Then they gave me the gold, and I threw it into the fire, and out came this calf!” Moses saw that the people were running wild and that Aaron had let them get out of control and so become a laughingstock to their enemies. Exodus 32:21-25

It matters matters. Aaron had no backbone apparently. He folded like a lawn chair. The circle you surround yourself with will be who you become. If you spend time with wishy washy people, that's what you will become. If you surround yourself with mediocrity, you will be mediocre. If you surround yourself with God-fearing, strong Christians, your own faith will grow. 

Am I now trying to win the approval of human beings, or of God? Or am I trying to please people? If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a servant of Christ. Galatians 1:10

We can all tell what Aaron was about. Another reason your circle matters so much. They push for growth and will correct you if you're wrong. They will speak up when it's hard and uncomfortable but also stand by you as you grow. 

One who has unreliable friends soon comes to ruin, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother. Proverbs 18:24

Because Aaron was so easily manipulated, 3,000 people lost their lives. (Exodus 32:28) 

At the end of the day, we're called to wait upon the Lord. (Isaiah 64:4, Psalms 27:14) He has a plan and a purpose for our lives. His ways are higher than our own; His plans are greater than our own. Even when it seems like things are taking forever, or perhaps just 40 days and nights, being patient and waiting for Him to move will forever prove more promising than trying to jump again and solve things ourselves. (Galatians 6:9)

Perhaps you're in a season of waiting. I know I am. It's hard. It's draining. I can be whiny about it all. But instead of whining or complaining, let's flip the script. (James 1:2-4) Let's focus instead on His blessings and what He HAS done for us already. We can focus on the negative or the things we think we're lacking but that's just going to get our heads and hearts in a funk and not at all accomplish what we are called to do. (James 5:10-11) 

For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Jeremiah 29:11

He cares for us. He provides for the birds of the air and the flowers of the field. (Matthew 6:25-34) How much more will He care for you, the one made in His very image? He moves in the background. He's working everything out. I know it's hard, and I'm totally talking to myself here too, but patience is required. There is joy in the waiting. There are lessons in the waiting. Seek His face first and foremost. 

Praise the Lord. Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever. Psalms 106:1