LifeWay Explore the Bible Series for May 2: What if you falter?

Scripture is full of stories of our attempts to turn from God and of God’s attempts to restore and maintain fellowship with us.

The golden calf incident in Exodus 32 probably is one of the most notorious accounts of sin and rebellion in the entire Bible. This lesson is about the Israelites’ idolatry during Moses’ absence and Moses’ pleading with the Lord to forgive them. The emphasis is on the Lord’s gracious willingness to forgive his people.  

After 400 years in Egypt, the children of Israel are on the march to the Promised Land. They are living in tents and eating manna. They have been led through the desert by a visible sign of God’s presence—a pillar of cloud during the day and a pillar of fire by night.

Now, the people are encamped at the bottom of Mount Sinai. Moses, their leader, is up on the mountain meeting with God. At first, the people seem to do okay without Moses. They make it 40 days. After that, they begin to get antsy.

You see, up to this point, Moses, their primary mediator with God, has been with them every day. This is the first instance we know of where Moses goes up the mountain and stays 40 days. When the people realize Moses is taking forever to come down off the mountain, they gather around Aaron and say, “Come, make us gods who will go before us. As for this fellow Moses who brought us up out of Egypt, we do not know what has happened to him” (Exodus 32:1).

Aaron, who is Moses’ brother and the second in command, quickly gives in to their request. He begins collecting the people’s gold jewelry to make an idol. He takes the gold, melts it down and then shapes it into the image of calf.

This process takes some time. Maybe even a day or two. Aaron and the people have plenty of time to change their minds. At any moment, someone can speak up, “You know I do not think this is a good idea.” “Remember just 40 days ago Moses gave us the 10 commandments? If we make this golden calf, we are going to break at least two of those rules: you should not have any other gods before me and you should not make for yourself an idol.”
 
At any moment, they can turn back. They have plenty of time to change their minds. This seems to be the way most sin works? We know what we should do. We hear the still, small voice of Christ whisper to us. And yet we choose to ignore it.

It is like what the Apostle Paul says in Romans, “We know that the law is spiritual; but I am unspiritual, sold as a slave to sin. I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do” (Romans 7:14-15).  

The funny thing is, God knows this about us. God says to Moses, “I have seen these people … they are a stiff-necked people” (Exodus 32:9). In other words, these people are stubborn and hard-headed people! They are quick to turn away from what God commands.  

Why do the people want this calf of gold? Partly, it is a matter of the absence of Moses. Moses is their leader and closely associated with God’s presence—without him they feel lost. Also, the people have been living in Egypt 400 years. In Egypt, everybody worships idols. It is easier to believe in a god that can be seen and touched. So, they fashion God into an image they can control, an idol they can pick up and carry around.

Truthfully, we are all guilty of shaping God into what we want God to be. If you peruse any Christian bookstore you will encounter Jesus as a political revolutionary, an environmentalist and a Jewish rabbi. The Israelites want a more manageable, less mysterious version of Yahweh. This God who brought plagues on Egypt, parted the Reed Sea, showed up in a pillar of fire and enveloped the mountain in smoke and then, demanded holiness and obedience. This God is scary, a powerful force. A little golden calf, now that seems less intimidating. They can take the calf out when they choose, on their terms and then, put it away.         

I love how Psalms describes the golden calf incident, “At Horeb, they made a calf and worshipped an idol cast from metal.   They exchanged their glory for an image of a bull, which eats grass” (Psalm 106:19-20).

Today, we do not usually create idols made out of gold. But we do trade our lives of glory in Christ for meaningless things. We trade a day that could be spent doing ministry for trips to the mall or a game of golf. We trade time that could be spent with our families for television and video games. We trade our spouses of 20 years for a moment of pleasure with someone new and exciting. We trade the gift of the Sabbath for a 60-hour work week. We trade Sunday morning worship for soccer tournaments or 50 minutes more sleep. We exchange the glory of God for an image of a bull, which eats grass.  

Thankfully, we serve a God who knows our weakness and is willing to forgive us when we fail him. This lesson invites us to think about how we faltered in our faith and to seek God’s forgiveness, just as Israel did.