Hello my “Walking with Jesus” friends and welcome to the first weekend in December.
If you are a parent or grandparent, a school teacher or principal, if you serve in law enforcement or security or if you’ve had any type of management or supervisory role, then I have a question for you this morning: ‘What have you done when you find yourself in a situation where someone you feel responsible for has done something so terrible you were really ready to ring their neck, or fire them, or disown them?’ Perhaps if we can all be really honest with ourselves, we probably can remember a time WE did something so outrageously stupid, so rebellious that yes WE deserved to have our necks rung or be disowned!!
We’ve been on Mount Sinai with Moses for several days. He was up there 40 days and 40 nights alone with God in the cloud of God’s Presence. And then God shocked Moses with news of what had been going on among the 1 million Hebrews he had led out of Egyptian slavery, who were camped at the base of the mountain. God said to Moses: “Go down, because your people, whom you brought up out of Egypt, have become corrupt. They have been quick to turn away from what I commanded them and have made themselves an idol cast in the shape of a calf. They have bowed down to it and sacrificed to it and have said, ‘these are your gods O Israel, who brought you up out of Egypt.” (Ex. 32:7,8) Look at Moses! His eyes wide with wonder, his mouth dropping open. Moses has been with God for more than a month so his focus is on the majesty, holiness, supremacy of God. Often in these days Moses has been replaying in his mind all the remarkable, miraculous things he and these Hebrew slaves have experienced with God in the past few months. The plagues in Egypt; the ‘water tunnel’ through the Red Sea; the fresh water gushing from a large rock at Rephidim; the daily bread delivery from heaven called Manna. Then of course every night, the pillar of fire in the sky above them, assuring them that God was with them. In view of all this, how could what God has just described be possible? How could these people have allowed their minds and hearts to turn away from God and actually make a golden calf and call it ‘god’?
Of course we know the answer don’t we? We’ve lived the answer haven’t we? We’ve found ourselves on a path toward a serious mistake and we’ve convinced ourselves it’s going to be alright. It might even be fun or good for us, we thought. So we made the choice, we took the step, and then… we found ourselves in a very bad place, living REGRET! So let’s not throw stones too quickly at the people dancing around this golden calf in the desert… they are just like us, or maybe I should say, we are just like them!
So look now, Moses is standing to his feet from the big rock where he had sat down to catch his breath after God shocked him with that news. Perhaps Moses was waiting for more instructions… but the voice of God in the cloud said nothing more. After 40 days of conversation with God, there was silence now in the cloud! Moses evidently turned and picked up the two, heavy, solid rock tablets which God Himself had cut out of the mountain, on which God had inscribed the Covenant law, the 10 Commandments, with His own finger. Moses records what happened next with these words: “Moses turned and went down the mountain with the two tablets of the Testimony in his hands. They were inscribed on both sides front and back. The tablets were the work of God, the writing was the writing of God, engraved on the tablets…” (Ex. 32:15,16) Of all the precious, most valuable artifacts in the world, I wonder what price these tablets would fetch today if sold at a global auction? Would you agree they may be the single most valuable thing ever held in a person’s hand, ever seen by human eyes? Tablets actually inscribed by the finger of God!!
The record continues: “When Joshua heard the noise of the people shouting, he said to Moses, ‘There is the sound of war in the camp.’ But Moses replied, ‘It is not the sound of victory, nor the sound of defeat, it is the sound of singing that I hear.” (Ex. 32:17,18) Joshua? Where did he come from? Perhaps you remember that 40 days before, Moses had invited Joshua up that mountain and they sat together outside the cloud for six days before Moses was finally invited into the cloud by the voice of God. I presume that means Joshua has been sitting on the mountainside, just outside the cloud, for these entire 40 days. I’ve often wondered if Joshua could hear the conversation going on inside the cloud between God and Moses? Evidently when Moses came out of the cloud, Joshua was ready to start their hike down the mountain. I wonder if young Joshua offered to carry the tablets or at least one of them? Come on, let’s hike down with them.
Of course they can see the tent city from way up on the mountain, and evidently they could hear the noise of the celebration around the golden calf. I’m sure Moses was describing his conversation with God all the way down the mountain trial. But I’m also sure Moses’ blood pressure was rising the closer he got to the camp. The record says: “When Moses approached the camp and saw the calf and the dancing, his anger burned and he threw the tablets out of his hands, breaking them to pieces at the foot of the mountain.” (Ex. 32:19) Oh my! The stone, God engraved tablets, perhaps the most valuable artifacts ever held in human hands, were shattered into pieces! But Moses had just begun unleashing his anger: “And Moses took the calf they had made and burned it in the fire, then he ground it to powder, scattered it on the water and made the Israelites drink it! And Moses said to Aaron, ‘What did these people do to you that you led them into such great sin?‘ (Ex. 32:20,21)
I doubt our imaginations can fully envision what’s happening here, as single handedly Moses confronted the chaos of thousands of people out of control in their hysteria. I imagine Moses grabbed ahold of his brother Aaron’s clothes and gave him a good shaking while he asked this penetrating, powerful question. Moses had left Aaron in charge… and Aaron had buckled under the people pleasing pressure. Moses waited, Aaron looked everywhere but straight at Moses. He was ashamed, maybe even frightened at what Moses might do to him. He knew he had failed Moses, failed God, and failed the people badly. Do you remember, my friends, the last time you felt what Aaron probably felt in that moment? I wonder if you did what Aaron did… dodged the bullet with a fabricated story that tried to turn the blame elsewhere?
The record says: “Aaron answered Moses, ‘Do not be angry, my lord. 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!“ (Ex. 32:22-24) Oh my! Now look at Moses! His face is red with anger, and his eyes wide with disbelief at what his older brother Aaron has just said!! It is such nonsense, so outrageous it is beyond idiocy! While the record doesn’t tell us, I wonder if Moses hit him or pushed him to the ground in his anger and deep disappointment. Chaos was happening all around Moses, and Aaron’s failed leadership was responsible!
Moses wrote one final summary statement describing what was happening that day at the foot of Mount Sinai: “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.” (Ex. 32:25) On Monday we’ll look at the horrific judgment action which took place next in that camp, but for this weekend, I invite us all to consider this question: is Moses’ description of the chaos, the out of control behavior, a fair reflection of some things in your city, your country? Honestly now, is it possible that your country, your city, your extended family, your marriage or even YOU are described accurately in those last few summary words of Moses... “out of control and a laughingstock to their enemies’? If so, how did it happen? It happened in the same way it happened to the Hebrews. They ran out of patience. They needed a God honoring leader. In Moses’ absence Aaron was not capable of leading the people in Remembering all God had done. Instead he actually enabled them to disregard all God’s miracles and yearn for something else.
Very sadly, I’m afraid that describes how America is now viewed by many people of the world these days… out of control, immoral, unpredictable, unreliable, self-destructive and spreading chaos around the world! How has it happened? Failed leadership… in families, in churches, in schools, in businesses, in entertainment and in politics. Failed leadership everywhere! Oh my friends, what is God saying to you and me today about how we may have contributed to the mayhem in our world and what we should do to help correct the mess? Let’s talk to God right now about that . . . more importantly, let’s ask God to speak to us from Exodus 32, showing us what needs to change, starting with us!
Today’s Scripture is Exodus 32:15-25.
Choose below to read or listen.
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Bible images provided with attribution to www.LumoProject.com.
Have a comment or question about today’s chapter? I’m ready to hear from you, contact me here.
Pastor Doug Anderson 262.441.8785
“Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, with our eyes fixed on Jesus…” (Heb. 12:1,2)
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