Every time I hear the story of how Aaron and the Israelites created a golden calf to worship at the foot of Mt. Sinai, I am appalled. I think how ignorant and rebellious could they have been! Less than two months earlier, God had revealed Himself in a mighty and marvelous way when He descended on Mt. Sinai in a cloud of fire and spoke with a loud voice and a trumpet sound audible for all the people to hear.
Why and how had they so quickly rejected Him? As I consider the answer to that question, I feel humbled to find so many similarities to Israel then and America today.
In Exodus 32, Moses had been on the top of Mt. Sinai praying for forty days, leaving the Israelites under the leadership of the smooth-talking Aaron. The country became impatient because they were ready to break camp and continue their journey through the desert to the Promised Land. In just a little over a month, they lost confidence in Moses and in God because they were uncomfortable with where God had them.
They convinced themselves that God needed help finishing what He had started, and they pressured Aaron, who compromised the sanctity of Godly leadership for popularity among God's people.
As a result, Israel constructed a golden calf. The purpose of the calf in their minds was never to replace God. It was to update things, modernize things, make things more applicable for their situation. They wanted to move forward, to be progressive. Since God's presence was firmly fixed on Mt. Sinai, they had to counterfeit it to meet their needs.
The golden calf made them fit in better and appear more accepting of other cultures who had similar images as part of worship. They validated their behavior by building an alter before the calf and planning to celebrate a feast to the Lord. They picked the parts of God they liked then made adjustments to update Him to "fit the times."
Did they really think God, who is the same yesterday, today and forever, needed modernizing? Had they really convinced themselves that His Word to them needed adjusting to appeal to the masses? Are we just like them?
Promise for Today:
You are to be holy because I, the Lord, am holy, and I have set you apart from the nations to be my own. Leviticus 20:26
Why and how had they so quickly rejected Him? As I consider the answer to that question, I feel humbled to find so many similarities to Israel then and America today.
In Exodus 32, Moses had been on the top of Mt. Sinai praying for forty days, leaving the Israelites under the leadership of the smooth-talking Aaron. The country became impatient because they were ready to break camp and continue their journey through the desert to the Promised Land. In just a little over a month, they lost confidence in Moses and in God because they were uncomfortable with where God had them.
They convinced themselves that God needed help finishing what He had started, and they pressured Aaron, who compromised the sanctity of Godly leadership for popularity among God's people.
As a result, Israel constructed a golden calf. The purpose of the calf in their minds was never to replace God. It was to update things, modernize things, make things more applicable for their situation. They wanted to move forward, to be progressive. Since God's presence was firmly fixed on Mt. Sinai, they had to counterfeit it to meet their needs.
The golden calf made them fit in better and appear more accepting of other cultures who had similar images as part of worship. They validated their behavior by building an alter before the calf and planning to celebrate a feast to the Lord. They picked the parts of God they liked then made adjustments to update Him to "fit the times."
Did they really think God, who is the same yesterday, today and forever, needed modernizing? Had they really convinced themselves that His Word to them needed adjusting to appeal to the masses? Are we just like them?
Promise for Today:
You are to be holy because I, the Lord, am holy, and I have set you apart from the nations to be my own. Leviticus 20:26
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