The Golden Calf

I wonder if any of you have ever felt ashamed of being British?  Or Australian?!  I remember vividly one occasion. It was seven years ago and I was working in Paris with Christian Unions there.  One of the Christian Union groups I was involved in was made up of brothers and sisters from French-speaking African countries – including several from Congo.  One time we were having a conversation about the past political troubles in Congo… but then the conversation took a sharp turn… We started talking about the Slave Trade!  And the students' eyes turned on me and they said: "Do you know about this? Do they teach you this at school?"  (Of course I did learn about it at school) - but I'll never forget that sense of shame and embarrassment.  My people had forced their people into slavery. Ruthless and selfish Europeans had traded innocent African lives to make more money for themselves.  I felt ashamed.

And that deep sense of shame was exactly how God's Old Testament people would have felt when they recalled the events of Exodus chapter 32.  In the following years, if a Jewish son went to his father and asked, "What did our people do while Moses was listening to God on Mount Sinai?" – there would be an embarrassed silence – and the father would reply: "Son. What we did was shameful. May it never ever happen again!"

Today we are studying Exodus 32 to learn from the past mistakes of God's people, so we don't make the same mistakes ourselves today.  It may not be pretty reading, but it's important for us to take on board the message.  So let's watch and learn!

1. God commands his people to worship him alone (Exodus 20-31)

But before I jump into Exodus 32, we need to get feel for how the book flows up till this point.  The big idea of the book Exodus is God progressively fulfilling his promises to the Abraham, Isaac and Jacob that he would make their descendents into a great nation.  It's written as an epic adventure story.  There's God's rescue of his people from Egypt–high point…  The grumbling in the desert – low point…  Moses receiving the 10 commandments… high point – and let's just pause there for a moment.

Turn with me to chapter 20 verse 1.

And God spoke all these words:2 "I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.3 "You shall have no other gods before[a] me.4 "You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. 5 You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God

My first point is that God commands his people to worship him alone. God commands his people to worship him alone.  It's crystal clear isn't it?  God was the one who rescued his people from Egypt… Therefore he is the one real, living God… Therefore don't follow other 'gods' and don't make idols.

Fast-forward a few chapters to chapter 24!  Moses comes down the mountain to the people and relays these commands to the people. How do God's people respond? Look at verse 3.

3 When Moses went and told the people all the Lord's words and laws, they responded with one voice, "Everything the Lord has said we will do.

The people all say "Sure thing! We'll do that!" Moses is then called by God back up the mountain one final time for 40 days and nights. He hears about how God will dwell with his people in the tabernacle. And in Exodus 31:18 – just before our passage begins – Moses receives the two stone tablets from God, which symbolise the covenant between God and his people.  This a great high point in Exodus… God's law has been given… God's people are assembled… God's leader about to return to his people…

2. God's people choose to worship an idol instead (32:1-6)

But chapter 32 is a tragic anti-climax in the story. The camera now switches from Moses on Mount Sinai (ch.31) to God's people gathered at the foot of the mountain (ch.32). And the footage begins… Moses is away – there's been a delay.  And now – verse 1 - they are fed up with waiting for Moses to come down from the mountain! They've been waiting over a month – ticking off the days on their calendars – and that's long enough for them.  And they devise a plan.

This is my second point. God's people choose to worship an idol instead. Verses 1-6. God has commanded his people to worship him alone – and not to worship idols, but God's people choose to worship and idol instead.  The story runs quickly from one action to the next – like dominos toppling one after the other… Look a verses 1-6.

The people pressure the weak Aaron into making man-made gods – a bit more tangible – a bit more visible – a bit more immediate than this God who rescued them from Egypt… Aaron comes up with a masterplan. He gets everyone to give their gold. He uses his sculpture talents to make a golden calf. And then he comes out with a new simple confession of faith. Verse 4. "These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of Egypt." He then decides it would be fitting to mark this occasion with a religious festival in the Lord's honour. And the following day the people rise early to start sacrificing to this golden calf and after the religious ceremony a wild party kicks off. The whole episode is a little bit like that moment at school when the teacher has to leave the class on an urgent errand… and as soon as she leaves the room, chaos ensues. 'While the teachers is away, the students make play' And so it is with God's people in Moses' absence.

But joking apart what are we to make of this episode? This episode was – in reality – far more serious that a little bit of naughtiness at school. It was one of the most disgracefully shameful episodes of all time. Let me show you why:

Q. What did God command his people to do?

A. To worship him alone. Not to make idols and worship them.

Q. What did God's people do?

A. They made an idol. They worshipped it.

Q. What excuse did God's people have?

A. No excuse. They knew what God wanted them to do and they agreed to do it.

Q. Were there any mitigating circumstances?

A. No there weren't. The nations around them did not pressure them into this disobedience.

It was shameful. Looking back, God's people forgot God had rescued them from Egypt. Looking forward, they gave up trusting God to provide for their future. Instead they rewrote history. "I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt." Became… "These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of Egypt. And the reputation of the Lord lay in the dust. The Lord's name was despised. Shamed. Patronised. Domesticated. Ignored. Dishonoured. This was a shameful episode of history.

But the scary thing for us today is how easily it happened… As we had the passage read, did you notice the speed with which it happened? It all happened so quickly – the whole episode was just two days from start to finish – a weekend! It all happened so easily. There was no opposition. No-one put a hand up to say "Oh! I'm not too sure about this. Don't you remember... what God said… about not worshipping idols?" And it all happened so religiously – Aaron the priest was there in his official capacity. He supported what was going on. A festival was held in the Lord's honour to celebrate. You see, it is actually very easy for us today to repeat exactly this kind of behaviour as Christians today. It's easy – too easy – for any church end up in this situation in a matter of months – even (dare I say it) for a church like HTG that's started so well. If we forget that God has rescued us from his judgement through Jesus… If we ignore what he says to us… If we don't trust him to meet our needs for the future… Then we will stop worshipping God and start worshipping idols. It's dangerously easy.

3. Moses intercedes for God's idolatrous people (32:7-14)

The third part of the story is this. Moses intercedes for God's idolatrous people. Verses 7-14. Moses intercedes for God's idolatrous people.  God will not let his people trample all over his honour.  God's assessment of what his people have done is straight to the point. Look at verse 8  - they've quickly turned aside from what he commanded, made an idol, sacrificed to it and worshipped it.  His judgement on his people is blunt. Verse 9.

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

Now if you had been Moses at that point, what would you have done? I think I would have respectfully stepped out the way – and not dared to engage with a (justly) angry God. But Moses is different. He goes on the front foot. He pleads for God to have mercy on his people. And he gives two good reasons:

The first one is in v.12 - for the sake of God's honour before the Egyptians- "But Lord, if you kill your people – all the Egyptians will think you rescued your people from Egypt in order to kill them!"

The second reason is in v.13 - for the sake of God's honour in keeping his promises – "Lord, you promised to make a large numerous people. What will come of this plan if you destroy your people?"

Do we pray like this, I wonder? I must confess that my praying is often nothing like this. I often go into 'shopping list' mode – rattling off my 'to do list' and asking God to bless each bit. What can we learn from Moses' example? Well – surely that a concern for God's honour should drive our prayers. Let's learn from Moses' example and wrestle with God in prayer for the honour of his name. As Jesus prayed: "Our Father, hallowed be your name…" Hold God to his promises in Scripture. Here's an example of collective prayer for HTG:

"Lord God! You say in your Word that the gospel is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jew… Lord, we have many Jewish people living here amongst us here in Gateshead. For the sake of your name, would you stretch out your hand and save some of them from your anger through Jesus Christ the Messiah. Use us to do this in the next five years. Amen"

Or what about a personal prayer for one of us:

"Father God, I know my tendency to idolise financial security means I dishonour you. I am anxious and I fret, when I should know that you are my provider. May you transform my attitude, so that all my non-Christian friends can see the change in me – and see that you – and you alone are the true and living God. For your glory. Amen."

Let's pray God's promises in Scripture back to him, knowing that that he will answer prayers for the honour of his name.  And how did God respond to Moses' prayer? Verse 14. He relented. Not that Moses twisted God's arm. Rather in God's mysterious purposes, he used the agency of Moses' prayers to accomplish his work in the world. Moses interceded for God's idolatrous people for God's glory – let's follow his example and pray the same way.

4. Moses purges God's people of idolaters (32:15-29)

The fourth part of the story is this. Moses purges God's people of idolaters. Verses 15-29. Moses purges God's people of idolaters.  The fact that the Lord relents in v.14 does not mean everyone will just get away with idolatry and everything will go back to normal. No!  God relenting in v.14 just means that he decides not to destroy everyone apart from Moses. There is hope for people who will turn from their idolatry at this point. Let's see what happens… Look at verses 15-29.

Moses is burning with righteous anger and he comes down the mountain. He smashes the stone tablets God gave him – as his people have broken their covenant with God. He burns the idol and makes the people drink gold idol squash. He then corners Aaron and holds him responsible for leading the people into sin. Aaron refuses to accept responsibility – and conceals some of the facts of the case. Moses sees that Aaron has lost control and the people are wild. God is being dishonoured and under God's command, Moses takes action – serious action.

Verse 26 – he says: 'Whoever is for the Lord come to me.'  People are forced to make an on-the-spot decisions. God or idols? And those who are for the Lord are commanded to kill off the idolaters.  Verse 27.

27 Then Moses said to them, "This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: 'Each man strap a sword to his side. Go back and forth through the camp from one end to the other, each killing his brother and friend and neighbor.'" 28 The Levites did as Moses commanded and that day three thousand of the people died.

Our gut reaction is to think: "How can that be justifiable?" If we feel like that we need to rethink who God really is. The Lord is not a softie. Yes – God is love. But God is also a God of justice, of righteous anger, a jealous God who will not tolerate rivals, the King of the Universe who will not let people dishonour him. Yes – of course – Jesus does not call his followers to do what Moses did at that particular point in Bible history. But the Lord is the same God then and now. He is holy. He is angry with our sin. Do not mess with this God!

If you've not yet decided to start following Jesus, this is something to take seriously. To put it bluntly, if this is really who God is, who in their right mind would dare to oppose him? Far better to lay your weapon on the ground and accept God's peace deal through Jesus Christ.

If you are already a follower of Jesus, how easy it is to slip into a mindset of complacency towards God.

-         Being casual about which of his Words we obey and which we ignore.

-         Starting to fear other human beings more than this great and mighty God of heaven.

-         Mis-representing God to our non-Christian friends – talking all about God's forgiveness, peace and love – as if he wasn't also just, awesome, powerful and holy.

Don't mess with God!

5. What will God do with his idolatrous people? (32:30-33:6)

The final page of this chapter doesn't offer a clear conclusion, but poses a question. What will God do with his idolatrous people? Chapter 32:30 – 33:6. What will God do with his idolatrous people? These final verses are a cliff-hanger – they are full of unresolved tensions… For example, in verses 31-34, when Moses pleads with God to forgive his peoples' sin, God's answer is ambiguous. He will continue to guide his people… but he will punish those who have sinned.  Then in verses 1-3 we see the same pattern: On the one hand - God renews his covenant with his people – he will fulfil his promises to Abraham – he will provide his people with the promised land – he will drive their enemies out… but on the other hand he will not go with them!

What do God's people make of this? In verses 4-6, they are finally humbled, ashamed of what they've done. And they begin to mourn. Their mood has gone from a wild party the previous day – to despair and mourning… all because of God's verdict on them. Verse 5:

5 For the Lord had said to Moses, "Tell the Israelites, 'You are a stiff-necked people. If I were to go with you even for a moment, I might destroy you. Now take off your ornaments and I will decide what to do with you.

You can imagine the thoughts that were turning through their minds: "Has God given up on us?" "Will he no longer live with us?" "What will he do with us?" And these questions – and unresolved tensions - are increasingly magnified as we walk through the story of the Old Testament.

How can God's sinful people experience the presence of a holy God? How can a just God forgive sin? How will God resolve the tension of his covenant to his people and his commitment to punish sinners? There are two sides of God's character – left in tension: God's love – his desire to forgive his people – his unfailing love for them – his promises to them – his care of them… And his justice – his hatred of sin – his anger at his name being dishonoured. And this tension is only finally resolved when Jesus Christ died on the Cross for us. At a Communion Service like this one – let's remember firstly how the Cross shows God's love for us. God demonstrates his love for us in this: while we were still sinners Christ died for us (Romans 5:8) And secondly let's remember how the Cross shows God's hatred of sin – his justice.

25 God presented Jesus as a sacrifice of atonement,[i] through faith in his blood. He did this to demonstrate his justice (Romans 3:25)

What will God do with his idolatrous people? Us? He sent his only Son to pay the price for our idolatry in full. He is at work by his Spirit freeing us from the power of idols. When Jesus returns, he will take us with him to the new heavens and the new earth – where there will be no idols – and we will worship only him – wholeheartedly – all the time. But we're not there yet! So let's remember the lessons from this painful period of history. Idolatry is shameful and dangerous. It brings disgrace to God's name and provokes God's anger. Don't mess with God!