The Golden Calf
by
Rev. Mark Perkins, Pastor
Denver Bible Church
326 E. Colorado Ave.
Denver, CO. 80210
E-Mail: bibletch@ix.netcom.com
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THE GOLDEN CALF
Exo. 32; 1 Kings 12:28; 2 Kings 10:29.
1. The Golden calf represents the failure of the children of Israel
at the Holy Mountain of God.
2. It was there that they made an idol because of their impatience
with Moses, who had been on the mountain with God for what they
considered as too long.
Ex 32:1-4, "Now when the people saw that Moses delayed to
come down from the mountain, the people assembled about Aaron,
and said to him, 'Come, make us a god who will go before us; as
for this Moses, the man who brought us up from the land of Egypt,
we do not know what has become of him.' And Aaron said to them,
'Tear off the gold rings which are in the ears of your wives,
your sons, and your daughters, and bring them to me.' Then all
the people tore off the gold rings which were in their ears, and
brought them to Aaron. And he took this from their hand, and fashioned
it with a graving tool, and made it into a molten calf; and they
said, 'This is your god, O Israel, who brought you up from the
land of Egypt.'"
a. Notice that the people have yet to receive the tablets, but
they have already received the commandment against idolatry, and
so they are sinning in cognizance against God, Ex 20:23.
b. Notice also Aaron's direct involvement in this caper. He fashioned
it with his own hands.
c. The people recognize that without Moses they would have died
in the desert, and they fear being without him.
d. It is their desire to replace Moses because they had made him
into a god. Their idolatry was directed toward a man, and not
the one true god at all.
e. It is ludicrous for them to think that a calf was the God who
brought them up from Egypt. Their reversionism has taken them
to irrationality.
3. In Ex 32, verses 7-14, Moses beseeches God to withhold from
destroying the nation of Israel for their idolatry, and the Lord
assents.
4. Moses then descended from the mountain with the tablets of
the Law in his arms, he first hears and then sees the idolatrous
feast. He is so angry that he dashes the tablets on the rocks
at the foot of the mountain. They are utterly shattered. Next
he melted down the golden calf, ground it into powder, and scattered
the powder over the surface of the water. He made the people drink
that water. All this from verses 15-20.
5. Moses then turns to Aaron, whom he left in command before he
went up on the mountain. Aaron's reply is one for the books. Verses
21-24, "Then Moses said to Aaron, 'What did this people do
to you, that you have brought such great sin upon them?' And Aaron
said, 'Do not let the anger of my lord burn - you know the people
yourself, that they are prone to evil. For they said to me, 'Make
a god for us who will go before us; for this Moses, the man who
brought us up from Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.'
And I said to them, 'Whoever has any gold, let them tear it off.'
So they gave it to me, and I threw it into the fire, and out came
this calf.'"
a. Aaron first attempts the blame the people for his failure in
leadership.
b. Second, he fabricates the story of the manufacture of the calf.
He implies that the calf is from God Himself by telling of its
miraculous production.
6. As a memorial, the broken tablets of the law were placed inside
of the ark of the covenant. In spite of this failure, the covenant
would continue, covered by the mercy seat of God.