Exodus Chapter 32

EXODUS

 CHAPTER 

32

1. When the people saw that Moses delayed to come down from the mountain, the people gathered around Aaron, and said to him, "Come, make gods for us, who shall go before us; as for this Moses, the man who brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him."

(Exodus chapter 32 verse 1)

The experience of the people of God is my and maybe even our experience at large. After a time of spiritual consolation may come a period of dryness in our spiritual life. Oh God You are so near but at times I feel you so far away, that I start referring to my own means and agendas instead of following Your ways. The feeling is as if I am totally alone. I seem to forget that you redeemed me out of my Egypt and placed me back on the route leading to my salvation. I apologise Oh father for having made such bad choices that led me far away from You. When I wonder even from Your ways even for one second I end up following the gods or ways of the world, please help me to stay focused on You because You are the only Way that leads to my salvation and that of the world.


2. Aaron said to them; "Take off the gold rings that are on the ears of your wives, your sons, and your daughters and bring them to me." 3. So all the people took off the gold rings from their ears, and brought them to Aaron.

(Exodus chapter 32 verses 2 to 3)


God had given orders to the people of God to ask the locals of Egypt to give them gold rings and ear rings and dress them upon themselves. God gave his people by adorning them with the gold of the Egyptians who were stripped of their dignity and power. Due to the sinful act that the people were going to give their consent to, they were now being stripped off their dignity, by having the same golden trinkets wilfully taken away from them. Oh God You made us beautiful shaped on Your Model, however we shame this model and seek to practise ways that are sinful and shameful that bring disgrace and sin on this holy form. Acts such as masturbation and body trampling where the person is placed under the high heels of women who have the role off disgracing the body by trampling on it in part or in whole are placing the subject in a state of utter dishonour. Sin does the same thing to us.


4. He took the gold from them, formed it in a mold, and cast an image of a calf, and they said, "These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt!

(Exodus chapter 32 verse 4)

At times our perception of reality oh God becomes so twisted that we mix up the image of reality for reality itself. Israel was happy with a substitute god which they attributed their liberation from the bondage of Egypt, instead of giving worship to the actual one and true God who had actually brought them out of Egypt.

At times we attribute our successes to our own skills and knowledge. We become the image of God, the centre of praise and honour instead of attributing to God all the honour praise thanksgiving and worship.

In order to view this negative scene of adoration to the golden calf please click on the following link:

Aaron and the golden calf


5. When Aaron saw this, he built an altar before it; and Aaron made proclamation and said, "Tomorrow shall be a festival to the LORD." 

(Exodus chapter 32 verse 5)


It seems that even people of God are able to abuse others by going along with what is known to be negative. Aaron was more aware than the people that it was wrong to offer sacrifices to an image instead of offering sacrifices to God. In his heart he knew that it was wrong. He had been persuaded by the pressure made on him by the people into making them the calf. He had a slip of the tongue when he said that the next day they would make a festival to the LORD or else he was addressing the image of the calf as being the LORD.


Oh God although we are fully aware of what is good and acceptable to You from what is totally wrong and unacceptable we still follow our own agendas. Once our attention is not on You we are living in a world of illusions carnal desires and sins.


6. They rose early the next day, and offered burnt offerings and brought sacrifices of well-being: and the people sat down to eat and drink and rose up to revel.

(Exodus chapter 32 verse 6)


The people were so intent in giving worship to this false manly created god that they rose up early in the morning to celebrate. This can mean that even during the night their minds was dwelling on the actions of the following morning so much that they rose early to start celebrating. Sin oh God attacks our conscious minds through the perception of the senses, this is followed by the creation of ideas that amplify the the idea with much creativity so much that by relying on our own sources we cannot be freed from this pattern of sin. The level of sin continues to increase to a state of revelry as shown in the following video clip.

The degeneration of God's people to revelry


7. The LORD said to Moses, "Go down at once! Your people whom you brought up out of the land of Egypt, have acted perversely: 8. they have been quick to turn aside from the way that I commanded them: they have cast for themselves an image of a calf, and have worshipped it and sacrificed to it, and said, 'These are you gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt!

(Exodus chapter 32 verses 7 to 8)


It would be a great loss for me Oh God if You claimed that You are not my father for indeed I would have nobody to call father in this world. I would declare myself as being an orphan in a cruel world. You told Moses that they were 'his' people and that they were the people that 'he' had brought out of Egypt. How humble You are Oh Lord to make such a declaration. I pray that You did not mean that wanted to have nothing to do with Your people whom You love so much. I pray that I never drive You to the same extreme so much that You declare that You have nothing to do with me!


9. The LORD said to Moses, 'I have seen this people, how stiff-necked they are. 10. Now let me alone, so that my wrath may burn hot against them and I may consume them; and of you I will make a great nation."

(Exodus chapter 32 verses 9 to 10)


Although God is portrayed as having lost his patience with humanity He is loving and kind, but on the other hand He is just and has the full authority of exercising His authority on humanity. On reflecting God does not impose the same penalty on the just and the unjust for when passing judgement on His people He spared Moses from the imposed penalty and still promised to make of him a great nation.

11. But Moses implored the LORD his God, and said, "O LORD, why does your wrath burn hot against your people, whom you brought out of the land of Egypt with great power and with a mighty hand? 12. Why should the Egyptians say, 'It was with evil intent that he brought them out to kill them in the mountains and to consume them from the face of the earth? Turn from your fierce wrath; change your mind and do not bring disaster on your people.

(Exodus chapter 32 verses 11 to 12)


The biblical author under the influence of the Holy Spirit of God makes us aware of our actions before deciding to take major actions in our lives. god invites us to evaluate the consequences of such actions before proceeding with our intentions based on our agendas. We are to stop and consider the consequences of our actions on both ourselves and even on others. This may have either a positive or negative effect on how people may percieve us and even on their spiritual lives, especially if others hold us as their role model.


13. Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, your servants, how you swore to them by your own self saying to them, ' I will multiply your descendants like the stars of heaven, and all this land that I have promised I will give to your descendants and they shall inherit it forever." 14. And the LORD changed his mind about the disaster that he planned to bring on his people.

(Exodus chapter 32 verses 13 to 14)


One thing that God always keeps is His promises. He never goes back from His word, however his love for humanity surpasses all forms of worldly love. It can also be said of You Oh God that your ways are not like our ways and this is what makes it so difficult to understand You and Your ways. When considering the great sin that Your people had committed it would have been fair and just of You to destroy them from the face of the earth and sow the seed of a new nation by means of Moses, however You are aware of our weaknesses and therefore You do not use meritocracy as a means of judging us. If You did so my father I would never stand a chance because my sins weigh down the scale of justice against me all the time.


15. Then Moses turned and went down from the mountain, carrying the two tablets of the covenant in his hands, tablets that were written on both sides, written on the front and on the back. 16. The tablets were the work of God, and the writing was the writing of God, engraved upon the tablets.

(Exodus chapter 32 verses 15 to 16)


I can only imagine how special the tablets were to Moses. They were the foundation stones or manual of the future, on which they were to base their life. Moreover, the fact that they were actually written by God made them more special than ever. Every day Oh God I carry with me a pocket version of the bible. It is so special to me that I take it with me every where I go. With in in my possession I feel more secure than being without it. It is my means of communication with God therefore it is special to me.

17. When Joshua heard the noise of the people as they shouted, he said to Moses, "There is a noise of war in the camp." 18. But he said, "It is not the sound made by victors, or the sound made by losers; it is the sound of revelers that I hear."

(Exodus chapter 32 verses 17 to 18)


On reflecting it can be said that even chaos can make music. Instead of spending their time in worship to God, the people reveled in a celebration of stupor and lack of control over their senses, they became totally worldly and carnal which was an utter disgrace to a people chosen especially by God. The situation was enough to stimulate God's anger and even that of Moses.

19. As soon as he came near the camp and saw the calf and the dancing. Moses' anger burned hot, and he threw the tablets from his hands and broke them at the foot of the mountain. 20. He took the calf that they had made, burned it with fire, ground it to powder, scattered it on the water, and made the Israelites drink it.

(Exodus chapter 32 verses 19 to 20)


In order to imagine this chaotic situation which was dominated by emotions from both sides please click on the following link:

Moses and the people revelling


In order for the people to experience the negative consequences of their sin they were to drink water that was contaminated with the gold of the calf, for they had also contaminated themselves with sin as is shown in the next video link

Israel drinks water with God


21. Moses said to Aaron, "What did this people do to you that you have brought so great a sin upon them?"

(Exodus chapter 32 verse 21)


On reflecting the same question that Moses asked Aaron is the same question that You will ask me Oh God!. You will ask me if I did something which as a consequence brought harm on others. Since I am human oh God I remember many moments when by what I said I brought harm on that person, however the intention was never that. My intention was only that of sharing something intimate, however the person broke confidentiality and I am carrying on my plate the consequences of the action. I pray oh God for your forgiveness and have already confessed my sins before your minister but I am still experiencing the negative consequences of my action since people are talking badly about me and not about the person who broke confidentiality. I have learnt oh father to trust only in You and not in any human! Thanks for being supportive loving and caring.


22. And Aaron said, "Do not let the anger of my lord burn hot; you know the people, that they are bent on evil. 23. They said to me, 'Make us gods, who shall go before us; as for this Moses, the man who brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.' 24. So I said to them, 'Whoever has gold, take it off'; so they gave it to me, and I threw it into the  fire, and out came this calf!

(Exodus chapter 32 verses 22 to 24)


 On reflecting on verses 22 to 24 we it can be observed that it is a replica of what happened on Mount Sinai when God wanted to vent His anger on the people. In such situation Moses took on the role of a mediator between God and His people. In this situation Aaron is also pleading for Moses's mercy. Although Aaron is explaining the events leading to his making the calf Aaron portrays himself as being totally at the mercy of the situation. Aaron says that he put the gold in the fire and out came the calf. In reality the gold needed a skill person to make a mould in which to form the calf hence it could not have taken its own form by itself. Therefore Aaron was not totally honest with Moses when pleading for mercy.


At times we also plea for your mercy, however in order to cover up our guilt we conjure a story that places the blame on others so that we can go off scott free. I am sorry if in my situation I did or am doing the same thing my father. If I am I also pray for your mercy for even I am a wretched sinner and am always in need of your mercy and kindness.


25. When Moses saw that the people were running wild (for Aaron had let them run wild, to the derision of their enemies), 26. then Moses stood in the gate of the camp and said, "Who is on the LORD's side? Come to me! And all the sons of Levi gathered around him. 27. He said to them, "Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, 'Put your sword on your side, each of you! Go back and forth from gate to gate throughout the camp, and each of you kill your brother, your friend, and your neighbor.'

(Exodus chapter 32 verses 25 to 27)



As in the case of Adam and Eve who due to their sin were expelled from Eden, those members of the people of God, who offered worship and burnt incense to the golden calf, had no place among the people of God, therefore they were to be removed from the people. The means used may be somewhat gorey and unlikely of God from whom flows all love and mercy, however when these people accepted to follow You Oh God they also accepted the whole terms of conditions which held that who gives worship to any other God was worthy of death. During our times God is asking us the same question that Moses asked his people. Who is with the LORD? We cannot say we are in favour of God but do not accept the teachings of the Roman Catholic Church which are outdated and badly in need of updates. We either accept God as a whole or none at all. God does not like people who are half hearted. Now is a time to renew our commitment to God. We are either on His side or on the side of the world.

If we are on the LORD's Side let us rejoice in prayer and worship by clicking on the following link

Song who is on the LORD's Side?


28. The sons of Levi did as Moses commanded and about three thousand of the people fell on that day. 29. Moses said, "Today you have ordained yourselves for the service of the LORD each one at the cost of a son or a brother, and so have brought a blessing on yourselves on this day."

(Exodus chapter 32 verses 28 to 29)


When we obey You oh God we are continuing Your work on earth. Whenever we go against our sinful nature we claim a victory over ourselves and over our sinful self.


30. On the next day Moses said to the people. "You have sinned a great sin. But now I will go up to the LORD perhaps I can make atonement for your sin." 31. So Moses returned to the LORD and said, "Alas, this people has sinned a great sin; they have made for themselves a god of gold. 32. But now, if you will only forgive their sin but if not, blot me out of the book that you have written."

(Exodus chapter 32 verses 30 to 32)


Although the perpetrators or act of sin had been ended, there was still the great need of obtaining pardon and forgiveness from God. This is why we go to confess our sins so, that we can be reunited with You oh father as your sons and daughters.


33. But the LORD said to Moses, "Whoever has sinned against me I will blot out of my book. 34. But now go, lead the people to the place about which I have spoken to you; see my angel shall go in front of you. Nevertheless, when the day comes for punishment, I will punish them for their sin." 35. Then the LORD sent a plague on the people, because they made the calf the one that Aaron made.

(Exodus chapter 32 verses 33 to 35)


 Even though the remaining people were the ones who chose to side with God it seems that there were still some of them who had participated in the making of the calf and in their worship to it, and therefore they still had to compensate for their great sin.

I would like to end this chapter with a prayer given to us by Mary Geveetha a follower and a contributor of this blog:

Almighty Father and ever living God. We acknowledge no other God before You and no other idols present before Your Mighty existence. You are our One and Only true God, with the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, three in One and One in three. You alone are God most high and worthy of all Glory and Praise. We pray Father never to draw any one of Your people away from Your Mighty existence to idolatry or to change the meaning and context of Your word to suit our worldly taste.

We also pray to move into a deeper and closer relationship with You in daily prayer, meditation and perseverance in our faith. May we be fully aware that no carnal mind or unhumbled heart can endure Your holy percepts and truth.

We thank You for giving us Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we are sealed in a new everlasting  covenant of Grace. We pray to be a people  deeply loving You our God and in the fruits of Your spirit may we make ourselves worthy in all things in life and rejoice in the gift of Grace that Lord Jesus has purchased for us.

We pray in the blessed name of Jesus, Amen!