Thurs.’s Devo - The Importance of Waiting on the Lord

Read Ex. 32-34
Impatience can lead us to miss God and in this case get into worshiping the wrong thing. God had just given them the commandment not to make any graven image and worship it. Aaron was not a strong leader at this time so he bended to the cry of the people instead of teaching them to wait on God. He instructed them to give him their earrings and gold rings and he molded and fashioned the calf and told the people that this is what lead them out of Egypt. When he saw their excitement he built an altar and planned an orgy. This was not the story he gave Moses. He put all the blame on the people and magic. Notice that it was to the amusement of their enemies. They were on the outskirts of the Promised Land and their enemies controlled the land. What Aaron did made themselves a mockery to their enemies and to the Lord.
Also, notice that Joshua had nothing to do with it. He had gone half-way up the mountain and waited for Moses to get down. He might not have been invited to the top but he become addicted to the presence of the Lord and wanted to stay as close as possible. He continued that stance throughout his journey through the wilderness. He slept in the Tent of Meetings and rarely came out. No wonder it was Joshua who was chosen to take the people into the Promised Land.
We can learn a lot from Joshua. We might not be in the public eye, but we are always in the eyes of heaven. What we do in secret will be announced before the world one day. It is better to be faithful, no matter who sees than to be famous and living for the praises of man. That is what Aaron was doing and it gave him fleeting fame. Joshua was being prepared in secret for a great position later. God is not impressed with our accomplishments; he is impressed with what we become. If we let God mold us in secret in what he wants us to be, we will stand faithful when exalted in the eyes of the people.
Lord, help us to chose to do the things that matter in conforming into your image. Take the need of the praises of men far from our hearts.