Tues.’s Devo - The Golden Calf

Read: Exodus 32:1-33:23; Matthew 26:69-27:14; Psalm 33:1-11; Proverbs 8:33-36 Moses had been up on the mount for what seemed like forever to the people. The people were ready to give up on him coming down, so they went to Aaron and told him to make them a god to go before them. They were ready to break one of the first two commandments given them which said they were to have no other gods, and that they were to not make any graven images of anything in the earth. *** Aaron told them to break off the gold earrings they had put in the ears of their wives, sons and daughters and bring them to him. He took a tool and made a graven image of a calf and told them that it had brought them out of Egypt. He built an altar before it and proclaimed a feast. The people ate and drank then laughed, mocked, and made sport which sounds like what they did to Jesus when they arrested him. *** God told Moses to get back to the camp because the people had corrupted themselves by making a golden calf to worship. God wanted to kill them and make a nation out of Moses’ off-spring. Moses told him that all the world was watching and they would say that he had brought them out of Egypt to kill them in the wilderness. For his reputation’s sake, he needed to not kill them. He reminded God what he had promised Abraham, so the Lord said he wouldn’t kill them. *** Moses took the tablets and when they got close, Joshua heard the people and told Moses it sounded like war, but Moses said it sounded more like a party. When they got to where they could see what was going on, Moses got so mad he took the tablets of stone and threw them to the ground, breaking them. He ground the golden calf into powder and mixed it with water and forced the Israelites to drink it. *** Then Moses asked Aaron what the people had said to him to make him let them do this. Aaron explained what had happened and said that when he put the gold into the fire, this is what came out. (He left out the part where he took a tool and formed it himself.) *** Moses asked for anyone who was on his side to come stand with him. The Levites came to his side. Moses told them to take their swords and go from gate to gate throughout the camp killing every man. When they were done they had killed about 3,000 men. *** God told the Levites to clean themselves up so God could put a blessing on them. The next day, Moses told the people they had sinned a great sin, so he would have to go back to the Lord and try to make an atonement with God for this sin. Moses went to the Lord and confessed their sin. He asked the Lord to blot his name out of his book for their sakes and forgive them. But God said that he would blot their names out of his book, but as for Moses, he was to go back and continue to lead the people to the land he had shown him. God punished the people with a plague. *** God said he would send an angel to lead them and drive out their enemies before them because if he did it, he would end up killing them all, since they were so bent on rebellion. When the people heard this, they were so ashamed they took off all their fine clothes and jewelry they had gotten from the Egyptians. Moses removed the Tabernacle from the midst of the camp and put it far away from the the people. The people had to go out of the camp if they wanted to meet with God. Whenever the people saw Moses going toward the tabernacle, they would stand in their tent entrance and watch. Moses would enter into the tabernacle and there the Lord would talk with Moses. The people had to worship the Lord from their own tent door. *** When Moses asked for the Lord to show him grace and consider this people as his people, he told him he would go with them and give them rest. When Moses said he wouldn’t go without him, God said he would go with them. Moses then asked God to let him see his glory. God told him that he would make his goodness pass before him, but he could not see his face. He would place Moses in a cleft in the rock for safety and when he had passed, Moses could look at the back part of him. When God talked about his face and back side, he was not talking literally but figuratively. I wonder if it meant you could look back and see what God had done, but he would not let him see the future. *** In Matthew, Peter denied Jesus three times and when the cock crowed he was filled with shame and cried bitterly. *** In the morning the chief priests and elders got together to decide what to do with Jesus. They wanted him killed, so they sent him to Pontius Pilate because it was against their laws to crucify anyone. In the light, Judas realized his sin and tried to give the 30 pieces of silver back to the priests and elders confessing he had betrayed innocent blood. They weren’t listening; they had what they wanted and could care less about Judas and his convictions. Judas threw the money down in the temple and left and hung himself. *** The chief priest later took the silver and bought the potter’s field to bury strangers in. All of this had been prophesied by Jeremiah in Zechariah 11:12. *** Jesus was brought to the governor where he asked Jesus if he was the king of the Jews. Jesus answered, “Thous sayest.” then he had nothing to say in his own defense about all the accusations they were bringing against him. The governor marveled at this. *** Lord, we have been reading about Wisdom in our Proverbs. May we embrace Wisdom as our friend and much needed companion. May we have no other gods before us but you.