Golden Calf – Is, Was and Will Be – The Unknown Character of Christ and His Word

Exo 32:1-35 The Making of the Golden Calf

Ato Barnes — Mon, 09 Jan 2023 07:24:44 +0000

Exo 32:1-35 The Making of the Golden Calf

[Study Aired January 9, 2023]

Exo 32:1 And when the people saw that Moses delayed to come down out of the mount, the people gathered themselves together unto Aaron, and said unto him, Up, make us gods, which shall go before us; for as for this Moses, the man that brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we wot not what is become of him.
Exo 32:2 And Aaron said unto them, Break off the golden earrings, which are in the ears of your wives, of your sons, and of your daughters, and bring them unto me.
Exo 32:3 And all the people brake off the golden earrings which were in their ears, and brought them unto Aaron.
Exo 32:4 And he received them at their hand, and fashioned it with a graving tool, after he had made it a molten calf: and they said, These be thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt.
Exo 32:5 And when Aaron saw it, he built an altar before it; and Aaron made proclamation, and said, To morrow is a feast to the LORD.
Exo 32:6 And they rose up early on the morrow, and offered burnt offerings, and brought peace offerings; and the people sat down to eat and to drink, and rose up to play.
Exo 32:7 And the LORD said unto Moses, Go, get thee down; for thy people, which thou broughtest out of the land of Egypt, have corrupted themselves:
Exo 32:8 They have turned aside quickly out of the way which I commanded them: they have made them a molten calf, and have worshipped it, and have sacrificed thereunto, and said, These be thy gods, O Israel, which have brought thee up out of the land of Egypt.
Exo 32:9 And the LORD said unto Moses, I have seen this people, and, behold, it is a stiffnecked people:
Exo 32:10 Now therefore let me alone, that my wrath may wax hot against them, and that I may consume them: and I will make of thee a great nation.
Exo 32:11 And Moses besought the LORD his God, and said, LORD, why doth thy wrath wax hot against thy people, which thou hast brought forth out of the land of Egypt with great power, and with a mighty hand?
Exo 32:12 Wherefore should the Egyptians speak, and say, For mischief did he bring them out, to slay them in the mountains, and to consume them from the face of the earth? Turn from thy fierce wrath, and repent of this evil against thy people.
Exo 32:13 Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, thy servants, to whom thou swarest by thine own self, and saidst unto them, I will multiply your seed as the stars of heaven, and all this land that I have spoken of will I give unto your seed, and they shall inherit it for ever.
Exo 32:14 And the LORD repented of the evil which he thought to do unto his people.
Exo 32:15 And Moses turned, and went down from the mount, and the two tables of the testimony were in his hand: the tables were written on both their sides; on the one side and on the other were they written.
Exo 32:16 And the tables were the work of God, and the writing was the writing of God, graven upon the tables.
Exo 32:17 And when Joshua heard the noise of the people as they shouted, he said unto Moses, There is a noise of war in the camp.
Exo 32:18 And he said, It is not the voice of them that shout for mastery, neither is it the voice of them that cry for being overcome: but the noise of them that sing do I hear.
Exo 32:19 And it came to pass, as soon as he came nigh unto the camp, that he saw the calf, and the dancing: and Moses’ anger waxed hot, and he cast the tables out of his hands, and brake them beneath the mount.
Exo 32:20 And he took the calf which they had made, and burnt it in the fire, and ground it to powder, and strawed it upon the water, and made the children of Israel drink of it.
Exo 32:21 And Moses said unto Aaron, What did this people unto thee, that thou hast brought so great a sin upon them?
Exo 32:22 And Aaron said, Let not the anger of my lord wax hot: thou knowest the people, that they are set on mischief.
Exo 32:23 For they said unto me, Make us gods, which shall go before us: for as for this Moses, the man that brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we wot not what is become of him.
Exo 32:24 And I said unto them, Whosoever hath any gold, let them break it off. So they gave it me: then I cast it into the fire, and there came out this calf.
Exo 32:25 And when Moses saw that the people were naked; (for Aaron had made them naked unto their shame among their enemies:)
Exo 32:26 Then Moses stood in the gate of the camp, and said, Who is on the LORD’S side? let him come unto me. And all the sons of Levi gathered themselves together unto him.
Exo 32:27 And he said unto them, Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, Put every man his sword by his side, and go in and out from gate to gate throughout the camp, and slay every man his brother, and every man his companion, and every man his neighbour.
Exo 32:28 And the children of Levi did according to the word of Moses: and there fell of the people that day about three thousand men.
Exo 32:29 For Moses had said, Consecrate yourselves to day to the LORD, even every man upon his son, and upon his brother; that he may bestow upon you a blessing this day.
Exo 32:30 And it came to pass on the morrow, that Moses said unto the people, Ye have sinned a great sin: and now I will go up unto the LORD; peradventure I shall make an atonement for your sin.
Exo 32:31 And Moses returned unto the LORD, and said, Oh, this people have sinned a great sin, and have made them gods of gold.
Exo 32:32 Yet now, if thou wilt forgive their sin; and if not, blot me, I pray thee, out of thy book which thou hast written.
Exo 32:33 And the LORD said unto Moses, Whosoever hath sinned against me, him will I blot out of my book.
Exo 32:34 Therefore now go, lead the people unto the place of which I have spoken unto thee: behold, mine Angel shall go before thee: nevertheless in the day when I visit I will visit their sin upon them.
Exo 32:35 And the LORD plagued the people, because they made the calf, which Aaron made.

Today’s study shows us that many of the Israelites were uncomfortable with the idea of an invisible god. They rather preferred a god that could be represented in some solid, tangible, and visible form. Aaron building the golden calf was therefore not meant to displace God, but to make Him more tangible to the Israelites. Flesh always begets flesh. In our carnal state, we always want something that is tangible or fleshy. However, a sign of maturity is believing even though we have not seen. This was what the Lord told Thomas when he doubted that the Lord had risen.

Joh 20:26 And after eight days again his disciples were within, and Thomas with them: then came Jesus, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, Peace be unto you.
Joh 20:27 Then saith he to Thomas, Reach hither thy finger, and behold my hands; and reach hither thy hand, and thrust it into my side: and be not faithless, but believing.
Joh 20:28 And Thomas answered and said unto him, My Lord and my God.
Joh 20:29 Jesus saith unto him, Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed.

Our life in Babylon is characterized by worshiping what we see as tangible. That is why Babylon is dependent on evidential proofs of the spiritual reality portrayed in signs and wonders and gifts of the spirit such as word of knowledge, tongues, etc. As we are aware, it is children who are always looking for gifts from parents. As we mature, we become less dependent on gifts. The fact that many come with signs and wonders must alert us to be wary since these signs and wonders are all rudimentary as our brother Paul warned us. In his letter to the Corinthians, he told them that it is only love (obedience to the Lord’s words) that will endure. In other words, a mature person is the one who obeys or trembles at the Lord’s words. Other gifts of the spirit such as word of knowledge, prophecies, signs and wonders, are all elementary, and as we mature, they become less and less significant.

1Co 13:8 Charity never faileth: but whether there be prophecies, they shall fail; whether there be tongues, they shall cease; whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish away.
1Co 13:9 For we know in part, and we prophesy in part.
1Co 13:10 But when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away.
1Co 13:11 When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things.

What we must understand as we mature in the things of God is that we serve a living God who is hiding Himself in this dispensation, and it is only as we worship Him in spirit that we come to appreciate the spiritual reality of His existence, love, care and His wonderful plan of salvation for us.

Isa 45:15 Verily thou art a God that hidest thyself, O God of Israel, the Saviour.
Isa 45:16 They shall be ashamed, and also confounded, all of them: they shall go to confusion together that are makers of idols.
Isa 45:17 But Israel shall be saved in the LORD with an everlasting salvation: ye shall not be ashamed nor confounded world without end.

In today’s study, we shall learn about what the golden calf signifies during our walk in Babylon, why Aaron was not punished for his role in building the golden calf and the significance of the death of three thousand men who played the harlot.

One of the qualities that the Lord desires to instill in His people is patience! Moses’ delay in meeting the Lord in Mount Sinai resulted in the people of Israel wanting a tangible presence to go with them to the promised land. As the story unfolds, we can see that their lack of patience in waiting for Moses costs them their lives. If we are to receive the promise as we carry on the Lord’s will here on earth, then we must learn to be patient.

Heb 10:36 For ye have need of patience, that, after ye have done the will of God, ye might receive the promise.
Heb 10:37 For yet a little while, and he that shall come will come, and will not tarry.
Heb 10:38 Now the just shall live by faith: but if any man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him.
Heb 10:39 But we are not of them who draw back unto perdition; but of them that believe to the saving of the soul.

Patience has great reward, and as we go through our experience of evil in this world, we gradually learn to be patient. By the things that are made, we learn more about the spiritual reality. As we are aware, children are never patient. If they want something, they want it now!! As we grow, then we learn to be patient. A measure of our spiritual maturity is our level of patience.

Rev 14:12 Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.

In verse 1, Aaron negatively represents our leaders in Babylon who put a stumbling block of iniquity – idols of the heart – before us and cause us to become worse than when we started our walk with the Lord.

Eze 14:1 Then came certain of the elders of Israel unto me, and sat before me.
Eze 14:2 And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
Eze 14:3 Son of man, these men have set up their idols in their heart, and put the stumblingblock of their iniquity before their face: should I be enquired of at all by them?

Exo 32:2 And Aaron said unto them, Break off the golden earrings, which are in the ears of your wives, of your sons, and of your daughters, and bring them unto me.
Exo 32:3 And all the people brake off the golden earrings which were in their ears, and brought them unto Aaron.
Exo 32:4 And he received them at their hand, and fashioned it with a graving tool, after he had made it a molten calf: and they said, These be thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt.

The idols of the heart, which are represented here as the molten calf, come at a cost. In other words, we exchange the gold we have received from the Lord’s words with false doctrines of man’s wisdom and tradition. This gold of the Lord’s words we have received is accompanied by our fiery trials which cause us to learn righteousness. Thus, exchanging the gold we have received for a molten calf or idols of the heart also means our rejection of the fiery trials we must go through in favor of the smooth words in Babylon which exclude our fiery trials. We all at a certain point in our walk with Christ worshiped or bowed down to the molten calf (idols of the heart) instead of Christ’s words.

Eze 16:17 Thou hast also taken thy fair jewels of my gold and of my silver, which I had given thee, and madest to thyself images of men, and didst commit whoredom with them,

Isa 30:9 That this is a rebellious people, lying children, children that will not hear the law of the LORD:
Isa 30:10 Which say to the seers, See not; and to the prophets, Prophesy not unto us right things, speak unto us smooth things, prophesy deceits:
Isa 30:11 Get you out of the way, turn aside out of the path, cause the Holy One of Israel to cease from before us.
Isa 30:12 Wherefore thus saith the Holy One of Israel, Because ye despise this word, and trust in oppression and perverseness, and stay thereon:
Isa 30:13 Therefore this iniquity shall be to you as a breach ready to fall, swelling out in a high wall, whose breaking cometh suddenly at an instant.

Exo 32:5 And when Aaron saw it, he built an altar before it; and Aaron made proclamation, and said, Tomorrow is a feast to the LORD.
Exo 32:6 And they rose up early on the morrow, and offered burnt offerings, and brought peace offerings; and the people sat down to eat and to drink, and rose up to play.

As we indicated in the introduction part of this study, the Israelites wanted something tangible to worship. The fact that Aaron told the people to hold a feast to the Lord is to attest that the people thought they were worshiping the true God through the molten calf. In Babylon, we turn aside from worshiping the true God to serving our idols of the heart. Yes, we did eat and drink while in Babylon, but it resulted in the entrenchment of our idols of the heart. The consequence of this is that we ended up becoming harlots, which is the meaning of “the people…rose up to play”. The verses below summarize our time in Babylon.

Mic 6:14 Thou shalt eat, but not be satisfied; and thy casting down shall be in the midst of thee; and thou shalt take hold, but shalt not deliver; and that which thou deliverest will I give up to the sword.
Mic 6:15 Thou shalt sow, but thou shalt not reap; thou shalt tread the olives, but thou shalt not anoint thee with oil; and sweet wine, but shalt not drink wine.

If we are called and chosen, then our Lord will cause us to leave Babylon.

Rev 18:4 And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues.

Exo 32:7 And the LORD said unto Moses, Go, get thee down; for thy people, which thou broughtest out of the land of Egypt, have corrupted themselves:
Exo 32:8 They have turned aside quickly out of the way which I commanded them: they have made them a molten calf, and have worshipped it, and have sacrificed thereunto, and said, These be thy gods, O Israel, which have brought thee up out of the land of Egypt.

In these verses, the Lord brought to the attention of Moses the true state of the people whom he was leading – that they have turned aside and are worshiping other gods. As we grow in Christ, we must pay attention to the state of the Lord’s flock. It is when we know the state of our brothers and sisters that we can be of help. Our brother Paul gave us the following example to follow:

Gal 1:6 I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel:
Gal 1:7 Which is not another; but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ.
Gal 1:8 But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed.
Gal 1:9 As we said before, so say I now again, If any man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed.

Gal 3:1 O foolish Galatians, who hath bewitched you, that ye should not obey the truth, before whose eyes Jesus Christ hath been evidently set forth, crucified among you?
Gal 3:2 This only would I learn of you, Received ye the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?
Gal 3:3 Are ye so foolish? having begun in the Spirit, are ye now made perfect by the flesh?
Gal 3:4 Have ye suffered so many things in vain? if it be yet in vain.

We have all in our own time deserted the true gospel preached to us and have followed after fleshly means of worship in terms of our focus on prolonged music sessions, signs and wonders, etc. just like the Israelites.

Exo 32:9 And the LORD said unto Moses, I have seen this people, and, behold, it is a stiffnecked people:
Exo 32:10 Now therefore let me alone, that my wrath may wax hot against them, and that I may consume them: and I will make of thee a great nation.
Exo 32:11 And Moses besought the LORD his God, and said, LORD, why doth thy wrath wax hot against thy people, which thou hast brought forth out of the land of Egypt with great power, and with a mighty hand?
Exo 32:12 Wherefore should the Egyptians speak, and say, For mischief did he bring them out, to slay them in the mountains, and to consume them from the face of the earth? Turn from thy fierce wrath, and repent of this evil against thy people.
Exo 32:13 Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, thy servants, to whom thou swarest by thine own self, and saidst unto them, I will multiply your seed as the stars of heaven, and all this land that I have spoken of will I give unto your seed, and they shall inherit it forever.

We are all stiff-necked people whom the Lord by His grace is transforming us to become His bride. In verse 10, the Lord was testing Moses to see what was in his heart as He mentioned that He wants to destroy the people and raise a new nation through Moses. As the Lord’s people, we must love the church by laying down our lives for her, just as our Lord Jesus did. Moses, a type of the elect, interceded on behalf of the Lord’s people when the Lord offered to make out of him a nation. He was prepared to die for His people’s sake. We are not here to serve ourselves and our interests. We are here to serve the body of Christ.

Exo 32:32 Yet now, if thou wilt forgive their sin; and if not, blot me, I pray thee, out of thy book which thou hast written.

Eph 5:25 Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it;
Eph 5:26 That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word,
Eph 5:27 That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish.

Our brother Paul was also prepared to lay down his life for his fellow Israelites.

Rom 9:1 I say the truth in Christ, I lie not, my conscience also bearing me witness in the Holy Ghost,
Rom 9:2 That I have great heaviness and continual sorrow in my heart.
Rom 9:3 For I could wish that myself were accursed from Christ for my brethren, my kinsmen according to the flesh:

All that happened to Moses, Paul, the disciples, etc. are for our sake. Their inability to be faithful to Christ and the church in this wilderness of life is all for our sake – so that the Lord will show mercy to us. The blindness which has engulfed our brothers and sisters in Babylon is all for our sake. It is not because we are wise. It is all because the Lord has shown mercy to us and that through this mercy, they also will be shown mercy.

Rom 11:30 For as ye in times past have not believed God, yet have now obtained mercy through their unbelief:
Rom 11:31 Even so have these also now not believed, that through your mercy they also may obtain mercy.
Rom 11:32 For God hath concluded them all in unbelief, that he might have mercy upon all.

Exo 32:14 And the LORD repented of the evil which he thought to do unto his people.

To understand what this statement means, we need to look at the sum of the Lord’s words.

Psa 119:160 The sum of thy word is truth; And every one of thy righteous ordinances endureth forever. (ASV)

From the following verses, which run contrary to verse 14, the Lord is not a man to repent or change. If the Lord had changed His plan, then the children of Israel would have been consumed.

Num 23:19 God is not a man, that he should lie, Neither the son of man, that he should repent: Hath he said, and will he not do it? Or hath he spoken, and will he not make it good?

Mal 3:6 For I am the LORD, I change not; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed.

The statement in verse 14 is therefore written for those with eyes to see and ears to hear. However, there are many that are unlearned and would wrest verse 14 unto their own destruction.

2Pe 3:15 And account that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation; even as our beloved brother Paul also according to the wisdom given unto him hath written unto you;
2Pe 3:16 As also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things; in which are some things hard to be understood, which they that are unlearned and unstable wrest, as they do also the other scriptures, unto their own destruction.

Exo 32:15 And Moses turned, and went down from the mount, and the two tables of the testimony were in his hand: the tables were written on both their sides; on the one side and on the other were they written.
Exo 32:16 And the tables were the work of God, and the writing was the writing of God, graven upon the tables.
Exo 32:17 And when Joshua heard the noise of the people as they shouted, he said unto Moses, There is a noise of war in the camp.
Exo 32:18 And he said, It is not the voice of them that shout for mastery, neither is it the voice of them that cry for being overcome: but the noise of them that sing do I hear.
Exo 32:19 And it came to pass, as soon as he came nigh unto the camp, that he saw the calf, and the dancing: and Moses’ anger waxed hot, and he cast the tables out of his hands, and brake them beneath the mount.

The question is “why did Moses cast the tables of the ten commandments out of his hands to break them after spending forty days and forty nights in Mount Sinai to receive them?” This was a foreshadow of the fact that the law of Moses was our schoolmaster until faith came. In other words, being our schoolmaster means that the Law of Moses makes us realize that we are sinful. Once Moses came to that realization, there was no need for the law again. The casting of the tables out of his hand therefore signifies that we are no longer under the law when we come to realize that we are sinful. It is at this point that faith comes.

Gal 3:23 But before faith came, we were kept under the law, shut up unto the faith which should afterwards be revealed.
Gal 3:24 Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith.
Gal 3:25 But after that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster.

It is also instructive to know that when Joshua heard the noise of the people, he thought that it was the noise of war in the camp. Moses corrected him by telling him that it was the noise of them that were singing. We are all prone to make mistakes, but we should be humble enough to accept correction from the body of Christ.

Pro 15:31 The ear that heareth the reproof of life abideth among the wise.
Pro 15:32 He that refuseth instruction despiseth his own soul: but he that heareth reproof getteth understanding.

Exo 32:20 And he took the calf which they had made, and burnt it in the fire, and ground it to powder, and strawed it upon the water, and made the children of Israel drink of it.

This verse means that it is as our eyes are opened and our ears are hearing the word of the Lord that all our idols of the heart, represented by the molten calf, are destroyed, that is, ground to powder. As we are aware, the word of the Lord is the fire that burns out completely all our idols of the heart. The drinking of the water by the children of Israel means that it is not only hearing of the word of the Lord, it is the application of the word of the Lord in our lives that takes away our idols of the hearts.

Jer 5:14 Wherefore thus saith the LORD God of hosts, Because ye speak this word, behold, I will make my words in thy mouth fire, and this people wood, and it shall devour them.

Exo 32:21 And Moses said unto Aaron, What did this people unto thee, that thou hast brought so great a sin upon them?
Exo 32:22 And Aaron said, Let not the anger of my lord wax hot: thou knowest the people, that they are set on mischief.
Exo 32:23 For they said unto me, Make us gods, which shall go before us: for as for this Moses, the man that brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we wot not what is become of him.
Exo 32:24 And I said unto them, Whosoever hath any gold, let them break it off. So they gave it me: then I cast it into the fire, and there came out this calf.

In verse 21, Moses was questioning Aaron on why he had brought so great a sin upon the people of Israel. From Aaron’s explanation, we can see that he was most guilty and did not repent for this outrageous sin. He was rather blaming the people for their stiff-necked nature. As we can see in the subsequent verses, Aaron was not punished for his sins. As explained earlier, Aaron in this context represents the leaders in Babylon. Belonging to the Babylonian system means that Aaron is a symbol here of those who are not being judged in this life as they haven’t admitted that they are sinful. It is only the Lord’s elect who are being judged in this age.

Rev 3:17 Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked:
Rev 3:18 I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see.

1Pe 4:17 For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God?
1Pe 4:18 And if the righteous scarcely be saved, where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear?

Exo 32:25 And when Moses saw that the people were naked; (for Aaron had made them naked unto their shame among their enemies:)

The effect of the idols of the heart is that we are deceived. Therefore, we play the harlot thinking we are serving the Lord. This is all part of the Lord’s plan for us as His elect so He will have the occasion to judge us.

Eze 14:1 Then came certain of the elders of Israel unto me, and sat before me.
Eze 14:2 And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
Eze 14:3 Son of man, these men have set up their idols in their heart, and put the stumblingblock of their iniquity before their face: should I be enquired of at all by them?
Eze 14:4 Therefore speak unto them, and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Every man of the house of Israel that setteth up his idols in his heart, and putteth the stumblingblock of his iniquity before his face, and cometh to the prophet; I the LORD will answer him that cometh according to the multitude of his idols;
Eze 14:5 That I may take the house of Israel in their own heart, because they are all estranged from me through their idols.

Jdg 14:4 But his father and his mother knew not that it was of the LORD, that he sought an occasion against the Philistines: for at that time the Philistines had dominion over Israel.

Exo 32:26 Then Moses stood in the gate of the camp, and said, Who is on the LORD’S side? let him come unto me. And all the sons of Levi gathered themselves together unto him.
Exo 32:27 And he said unto them, Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, Put every man his sword by his side, and go in and out from gate to gate throughout the camp, and slay every man his brother, and every man his companion, and every man his neighbour.
Exo 32:28 And the children of Levi did according to the word of Moses: and there fell of the people that day about three thousand men.
Exo 32:29 For Moses had said, Consecrate yourselves to day to the LORD, even every man upon his son, and upon his brother; that he may bestow upon you a blessing this day.

Our Lord has several tools He uses to judge us and to cause us to learn righteousness. The whole of His tools for judgment are classified as His four sore judgments as follows:

Eze 14:21 For thus saith the Lord GOD; How much more when I send my four sore judgments upon Jerusalem, the sword, and the famine, and the noisome beast, and the pestilence, to cut off from it man and beast?

The consequence of our action of playing the harlot just like the people of Israel did by worshiping the golden calf, that is, worshiping another Jesus is that we are judged by the Lord, if we are called and chosen before the foundation of the world. In this case, our judgment comes in the form of the sword which negatively represents the lying words and false doctrines of the adversary. It also includes bitter words spoken against the Lord’s elect by those close to us.

Mat 10:21 And the brother shall deliver up the brother to death, and the father the child: and the children shall rise up against their parents, and cause them to be put to death.

Psa 64:2 Hide me from the secret counsel of the wicked; from the insurrection of the workers of iniquity:
Psa 64:3 Who whet their tongue like a sword, and bend their bows to shoot their arrows, even bitter words:

Eze 38:21 And I will call for a sword against him throughout all my mountains, saith the Lord GOD: every man’s sword shall be against his brother.

The essence of this judgment of the sword against the Lord’s people is to put to death the old man. As we can see in Exodus 32:28, three thousand men were killed by the Levites on the orders of Moses, who in this case represents the Lord Jesus Christ who comes to judge us. The number three thousand consists of three and multiples of ten (3,000 = 3x10x10x10). What this means is that we obtain spiritual maturity through the judgment of our old man after our fleshly deeds have reached their fullness. The death of our old man means the birth of our new man who is after the image of Christ. It is significant to know that on the day of Pentecost, three thousand men came to receive Christ. The death of the three thousand men of the people of Israel playing the harlot is therefore a foreshadow of the birth of the church of Christ.

Act 2:40 And with many other words did he testify and exhort, saying, Save yourselves from this untoward generation.
Act 2:41 Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls.

Exo 32:29 For Moses had said, Consecrate yourselves to day to the LORD, even every man upon his son, and upon his brother; that he may bestow upon you a blessing this day.

Here in verse 29, we are told that Moses commanded the people to consecrate themselves even as they fall on one another with the sword. This is to let us know that the end result of the Lord’s judgment of our old man is consecration, which means being set apart as holy to the Lord. It is through righteousness that we are set apart.

Isa 26:9 With my soul have I desired thee in the night; yea, with my spirit within me will I seek thee early: for when thy judgments are in the earth, the inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness.

Exo 32:30 And it came to pass on the morrow, that Moses said unto the people, Ye have sinned a great sin: and now I will go up unto the LORD; peradventure I shall make an atonement for your sin.
Exo 32:31 And Moses returned unto the LORD, and said, Oh, this people have sinned a great sin, and have made them gods of gold.
Exo 32:32 Yet now, if thou wilt forgive their sin; and if not, blot me, I pray thee, out of thy book which thou hast written.
Exo 32:33 And the LORD said unto Moses, Whosoever hath sinned against me, him will I blot out of my book.

All of us have sinned and fallen short of the glory of the Lord and as a result have had our names deleted from the Lord’s book of life. However, if we are called and chosen, then our names will surely be restored in the lamb’s book of life.

Rom 3:23 For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;

Revelation 3:5 He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment; and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life, but I will confess his name before my Father, and before his angels.

Exo 32:34 Therefore now go, lead the people unto the place of which I have spoken unto thee: behold, mine Angel shall go before thee: nevertheless in the day when I visit I will visit their sin upon them.
Exo 32:35 And the LORD plagued the people, because they made the calf, which Aaron made.

What the Lord starts, He is able to finish. The reason He is able to finish is that He is the one (mine angel in verse 34) leading us through this wilderness of life. Even though at certain times in our journey, He may plague or judge us as a result of our sins, He will surely bring us to our safe haven.

Php 1:6 Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ:

Psa 107:25 For he commandeth, and raiseth the stormy wind, which lifteth up the waves thereof.
Psa 107:26 They mount up to the heaven, they go down again to the depths: their soul is melted because of trouble.
Psa 107:27 They reel to and fro, and stagger like a drunken man, and are at their wits’ end.
Psa 107:28 Then they cry unto the LORD in their trouble, and he bringeth them out of their distresses.
Psa 107:29 He maketh the storm a calm, so that the waves thereof are still.
Psa 107:30 Then are they glad because they be quiet; so he bringeth them unto their desired haven.
Psa 107:31 Oh that men would praise the LORD for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men!

May the Lord continue to lead us as He brings us to our safe haven!! Amen!!

Awesome Hands – Part 112: “The Golden Calf” – part 2

Steven Crook — Sat, 11 Mar 2017 01:35:43 +0000

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Awesome Hands – Part 112

“The Golden Calf – Part 2”

March 10, 2017

It is always amazing to me what we do for ourselves and claim it is for the Lord, as if He needs us to do something for Him for His benefit or to show our loyalty.

Well, the children of Israel are no different and find themselves doing just that as we saw in our previous study about the golden calf. For this study, we are going to see the results of their actions as the Lord passes judgment on the Israelites for this “great sin”.

In particular, our verse for consideration today containing the next iteration of the Hebrew word “yad” or “hand” in English, is found in Exodus 32:29.

Exo 32:29 For Moses had said, Consecrate yourselves to day to the LORD, even every man upon his son, and upon his brother; that he may bestow upon you a blessing this day.

This verse alone is very instructive, but there is also much for us to learn when we read the context of this verse.

I have subtitled this study “The Golden Calf – Part 2” because we had looked at verses 1-6 in the last study of this same chapter. So, I am going to read from verses 7 to build up to this verses where the Lord instructs – us – to consecrate ourselves, upon our sons and upon our brothers.

Before this happens however, the Lord is going to pass judgment on this act of the Israelites, and Aaron their currently-in-charge leader.

Exo 32:7 And the LORD said unto Moses, Go, get thee down; for thy people, which thou broughtest out of the land of Egypt, have corrupted themselves:
Exo 32:8 They have turned aside quickly out of the way which I commanded them: they have made them a molten calf, and have worshipped it, and have sacrificed thereunto, and said, These be thy gods, O Israel, which have brought thee up out of the land of Egypt.
Exo 32:9 And the LORD said unto Moses, I have seen this people, and, behold, it is a stiffnecked people:
Exo 32:10 Now therefore let me alone, that my wrath may wax hot against them, and that I may consume them: and I will make of thee a great nation.

In these verses, we can see the mind of the Lord and how He views sin perpetrated against Him. The way it is phrased here in the KJV leads us to think that Moses himself is being stiffnecked, because the Lord clearly says in verse 10 to “let me alone” or “leave me alone and don’t try to stop me.”

What does Moses do, however? He does exactly what the Lord says not to do, but this is all for OUR BENEFIT so that we can know what the Lord is “thinking” about what has transpired.

This is very similar to when Jesus would speak aloud so that it was heard by those around Him, but otherwise there was no reason for it to be spoken aloud.

Joh 11:40 Jesus saith unto her, Said I not unto thee, that, if thou wouldest believe, thou shouldest see the glory of God?
Joh 11:41 Then they took away the stone from the place where the dead was laid. And Jesus lifted up his eyes, and said, Father, I thank thee that thou hast heard me.
Joh 11:42 And I knew that thou hearest me always: but because of the people which stand by I said it, that they may believe that thou hast sent me.
Joh 11:43 And when he thus had spoken, he cried with a loud voice, Lazarus, come forth.

Jesus already knew the will of God, and it was that Lazarus would be raised from the dead. Notice, Jesus and no others had SEEN Lazarus; yet, Jesus KNEW ahead of seeing that Lazarus had indeed risen and that the Father had heard Him.

In this same vein of thought, but not exactly the same parallel, the Lord is speaking to Moses telling Moses not to try and stop the Lord in His wrath so that the Lord could raise up from Moses a great nation, all the while knowing that Moses would do the opposite.

In other words, the Lord speaks things for us to grasp what is happening but knows “behind the scenes” what will actually happen. These examples are simply recorded so that we know this is the case.

Continuing with the Lord telling Moses to “let me alone”, we see Moses petition to the Lord as we read:

Exo 32:11 And Moses besought the LORD his God, and said, LORD, why doth thy wrath wax hot against thy people, which thou hast brought forth out of the land of Egypt with great power, and with a mighty hand?
Exo 32:12 Wherefore should the Egyptians speak, and say, For mischief did he bring them out, to slay them in the mountains, and to consume them from the face of the earth? Turn from thy fierce wrath, and repent of this evil against thy people.
Exo 32:13 Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, thy servants, to whom thou swarest by thine own self, and saidst unto them, I will multiply your seed as the stars of heaven, and all this land that I have spoken of will I give unto your seed, and they shall inherit it for ever.
Exo 32:14 And the LORD repented of the evil which he thought to do unto his people.

Where would we all be without Moses interceding on our behalf!?

Moses is doing what any of us would have done as the one who had been used to bring the people out of Egypt. Yet, even in Moses’ concern for the people he did what the Lord said not to do. Still, we are told “the Lord repented of the evil which He thought to do to His people.”

There are two verses that come to mind concerning the “repenting” that the Lord supposedly does. Certainly the translators use the English word repent, but this does not always convey the meaning of the verse without knowing that the Hebrew being translated can at times mean something quite different.

Num 23:19 God is not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent: hath he said, and shall he not do it? or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good?

1Sa 15:29 And also the Strength of Israel will not lie nor repent: for he is not a man, that he should repent.

In all instances that “repent” is used in English, we see that they are from the same Hebrew word, “nacham”.

H5162
nâcham
Total KJV Occurrences: 109
comfort, 34
Gen_5:29, Gen_27:42, Gen_37:35, 2Sa_10:2, 1Ch_7:22, 1Ch_19:2 (2), Job_2:11, Job_7:13, Job_21:34, Psa_23:4, Psa_71:21, Psa_119:50, Psa_119:76, Psa_119:82, Isa_22:4, Isa_40:1 (2), Isa_51:3 (2), Isa_51:19, Isa_57:6, Isa_61:2, Isa_66:13, Jer_16:7, Jer_31:13, Lam_1:2, Lam_1:17, Lam_1:21, Lam_2:13, Eze_14:23, Eze_16:54, Zec_1:17, Zec_10:2
comforted, 20
Gen_24:67, Gen_37:35, Gen_38:12, Gen_50:21, Rth_2:13, 2Sa_12:24, 2Sa_13:39, Job_42:11, Psa_77:2, Psa_86:17, Psa_119:52, Isa_49:13, Isa_52:9, Isa_54:11, Isa_66:13, Jer_31:15, Eze_5:13, Eze_14:22, Eze_31:16, Eze_32:31
repent, 19
Exo_13:17, Exo_32:12, Num_23:19, Deu_32:36, 1Sa_15:29 (2), Job_42:6, Psa_90:13, Psa_110:4, Psa_135:14, Jer_4:28, Jer_18:8, Jer_18:10, Jer_26:3, Jer_26:13, Jer_42:10, Joe_2:14 (2), Jon_3:9
repented, 17
Gen_6:6, Exo_32:14, Jdg_2:18, Jdg_21:6, Jdg_21:15, 1Sa_15:35, 2Sa_24:16, 1Ch_21:15, Psa_106:45, Jer_8:6, Jer_20:16, Jer_31:19 (2), Amo_7:3, Amo_7:6, Jon_3:10, Zec_8:14
comforters, 5
2Sa_10:3, 1Ch_19:3, Job_16:2, Psa_69:20, Nah_3:7
comforter, 3
Ecc_4:1, Lam_1:9, Lam_1:16
comforteth, 3
Job_29:25, Isa_66:12-13 (2)
repenteth, 3
Gen_6:7, 1Sa_15:11, Joe_2:13
comfortedst, 1
Isa_12:1
ease, 1
Isa_1:24
receive, 1
Isa_57:6
repentest, 1
Jon_4:2
repenting, 1
Jer_15:6

As can be seen above, 41 times the Hebrew word “nacham” is translated as some form of “repent”, but 66 of the 109 times it is used it is translated as some form of the English word “comfort”. We can read a few of these examples to gain a little more understanding about this “apparent” discrepancy.

Gen 5:29 And he called his name Noah, saying, This same shall comfort us concerning our work and toil of our hands, because of the ground which the LORD hath cursed.

Zec 10:2 For the idols have spoken vanity, and the diviners have seen a lie, and have told false dreams; they comfort in vain: therefore they went their way as a flock, they were troubled, because there was no shepherd.

Eze 5:13 Thus shall mine anger be accomplished, and I will cause my fury to rest upon them, and I will be comforted: and they shall know that I the LORD have spoken it in my zeal, when I have accomplished my fury in them.

Job 16:1 Then Job answered and said,
Job 16:2 I have heard many such things: miserable comforters are ye all.

Psa 69:20 Reproach hath broken my heart; and I am full of heaviness: and I looked for some to take pity, but there was none; and for comforters, but I found none.

Isa 12:1 And in that day thou shalt say, O LORD, I will praise thee: though thou wast angry with me, thine anger is turned away, and thou comfortedst me.

Here are a few more examples of the same Hebrew word being used as some form of “repent”.

Exo 13:17 And it came to pass, when Pharaoh had let the people go, that God led them not through the way of the land of the Philistines, although that was near; for God said, Lest peradventure the people repent when they see war, and they return to Egypt:

Jon 3:9 Who can tell if God will turn and repent, and turn away from his fierce anger, that we perish not?

Jer 18:8 If that nation, against whom I have pronounced, turn from their evil, I will repent of the evil that I thought to do unto them.
Jer 18:9 And at what instant I shall speak concerning a nation, and concerning a kingdom, to build and to plant it;
Jer 18:10 If it do evil in my sight, that it obey not my voice, then I will repent of the good, wherewith I said I would benefit them.

1Ch 21:14 So the LORD sent pestilence upon Israel: and there fell of Israel seventy thousand men.
1Ch 21:15 And God sent an angel unto Jerusalem to destroy it: and as he was destroying, the LORD beheld, and he repented him of the evil, and said to the angel that destroyed, It is enough, stay now thine hand. And the angel of the LORD stood by the threshingfloor of Ornan the Jebusite.
1Ch 21:16 And David lifted up his eyes, and saw the angel of the LORD stand between the earth and the heaven, having a drawn sword in his hand stretched out over Jerusalem. Then David and the elders of Israel, who were clothed in sackcloth, fell upon their faces.
1Ch 21:17 And David said unto God, Is it not I that commanded the people to be numbered? even I it is that have sinned and done evil indeed; but as for these sheep, what have they done? let thine hand, I pray thee, O LORD my God, be on me, and on my father’s house; but not on thy people, that they should be plagued.

What, then, is going on? It seems that sometimes “repent” is appropriate, but most times some form of the word “comfort” is appropriate. So how do we know what is appropriate, and is this an accurate way to look at this Hebrew word?

Answering this question will help us understand why the Lord spoke to Moses the way He did, and it also will help us understand why it is that you and I, and the Israelites, seemingly do the exact opposite that the Lord instructs us to do things.

Strong’s defines H5162 as:

H5162
nâcham
naw-kham’
A primitive root; properly to sigh, that is, breathe strongly; by implication to be sorry, that is, (in a favorable sense) to pity, console or (reflexively) rue; or (unfavorably) to avenge (oneself): – comfort (self), ease [one’s self], repent (-er, -ing, self).

And Brown-Driver-Briggs (BDB) defines H5162 as:

H5162
nâcham
BDB Definition:
1) to be sorry, console oneself, repent, regret, comfort, be comforted
1a) (Niphal)
1a1) to be sorry, be moved to pity, have compassion
1a2) to be sorry, rue, suffer grief, repent
1a3) to comfort oneself, be comforted
1a4) to comfort oneself, ease oneself
1b) (Piel) to comfort, console
1c) (Pual) to be comforted, be consoled
1d) (Hithpael)
1d1) to be sorry, have compassion
1d2) to rue, repent of
1d3) to comfort oneself, be comforted
1d4) to ease oneself
Part of Speech: verb
A Related Word by BDB/Strong’s Number: a primitive root

In the most basic sense of applying repentance to oneself, it simply means to comfort oneself. To be comforted. Repentance is the act of doing the opposite thing that brought repentance and this brings an easement to the situation at hand.

For example, if I commit a sin that I know is sin and I am convicted of it in my heart, then true Godly repentance will take this burden from me by allowing me to understand and know that the Lord forgives me sin.

Or another way to understand it is to allow yourself to feel sorry for the sin and regret doing it, which is the very act of repenting.

When applying this concept to our study today, we can see that the Lord was comforted by His will knowing that what He has already preordained to happen was happening, and the next steps could be taken to implement His Lordship over His people.

This is similar to when I tell my children not to do something that is harmful to them KNOWING that if they break this rule they could, and most likely will, be hurt by the thing I told them not to do. When it DOES HAPPEN, I am relieved and comforted that they have LEARNED their lesson that 1) they should listen to the sound protective advice of their father and 2) they will have consequences that need to be dealt with as a result of their actions, among others lessons learned.

There are many ways to illustrate this, but I think that is sufficient.

Getting back to the story we find ourselves examining today, we see the Lord has “repented”, and Moses must see this all for himself. So, what is Moses to do?

Exo 32:15 And Moses turned, and went down from the mount, and the two tables of the testimony were in his hand: the tables were written on both their sides; on the one side and on the other were they written.
Exo 32:16 And the tables were the work of God, and the writing was the writing of God, graven upon the tables.
Exo 32:17 And when Joshua heard the noise of the people as they shouted, he said unto Moses, There is a noise of war in the camp.
Exo 32:18 And he said, It is not the voice of them that shout for mastery, neither is it the voice of them that cry for being overcome: but the noise of them that sing do I hear.
Exo 32:19 And it came to pass, as soon as he came nigh unto the camp, that he saw the calf, and the dancing: and Moses’ anger waxed hot, and he cast the tables out of his hands, and brake them beneath the mount.

Let me get this right, Moses. You spent all this time up on the mount with the Lord preparing these tablets, among other things, and after the Lord warned you of what the Israelites had done and for which you are seeing for yourself, you decide to slam them down on the ground? Yep, that’s exactly what he did.

The Israelites were right in the middle of BLATANT IDOL WORSHIP! I wonder if there is a message here for us of how we, as the children of God who commune with the Lord daily, should act when we see blatant idol worship. What should our heart and mind feel and act upon?

Eph 4:25 Wherefore putting away lying, speak every man truth with his neighbour: for we are members one of another.
Eph 4:26 Be ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath:
Eph 4:27 Neither give place to the devil.

Now that Moses is on the scene he is going to take immediate action to correct this “great sin” that the people and Aaron have committed.

Exo 32:20 And he took the calf which they had made, and burnt it in the fire, and ground it to powder, and strawed it upon the water, and made the children of Israel drink of it.

Yes, the Israelites are being made to drink of the wrath of the anger of the Lord! I don’t believe, at this moment, that Moses was thinking “why doth thy wrath wax hot against thy people”. It’s more likely that he was forcing them to take into themselves, as an acknowledgment of their sins, the very sin they had willingly committed.

Then, just as the Lord questioned the serpent, Eve and Adam about what caused them to sin against the Lord in their acts of participating in taking of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, Moses turns to Aaron and says, “Bro, what were you thinking!?”.

Exo 32:21 And Moses said unto Aaron, What did this people unto thee, that thou hast brought so great a sin upon them?
Exo 32:22 And Aaron said, Let not the anger of my lord wax hot: thou knowest the people, that they are set on mischief.

Wait a second! Did Aaron really just use the same words Moses used against the Lord? Why, yes he did!

Exo 32:23 For they said unto me, Make us gods, which shall go before us: for as for this Moses, the man that brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we wot not what is become of him.
Exo 32:24 And I said unto them, Whosoever hath any gold, let them break it off. So they gave it me: then I cast it into the fire, and there came out this calf.

Truly, the heart is desperately wicked, and who can know it? All Aaron did apparently was take some gold from the people, throw it in the fire, and this calf made of gold just jumped out and erected itself on an altar to be worshipped!

Does anyone else see themselves in this story like I do and just how silly we look to the Lord when we try to justify and excuse our behaviors? I remember something like this actually happening Aaron:

Exo 32:3 And all the people brake off the golden earrings which were in their ears, and brought them unto Aaron.
Exo 32:4 And he received them at their hand, and fashioned it with a graving tool, after he had made it a molten calf: and they said, These be thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt.
Exo 32:5 And when Aaron saw it, he built an altar before it; and Aaron made proclamation, and said, To morrow is a feast to the LORD.

Hmm, something isn’t adding up here, Aaron.

Well, though I employ a little humor at a not-so-humorous act of sin on the part of the Israelites, we see that Moses himself causes a lot of wrath to happen to the Israelites after he himself petitioned the Lord to hold back His wrath.

It turns out that the Lord decided to use Moses to implement the start of His wrath! Indeed, the Lord was comforted to have this sin be dealt with!

Exo 32:25 And when Moses saw that the people were naked; (for Aaron had made them naked unto their shame among their enemies:)
Exo 32:26 Then Moses stood in the gate of the camp, and said, Who is on the LORD’S side? let him come unto me. And all the sons of Levi gathered themselves together unto him.
Exo 32:27 And he said unto them, Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, Put every man his sword by his side, and go in and out from gate to gate throughout the camp, and slay every man his brother, and every man his companion, and every man his neighbour.
Exo 32:28 And the children of Levi did according to the word of Moses: and there fell of the people that day about three thousand men.

This is a process we all must go through and learn from, but we should and must be comforted that the Lord will place it in our hands to be consecrated to Himself.

The Lord will cause us not only to consecrate ourselves, but He wills that we consecrate our brothers and sisters in Christ, collectively known as ‘the brethren’ and ‘sons of God’, so that we can all be led by the Lord to the next step in our walks with Him.

Exo 32:29 For Moses had said, Consecrate yourselves to day to the LORD, even every man upon his son, and upon his brother; that he may bestow upon you a blessing this day.
Exo 32:30 And it came to pass on the morrow, that Moses said unto the people, Ye have sinned a great sin: and now I will go up unto the LORD; peradventure I shall make an atonement for your sin.
Exo 32:31 And Moses returned unto the LORD, and said, Oh, this people have sinned a great sin, and have made them gods of gold.
Exo 32:32 Yet now, if thou wilt forgive their sin; and if not, blot me, I pray thee, out of thy book which thou hast written.
Exo 32:33 And the LORD said unto Moses, Whosoever hath sinned against me, him will I blot out of my book.
Exodus 32:34 Therefore now go, lead the people unto the place of which I have spoken unto thee: behold, mine Angel shall go before thee: nevertheless in the day when I visit I will visit their sin upon them.
Exo 32:35 And the LORD plagued the people, because they made the calf, which Aaron made.

We can be comforted when we repent of sin against the Lord, knowing though He will put to death the old man who has this sin dwelling in him, this entire process brings life to the new man to go on to the “spiritual promised land” of New Jerusalem.

Awesome Hands – Part 111: “The Golden Calf”

iwwbadmin — Thu, 23 Feb 2017 01:10:02 +0000

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Awesome Hands – Part 111

The Golden Calf

February 22, 2017

The golden calf is a fairly common and talked about story for many reasons, but some of the more common ones include how the children of Israel turned their back on the Lord so shortly after being freed from Egypt and also how they took what the Lord has given them and then worshipped those things.

While these points are important and accurate and will be discussed within this study, there are additional tidbits of godly wisdom hidden with the overall story of who we are in Christ today.

Our verses for today are found in Exodus 32:1-4 and are the next time we see hands mentioned since our last study’s group of verses.

Exo 32:1 And when the people saw that Moses delayed to come down out of the mount, the people gathered themselves together unto Aaron, and said unto him, Up, make us gods, which shall go before us; for as for this Moses, the man that brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we wot not what is become of him.
Exo 32:2 And Aaron said unto them, Break off the golden earrings, which are in the ears of your wives, of your sons, and of your daughters, and bring them unto me.
Exo 32:3 And all the people brake off the golden earrings which were in their ears, and brought them unto Aaron.
Exo 32:4 And he received them at their hand, and fashioned it with a graving tool, after he had made it a molten calf: and they said, These be thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt.

When reading only these verses it is easy to hit our heads and think to ourselves, “what were they thinking!?” However, had we been there in their situation, we would have done the same thing. In truth, we do have this mindset on a regular basis, but it may not be readily apparent what spirit we have that is causing us to think this way.

As we look at these verses, there are some very interesting points which add a lot of detail to what it is we just read.

Remember, it is the Lord’s work, by His Hand alone, that the Israelites are in this situation to begin with.

Exodus 14:31 And Israel saw that great work^H3027 which the LORD did upon the Egyptians: and the people feared the LORD, and believed the LORD, and his servant Moses.

The very first verse of this chapter points us to why the Israelites went astray in their thinking.

Luk 21:19 In your patience possess ye your souls.

“And when the people saw that Moses delayed to come down out of the mount”, is nothing more than an admission and judgment on themselves out of their own mouths. It is not Moses who delays at all, but it the same voice that shook the mountain and thundered from the top that has Moses where he is.

In other words, they blamed Moses for what the Lord was doing through Moses and how it affected them.

“Up, make us gods, which shall go before us; for as for this Moses, the man that brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we wot not what is become of him.”

Instead of waiting on the Lord who had done the “first works” by bringing them out of Egypt, they decided to petition the high priest to create a god that did the EXACT THING the One True God had already been doing for them. They didn’t want something different. They wanted it FASTER according to this verse.

“Make us gods which shall go before us” and make it happen right now!

So, what does Aaron do? What does their minister do? He listens to them, and in listening to them he “one ups” them.

Exo 32:2 And Aaron said unto them, Break off the golden earrings, which are in the ears of your wives, of your sons, and of your daughters, and bring them unto me.
Exo 32:3 And all the people brake off the golden earrings which were in their ears, and brought them unto Aaron.

Isn’t it interesting that Aaron tells them to “break off” their golden earrings and the scriptures are recorded to make sure anyone reading this knows emphatically that the gold comes from their ears?

What then is the significance of breaking this gold from their ears? First, let us look at how “break” is used in other parts of scripture.

Exo 32:2 And Aaron^H175 said^H559 unto^H413 them, Break off^H6561 the golden^H2091 earrings,^H5141 which^H834 are in the ears^H241 of your wives,^H802 of your sons,^H1121 and of your daughters,^H1323 and bring^H935 them unto^H413 me.

H6561
pâraq
Total KJV Occurrences: 10
break, 3
Gen_27:40, Exo_32:2, Exo_32:24
brake, 1
Exo_32:3
broken, 1
Eze_19:12
deliver, 1
Lam_5:8
redeemed, 1
Psa_136:24
rending, 1
Psa_7:2
rent, 1
1Ki_19:11
tear, 1
Zec_11:16

Here are a few of the verses listed above:

Gen 27:40 And by thy sword shalt thou live, and shalt serve thy brother; and it shall come to pass when thou shalt have the dominion, that thou shalt break his yoke from off thy neck.

Eze 19:12 But she was plucked up in fury, she was cast down to the ground, and the east wind dried up her fruit: her strong rods were broken and withered; the fire consumed them.

Lam 5:7 Our fathers have sinned, and are not; and we have borne their iniquities.
Lam 5:8 Servants have ruled over us: there is none that doth deliver us out of their hand.

Psa 136:24 And hath redeemed us from our enemies: for his mercy endureth for ever.

What is the significance of this action of removing the gold the Lord had given them from their ears spiritually speaking? Remember, the Lord took the riches of Egypt and gave it to the Israelites when they left Egypt, and it was during the SMITING of Egypt that this happened.

Exo 3:20 And I will stretch out my hand, and smite Egypt with all my wonders which I will do in the midst thereof: and after that he will let you go.
Exo 3:21 And I will give this people favour in the sight of the Egyptians: and it shall come to pass, that, when ye go, ye shall not go empty:
Exo 3:22 But every woman shall borrow of her neighbour, and of her that sojourneth in her house, jewels of silver, and jewels of gold, and raiment: and ye shall put them upon your sons, and upon your daughters; and ye shall spoil the Egyptians.

Exo 11:1 And the LORD said unto Moses, Yet will I bring one plague more upon Pharaoh, and upon Egypt; afterwards he will let you go hence: when he shall let you go, he shall surely thrust you out hence altogether.
Exo 11:2 Speak now in the ears of the people, and let every man borrow of his neighbour, and every woman of her neighbour, jewels of silver, and jewels of gold.

The Lord causes the Egyptians to give their gold to the Israelites because the Israelites asked to borrow the gold, and now they “break” it out of their ears to create their own gods?

This next set of verses may shed some Light on what is being told to us.

Exo 21:1 Now these are the judgments which thou shalt set before them.
Exo 21:2 If thou buy an Hebrew servant, six years he shall serve: and in the seventh he shall go out free for nothing.
Exo 21:3 If he came in by himself, he shall go out by himself: if he were married, then his wife shall go out with him.
Exo 21:4 If his master have given him a wife, and she have born him sons or daughters; the wife and her children shall be her master’s, and he shall go out by himself.
Exo 21:5 And if the servant shall plainly say, I love my master, my wife, and my children; I will not go out free:
Exo 21:6 Then his master shall bring him unto the judges; he shall also bring him to the door, or unto the door post; and his master shall bore his ear through with an aul; and he shall serve him for ever.

The earrings of gold which the Israelites used for the golden calf are a type of the love the Israelites had for the Lord and His miraculous deliverance of them out of Egypt.

By breaking them and giving them to Aaron to create other gods to follow, we can see that the Israelites has turned their hearts and minds away from the Lord BUT STILL WANTED the things He alone provided for them from these gods they wanted created for them.

Does this at all sound familiar to your walk with the Lord?

We all create false gods and a false god, another Jesus, in our hearts and minds, sometimes not even known to us, which causes us to claim the name of the Lord but not actually have Him as our Husband.

We are drawn to the Lord with a deadly wound in our lives only to be healed of it, but how quickly we forget the deadly wound we had!

What makes this process so deceiving is that your ministers let you do it, did not protect the flock and even encourage and preach idol worship! This is what Aaron says about and to “the sheep bleating in his ears”.

1Sa 15:13 And Samuel came to Saul: and Saul said unto him, Blessed be thou of the LORD: I have performed the commandment of the LORD.
1Sa 15:14 And Samuel said, What meaneth then this bleating of the sheep in mine ears, and the lowing of the oxen which I hear?

Here is Aaron’s response to the bleating of the Israelites by Moses delaying coming down from the mount:

Exo 32:3 And all the people brake off the golden earrings which were in their ears, and brought them unto Aaron.
Exo 32:4 And he received them at their hand, and fashioned it with a graving tool, after he had made it a molten calf: and they said, These be thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt.

Aaron not only forms the molten calf with a graving tool, the people then give all the credit of their deliverance to this golden calf!

What was Aaron’s response? Why, it was to double down!

Exo 32:5 And when Aaron saw it, he built an altar before it; and Aaron made proclamation, and said, To morrow is a feast to the LORD.
Exo 32:6 And they rose up early on the morrow, and offered burnt offerings, and brought peace offerings; and the people sat down to eat and to drink, and rose up to play.

Aaron actually goes on to make an altar for this golden calf and then have the audacity to say, “tomorrow is a feast TO THE LORD”! Wow!

As I think on this, I recall to myself my own mindset throughout my walk with Christ, and I can remember far worse offenses to the Lord that mimic this same exact thought process.

“I will dedicate this to the Lord,” whatever “this” might happen to be at the time “because the Lord will be pleased with it”.

“I’ll kill for God and country.”

“My sins are forgiven, therefore the Lord doesn’t care that I just sinned”.

“If you do this for me Lord, then I will do this for you”.

“It’s only a minor sin”.

“I know you have far greater evils to deal with then what I just did”.

“The Lord and I have an understanding, so He knows why I am the way I am and will not old me accountable for being me”.

On and on it goes, and I am guilty of them all and far more than these. Some of them I can’t even claim to have done in ignorance but fully knowing what I was doing without being ashamed at the time. Chief of sinners I am indeed.

What is important about Aaron’s response is that we all realize that the Lord also caused Aaron to take up the mindset he had that led him to think it was okay to do what he did. He not only listened to the flock when he should have been the one leading the flock during this time, but he then claimed to be dedicating to the Lord this feast they would have.

How then can we avoid falling in this pitfall again?

If we recall what it is that caused us to be brought before the judges to dedicate ourselves to our master, then we will be on the right track once we define things properly.

1Jn 5:3 For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous.

2Jn 1:6 And this is love, that we walk after his commandments. This is the commandment, That, as ye have heard from the beginning, ye should walk in it.

Exo 21:5 And if the servant shall plainly say, I love my master, my wife, and my children; I will not go out free:
Exo 21:6 Then his master shall bring him unto the judges; he shall also bring him to the door, or unto the door post; and his master shall bore his ear through with an aul; and he shall serve him for ever.

It is the Love of the Lord that causes us to remember WHY it is we love Him.

If Love is to keep His commandments, what causes us to WANT to keep His commandments? I love how 2 John 1:6 defines keeping His commandments. We WALK AFTER His commandments.

We walk according to His commandments which is what walk “after” means according to the majority of the time “after” is translated.

What could be one heck of a strong reason to love the master who owns you as a slave so much so that you will have your freedom in 7 years, but you REFUSE that freedom? That is one heck of a love!

Could it be that your family is there, and you don’t want to leave them? Why, yes, of course, but not only that. Could it be that your master was so good to you as a slave that he ALLOWED you to have that family, while a slave, in the first place? That probably has a lot to do with it. Taking care of you and your family while under his rulership is not a light matter at all.

For us, we know we are prisoners of Christ and servants to His headship over us, but we also are WILLING SLAVES and servants. Sure, we could seek freedom to DIE outside of His love, but what benefit would that bring?

Sure a servant can be freed from his master in 7 years, but what is freedom if your family is still enslaved?

Phm 1:9 Yet for love’s sake I rather beseech thee, being such an one as Paul the aged, and now also a prisoner of Jesus Christ.

Gal 1:10 For do I now persuade men, or God? or do I seek to please men? for if I yet pleased men, I should not be the servant of Christ.

We are in good company when we consider other servants to Christ:

Col 4:12 Epaphras, who is one of you, a servant of Christ, saluteth you, always labouring fervently for you in prayers, that ye may stand perfect and complete in all the will of God.

Tit 1:1 Paul, a servant of God, and an apostle of Jesus Christ, according to the faith of God’s elect, and the acknowledging of the truth which is after godliness;

Phm 1:25 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. Amen. Written from Rome to Philemon, by Onesimus a servant.

Jas 1:1 James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes which are scattered abroad, greeting.

2Pe 1:1 Simon Peter, a servant and an apostle of Jesus Christ, to them that have obtained like precious faith with us through the righteousness of God and our Saviour Jesus Christ:

Jud 1:1 Jude, the servant of Jesus Christ, and brother of James, to them that are sanctified by God the Father, and preserved in Jesus Christ, and called:

Being servants, we also have a higher calling, which makes perfect sense to those who are in the know of what our purpose is and HOW IT IS that we “keep His commandments”.

Gal 4:5 To redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons.
Gal 4:6 And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father.
Gal 4:7 Wherefore thou art no more a servant, but a son; and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ.

Being a son NOW, allows us to become the ultimate servants of Christ to the Christ, His body, His church and His bride.

1Jn 5:2 By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God, and keep his commandments.

Rev 12:17 And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.

Rev 14:11 And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name.
Rev 14:12 Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.
Rev 14:13 And I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, Write, Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth: Yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labours; and their works do follow them.

We rest from our labors, but OUR WORKS, given VIA THE HANDS OF THE LORD, are what cause us to remember why it is we Love the Lord, because our remembrance of these things causes us to want to share it with the rest of the body of Christ.

We love the brethren, the church, by KEEPING THE FAITH that these things are true.

1Jn 5:4 For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith.
1Jn 5:5 Who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God?

Instead of building a golden calf with the gold from our ears, let us continue to show our Love for the Lord by wearing our spiritual golden earrings for all to see.