Exodus 32:1-14 - The Golden Calf

Exodus 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” 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. 4) He took the gold from them, formed it in a mold, and cast the image of a calf; and they said, “These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt!” 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.” 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. 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 worshiped it and sacrificed to it, and said, ‘These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt!’” 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.” 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. 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.”

Background: After their rescue from slavery in Egypt, the people of Israel found themselves in the wilderness where they both floundered and learned important lessons that would fit them for life in the Promised Land. Moses has met with God and been given the boundaries and guidance that God has for their relationship. We call those boundaries (the Ten Commandments and their interpretation) the Law. The people rejoiced in these words when Moses shared them. God, knowing that we can’t remember anything for long, asked Moses to come back up Mt. Sinai where God will write it all down for him. Moses returns to Sinai and is on the mountain with God for 40 days. Meanwhile, the people of Israel fly into a panic. They do not understand what is taking Moses so long. They fear that he has been killed. The threatened loss of Moses is traumatic. He is more than just a leader whose tasks can easily be given to others. In their minds, Moses is their connection to God. He mediates the relationship between God and the people. They feel that to be without Moses is to be cut off from God. Today’s text begins when their panic and fear overflows and they go to Aaron and insist that he make them some new gods.

The Central Issue of this text is idolatry. Idolatry means elevating something that is not God to the status of God and worshipping and serving it as if it were God. The idolatry here is even more profound and disturbing than simply abandoning God (YHWH) and choosing other gods (such as the gods of surrounding religions). With the golden calf, Israel is trying to make God (YHWH) into a form that is to their liking. They want God on their own terms. There is no more deadly a mistake to make in the life of faith than that one.

Word Study
Vs. 1 – delayed – long overdue. The words here share roots with words “ashamed” and “dismayed”. The words are highly emotional.
Aaron – Moses’ brother and second in command. He was Moses’ chief aid and held most theological authority next to Moses.
Come – literally “rise up for action”, has a battle context. The people feel under siege and the want Aaron to do something about it.
Gods – how quickly they fall again into the language of polytheism! The One God seems to be no longer available to them so they look to other gods as a replacement. This is a clear violation of the commandments.
Go before us – as in battle, they want a leader to replace Moses.
Vs. 2 – take – an imperative word of great urgency. Snatch quickly.
Vs. 4 – formed – very obscure word in Hebrew. The whole sentence is difficult. It is not clear whether Aaron is pouring a mold or carving and overlaying. In any case, he, by his labor and their valuables, is producing something for them to worship.
Vs. 5 - Festival – festival and celebration are one of the primary goals of liberation. Here Aaron is trying to apply accepted religious customs to the wrong deity.
Vs. 6 – revel – word used to describe behavior that is self indulgent, makes fun at the expense of others. Also used of sexual play.
Vs. 7-8 – God is furious at this betrayal. These two verses are a dramatic response. The language is that of a lawsuit with a charge and the pronouncing of sentence.
Go down at once – extreme haste. Moses does not know what is going on.
Your – The offense is so great that God no longer claims the people.
The way – the manner, lifestyle demanded of those in relationship with God.
Vs. 9 – stiff-necked – difficult to yoke, unruly, hardheaded.
Vs. 10 – consume – bring to an end, finish
Vs. 11-13 - Moses passionately intercedes for the people. Moses does not have a clear sense of what has happened. Later when he confronts the situation directly, he is so enraged that he smashes the tablets of Law. Here, he us just trying to calm God down. He uses several arguments, 1) what will the Egyptians think? 2) reminding of previous promises.
Vs. 14 – changed his mind – God’s pity prevails. But sin still costs dearly. Judgement is delayed, but not averted.

Questions for Personal Reflection
1. What do you think are some of the most dangerous idols of our day?

2. As you reflect on your own life, what tends to get the most time and energy?

3. What do you sometimes rely upon, serve, instead of God?

4. When you think of your security, what do you really count on?

5. What lesson do you think we are all to learn from ‘wilderness’ times?

6. What do you think you need to do or learn to enter into a life of greater joy?