Author: Beth Duncan

Exodus 32:21 He said to Aaron, “What did these people do to you, that you led them into such great sin?”

Way back in Exodus 4, God was trying to convince Moses of His plan, but Moses, respectfully, kept saying, “Please send someone else.” In the end, Aaron became Moses’s emotional support human for God’s mission. Every time I get to Exodus 32 and see the mess that Aaron helped create, I think, “You know, Moses, if you had just done what God asked originally, you wouldn’t be in this mess. Aaron is here because of you.”

Exodus 32:22 “Do not be angry, my lord,” Aaron answered. “You know how prone these people are to evil.

Of course, blame doesn’t get us anywhere. Aaron’s deflection (“Moses, you know how sinful these people are. Oh, and all I did was throw gold in the fire and “poof.” No clue how the idol got here.”) didn’t help the situation at all, either. Now we have a livid Moses, a sniveling Aaron, an angry God, and sinful, rebellious Israelites.

Exodus 32:23 They said to me, ‘Make us gods who will go before us. As for this fellow Moses who brought us up out of Egypt, we don’t know what has happened to him.’ 

Lord, Sometimes we just make a mess of things, just all the way around. Help us, when we find ourselves in that situation, to deal with the issues, to own up to our missteps, to make amends if possible. Help us to keep You at our center. Draw us closer. Amen.

Exodus 32:24 So I told them, ‘Whoever has any gold jewelry, take it off.’ Then they gave me the gold, and I threw it into the fire, and out came this calf!”

Have a blessed day.

Exodus 32:17 When Joshua heard the noise of the people shouting, he said to Moses, “There is the sound of war in the camp.”

Commentary says that Moses’s anger was righteous and that his breaking the tablets written by the hand of God was fitting since the Israelites broke the covenant of God with their behavior, but I can’t help but see Moses’s reaction as a bit of a toddler’s temper tantrum, where he let his anger control him and he broke what was handy (the literal word of God) to express his anger.

Exodus 32:18 Moses replied: “It is not the sound of victory, it is not the sound of defeat; it is the sound of singing that I hear.”

And I wonder if such grandiose displays (breaking the tablets, burning the idol, then grounding it to powder, then making the Israelites drink it) were even necessary. The Israelites seem to know their actions aren’t ok. No one stops Moses in his tirade. No one tries to claim innocence. They made the idol to fill a really scary void that Moses left. Now he’s back.

Exodus 32:19 When Moses approached the camp and saw the calf and the dancing, his anger burned and he threw the tablets out of his hands, breaking them to pieces at the foot of the mountain. 

Precious Savior, Moses was livid. I get that. The Israelites were afraid and at loose ends. I also get that. But it seems like both acted inappropriately in the situation and it seems like their anger and their fear led them into even more trouble. I can be shackled by anger and fear as well, Lord. It can make me do crazy things, too. Help me to cling to You always, Lord. Always. Amen.

Exodus 32:20 And he took the calf the people had made and burned it in the fire; then he ground it to powder, scattered it on the water and made the Israelites drink it.

Have a blessed day.

Exodus 32:13 Remember your servants Abraham, Isaac and Israel, to whom you swore by your own self: ‘I will make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and I will give your descendants all this land I promised them, and it will be their inheritance forever.’ ” 

What I find interesting here is that in exactly three verses, Moses is the one who will be vibrating with rage. This after he just spent two verses convincing God to not destroy the Israelites for their disobedience.

Exodus 32:14 Then the Lord relented and did not bring on his people the disaster he had threatened.

My question is: Why does Moses react as he does? Does he not believe God that the Israelites are rebelling? Does he not fully grasp the depth of their rebellion? Is he so caught up in what he needs to do–get these tablets to the Israelites for guidance–that he doesn’t fully understand what he’s about to step into?

Exodus 32:15 Moses turned and went down the mountain with the two tablets of the covenant law in his hands. They were inscribed on both sides, front and back. 

Precious Savior, I am guilty of getting caught up in what I need to do, of being focused on my goals, my objectives, my needs to the point that I lose sight of the bigger picture, Your picture. Forgive me. Help me use my enthusiasm for You glory alone. Amen.

Exodus 32:16 The tablets were the work of God; the writing was the writing of God, engraved on the tablets.

Have a blessed day.

Exodus 32:9 “I have seen these people,” the Lord said to Moses, “and they are a stiff-necked people. 

I do not want the Lord to ever describe me a stiff-necked and stubborn when it comes to listening to Him, looking for Him, pointing others to Him. However, I’m aware that I can be a pretty intractable person. I hope that I can use that particular trait for my good and His glory.

Exodus 32:10 Now leave me alone so that my anger may burn against them and that I may destroy them. Then I will make you into a great nation.”

I hope that I refuse to be swayed by those who are ostracizing others, no matter the reason. I hope I refuse to be swayed by those who are putting themselves before all others, including God. I hope I refuse to be swayed by those who say they are doing the right thing, but who in actuality are doing the popular thing, the acceptable thing, but not the right thing.

Exodus 32:11 But Moses sought the favor of the Lord his God. “Lord,” he said, “why should your anger burn against your people, whom you brought out of Egypt with great power and a mighty hand? 

Precious Savior, You created me as I am for a purpose. Use me in Your service. Help me to point others to You. Help me to stand up for You and for Your beloved children, especially those who cannot stand for themselves. Help me to shine Your light. Amen.

Exodus 32:12 Why should the Egyptians say, ‘It was with evil intent that he brought them out, to kill them in the mountains and to wipe them off the face of the earth’? Turn from your fierce anger; relent and do not bring disaster on your people.

Have a blessed day.

Exodus 32:5 When Aaron saw this, he built an altar in front of the calf and announced, “Tomorrow there will be a festival to the Lord.” 

I wonder what was going through Aaron’s mind at this point? Was he proud of his work? Did he feel like he had brought the Israelites closer to God? Or did he realize his mistake and announce the festival to the Lord in an attempt to bring the Israelites back to God after leading them astray with the golden idol?

Exodus 32:6 So the next day the people rose early and sacrificed burnt offerings and presented fellowship offerings. Afterward they sat down to eat and drink and got up to indulge in revelry.

Regardless of Aaron’s intentions, the Israelites were not thinking of the Lord as they indulged in revelry. (A quick look at various translations of verse 6 on BibleHub.com shows that there is a definite negative connotation there.) Whatever Aaron might have had in mind when this started, the result was not bringing people closer to God.

Exodus 32:7 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Go down, because your people, whom you brought up out of Egypt, have become corrupt. 

Precious Savior, Forgive me when I jump at the opportunity to DO SOMETHING like Aaron did. Forgive me when I compound bad decisions with worse ones that lead people further away from You. Help me, in my words, actions, thoughts, to point people to You. Always. Amen.

Exodus 32:8 They have been quick to turn away from what I commanded them and have made themselves an idol cast in the shape of a calf. They have bowed down to it and sacrificed to it and have said, ‘These are your gods, Israel, who brought you up out of Egypt.’

Have a blessed day.

Exodus 32:1 When the people saw that Moses was so long in coming down from the mountain, they gathered around Aaron and said, “Come, make us gods who will go before us. As for this fellow Moses who brought us up out of Egypt, we don’t know what has happened to him.”

Today’s passage puts me in mind of Matthew 26:36-46, when Jesus asks the disciples to pray with him in the Garden of Gethsemane and they fall asleep. In today’s passage, Moses asks the Israelites to stay faithful while he goes up the mountain to talk to God. But in Matthew, the disciples fall asleep and in Exodus, the Israelites need something solid to hold on to, and both examples are eerily similar to what happens today when we have to wait.

Exodus 32:2 Aaron answered them, “Take off the gold earrings that your wives, your sons and your daughters are wearing, and bring them to me.” 

Waiting is hard. It can be painful and challenging or just plain boring. And when we don’t feel like we have anything solid and real to hold on to, it can be so very tempting to grab on to something, anything that feels solid and real as we wait and wait and wait.

Exodus 32:3 So all the people took off their earrings and brought them to Aaron.

Precious Savior, In these seasons when You call me to wait, forgive me when I get impatient, when I get antsy, when I look around for something solid to hold on to. Help me to hold on to You. Always. Help me to draw closer to You in the waiting. Help me to be faithful to You. Help me to wait in joyful hope. Amen.

Exodus 32:4 He took what they handed him and made it into an idol cast in the shape of a calf, fashioning it with a tool. Then they said, “These are your gods, Israel, who brought you up out of Egypt.”

Have a blessed day.