Category: Exodus

Exodus 32:25 Moses saw that the people were running wild and that Aaron had let them get out of control and so become a laughingstock to their enemies. 

What bothers me about verse 25 is the phrase “so became a laughingstock to their enemies.” I’m pretty sure God isn’t about appearances. He doesn’t care what others think. I feel like verse 25 contains Moses’s interpretation–become a laughingstock–and not God’s.

Exodus 32:26 So he stood at the entrance to the camp and said, “Whoever is for the Lord, come to me.” And all the Levites rallied to him.

We do know that Moses is concerned with appearances. Back in verse 12 he argued for God not destroying the rebellious Israelites so that the Egyptians wouldn’t think God had led them out of captivity just to destroy them. (In hindsight, that argument seems incredibly ironic now.)

Exodus 32:27a Then he said to them, “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘Each man strap a sword to his side…. 

Precious Savior, I struggle with today’s scripture, the appearance of caring what others think, the violent killing of those who rebelled. I feel like there should be another way. But Your thoughts are not my thoughts and Your ways are beyond anything I can imagine. Thank You for Jesus, so that there is a better way to You. Amen.

Exodus 32:27b …Go back and forth through the camp from one end to the other, each killing his brother and friend and neighbor.’ ”

Have a blessed day.

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.

Exodus 5:6 That same day Pharaoh gave this order to the slave drivers and overseers in charge of the people: 

Today’s verses make me bitter, angry, and frustrated. Moses and Aaron tried to get time for Sabbath for the Israelites, and Pharaoh increased the work needed (make the same number of bricks, but find your own straw). The Israelites, including Moses and Aaron, are frustrated, and I don’t blame them.

Exodus 5:7 “You are no longer to supply the people with straw for making bricks; let them go and gather their own straw. 

But God has a plan, one that they don’t know and can’t understand. One that requires some harshness and unpleasantness to be endured. God is making a way in their wilderness, even if they can’t yet perceive it. They just need to have faith and hang on. That’s often easier said than done.

Exodus 5:8 But require them to make the same number of bricks as before; don’t reduce the quota. They are lazy; that is why they are crying out, ‘Let us go and sacrifice to our God.’ 

Lord, I want life to be fair. It’s not. I want obedience to You to be easy. Also, not. What I need is to trust You–Your plan, Your timing, Your sovereignty. Always. Help me to trust. Help me to obey. Help me to endure. Help me to shine Your light. Always. Amen.

Exodus 5:9 Make the work harder for the people so that they keep working and pay no attention to lies.”

Have a blessed day.

Exodus 4:18a Then Moses went back to Jethro his father-in-law and said to him, “Let me return to my own people in Egypt to see if any of them are still alive.” …

After all the ups and downs of the last few verses, the burning bush, Moses’s hemming and hawing, God’s burning anger, I’m kind of surprised that it ends like this…. Moses just moseys on back to his father-in-law to say, casually, that he wants to leave.

Exodus 4:18b …Jethro said, “Go, and I wish you well.”

And Jethro, the father-in-law whose sheep he was tending that put him in the path of the burning bush in the first place, father of his wife, ostensibly friend of Moses….I wonder what was going through his mind? Was he angry that he was losing his sheepherder? Was he sad that his daughter and her family would be leaving? Did he have any idea that God had orchestrated the events leading up to that moment?

Exodus 4:19 Now the Lord had said to Moses in Midian, “Go back to Egypt, for all those who wanted to kill you are dead.” 

Lord, I try to live the philosophy that “We don’t know what we don’t know.” Thank You for reminding me that when it comes to scripture, I often take a lot for granted. Thank You for helping me to read these verses with the curiosity of Moses. Thank You for drawing me closer to You through that curiosity. Help me to always seek You through my curiosity. Amen.

Exodus 4:20 So Moses took his wife and sons, put them on a donkey and started back to Egypt. And he took the staff of God in his hand.

Have a blessed day.