S. Michael Houdmann Supporter Got Questions Ministries

The story of the golden calf is found in Exodus 32:1-6. The children of Israel had been in bondage in Egypt for over two hundred years. God called Moses, the deliverer, and told him that He had hea...

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July 01 2013 • 2 responses • Vote Up • Share • Report

Amy Webster Supporter Mom, Attorney, evangelical teacher/chaplain, broker

Another aspect of the lesson in the golden calf incident is relevant to those of us who are proclaiming Jesus to others: ministers, evangelists, and others. In our impatience with God and our impatience to see results sometimes when folks preach the Gospel, it is done in a way so as not to offend those prospective listeners to whom we are speaking. Think of the many televangelists who try to emphasize the "benefits" of God to mix in what our culture wants and has come to expect: "God will bless us and shower us with gifts" (like money or worldly success) or "God loves us and will make everything ok" (God, fix my life!) We tone it down or it to emphasize God's benefits to us, and often ignore the huge sacrifice. Aaron and the nation of Israel wanted something NOW. Just like we want to see people accept the gift of Jesus NOW, when we are speaking and interacting with them. But we cannot water down the message. We must proclaim boldly and patiently await God's work in the people.

February 10 2014 • 0 responses • Vote Up • Share • Report

Steve VanDyke Supporter Director, Community Servants Missions Training School, TN

The obvious answer to the lesson is that only God is to be worshiped, and no image of any other God should be worshiped. It is also a lesson in waiting on God's promise and provision. The Israelites grew impatient with God and Moses while they were together on the mountain. They refused to trust God, and turned to what they had seen the Egyptians do in their polytheistic society and worship something they could actually see and touch. Their impatience in God's timing caused them to turn to this. We see this later in the impatience of Saul as king. He was waiting for Samuel to come and do the sacrifice and the offereing to seek the Lord's favor. But Saul, instead of waiting for Samuel to give the offering to God to get the blessing, went ahead at the prompting of his men, to do the offering himself. Instead of being obedient to God's instructions, he bowed to his men and did what they wanted. Instead of being a leader for God, he was led by his men to be disobedient. 

Aaron was led by the people to be disobedient to God's instructions to wait. Our lesson is that when we try to go outside of God's instructions- His will, and do things on our own time in our own way at our own pace, we take God out of the equation. As followers of God, we need to be patient and wait for God's timing. Wait for God to open the doors to where He wants us next. To trust in Him fully, not partially, when we seek His guidance. I for one have a difficult time doing this, even though God has shown me time after time how He has blessed me in the past- I still want to do it my way and in my time. 

Again, we are to worship only God and not idols. And in doing this, we must trust God fully for providing all that we need in the time that we need it.

February 17 2015 • 0 responses • Vote Up • Share • Report

Tim Darden Supporter Retired from corporate America

The children of Israel had seen many signs and wonders performed by God including the twelve plagues upon Egypt, walking through the Red Sea on dry ground, and receiving God's provision of daily nourishment but yet it only took 40 days of separation from Moses for a major backsliding to occur. This is a stark warning to believers of the sad, but likely, result if we briefly forsake our assembly together or neglect our daily fellowship with the Lord.

May 21 2018 • 1 response • Vote Up • Share • Report

Nils Jansma Supporter Missionary in San Diego California

A very interesting aspect of this experience has significant prophetic value, in my opinion. 

We know the story, in general, as being that Moses went up the mountain to receive the 10 commandments. During this period, God calls the sin of idol worship to Moses's attention. (Exodus 32:7-9) Moses then hurries down the mountain to see for himself. When he comes upon the scene he angrily breaks the original stone tablets of the Law. (Exodus 32:15-19)

This event can signify that the original commandments were broken already and made the entire nation subject to death. So, why didn’t God destroy them? Because Moses volunteered to “[make] atonement for [their] sin.” (Exodus 32:30)

The record tells us that God spared them through the intervention of their mediator, Moses. What was the basis for the arrangement? It was the life of Moses. (Exodus 32:32) He offered his own life if God would not spare the Children of Israel. After God chose to spare them, he had Moses provide new tablets for the second copy of the Law while extolling God’s grace. (Exodus 34:1-8)

To briefly summarize these events, we can say that the First Law, based upon Works, was literally broken immediately, but the Second Law, based upon Moses’s life and God’s grace was completely fulfilled by Jesus Christ who introduced a New Covenant of Grace based upon the atonement of his own life.

May 01 2017 • 0 responses • Vote Up • Share • Report

Jack Gutknecht Supporter ABC/DTS graduate, guitar music ministry Baptist church

This was a sinful people in Exodus 32.
1 THE TEST
‘Moses delayed to come down’ Exod 32:1; Matt. 24:48
2 THE FAILURE
‘These be thy gods, O Israel’ Exod. 32:4, 6; 1 Cor. 10:7
3 THE PLEADER
Moses ‘besought the Lord’ Exod 32:11, 31; PPs 106:23
Moses was a Strenuous pleader
a Skilfull pleader, and
a Successful pleader (Ps 106:23)
4 THE REMEDY
The sin must be put away the people must be penitent the loyal must be set apart for Jehovah Exod. 32:20, 26
5 THE CONSEQUENCES—There are ALWAYS consequences for sin! (e.g. Romans 6:23).
God’s wrath fell on the impenitent Exod. 32:11
The tables of the law were broken Exod. 32:19

The hardened sinners were punished Exod. 32:28

This Exodus 32 narrative continues in Exodus 33-34 
with Moses and the Israelites dealing with the consequences of the golden calf incident. Faithlife Study Bible

December 07 2021 • 0 responses • Vote Up • Share • Report