When the people saw how long it was taking Moses to come back down the mountain, they gathered around Aaron. “Come on,” they said, “make us some gods who can lead us. We don’t know what happened to this fellow Moses, who brought us here from the land of Egypt… Then Aaron took the gold, melted it down, and molded it into the shape of a calf. When the people saw it, they exclaimed, “O Israel, these are the gods who brought you out of the land of Egypt!”
Exodus 32:1, 4 (NLT)
Learning about the choices of others can help us make better choices for ourselves. Let’s consider the choices of the Israelites when Moses, their leader, was absent longer than they expected.
“Come on,” they said, “make us some gods who can lead us.”
When their leader, Moses, took too long to come back from his time with God on the mountain, the Israelites looked elsewhere for new leaders. As they abandoned Moses, they were also choosing to reject God. They were rejecting God’s ways and timing as they pushed Moses’ leadership aside which God had provided to guide them out of Egypt and into the Promised Land. God’s ways and timing do not always align with our desired plans and timetables. The majority of the time, you will discover they are out of sync with each other.
For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord.
For as the heavens are higher than the earth,
so are my ways higher than your ways
and my thoughts than your thoughts.
Isaiah 55:8-9 (ESV)
The commissioning of Aaron to make gods for the Israelites was the beginning of their prolonged wandering in the wilderness. What was supposed to be a journey of a couple of weeks turned into 40 years and only a handful of those who left Egypt saw the Promised Land. We too will miss out on God’s promises for us when we reject His leadership, His ways and His timing and replace them with our own self conceived ideas.
We don’t know what happened to this fellow Moses, who brought us here from the land of Egypt…
At this juncture of the exodus from Egypt, the Israelites were still looking to Moses to guide them. This was understandable as he had become the mediator between them and God. But with Moses not being around, they no longer had someone reminding them of the God who had brought them out of bondage. Their desire for some new gods to worship indicates the Israelites lacked connection with God their Rescuer. When we find ourselves in hard spaces and would rather seek out others instead of seeking God, we put them in a role that is no longer necessary. Jesus now holds the role of mediator between us and God once and for all.
For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus…
1 Timothy 2:5 (ESV)
Jesus Christ made the way for each of us to have a personal connection with our Eternal Father. The perfect way that can never be taken, tainted or tarnished. The same cannot be said when we substitute others in this role of mediator. When we allow others to occupy this role and they fall short (as we all do), our frustration does not stop at them but can bleed over to God, because they were our connection to God. Beware of bailing on God because of the shortcomings of those whom you have allowed to occupy Jesus’ seat in your life. We cannot use the excuse of a missing leader, a fallen pastor, a corrupt deacon or the sins of any professing Christian as a reason to be disconnected from God.
God has provided us with fellow believers to help us navigate our Christian journey but they should not be seen as the gateway to Him. When Christians fall short, God does not. He remains steady, present and faithful while we can be shaky, unreliable and unfaithful. We need to take care that we are not hinging our relationship with God on fickle humans but instead on the imperishable union with Jesus Christ.
… molded it into the shape of a calf… they exclaimed, “O Israel, these are the gods who brought you out of the land of Egypt!”
Really? After seeing Almighty God perform awesome wonders in the plagues, faithfully guide them by pillars of cloud and fire, amazingly make a way of escape by parting the Red Sea and then provide manna and water in the wilderness, the Israelites gave the credit to some inanimate man-made statute! How could they ascribe these miraculous experiences as being the work of a stationary object they had just created by their own hands?
I am the Lord; that is my name;
my glory I give to no other,
nor my praise to carved idols.
Isaiah 42:8 (ESV)
When we acknowledge ourselves and others as the source of the good in our lives and leave God out of it, we are exalting our own golden calves and saying look at what I or they have done! Some people believe it is inappropriate to bring up God or the name of Jesus in political, corporate or social settings. But don’t let such societal norms keep you from giving honor and glory to God that you know is due Him.
Refrain from thinking your achievements are courtesy of only human hands. Step back and see the Lord’s hand that was moving things into alignment before you were even aware of it. Recall the divine connections that started the process. Reflect on the challenges that seemed to want to derail it all but were miraculously removed. Celebrate the victory of the vision finally becoming a reality despite the obstacles in the journey. God’s hand is evident when we take a moment and consider how the impossible became possible. If the Israelites had just taken that moment to do just that, I think they would see the absurdity of giving credit for their astonishing exodus from Egypt to a yellow brown hunk of metal. Give God the praise due Him and be careful not to give it away to others including yourself.
Missing Moses led the Israelites to make some decisions that we can learn from today. Take a walk through the Bible on a regular basis to consider God’s word and the many lessons it contains, to help us live in ways that honor God and allow us to experience the full life Jesus came to give us.
Considerations 