February 11 - Exodus 32:1-34:35

Good morning everyone,

So as we begin this morning, Moses has been up on the mountain for forty days, hanging out with God while He wrote down the commandments on stone tablets. Below, the natives are getting restless as they look up from below and see fire and smoke, what I would imagine looked a lot like a live volcano. Some were even wondering if Moses was still alive? 

They brought these concerns to Aaron and he told them, “Take off the gold earrings that your wives, your sons and your daughters are wearing, and bring them to me.” They did and Aaron took what they handed him and made it into an idol cast in the shape of a calf. What?! This is Moses’ brother, the priest left in charge. Oh good grief. The crowd must have been very threatening to him, which begs the question where was his faith? Nonetheless, the people wanted to see the God they worshipped and Aaron provided an idol for them to represent that God. Big mistake …..HUGE! Second Commandment, “You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; you shall not bow down to them nor serve them.” “You shall not!” And yet they wanted and Aaron did.

I think it is prudent that we take a look at the “they” who were, which most commentators agree with, the “Mixed Multitude.” Exodus 12 tells us they, the Egyptians and mixed races, came up out of Egypt with the Israelites. These people, in their culture, worshipped the bull deity Apis. With a few exceptions this multitude was controlled by a selfish motive. Because of the terrible judgments of God upon the enemies of His people they thought it was safer to leave with the Israelites. Not only did they desire to escape the plagues, but they had heard the glowing accounts of the promised land as a country “flowing with milk and honey, which is the glory of all lands.” Kind of like, follow the “yellow brick road to Oz.”  Right? They wanted to share with Israel in the inheritance but they wanted to do it on their terms. 

Well, as we all know, Moses comes down off the mountain with tablets in hand. He sees the orgy, the excessive drinking and unrestrained sexual activity, and most offensive of all, the worshipping of the golden calf and he looses it. He throws the tablets down, shattering them then sets about the task of bringing order back to the camp, wanting only those who are prepared to follow God to remain. Imagine yourself as Moses, what would you be thinking.

The message I am getting from this today is, friends, we need to be careful about our primary circle of friends. They need to be like minded as it is so easy to fall. Please do not misunderstand me, I am not saying to not associate with anyone but Christians. What I am suggesting is be careful, to not get sucked into the “ways of the world.” Make sense? It can be so subtle and so fast that you will be circling the drain and not even know it. Stay true to yourself in God, know your weaknesses, make wise choices.  We make hundreds of choices each day.  Some choices are spontaneous and of little consequence, like what mug we choose in the morning.  Other decisions are more significant, like choosing the person we will marry.  In either extreme or with any decision in between, learning how to make wise choices is an important life skill for every believer in Christ Jesus. In fact, doing God’s will is really a matter of making right choices on a consistent, daily basis. Make sense? I would encourage you, and keep reminding myself, to know our priorities, to seek wise godly council and make sure our decisions fall in line with God’s Holy Word, always making sure God gets the glory, while we get the encouragement. James 3:17 tells us, “The wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy.” Christians, believe in our God, our Abba. He most certainly believes in you. Amen?

Have a great day and to God be the glory.

God bless you all.