Can I pray for you in any way? Send any prayer requests to faithhopegodlove@aol.com In Christ, Mark
"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." Aaron answered them, "Take off the gold earrings that your wives, your sons and your daughters are wearing, and bring them to me." So all the people took off their earrings and brought them to Aaron. 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, O Israel, who brought you up out of Egypt." When Aaron saw this, he built an altar in front of the calf and announced, "Tomorrow there will be a festival to the Lord." 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." Exodus 32:1-6
There was an old cliché used year’s ago during shows that depicted life in the Old West. A cowboy would be away from home either performing some duty or facing a challenge and then the scene would shift back home. When this happened, you would often hear a narrator say, "Meanwhile, back at the ranch." The saying found its way into mainstream culture as people would say it often to refer to things that were happening at home or where they were in the midst of things that were happening elsewhere.
Well in today’s scripture, we have an Old Testament "back at the ranch" scene. As we studied yesterday, Moses is wrapping things up with God on Mount Sinai, receiving final instructions and the Ten Commandments written by God’s finger" on two stone tablets. He is nearly ready to bring them down the mountain and reunite with his people…God’s chosen people of Israel…the people who swore a solemn vow to be obedient and do everything that God had commanded.
Meanwhile…back at the ranch…
Chapter 32 begins with the people coming to Moses’ brother, Aaron. Yes, that’s right. The same Aaron that God has selected to be the high priest…the one He intends to ordain and consecrate to lead worship in his new tabernacle. They’re impatient and bored. They’re tired of waiting for Moses and "don't know what has happened to him." So they decide to gather around and ask Aaron to "Come, make us gods who will go before us." It was this moment where Aaron had an important choice to make.
As I said, God had great expectations for Aaron and obviously saw something in Aaron’s character that led Him to believe Aaron could represent Him well as the people’s spiritual leader. Part of those expectations that God had involved obedience and the ability to turn people from doing what was wrong in God’s eyes. In other words, guide the people toward fulfilling all of God’s commandments …commandments that both Aaron and the people knew because you’ll remember that Moses sealed the covenant with the people before he ascended Mount Sinai to meet with God. So now Aaron was faced with the people asking him to clearly defy two of God’s first commandments: No other gods before Him and no idol worshipping. It would have been easy for Aaron to look at the people and correct them, quoting God'’ commands while preaching and teaching them the importance of patience and waiting on the same God who had delivered them from Egypt. Was this Almighty, Infinitely Powerful God not worth waiting for?
But Aaron didn’t stand firm, did he? In fact, there is nothing in scripture that leads us to believe he offered even an ounce of resistance. Instead, he told them to "Take off the gold earrings that your wives, your sons and your daughters are wearing, and bring them to me" and after receiving them, he "made it into an idol cast in the shape of a calf, fashioning it with a tool." Then we read the people’s response, "These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of Egypt." So Aaron had two strikes against him already. He went along with the sinful request of the people and then he formed an idol for worship with his own hands. He only had one more strike left before he struck out before God…and he didn’t hesitate to use it.
For we read that Aaron "built an altar in front of the calf and announced, ‘Tomorrow there will be a festival to the Lord.’" It wasn’t bad enough that he formed an idol. He had to also construct an altar and proclaim that there would be a worship festival around it. You can’t get too much more pagan than that. Scripture says, "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." Yes, the people were having a good old sinful time back at the ranch. And the person right in the middle of it spiritually was the one who God had the highest spiritual expectations for.
Do you know that God has high expectations for you just as He did for Aaron and other figures in the bible? In the end, we’re just like them. Ordinary people that God wishes to use in extraordinary ways. Truly, there is no limit to what God can do in and through any of us. But…we must be right with Him if that is going to happen and that means we not only stay obedient but we stay connected to Him 24/7. We have to have a deep, intimate, personal relationship with the God of the universe…the God who wants to partner with you and I to do awesome works here in His kingdom on earth.
Back to our lesson for today. Given his circumstances, Aaron could have easily known the right thing to do immediately and been granted the strength to stand firm in the midst of the people. He could have easily done it if he had developed a deep, personal intimate relationship with God, his Father. For if he had that then all He would have needed to do was call on God who would have told Him exactly what to do, how to do it and then equip him with anything he needed to carry out God’s will. In other words, with God advising us we will avoid failing Him and His spiritual expectations for us.
Conversely, left to our own devices and wisdom, we will most often mess things up royally. Like Aaron, we will allow our decisions to be based on the going trend or peer pressure and end up forgetting about God and what is right. Like Aaron, we go along with the crowd instead of going along with God.
Question: How well do you handle these situations? Do you give in to matters that you know are wrong? Do you have difficulty standing firm for God when you know you should be?
Friends, this is a serious matter. For I can tell you this with certainty that nothing angers God more than disobedience. If you don’t believe this, tune in tomorrow to the devotional because He is about to let Moses and us know how He feels about the actions of Aaron and the Israelites.
In Christ,
Mark
PS: Please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.
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