Bible Study & Affirmations

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Verses 1-6

The people became impatient when they saw Moses was taking so long to come down from the mountain.  They came together and told Aaron to make them gods who will go before them.  They stated again that they did not know what has happened to Moses, the fellow that brought them out of Egypt.  Aaron told them to take off their gold earrings that their wives, sons and daughters were wearing and bring them to me.  Aaron took what was handed to him and made it into an idol cast in the shape of a calf.  He then said, ‘these are your gods, Israel, who brought you up out of Egypt.”  Aaron then built an altar in front of the calf and announced, “Tomorrow there will be a festival to the Lord.” 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.

Verses 7-10

Then the Lord said to Moses, “Go down, because your people, whom you brought up out of Egypt, have become corrupt. They have quickly turned 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.’  The Lord said to Moses, “I have seen these people,” the Lord said to Moses, “and they are a stiff-necked people. Go away and leave me alone so 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.”

Verses 11-14

However, Moses sought the favor of the Lord his God and said, “Lord, why should your anger burn against your people, whom you brought out of Egypt with great power and a mighty hand? 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’?  Please turn from your fierce anger; relent and do not bring disaster on your people.  Please 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.’”  After hearing all of what Moses had said, the Lord then relented and did not bring on his people the disaster he had threatened.

Verses 15-20

Moses then 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.  The tablets were the work of God; the writing was the writing of God, engraved on the tablets.  When Joshua heard the noise of the people shouting, he said to Moses, “There is the sound of war in the camp.” 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.”  As Moses approached the camp he saw the golden calf and the dancing which angered him.  He threw the tablets out of his hands, breaking them to pieces at the foot of the mountain.  Then he took the calf the people had made and burned it in the fire grinding it into powder which he scattered on the water and made the Israelites drink it.

Verses 21-24

Moses then asked Aaron, “What did these people do to you, that you led them into such great sin?”  Aaron begged Moses, “Do not be angry, my lord, you know how prone these people are to evil.  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.’  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!”

Verses 25-30

 Moses saw that the people were running wild and that Aaron had let them get out of control becoming a laughingstock to their enemies.  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.  Then he said to them, “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘Each man strap a sword to his side. Go back and forth through the camp from one end to the other, each killing his brother and friend and neighbor.’”  The Levites did as Moses commanded, and that day about three thousand of the people died. Then Moses said, “You have been set apart to the Lord today, for you were against your own sons and brothers, and he has blessed you this day.” The next day Moses said to the people, “You have committed a great sin. But now I will go up to the Lord; perhaps I can make atonement for your sin.”

Verses 31-35

So Moses went back to the Lord and said, “Oh, what a great sin these people have committed! They have made themselves gods of gold. But now, please forgive their sin—but if not, then blot me out of the book you have written.” The Lord replied to Moses, “Whoever has sinned against me I will blot out of my book.  Now go, lead the people to the place I spoke of, and my angel will go before you. However, when the time comes for me to punish, I will punish them for their sin.”   And the Lord struck the people with a plague because of what they did with the calf Aaron had made.

Observation and Overview

This chapter and the creation of the golden calf symbolizes Israel’s rebellion against God and their betrayal of the covenant. It symbolized a move away from the worship of the unseen God to a tangible, controllable image of power and wealth, drawing on familiar symbols like the Egyptian bull god Apis. The incident highlights the consequences of breaking the first two commandments, leading to Moses destroying the stone tablets and severe punishment for the people.   The calf was a symbol of strength, fertility, and wealth that the Israelites were familiar with from Egypt and other Near Eastern cultures. The act was a regression to the familiar instead of trusting in God's unseen guidance was their sin.

As with all sin, this incident led to severe consequences, including the death of about three thousand men who refused to repent. It also led to a plague on the people who did not believe.  Moses' role is multifaceted: he is a mediator, an enforcer, and a supplicant. After discovering the Israelites' idolatry with the golden calf, he acts as an intercessor, pleading with God to forgive them and reminding Him of His promises to the patriarchs.   Moses' intercession ultimately saved many, highlighting the importance of prayer and atonement.   Moses also served as a harsh enforcer of the law, destroying the calf and ordering the execution of 3,000 unrepentant Israelites.  The Levites who sided  with Moses, were commanded to execute judgment and were subsequently set apart to become the priestly caste for the Israelites.   At the end, Moses offers himself as a sacrifice, asking God to blot him out of the "book" if the people are not forgiven.  Amen