32:1 This Exodus continues to be an analogy of faith: because of wavering faith, the children of Israel become distracted. Their doubt festers and turns into opposition against God. Moses continues to remain under God's counsel on the mountain for so long that the children of Israel come to believe he will never return.
To replace Moses (and the God he is a spokesperson for) the children of Israel request an idol to worship. They have gotten used to being led by God and make the mistake of believing that a god can replace The God. This idea seems absurd to us but actually humanity continues to make the same mistake over and over again, generation after generation. We replace God with things we admire and desire to have. We pin our happiness to inanimate objects and people instead of to our God. We neglect His immediate presence because we are too distracted by doubt to realize His constancy.
32:2-4 To appease the dissatisfied crowd, Aaron comes up with the disastrous idea of creating a golden idol for the people to worship. He collects all of the gold possessions of the children of Israel and creates a golden calf. God had already displayed to them and the Egyptians that false idols were useless -- none were able to manipulate weather, water and insect the way that the true God could. Despite that no idol had power over God, the children of Israel return to idolatry.
We must ask ourselves how many times we become partakers in that same cycle of believing, faltering, crashing... over and over again. God can be most divinely productive in our lives when we are consistent with Him. He gives us endless changes to learn from a mistake but the more time we waste on learning one thing is the more time we lose for learning new, bigger, better things.
The children of Israel quickly attribute all of their blessings to this golden calf. They rob God of His glory and generosity. They are fervent in their worship of this idol, placing a more solidified faith in it than they even did with God.
32:5-6 Aaron and the children of Israel abandon God so swiftly. Our Father is often accused of abandoning humanity but the truth is that, if He isn't dwelling within us at all times, it is only because we pushed Him out. As humans, we get distracted. Distracted by doubt, distracting by things, people and ideas... but if we are not steadfast in God, we swirl into chaos. Inevitably. It is not a punishment. It is a subsequent occurrence of uprooted ourselves from His soil.
32:7-9 God is vigilant. He notices as soon as we begin to push Him away and He worries. His worry is not because He needs us, it is because we need Him. He worries because although He doesn't need us, He loves us and wants us. He wants to take care of us. God notices that the children of Israel are departing from faith in Him and He immediately informs Moses. God directs Moses to descend the mountain and return to his people and rectify the situation. They desperately need his guidance.
32:10 God is angry... but God is also our parent. A loving, attentive and disciplinary parent would naturally feel wrath when a child has make an idiotic, hurtful and ruinous decision. The fuel for His anger comes out of His emphatic love. He can see that the children of Israel have derailed from the safe and progressive path He has created for them. He can see that they are headed rapidly toward disaster. He's angry because He can see the children of Israel headed toward harm, directly out of His protection.
32:11 Moses pleads to the Lord on behalf of the wayward group. We read of intercessory prayer before when Abraham prayed for Lot. God listens to intercessory prayer, it is His most tender spot. Remember that our commandment from God in both testaments is to love one another as He loves us, John 13:34. Intercessory prayer is that command in action.
32:12-13 Although God does not need reminding of His promises, Moses prays and pleads to God on behalf of humanity. The prayer is a reminder to God that although we are a profoundly flawed species, we are His profoundly flawed people. Moses's compassionate and courage on behalf of the children of Israel is a reminder to God of our beauty, too. How when we love others deeply and bravely, we come extraordinarily close to perfect.
32:14 God relents on His disciplinary response... and yet He did not entirely disable it. Remember that God is omniscient. He knows that faith can be weak and needs experience to endure and strengthen. Moses is not on the mountain for so long for no reason. The circumstance gives humanity, through Moses and the children of Israel, a chance to grow spiritually.
32:15-16 Moses begins to descend the mountains with the two tablets. On the tablets, the testimony of God is written.
32:17 Moses meets with Joshua, who has been waiting faithfully on the mountain for Moses to be returned by God. Joshua has heard the commotion come from the camp.
32:18 Although Joshua thinks the commotion is because of an impending war, Moses knows better. The children of Israel are not shouting in victory. They are not crying because of defeat. Instead, they are worshiping the golden calf!
32:19 Moses is furious at the sight of the worship of the idol. His immediate reaction is the throw everything in his arms to the ground... the tablets are broken. The symbol here is that the children of Israel are broken of faith.
32:20 Moses tosses the calf in fire and burns it into powder. He pours the ashes into water and has the children of Israel ingest it. This action forces the children of Israel to realize that their "god" is nothing more than waste, detritus leaving the body.
32:21 Moses then turns his anger to Aaron, who Moses expected to know better.
32:22-24 Aaron's explanation is that some of the children were set on idol worship. In the absence of Moses, they grew desperate and even evil. This experience serves as a winnowing: who is truly faithful and who is a fraud. Aaron faces a mob. In fear, he gave them what they wanted even though he knew it was wrong.
We must not worship idols. Or gold. We must not turn out attention from our true God, even when the world temps us away from Him. Why? For our own benefit.
32:25 Moses notices that the trouble-makers, the evil ones, the people insistent on abandoning God still had freedom in the camp. They are making enemies within the group, meaning that they are being cruel and unjust.
32:26 Moses calls to the people: "Whoever is on the Lord's side-come to me!" All the sons of Levi (the priest-line) gather with Moses.
32:27 When everyone chooses a side, Moses commands that the opposition be killed. Evil needed to be weeded out, as it always does. The commandment is that no matter the relation to the person, if they are evil, they must be removed.
32:28 The sons of Levi carry out Moses' word and about 3,000 men are killed. Fortunately, this is no where near the majority of the group. Most people want to love and follow God. We see that God's fury was particularly focused on these evil men who tried to corrupt the innocents.
God has a promise for the people who's evil works distract His innocent children:
32:30 Moses, ever faithful, declares that he will return to God in seek of atonement on their behalf. This is a selfless and faithful purpose. Moses' faith, compassion and courage is steadfast in God. Moses always turns to our God. For atonement. For love. For leadership. For protection. For reassurance. For joy. Moses' faith allows God to completely pour those blessings into his life. We each have the same opportunity.
32:31 Moses is ashamed and distraught. He loves God. It is so disheartening for him to see people turn away from our generous and loving God. Moses is apologetic and hurt on God's behalf... so much so that he offers his own life in exchange for the children of Israel.
32:32 We know that intercessory prayer always forcibly nudges our Father's compassion, but Moses is serious. He earnestly offers to give himself in order to save these people who have betrayed him. Even though they are flawed, Moses believes they are worth their trouble. Moses does everything he can to convince God to save these people.
Moses is loving these people as God has loved us: selflessly, completely, compassionately. When we follow that commandment, we cannot lose! God would never exchange a life as precious as Moses'... as precious as yours. You receive the answer to your prayer and in addition to that... gifts of blessings in your life for being exactly who God called you to be.
32:33 The only people who are blotted out by God are the evil. Notice God does not say burned in eternal hell-fire... he says blotted out. They're gone. Not even worth the effort. They are a non-issue. Nonexistent. As if they never even lived. All the ways they damaged people are gone, erased out of our hearts.
32:34 Calmly, lovingly, God encourages Moses to return to leading his people toward God's promise land. The leadership of the Angel is restored. Complete forgiveness. Bold love. God resets and refreshes the children of Israel. The promises continue to flow into their lives. In your life. No matter how many times we need Him to refocus us, the moment we ask for Him to realign us on His path... He does it. The leadership of angels returns. The path toward the promise land is restored. He never took them away... we pushed them away, we diverted from Him and His blessings and promises. But even though we did that, He forgives us. Divine generosity. Divine love.
All of it was able to flow through Moses following God's commandment: love one another as I have loved you. Was Moses a pushover? No. Was he weak? No. Did he allow people to walk over him? No. Did he allow people to harm him? No. Did he allow people to harm the people he cared about? No.
We are not weak! Love does not make us weak. Love is sometimes getting angry and demanding the people you care about most to stop acting ridiculously. Love is confronting your enemies and your opposition just as Moses did. Love is challenging the evil that is harming people. We are God's children, we are not weak, we are strong. We have His strength within us. Moses is bold, fierce, passionate, and committed to his beliefs.
When God calls us to love others as He has loved us, we must review how He has loved us. Does He get angry with us? Yes, when we hurt others or ourselves. Does He get frustrated by us? Yes, when we neglect or reject our significance, our purpose. Does any of that stop Him from protecting us? No. Does any of the prevent Him from loving us? No. Does it discourage Him from pursuing what is in our best interest? No.
God loves us with strength. His love emboldens Him to be the most powerful entity in all of creation. His love enables Him to be both creation and the Hand behind it. God, the most loving entity in the world has no weakness. Because of His love, He destroys evil. When He implores us to love others as He has loved us we must review how He loves. Our love does not render us doormats. Our love empowers us.
Moses loves as God loves and because of that, he and the children of Israel are deftly restored by God. Take note, take heart, the same promises apply to you.
32:35 God initiates tough love because we need it to grow. If He didn't, the children of Israel (and we) would continue to divert from Him. His every effort is the strengthen us -- is to enable us to be strong enough to grip onto Him, steadfastly, all our lives.
32:18 Although Joshua thinks the commotion is because of an impending war, Moses knows better. The children of Israel are not shouting in victory. They are not crying because of defeat. Instead, they are worshiping the golden calf!
32:19 Moses is furious at the sight of the worship of the idol. His immediate reaction is the throw everything in his arms to the ground... the tablets are broken. The symbol here is that the children of Israel are broken of faith.
32:20 Moses tosses the calf in fire and burns it into powder. He pours the ashes into water and has the children of Israel ingest it. This action forces the children of Israel to realize that their "god" is nothing more than waste, detritus leaving the body.
32:21 Moses then turns his anger to Aaron, who Moses expected to know better.
32:22-24 Aaron's explanation is that some of the children were set on idol worship. In the absence of Moses, they grew desperate and even evil. This experience serves as a winnowing: who is truly faithful and who is a fraud. Aaron faces a mob. In fear, he gave them what they wanted even though he knew it was wrong.
We must not worship idols. Or gold. We must not turn out attention from our true God, even when the world temps us away from Him. Why? For our own benefit.
32:25 Moses notices that the trouble-makers, the evil ones, the people insistent on abandoning God still had freedom in the camp. They are making enemies within the group, meaning that they are being cruel and unjust.
32:26 Moses calls to the people: "Whoever is on the Lord's side-come to me!" All the sons of Levi (the priest-line) gather with Moses.
32:27 When everyone chooses a side, Moses commands that the opposition be killed. Evil needed to be weeded out, as it always does. The commandment is that no matter the relation to the person, if they are evil, they must be removed.
32:28 The sons of Levi carry out Moses' word and about 3,000 men are killed. Fortunately, this is no where near the majority of the group. Most people want to love and follow God. We see that God's fury was particularly focused on these evil men who tried to corrupt the innocents.
God has a promise for the people who's evil works distract His innocent children:
Jeremiah 23:1-6
1“Woe to the shepherds who destroy and scatter the sheep of My pasture!” says the Lord. 2 Therefore thus says the Lord God of Israel against the shepherds who feed My people: “You have scattered My flock, driven them away, and not attended to them. Behold, I will attend to you for the evil of your doings,” says the Lord.God also has a promise for His children who are harmed by evil:
3 "But I will gather the remnant of My flock out of all countries where I have driven them, and bring them back to their folds; and they shall be fruitful and increase. 4 I will set up shepherds over them who will feed them; and they shall fear no more, nor be dismayed, nor shall they be lacking,” says the Lord.God has promised and fulfilled the coming of our beautiful messiah, YHVH, Jesus Emmanuel (God with us).
5 “Behold, the days are coming,” says the Lord, “That I will raise to David a Branch of righteousness; A King shall reign and prosper, and execute judgment and righteousness in the earth. 6 In His days Judah will be saved, And Israel will dwell safely; Now this is His name by which He will be called:
THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS.32:29 Moses instructs the rest of the group to consecrate themselves, to declare their divine purpose. To concentrate on their God. Our participation in faith is necessary. We must consistently maintain and strengthen our faith. We must make a constant declaration to God that we are a compassionate purposeful soul through and by Him. If you are with Him, declare that to Him. Let that declaration become your protection from chaos, distraction and evil.
32:30 Moses, ever faithful, declares that he will return to God in seek of atonement on their behalf. This is a selfless and faithful purpose. Moses' faith, compassion and courage is steadfast in God. Moses always turns to our God. For atonement. For love. For leadership. For protection. For reassurance. For joy. Moses' faith allows God to completely pour those blessings into his life. We each have the same opportunity.
32:31 Moses is ashamed and distraught. He loves God. It is so disheartening for him to see people turn away from our generous and loving God. Moses is apologetic and hurt on God's behalf... so much so that he offers his own life in exchange for the children of Israel.
32:32 We know that intercessory prayer always forcibly nudges our Father's compassion, but Moses is serious. He earnestly offers to give himself in order to save these people who have betrayed him. Even though they are flawed, Moses believes they are worth their trouble. Moses does everything he can to convince God to save these people.
Moses is loving these people as God has loved us: selflessly, completely, compassionately. When we follow that commandment, we cannot lose! God would never exchange a life as precious as Moses'... as precious as yours. You receive the answer to your prayer and in addition to that... gifts of blessings in your life for being exactly who God called you to be.
32:33 The only people who are blotted out by God are the evil. Notice God does not say burned in eternal hell-fire... he says blotted out. They're gone. Not even worth the effort. They are a non-issue. Nonexistent. As if they never even lived. All the ways they damaged people are gone, erased out of our hearts.
32:34 Calmly, lovingly, God encourages Moses to return to leading his people toward God's promise land. The leadership of the Angel is restored. Complete forgiveness. Bold love. God resets and refreshes the children of Israel. The promises continue to flow into their lives. In your life. No matter how many times we need Him to refocus us, the moment we ask for Him to realign us on His path... He does it. The leadership of angels returns. The path toward the promise land is restored. He never took them away... we pushed them away, we diverted from Him and His blessings and promises. But even though we did that, He forgives us. Divine generosity. Divine love.
All of it was able to flow through Moses following God's commandment: love one another as I have loved you. Was Moses a pushover? No. Was he weak? No. Did he allow people to walk over him? No. Did he allow people to harm him? No. Did he allow people to harm the people he cared about? No.
We are not weak! Love does not make us weak. Love is sometimes getting angry and demanding the people you care about most to stop acting ridiculously. Love is confronting your enemies and your opposition just as Moses did. Love is challenging the evil that is harming people. We are God's children, we are not weak, we are strong. We have His strength within us. Moses is bold, fierce, passionate, and committed to his beliefs.
When God calls us to love others as He has loved us, we must review how He has loved us. Does He get angry with us? Yes, when we hurt others or ourselves. Does He get frustrated by us? Yes, when we neglect or reject our significance, our purpose. Does any of that stop Him from protecting us? No. Does any of the prevent Him from loving us? No. Does it discourage Him from pursuing what is in our best interest? No.
God loves us with strength. His love emboldens Him to be the most powerful entity in all of creation. His love enables Him to be both creation and the Hand behind it. God, the most loving entity in the world has no weakness. Because of His love, He destroys evil. When He implores us to love others as He has loved us we must review how He loves. Our love does not render us doormats. Our love empowers us.
Moses loves as God loves and because of that, he and the children of Israel are deftly restored by God. Take note, take heart, the same promises apply to you.
32:35 God initiates tough love because we need it to grow. If He didn't, the children of Israel (and we) would continue to divert from Him. His every effort is the strengthen us -- is to enable us to be strong enough to grip onto Him, steadfastly, all our lives.
