Exodus 32
Notes
Transcript
The Gold Calf
The Gold Calf
The people saw Moses was delayed. They got impatient.
Make us a god/gods that shall go before us
How do you make a god?
If you make a god, can it help you?
Those who make an image, all of them are useless,
And their precious things shall not profit;
They are their own witnesses;
They neither see nor know, that they may be ashamed.
Who would form a god or mold an image
That profits him nothing?
But our God is in heaven;
He does whatever He pleases.
Their idols are silver and gold,
The work of men’s hands.
They have mouths, but they do not speak;
Eyes they have, but they do not see;
They have ears, but they do not hear;
Noses they have, but they do not smell;
They have hands, but they do not handle;
Feet they have, but they do not walk;
Nor do they mutter through their throat.
Those who make them are like them;
So is everyone who trusts in them.
This man who brought us out of Egypt - have they so quickly forgotten God?
They come to Aaron and he goes along with them. He makes a gold calf.
Aaron was with Moses through so much, how could he so quickly give in?
v4 right back into idolatry
v5 Is Aaron trying to salvage the situation? Is he trying to put an altar to YHWH before the gold calf? Some think so.
It doesn’t work.
v7-14 Conversation between God and Moses. Moses intercedes for the people
v19 -29 Moses smashes the tablets
burned and ground up the calf
made the people drink it
judged those still committing idolatry
v30 -
Moses prays for the people
Blot out - each one of us is responsible for our own sin
How do we worship the Lord?
Do we worship God in the way He has shown us? Do we add to it, change it make it what we want and ask Him to bless it?
The woman said to Him, “Sir, I perceive that You are a prophet. Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, and you Jews say that in Jerusalem is the place where one ought to worship.”
Jesus said to her, “Woman, believe Me, the hour is coming when you will neither on this mountain, nor in Jerusalem, worship the Father. You worship what you do not know; we know what we worship, for salvation is of the Jews. But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.”
How do we react when we are pressured by people to worship God with extras?
Aaron could have made a stand, he didn’t.
Would we have?
On the next Sabbath almost the whole city came together to hear the word of God. But when the Jews saw the multitudes, they were filled with envy; and contradicting and blaspheming, they opposed the things spoken by Paul. Then Paul and Barnabas grew bold and said, “It was necessary that the word of God should be spoken to you first; but since you reject it, and judge yourselves unworthy of everlasting life, behold, we turn to the Gentiles.
Now when Peter had come to Antioch, I withstood him to his face, because he was to be blamed; for before certain men came from James, he would eat with the Gentiles; but when they came, he withdrew and separated himself, fearing those who were of the circumcision. And the rest of the Jews also played the hypocrite with him, so that even Barnabas was carried away with their hypocrisy.
But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come: For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having a form of godliness but denying its power. And from such people turn away! For of this sort are those who creep into households and make captives of gullible women loaded down with sins, led away by various lusts, always learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth. Now as Jannes and Jambres resisted Moses, so do these also resist the truth: men of corrupt minds, disapproved concerning the faith; but they will progress no further, for their folly will be manifest to all, as theirs also was.
We have a relationship with the LORD. He calls us to follow. We need to be people of God’s Word - people who pray, people who obey Him.
We live in wicked times. Each one of us has to watch our lives and stay true to God.
We have to avoid the strange doctrines that are coming into the church
God called Israel to be holy, to follow and obey.
He calls us holy. He has told us to follow and obey. Being saved by grace doesn’t mean we can do whatever we want. Grace should cause us to want to live holy. It should cause us to want to obey Him. If we understand His grace and mercy we will be all the more diligent to follow, to heed and obey.
Walk in purity. Seek God. Take a stand on His truth