Change

I’m colorblind. Specifically I am a medium to strong Deutan which means that I am colorblind in the green-red spectrum. Being colorblind causes me to see far less colors than the average person. That happens because the cones and rods in my eyes don’t line up properly so the green cones in my eyes detect too much red.

Every so often I become intrigued by ways to help see more normally and this last week was one of those times. I had heard about but never really looked into the colorblind mode on computers, my iPad and iPhone. So I tried it out and with the settings turned on I re-took the colorblind test from enchroma.com and at the end of the test it told me I had normal color vision.

Now you might be thinking that’s great and on the one hand it was exciting to be told that with the settings on my computer I could see more normal, but on the other hand colors looked dull and washed out. I committed myself to keeping the settings that way for at least a couple of days to get used to it since the test said that with that turned on I was seeing colors properly. To be completely honest with you, I think I lasted maybe 48 hours with it.

I could barely handle 2 days with something that said I was seeing colors more normally than I have my whole life so honestly I am impressed with the Israelites as they sit at the base of Mt. Sinai waiting for Moses to return from his ‘conversation’ with God. If we go back all the way to Exodus 24:9-18 we see that Moses was up on the mountain for 40 days and 40 nights. During that time many things are discussed, and the two most important things were the very elaborate description of how to build the Ark of the Covenant and everything associated with, and the the two stone tablets with the 10 commandments of the covenant written on them.

Now the Israelites had no idea what was being talked about. They had no idea if Moses was even alive. It’s not like they could send Moses a text message to check on him and no one dared go up there and be in the presence of God. So I am not joking when I say that I am impressed that the Israelites lasted 40 days before they lost confidence and patience with what was happening on top of the mountain.

So as we know from the text it tells us that they go to Aaron and ask him to make gods for them and he makes a golden calf for them out of all of their gold. One of the things that I want to point out that might help us understand this section better is that whenever the word gods is used it is the word elohim and that word is always plural even when it is used for God. In the Common English Bible and NIV translations they have footnotes that include the idea that it may also mean a god instead of gods plural.

This is important becuase the problem that is happening here isn’t necessarily that they are worshipping false gods like the gods of Egypt that they knew so well from slavery, but that they want an image of God as a symbol that God is with them. In other words they want an idol to represent God. I think in a way Moses was that presence of God and with Moses gone they feel lost and abandoned not just by Moses who has been leading them but by God who has been leading them through Moses.

What is ironic is that one of the main reasons we talked about earlier for Moses being up on Mt. Sinai is that God instructs the building and specifications for the Ark of the Covenant which is the ‘seat’ and presence of God among the Israelites. God was giving them exactly what they want they just couldn’t hold out long enough to get it.

I believe one of the main reasons God gets so upset with the Israelites is that even though Moses has not come down with the 10 Commandments, there has already been a verbal declaration of them back in Exodus 20 so they know that God has already declared that there should be no idols created and that God is a passionate God and will punish them if they do it.

One of the thoughts I heard and read over and over again was the point I made earlier but I’d like to add the second part to it now and is that that the Israelites weren’t worshipping false gods, but that they were worshipping God falsely or in the wrong way. Last week I made a very strong point about the Passover vigil that God cares deeply about the ways in which the Israelites worship God.

To help understand this more clearly we see Aaron create the gold calf but he also creates an altar in front of it which is something that has been done many times for God. Then Aaron declares that the next day they will have a festival to the LORD. The word LORD is Yahweh which is the divine name that God tells the Israelites God is to be called. Aaron is trying to do the right thing, but executes it in the wrong way. They are too used to the way of the Egyptians and it seems they fall back to that idea of worship. On the one hand they knew God had freed them and was bringing them to the Promised Land to have a better life, but on the other hand a feeling of absence caused this change to be a bit too much in the moment.

Much like I knew that this colorblind setting combined with taking the test SAID I was seeing colors more normal I couldn’t handle it from what I had always known. I chose what was more comfortable for me than to trust what I knew was right. The Israelites did the same. They fell back to their old ways choosing comfort and the known over the uncomfortableness of the unknown.

This is why I constantly tell people that our faith is a journey and a constant work in progress. Sometimes we get comfortable with the way things are going we don’t go the right way or grow. Sometimes we get distracted by the ways of the world and stray from the path we have been called to live. And in the words of Paul from Romans 7 there are times when we do the very things we know we’re not supposed to do and neglect to do the things we’re supposed to do.

The Israelites are learning what it means to be in relationship with God. They have left everything they have known for this life and it wasn’t always easy, and to be honest we see that it wasn’t always easy for God either. Luckily the Israelites had Moses as their intercessor and today we have Jesus. Jesus who took the place of our wrongdoings and paid the price for them so that we might have the relationship with God that we have always wanted. No relationship is easy and change can be hard, even change that we know is good for us.

Maybe I’ll try the colorblind mode on my devices again for longer than 48 hours, and maybe we can always keep in the forefront of our minds how much God loves us and cares for us. And remember how much God did for us through Christ Jesus so that no matter what changes happen in our life we know that relationship is always there. Amen.