The Golden Calf and the Most Quoted Verse in the Bible

God is Series (Character of God)

Good Morning Church! How is everyone doing this morning? I am excited for this morning as we begin our next sermon series for this fall! This next series will be called “God is” or “Character of God series!” my inspiration for this series came from a podcast by theBibleProject.

In this series we will:

Series Objectives:

Explore the self-revealed character of God found in Exodus 34:6-7 .

Understand the series verse in its narrative context and how its repeated throughout scripture.

Understand the five attributes of Yahweh and how they contribute to a deeper and wholistic picture of God in the Bible.

Identify and Understand literary and linguistic patterns within a text rather than adopting a simple and “flat reading” of scripture.

Series Outcomes:

Honestly and accurately articulate “Who” God is rooted in the Biblical Story

Share God’s consistent character displayed through the Biblical narrative.

Engage with and study Biblical texts with an “incarnational” approach as we grow as students of the Word and Followers of the Teacher.

Prayer: Yahweh, We come before you this morning desiring simply to know you. We ask that you would open our eyes to see your presence this morning. Open our ears to hear from your story this morning. Open our minds to understand the fullness of your character. Open our hearts to be transformed by your Living Word- Jesus Christ, Amen!

Introduction:

How do we talk about who God is? God’s character and nature?

As Christian’s and particular as anabaptists we point to Jesus- the clearest image of God- Yet Jesus is not the only image of God.

For some of us we can point to other images of God quite easily: Creator, Father, Healer, Rescuer, Liberator and Friend.

For others these images and others can be problematic: just dont sit right with us.

Difficult to relate to God as father if you grew up with a messed up home life

Difficult to see God as liberator and rescuer if you feel trapped

Hard to see God as healer when you struggle with Chronic pain

For others they cant seem to reconcile the God of the OT and God of the New Testament.

We all understand and experience God differently!

What do we do if “my God” doesnt line up with “your God”? What do we do then?

Focus: Think about and even write down on the index card next to you “Who” God is to you and what is your understanding of God’s characteristics.

Transiton: Today we are going to explore the story behind our series verse. We will see what happens when people turn God from who Yahweh actually is to something more understandable, comfortable, and manageable. when we replace the real God with a God we can “handle”.

Engaging with The Text: Exodus

We are Jumping right into the story of Exodus (Brief Overview: Israelites are slaves in Eygpt, Rescued and Freed by God, Taken into the Wilderness, lead by moses, they complain- God provides, Complain some more. They reach Mt. Sinai and God says lets make a covenant.

View this Story through a different lens instead of unpacking a ancient covenant contract lets look at this story as if it were a marriage.

Ch 19- God says lets Get married. The people say, okay sounds God we will! God invites the people to speak with Him.

Comes as this big cloud and the rams horns are blown and the people say, Moses you go speak to God were Good.

God gives the terms of the marriage- 10 commandments- then an additonal 42 laws to follow.

In Chapter 24, they stop mid ceremony and Moses Goes up the Mountain for 40 days and 40 nights

its like they have 40 days to think about the vows they just made. So they have 40 days to think about this marriage. (Now we are at the scripture text for this morning!

Golden Calf Situation: Can someone read Chapter 32 vs 1 outloud so we all can hear please?

Moses is taking a long time. We know two things: 1. We need a God and We have no clue where this moses fellow went.

Aaron makes a golden calf- imediately breaking the first three commandments or marriage vows.

Do not have other God’s

Do not make an idol for yourself, do not bow down and worship them.

Someone read what Aaron says in verse 8 out loud.

They break the 3rd commandment by taking God’s name and giving it to a usesless object.

The israelites dont make a new God, they take Yahweh’s name and give it to this small Golden idol

Significance of the Golden Calf: This is no act of stupidity or some willy-nilly decision, but a choice

Let’s rewind: God says lets get married, people say we do.

God says: here are the rules of our relationship.

God comes to speak with his people (they are afriad- send moses up)

Moses Goes up - people say hes taking too long, who was that Guy anyway?

Their Response:

We cant handle God with all the smoke and fire. We dont really understand a God that wants this kind of relationship with us. Yahweh’s Good and all but we cant handle or understand him, but you know what we do know??

Idols- plenty back in Egypt- We can handle God’s we make and shape.

This golden calf is so much easier to handle and understnd. We know how to worship this God!

This is our kind of God lets do all those things Yahweh said to do for Him- altar, offerings, and festivals for this calf.

The Golden Calf: Physical manifestation of the peoples desire to replace the real Yahweh with one that they can understand and manage.

When we pause and think about this, This is what we do too! We have the same tendency to shape Yahweh into something we understand something we can manage. We say, I want to follow God, but in a way that more understandable to me, or a way that I connects with me or that I am more comfortable with!

Our Golden Bulls: We do the same thing with Yahweh today! but, why?

We create Golden Calves when

We feel like God is taking to long

When God hasnt revealed Himself to us in our time

When we are uncomfortable with the God we see.

Our response is to mold God into something we can handle.

Examples

We do it as Westerners: God is my personal savior that I possess (neglecting the fact that God didnt just die for you but the whole wold)

We do it as Americans: We emphasize that God is all about Freedom and instead of seeing God as a God of all nations we claim He is the God of our nation.

We do it as humans: We even make God look more like the person in the mirror than what God actually looked like as a man.

We do it as Democrats or Republicans claiming that God would support our party or candidate.

We do it as farmers and consumers. God is the one who makes it rain or not rain as if thats the most important thing.

I dont do this to shame us, but to open our eyes to the ways that we make God into a silly little cow.

I do the same thing everyday Church I want to follow and Worship God on my terms.

Does this idea of a golden Calf thing make sense?

The Golden Calf: Physical manifestation of the peoples desire to replace the real Yahweh with one that they can understand and manage.

Moving Foward: if we do this, we must ask How does our tendency to shape God into something He is not, shape our understanding of His Character? This “golden calf” story shows us why this series is so important! So we can deconstruct our Golden Calf God and rebuild one not based on our image. But God’s revealed self!

Back to the Story: Consequences

God sees all of this and He is angry, disappointed and hurt. He says let my anger burn against them and I will destroy them.

Moses intercedes (What will Egypt think? What about your promises to Abraham, Issac, and Jacob?)

Moses throws down, Ten commandments, then destroys the Golden Calf and Makes them Drink it!

Moses Goes back up the mountain and interceeds 5 times

Note the first time Moses is on the mountain, he complains and argues with God five times too!

Asking God to change based on what he has promised before- unique

God’s Response:

Read Exodus 34:5-7.

This is Yahweh. His Character.

Isnt that beautiful Church?

This is How God is in the story, but also how God will be in the future.

This is how God will treat his people in covenant in this “marriage” relationship.

Most Quoted Verse by Biblical Authors: 27 Times

Numbers 14:17-19. (Slide)

Joel 2:13.

Jonah 4:1-2.

Application: What do we do with this Story? How does it Change us?

Challenge you to THINK. THANK: How do you understand God’s Character?

Challenge you to REFLECT. REFLECT: What ways have I turned Yahweh into a “Golden Calf”?

Challenge you to STUDY. STUDY: Go back and Read this story again. Let God speak to you through it.

Challenge you to ACT. Write down on your note card God’s Characteristics to you. Write on the Card Who God is to you! KEEP IT IN YOUR BIBLE, YOUR WALLET, SOMEWHERE OR SOMETHING YOU USE EVERYDAY!

BRING IT NEXT WEEK WE WILL USE IT!

BENEDICTION: