Reformers and Puritans

Josh March 24th, 2007

The hearts of men are deceitful above all things. We’re plagued by sin, inconsistencies, and the struggle to regress back to our old ways. So lest we be like the dog who returns to his vomit, may we consider this Biblical narrative and learn what not to do in such circumstances.

Exodus 32

You know the people, that they are set on evil. (v22b)

Some brief background: The Israelites have been:

-Delivered from Egypt (Ch12)
-Passed safely and dryly through the Red Sea (Ch14)
-Given sweet water from the bitter (Ch15)
-Given mannah to eat (Ch16)
-Given water from a rock (Ch17)
-Victory over the Amalekites despite questionable odds from a human perspective (Ch17)

Keep in mind all these graces have been granted to Israelites by the Almighty…and they weren’t even looking to be delivered from Egypt until God sent Moses and gave them hope. What a gracious God. In preceding chapters we read that they promise to obey the Lord (19:8) and the Ten Commandments are given (Ch20). Now, it’s interesting to show that the 2nd commandment (No Idols) is not only mentioned at the giving of the Decalogue, but is also reemphasized later (20:23). It’s as if the Lord knew the hearts of men and their tendency to pay homage to idols before the one True God (GASP!). In light of these commands given we take interest again in the people’s renewed affirmation of obedience to the Lord and His commands in both 24:3 and 24:7. Thus far in the book of Exodus, then, there’s been repeated emphasis on the grace of God (deliverance from bondage, mannah, water, etc.), God’s commands (in this case the 2nd commandment is explicitly given twice), and the people’s commitment to obey these things.

When the people saw that Moses delayed to come down from the mountain, the people gathered themselves together to Aaron and said to him, “Up, make us gods who shall go before us. As for this Moses, the man who brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.” 32:1

As for this Moses…we do not know what has become of him. 32:1
The people were focused on the wrong thing. They seemed to have depended too much on the person of Moses and not on the God Who’d covenanted with their father, Abraham.

Make us gods who shall go before us 32:1
They were completely blinded to the rememembrance of all that God had done for them (see the background info above). Instead they seemed to be wanting to replace Moses (their only visible ‘connection’ with God) with idols made of gold and leave the Living God Who actually saved them out of the picture altogether (Despite Ch14:31)! O, the wretchedness of men’s hearts!

The man who brought us up 32:1
Wow. God Himself is to Whom the credit is due not Moses (16:6,19:4, 20:2). We see see again their forgetfulness of past history.

So Aaron said to them, “Take off the rings of gold that are in the ears of your wives, your sons, and your daughters, and bring them to me.” So all the people took off the rings of gold that were in their ears and brought them to Aaron. 32:2-3

Next, we consider Aaron’s foolishness. What was he thinking? Along with his sons, Moses, and the seventy elders he had actually “beheld God” Himself (24:9-11)! And now would he cave to the pressures of the poeople who hadn’t seen the Lord, and make idols for them to worship? Surely not, right? Wrong. I can picture Moses returning and rebuking Aaron as Jesus rebuked the disciples, “Can I not leave you alone…?”

Aaron acted as a puppet in the hands of the people. He catered to the crowd. Had he so quickly forgotten the magnificent and awesome power of God in which he’d recently basked? Apparently so! Not only did he authorize the people’s idolatries against the known and repeated commands of the Lord, but he wielded the very idol itself! It’s as if he worked for the people and not God Almighty.

These are your gods 32:4
After Aaron took the initiative to have the people bring gold and actually make the idol himself, the people blaspheme by engaging in denial of the One God of Israel-affirming, instead, a host of gods. Like a puppet on a string he fashioned an altar and tried to mix the worship of baal with the worship of the One True God, as if darkness and light could fellowship one with another.

Who brought you out 32:4
Amazing! They can’t make up their minds of who has brought them out of Egypt. First, they seemed to rightly recognize that it was the Lord God (14:30-31). Then they confused themselves by applying this role to Moses (32:1). Finally, they digress by designating the work to gods fashioned out of gold that didn’t even exist at the time of the exodus! O, how wretched hearts of men are deluded and deceived, suppressing the truth in unrighteousness. Sin makes us stupid!

They are set on evil 32:22
Moses puts the responsibility on Aaron and Aaron passes the buck. His response to Moses is so laughable. Come on, Moses…it’s not my fault. The devil made us do it. You know these people…they’re wicked…only doing evil continually. What did you expect to happen having been gone so long? I had to do something to calm their rage…something to meet their felt needs. They had the right intentions. In fact their intentions were shown by their desire to worship. They meant well. Besides, today we had a feast to the Lord on this altar I built.

Out came this calf 32:24
Next-seeing that Moses wasn’t buying Aaron’s blame-game routine-Aaron tries the passivity route. Well, I mean, I don’t really know all the particulars, Moses. You see, all the people just gave me their gold, I threw into the fire and BAM…out comes this idol. It was quite incredible, actually. But the telling verse here is that Moses doesn’t fall for that either (v.25). Notice particularly that Aaron fails to mention his active part in the formation of the idol (v.6).

Kill his brother 32:27
God will not be mocked. He has already told the Israelites that He is holy and that He has also set them apart to be the same. Thus, for this very public sin there had to be very public and harsh punishment. Moses summons the sons of Levi, who weren’t complicit in the idolatry (other than their head, Aaron, which we’ll consider below). He then commands them to kill those whom they knew were the leaders of this idolatrous rebellion, no matter if they were brother, neighbor, or friend. As God will tell them in the future-I will be sanctified.

What did this people do to you? 32:21
As previously mentioned, Aaron acted as a puppet of the people. The reason as to why we’re not certain, but obviously there was an excuse. Otherwise, Moses would not have asked what the people had done to Aaron to pressure him to do such a heinous act. From this can be gathered multiple thoughts, but for the sake of brevity we will simply look at a few:

1. Moses knew, without Aaron having said anything, that the people must have done something to sucker Aaron into this idolatry-thus, it follows that Aaron must have otherwise been a godly, pious and faithful man.

2. I believe that Aaron was spared the sword because of Moses’ intercession on his behalf, God’s grace and purpose, and God’s appointment for Aaron to be the leader of the Levitical priesthood. God uses even our sin to further His plan. Our sins may be used to keep us from being puffed up and rather in a greater dependence on the mercies and graces of God. Before coming into the prominent role of leadership in the early church, Peter was humbled and kept in check by his own role in denying Jesus publicly. I’m sure that every remembrance of this kept him humble, grateful, and dependent upon God to do the work only He could do while in the office of God’s appointment. I think the same sentiment stands for Aaron’s future role as Priest.

3. God’s sparing of Aaron is a testimony to God’s sovereign choice in saving some while leaving others to their just condemnation. God can save and sanctify the uttermos heinous of transgressors.

Proverbs 26:11 Like a dog that returns to his vomit is a fool who repeats his folly.

Like a slave who sees no hope in his independence and returns to his shackles because they hold familiarity, the Israelites whom God had freed lost faith in God’s provision and returned to worshipping the gods of Egypt. They were unsure of their future and found comfort in looking back to the familiarities of their stay in Egypt. They were rife with discontent, despite God’s years of protection and provision.

Christians, let us not return to living as if we’re still under sin’s dominion. God will not be mocked. A man reaps what he sews. Let this be a solemn and sobering reminder of God’s holiness and also a memento to the glorious truth that God gives grace freely to the utterly undeserving. Blessed be His Name!

• Devotional Thoughts , From the Study , Pilgrim's Progress , Theology General , Worship
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