Moses appeals to God’s promise to the patriarchs. Notice that Moses does not make light of Israel’s sin. Indeed, in the remainder of the chapter, we will see Moses’ own wrath burning against the people. However, here he is set on turning away God’s wrath, and he does so by appealing to God’s own character in promising to bless the offspring of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (who he very rightly calls by his new name here, Israel).
Looking back upon the large set of instructions that Yahweh gave to Moses for the construction of the tabernacle, we should again remind ourselves of the truth of Beale calling the tent of meeting “Eden remixed.” We have seen this with the garden imagery of the tabernacle, as well as the gold and precious stones that alluded back to Eden. Furthermore, just as the goal of creation as for humanity to dwell with God, the goal of the tabernacle was to restore something of that lost communion to God’s chosen nation and treasured people. Just as God created all things over the span of seven days through the word of His mouth, so too were the tabernacle’s instructions give through a sevenfold declaration of the phrase, “The LORD said to Moses…” Indeed, just as God rested on the seventh day and sanctified the Sabbath, the seventh instruction was for Israel to also keep the Sabbath as holy. Following the days of creation, Genesis 2 records Yahweh giving Adam two glorious gifts, the garden of Eden and his wife, Eve. Likewise, following the instructions for the tabernacle, Yahweh gave Moses two tablets of His covenant union with Israel.
Unfortunately, the similarities between these chapters and the opening chapters of Genesis do not end there. Just as the wonders of creation and Eden are followed immediately with Adam and Eve’s fall into sin, so too the instructions for the remixed Eden are followed by a similar fall into sin by all of Israel.
In our present passage, Moses brings our focus back to the base of the mountain to what Israelites have been doing over the course of his meeting with God. The event that is presented sadly sets the pattern for the remainder of the entire Old Testament.
The Idol // Verses 1-6
Verse 1 sets the scene for the following verses by bringing our attention back to the Israelites as they wait for Moses to come down from Sinai. Indeed, as we read what follows, we should keep in mind that Moses was hidden in the cloud of God’s glory upon the mountain; however, the cloud itself was certainly visible. All of their idolatry was committed under the shadow of the glory that once greatly feared.
With Moses not before them, the Israelites gather themselves together and go to Aaron, saying, “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.” Notice first that the Israelites gathered themselves together. While it could be simply that they gathered themselves around Aaron, one commentary argues that it is best to view at them gathering against Aaron, since the wording “always carries a menacing nuance.” As with all the world being gathered together at Babel and Israel later gathering themselves against Samuel to demand a king, this ought to remind us that unity is not inherently a virtue. People may be united and of one mind, while being together in rebellion against the Most High.
Second, we should consider the scorn that the Israelites evidently had for their both Moses and Aaron as their leaders. Their dismissal view of Moses is seen in how they distance themselves from him, saying this Moses and calling him the man. As Ryken notes, “Their language was dismissive and disrespectful. They would never say something like this to his face, of course, but now that he was gone, now that his ministry had failed to meet their expectations, they felt justified in setting him aside.” Likewise, they showed disrespect and scorn towards Aaron, who had functioned as Moses’ right hand throughout the exodus, by ordering him to make an idol for them. They had dismissed Moses while he was away, and now they were ready to bully Aaron into doing what they wanted him to do. Of course, while the people do not yet know that Yahweh has set Aaron apart as a high priest, they clearly saw him as authoritative. Thus, if they could get Aaron to make an idol for them, it would be imbued with a greater degree of credibility than if they had just made an idol for themselves.
Sadly, in verses 2-3, Aaron yields to their demands and commands them to give him the earrings from their wives and children. While there is potentially some connection between the earrings that the Israelites were wearing and idolatry, especially compared with Genesis 35:4 and Judges 8:24-27, the simplest connection seems to be with God’s command for the Israelites to give the materials required for the tabernacle. While Moses was commanded to give the command to all of Israel, Yahweh specifically said, “From every man whose heart moves him you shall receive the contribution for me” (25:2). God was specifically calling upon the men of Israel to give their treasures for the building of God’s tent, yet with this idol, Aaron calls upon the men to take the jewelry from their wives and children. This pattern continues generally today as well. True worship in the household ought to be led by husbands and fathers who give sacrificially of themselves just as Christ did for us. False worship, on the other hand, especially the kind seen in various cults, tends to absolve men of their responsibility and robs and abuses women and children.
Verse 4 then tells us that Aaron took their earrings and made them into a calf. Stuart notes that “collecting the earrings, melting them into gold, and shaping the gold around a wooden form to make an idol may have taken more than a day” (665). But whenever it was finished, the people were apparently pleased with the result, for they proclaimed to one another: “These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt!” This seems to be an outright rejection of Yahweh as their God, which may explain Aaron’s actions and words in verse 5: When Aaron saw this, he built an altar before it. And Aaron made a proclamation and said, “Tomorrow shall be a feast to the LORD.”
Ryken notes that scholars continuously debate whether the golden calf was a violation of the First or Second Commandment, but I agree with his answer: yes. It seems that the Israelites (at least a large portion of them) wanted to reject Yahweh entirely or at least to return to polytheism, which was clearly in violation of the First Commandment. Indeed, they specifically ask for gods, not for an image of Yahweh. Yet Aaron identifies the golden calf with Yahweh, building an altar and proclaiming a feast, both of which were commanded in the Book of the Covenant. Indeed, in verse 6, they offer both peace and burnt offerings. So, it seems as though Aaron was attempting to salvage and justify the situation by saying that they were really doing everything for Yahweh. Yet that is still a violation of the Second Commandment, for regardless of how Aaron tried to spin his actions as being worshipful, they were still against God’s will, which is sin.
Indeed, it is also worth noting that Aaron is absent from verse 6. Although he may have attempted to contain the people, they have broken out of whatever limits he aimed to impose. We have sadly seen this all too often, especially in regard to the sexual revolution, in churches. Pastors, churches, and whole denominations yield to the demands of the culture and go against their conscience, arguing that it will be the only concession that they make. Yet disobedience defies being “managed.” A measure of compromise with sin always breaks away leads to more sin.
And that is indeed what seems to have happened. In saying that the Israelites rose up to play, the notion is, as the NIV translates, revelry. There was probably a heavy emphasis on dancing and sexuality.
What the Israelites were doing was indecent. Their idolatry led to immorality. Their worship was vulgar and debauched. It degenerated into a wanton orgy of lewd dancing. They weren’t worshiping; they were partying. And it wasn’t for God’s glory at all; it was just for their own sinful pleasure. This is what happens when we do things our way rather than God’s way.