Saturday, February 16, 2013

How Quickly We Forget

Exodus 32:1-29

There are so many things we can identify with and learn from the Israelites in this single passage. Patience, faith, obedience, honesty - or the lack of any of those - and God's faithfulness to his character and promise. I have read this passage before, but as is the case with many passages of Scripture, I had a new perspective this time, a new revelation if you will. In spite of ourselves and despite our worst offenses, God is so good and merciful!

Case in point, the Israelites are at it again here. They were just reminded of how God had delivered them, and they had just agreed to follow his commandments. But while Moses was receiving further instructions for their journey to the Promised Land, they somehow lost their minds. That's how I see it, at least. Granted, he was gone for a while (forty days and forty nights; Ex 24:18), but it was for a purpose and they had no reason to think he would never return. However, for some reason, they became restless and their faith became weary.

So they asked Aaron to make an idol for them to worship. Huh? Why would they do that? They were so desperate to worship that they fell into sin. That tells me they were just going through the motions all along. I mean, honestly, if they truly had the faith in God that they claimed to have and agreed to live by, no other god would do. It would not have even been a thought. But there was more to it. Aside from the fact that they had just been witness to many miracles and signs of God's power and protection and favor toward them, they had also just been brought out of Egypt. That is to say that old habits are hard to break. Even though God was their god all along, their relationship wasn't necessarily pure. They were influenced by the religions of the land in which they had lived for so long. This does not excuse their indiscretion by any means; it just offers some justification for their thought process.

So, their lack of patience and faith led to their disobedience. No sooner than God gave them his law, they were already breaking the first two rules! I wonder if they even thought about those Commandments when they were making their demands of Aaron, or if they had really just completely tossed them to the wind in their hearts and minds. More importantly, as the leader on hand, did Aaron consider them? Either way, the fact that he went along with it was a problem. He was the second in command, appointed to help Moses lead the Israelites in the way God wanted them to go. And with as little as a pressured request, Aaron abandoned his station as the example. He should have reminded them of their covenant and the Commandments and warned them of the consequences of disobeying. But he did not; he caved right in and then had the audacity to lie about what happened!

That part of the story reminds me of one of those "see, what had happened was..." moments. I don't know if the Hebrews realized they were doing wrong or thought they could get away with it, but God is God; he knows everything. He knew the people were sinning - making idols and "worshipping" them through immoral acts. So, he sent Moses back down the mountain to to get them straight before he killed them...literally. Moses' first thought and response to God was something like "It don't take all that"! But when he saw for himself what God had already seen and told him, even he was kindled with anger. When he asked Aaron what happened, he was given one of the lamest excuses I have ever heard. Essentially, his response was "it just happened". Really? You threw some gold earrings in a fire and a calf just emerged all by itself?

I'm guessing Moses wasn't buying it any more than I did, which is why he ordered the people to make a decision. Choose a side: God's or the idols'. It was really too bad for those that chose the wrong side; they received the justice that God initially wanted to administer to all of them - death. However, although he is a jealous God, his mercy is unfailing so he spared those that repented and chose to follow him. After all, he had made a promise to make a great nation of these people, even if they were stubborn and short-sighted.

The unfortunate reality of this story is that it is not just a historical account of one more time the Israelites messed up. It is also an early example of how we (Christians) behave today. We are constantly reminded of God's love for us, his commandments and his justice, yet we still get out of line and ahead of ourselves and try to do things our way, rather than his. And, if it weren't for grace through Jesus' blood, many of us would be dead and gone by now.

So I pray God, that you remind me often of your will and your commandments so they are always in the forefront of my mind. Help me not to lose patience while I wait on your promise to be fulfilled in my life. Keep me from desperation and disobedience. Cover me in your grace. Show me my idols so I can rid myself of them; give me the strength and determination to love you more...the most. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

No comments:

Post a Comment

Thank you for reading! Your comments and feedback are welcomed and appreciated.