SEPTEMBER 19 • Lesson Three

God versus "gods"

Bible Background • EXODUS 32
Printed Text* EXODUS 32:1-10 | Devotional Reading • JOHN 5:39-47

- Aim for Change ---------------------

Bv the end of the lesson, we will: TELL why God wanted Israel's complete devotion and loyalty;
REFLECT on our own devotion and loyalty to God; and REAFFIRM our devotion and loyalty to
God.

** In Focus **
Shae, a 33-year-old committed Christian, was a talented singer and songwriter who desired to
record her own CD. When her cousin, Greg, also a dedicated Christian, began working for the
Christian music industry, he encouraged her to make a demo recording that he could pass on to
label executives. She did, and within three months Shae had a recording contract.
Despite this great opportunity, one thing bothered Shae about the contract. The recording
company wanted her to write several songs as crossover music that could be played on secular radio
stations and at clubs. Shae felt that she would be compromising her faith by singing and producing
songs that were secular.
Shae was unsure. / don't want to compromise my faith, she thought. When it was time for Shae to
sign the contract, she was still uncertain. She prayed silently: Lord, I do not want to miss out on
this opportunity to be a witness for You.
D o you think Shae w as com prom ising her faith by signing the contract? O urw lesson
ith serving
dealsthe
true and living G od versus "gods"— false gods.

Keep in Mind
"They have turned aside quickly out of the way which I commanded them: they have made them a
molten calf, and have worshipped it, and have sacrificed thereunto, and said, These be thy gods, O
Israel, which have brought thee up out of the land of Egypt"
(Exodus 32:8).
Focal Verses
Exodus 32:1 And when the peo-pie saw that
Moses delayed to come down out of the mount,
the people gathered themselves together unto
Aaron, and said unto him, Up, make us gods,
which shall go before us; for as for this Moses, the
man that brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we
wot not what is become of him.
2And Aaron said unto them, Break off the
golden earrings, which are in the ears of your
wives, of your sons, and of your daughters, and
bring them unto me.
3And all the people brake off the golden
earrings which were in their ears, and brought
them unto Aaron.
4And he received them at their hand, and
fashioned it with a graving tool, after he had
made it a molten calf: and they said, These be
thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out
of the land of Egypt.
5And when Aaron saw it, he built an altar
before it; and Aaron made proclamation, and
said, Tomorrow is a feast to the LORD.
6And they rose up early on the morrow, and
offered burnt offerings, and brought peace
offerings; and the people sat down to eat and
to drink, and rose up to play.
7 And the LORD said unto Moses, Go, get
thee down; for thy people, which thou
broughtest out of the land of Egypt, have
corrupted themselves:
8They have turned aside quickly out of the way
which I commanded them: they have made them
a molten calf, and have worshipped it, and
have sacrificed thereunto, and said, These be
thy gods, O Israel, which have brought thee up
out of the land of Egypt.
9And the LORD said unto Moses, I have seen
his people, and, behold, it is a stiffnecked
people:
10 Now therefore let me alone, that my
wrath may wax hot against them, and that I may
consume them: and I will make of thee a great
nation.
The People, Places, and Times
Aaron. He was the older brother of Moses
(Exodus 7:7) and the son of Amram and
Jochebed. According to Exodus 7:1, Aaron acted
in the role of one of the early prophets. As a
prophet, he did not foretell future events (as many
of the Old Testaments prophets did). Rather, he
served as a mouthpiece for Moses. Because Moses
had a speech impediment and was afraid to speak
to the pharoah, God used Aaron instead of Moses
to speak God's words (Exodus 4:15-16).
Sinai. This name contains three different
meanings: (1) the peninsula south of the
Wilderness of Paran, (2) the Wilderness of Sinai,
and (3) the mountain itself, Mount Sinai, also
called Mount Horeb. The wilderness region, arid
and with rough terrain, was where the Israelites
camped for about a year. The distance from the
Israelites' initial flight from the Red Sea to this
mountain was approximately 150 miles. A record
of all the events that occurred at this location is in
Exodus 22-40; Leviticus; and Numbers 1-11.
Background
The setting of today's lesson is the
wilderness at Mount Sinai, where the Israelites
(God's chosen people) are encamped. In the six
chapters prior to Exodus 32, God gives Moses
instructions for setting up a physical dwelling
place for God, the tabernacle referred to as the
"Tent of Meeting." These detailed instructions
provided exact dimensions, specifications,
number, and exact objects that should form and
be contained in the tabernacle. During this time,
Moses has been on Mount Sinai for 40 days, and
the Israelites have become impatient with waiting
on him. The Israelites' last response to Moses,
prior to the 40-day wait, is in chapter 24, where
they agreed to follow the civil and religious laws
(book of the covenant). At that time, the people
responded:
"All that the LORD hath said will we do, and be
obedient" (Exodus 24:7).
 At-A-Glance
1. The Quick Fix (Exodus 32:1)
2. The Golden Silence and Golden Calf
(w. 2-4)
3. The Living God and "gods" in Worship
(w. 5-6)
4. The Speedy Intervention (w. 7-10)
In Depth
1. The Quick Fix (Exodus 32:1)
The Children of Israel grew impatient in the
Sinai region. Forty days before, Moses went up Mount
Sinai and had not returned. He was their spiritual
leader, the voice of God for the people, their
spiritual commander-in-chief, who led the people
from point A to point B at God's command. Now
this great captain was missing in action, and they had
no idea what had happened to him. Nevertheless, the
people still needed spiritual leadership. Perhaps, in
Moses' absence, they felt vulnerable, powerless, and
directionless, realizing that their enemies the
Amorites, Hittites, and the Canaanites (to name a
few) were still real threats. So the people gathered
and devised a solution. They requested that Aaron
make them tangible leaders—gods to lead them.
The Children of Israel wanted to be fully covered,
so they did not request one god; they asked that
Aaron would make for them some "gods." Although
they were out of Egypt, this did not deter them from
worshiping gods as the Egyptians did. God had
taken them out of the land of Egypt, but the culture of
Egypt was still in them.
2. The Golden Silence and Golden Calf (w.
2-4)
In verses 2-4, Aaron appears to use the old adage
"silence is golden" as his defense. He readily
succumbed to the Israelites' request for gods and
said nothing to the people about the covenant they
had made with God earlier. He was silent. His
silence turned to gold in the literal sense as he
initiated the fashioning of the golden calf.
The text does not mention any resistance on
Aaron's part, so he appears in this passage as a
spiritually feeble leader. Not only was he a weak
leader, but Aaron's acquiescence to the group also
went contrary to the Lord's leadership order that was
stated to Moses: 'You shall speak to [Aaron] and put
words in his mouth...[Aaron] will speak to the
people for you, and it will be as if he were your
mouth and as if you were God to him" (Exodus 4:15-
16, NIV). According to this passage, Moses was to act
as an intermediary and relay God's message to Aaron.
Aaron would then proclaim to the Israelites (and
anyone else) the word that Moses received from
God. Contrarily, in this passage, the Israelites
usurped God's authority and told Aaron what to do.
The Israelites' "perverse reflection" was the result of
their lack of complete devotion to the one true God.
3. The Living God and "gods" in Worship
(w.5-6)
The Children of Israel had a new god, the golden
calf. Aaron set the stage for worship of this idol by
creating an altar for it. Then, he proclaimed a day of
worship and feasting. Both the burnt offering and the
peace offering were ways of offering thanksgiving
and reverencing G od. The Jewish Encyclopedia states
that for theIsraelites, the burnt offering is "honorific
and devotional, implying homage to Yahweh and a
complete surrender to His service" (675).
Interestingly, Aaron proclaimed this worship as
supposedly "a feast to the LORD" (v. 5). So, were the
Israelites worshiping both the calf and the Lord at
this altar? Or were they simply giving a nonchalant,
mental assent to the Lord, but worshiping the calf?
Just as the correlative conjunctions "both" and "and"
depend on each other in a sentence structure, the
Israelites felt they needed both the Lord and the calf.
They seemed to think very little of this syncretistic
and corrupt worship.
The tabernacle represented God's presence with
and among the Israelites and was a movable tent so
they could travel from place to place. It was,to be the
Lord's ordained physical and tangible representation
of His presence. But the people settled for a calf
and their impatience took them deeper and deeper
into sin. However, God knew the destructiveness of
disobedience, so He commanded the Israelites'
complete devotion and faithfulness.
 4. The Speedy Intervention (w. 7-10)
As swiftly as the Israelites demanded gods and Lesson in Our Society
received their golden calf, God with similar haste "God versus 'gods'" is a timely topic in today's
insisted that Moses descend the mountain. Verses 7- society, as so many persons, things, and issues—
10 provided two interventions for Israel's departure family; jobs or employment searches; technology
from true worship. First, God sent Moses to stop the such as e-mail, cell phones, smartphones; fears
group from even further corruption. God knew that caused by escalating crime and violence—compete
Moses would act expediently on God's behalf. for our time and attention.
Second, God intended to destroy this rebellious
people. His mind was made up, and the Lord did not Make It Happen
want Moses to intercede. Consequently, God told
Moses, "Let me alone, that my wrath may wax hot As you studied today's lesson, were there any
against them" (v. 10). The biblical narrative in this scriptural verses or passages that spoke to your
lesson concluded with a cliffhanger that could devotion to God? Each of us is at a different place on
produce questions similar to old radio dram as:W hat the pathway to complete devotion to God. Where do
w ill be co m e of th e Israelite?Y W ill eh kill them all? you think you are on the path? Do you feel that you
ahw
W ill M oses intercede for thesestiffnecked people? Stay are totally committed, partially committed, or not
tuned next w eek to heardram the atic con clusion of the committed at all? Since none of us is perfect, we
Sinai Jou rn ey.A ctually,Exodus 32:11-35 contains should always be striving toward a closer
the dramatic conclusion. Although Israel's sin did relationship with God. Spend time in prayer and
include fatal consequences—the death of 3,000 (w. devotion this week asking God to show you areas
19-28)—God's mercy also intervened. The text of your life that are not fully devoted to Him. As
further states that Moses interceded on the God reveals to you this area or areas of growth, find
Israelites' behalf so that God did not destroy them supporting Scriptures that you can meditate on to
all (w. 11-14). keep you focused.

Search the Scriptures Followthe Spirit

What God wants me to do:
1. What motivated the Israelites to insist that Aaron
make gods for them (Exodus 32:1)?
2. What was God's remedy for Israel's
corruption (w. 9-10)?

Discuss the Meaning Remember Your Thoughts

Special insights I have learned:
1.In what ways can our being impatient lead
us into sin?
2.Moses frequently offered intercession to God
on behalf of the Israelites' sin. Do you think
God uses intercessors today to stop or delay
God's wrath in certain situations?
 Say It Correctly
Amram. AM-ram.
Jochebed. JOK-uh-bed.
Yahweh. YAH-veh, -vay.
W: Idols—The Work of Human Hands
Daily Bible Readings
M: Warnings Against Idolatry
1 Corinthians 10:1-11
T: Flee from Idol Worship
1 Corinthians 10:14-21
Psalm 135:13-18
T: Keep Yourselves from Idols
1 John 5:13-21
F: Confronting Idolatry
Exodus 32:15-24
S: The Consequence of Idolatry
Exodus 32:30-35
S: The Infidelity of Idolatry
Exodus 32:1-10

Notes
___________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________