What Else Could I Do?
Opening Prayer
Lord, I pray: “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; all who follow his precepts have good understanding. To him belongs eternal praise” (Psa. 111:10).
Read EXODUS 32:15–24
15 Moses turned and went down the mountain with the two tablets of the covenant law in his hands. They were inscribed on both sides, front and back. 16 The tablets were the work of God; the writing was the writing of God, engraved on the tablets.
17 When Joshua heard the noise of the people shouting, he said to Moses, “There is the sound of war in the camp.”
18 Moses replied:
“It is not the sound of victory,
it is not the sound of defeat;
it is the sound of singing that I hear.”
19 When Moses approached the camp and saw the calf and the dancing, his anger burned and he threw the tablets out of his hands, breaking them to pieces at the foot of the mountain. 20 And he took the calf the people had made and burned it in the fire; then he ground it to powder, scattered it on the water and made the Israelites drink it.
21 He said to Aaron, “What did these people do to you, that you led them into such great sin?”
22 “Do not be angry, my lord,” Aaron answered. “You know how prone these people are to evil. 23 They said to me, ‘Make us gods who will go before us. As for this fellow Moses who brought us up out of Egypt, we don’t know what has happened to him.’ 24 So I told them, ‘Whoever has any gold jewelry, take it off.’ Then they gave me the gold, and I threw it into the fire, and out came this calf!”
New International Version (NIV)
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Meditate
Blaming someone else for one’s own actions is so fundamental to human nature that it constitutes the first act of fallen mankind.
Think Further
Aaron had been Moses’ spokesperson from the beginning (Exod. 4:14–16,30). Recently he was in the select group that went up the mountain and “saw the God of Israel… and they ate and drank” (Exod. 24:1–11). What a contrast to acting as leader in the absence of his brother. Now he has to explain his actions to a returning and angry Moses.
How many have faced a large group of people (or even a small congregation) demanding action? Populist preachers or politicians may manipulate, but Aaron’s attitudes are different. His response reflects aspects of situations we may face. He describes the people as “prone… to evil” (22)—the weeks prior to Sinai were evidence (Exod. 14:11,12; 15:24; 16:2,3; 17:2–4). Does Aaron really think making the golden calf is the only means of keeping them together, even to save his own position—or life? He has also called the people to hold “a festival to the Lord” (5). Is he seeking a compromise, salving his own conscience? His ludicrous explanation to Moses (24) suggests that, like Adam and Eve, he evades responsibility by blaming others—and the fire! Did he ever learn the Lord’s commandments, “You shall have no other gods before me” (Exod. 20:3,4) or, “You shall not make for yourself a graven image?” These are foundational and non-negotiable. The consequences of the people’s “great sin” (21) will become evident in the following verses, but for Aaron this particular failure was not final. He and his descendants would be consecrated as priests (Exod. 40:12–15), and he would continue alongside Moses.
It is not easy handling a vocal, sometimes physically threatening gathering of angry people; strategies will vary. Worship of the Lord alone, however, is non-negotiable. We seek wisdom from Christ who lived his reply to Satan, “Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only” (Matt. 4:10).
Apply
Pray for wisdom in difficult leadership situations that you or people known to you are experiencing.
Closing prayer
Lord, keep me from compromising what I know to be Your will just to placate others.
Click here to sign up to receive the EXTRAs via email each quarter.
© 2024 Scripture Union U.S.A. All rights reserved. Reproduction of the whole or any part of the contents without written permission is prohibited.
Encounter with God is published in the USA under license from Scripture Union England and Wales, Trinity House, Opal Court, Opal Drive, Fox Milne, Milton Keynes, MK15 0DF.