Patience. Faithfulness. Self-control. Are any of these words meaningful to you? Imagine coming from a pagan society where all you have known for generations is how to pay homage to many gods. You have been taught that the superstitions of good fortune, love, violence, protection, wealth were all dependent on the whims of various gods, who often were in conflict with one another. That’s what the Israelites were dealing with when Moses led them out of the bondage of Egypt. That’s all they had ever known. Strange though, the other day I heard a very popular preacher saying that if you gave her money, you would receive God’s blessings of good fortune, wealth, protection, and love. Sin of the golden calf repeated?
The central theme found in Exodus 30:11-34:35 is the sin of the Golden Calf. When Moses was on Mount Sinai receiving the commandments from the Lord, the people became impatient since he had been gone for 40 days and nights. They coerced Aaron to make a golden calf, something God has expressly forbidden in the 2nd commandment. The Lord quickly sent Moses back down the mountain to attend to the idolatry. In his anger, Moses smashed the commandments written by the hand of God. There was a plague on those who took part in the uprising, and 3,000 people died that day either from the plague, or by the hand of the zealous Levites.
Galatians 5:22-23 says, “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such things there is no law.” Patience, faithfulness and self-control are all attributes of the character of God and are exemplified by Christ. Herein, we see all these virtues broken in the account of the sin of the golden calf. The people lost their patience after Moses didn’t return for 40 days. Moreover, they demanded that Aaron make a golden calf as a substitute for the one true God, demonstrating a lack of faithfulness. And upon seeing this when he returned, Moses lost his self-control and became so angry he threw down and broke the tablets inscribed by the finger of God himself.
This is what happens when we get out of alignment with God. God forbid the making of idols. He didn’t want His people to worship an inanimate object in any way, shape or form. He wanted His people to have a direct relationship with him. The acceptance of Christ and the turning of our lives away from the sins of the world is the beginning of a covenant with the living God where His virtues are transferred by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. In this relationship, there is no need for calling on icons, figures, idols or anything or anyone that comes between you and God. Christ Jesus is the only mediator. The virtues of God, your relationship with Him, cannot be found living in a golden calf—whatever form that takes in your life.
