Randall Caselman Bella Vista Church of Christ April 22, 2001 a.m.
Bible Lessons From A Golden Calf
Reading - Selected verses from Exodus chapter 32
This morning... We go to the foot of Mt. Sinai... And a dark chapter in Israel’s history. By God’s mighty hand... The great nation of Israel has been delivered from Egypt... They have crossed the Red Sea without the loss of a man... God feeds them with bread from heaven... and water from rocks... He leads them with His presence day and night... He delivered them from the Amalekites... And now they have arrived at Mt Sinai and are about to receive their new law. What a great occasion... After 400 years in Egyptian bondage they were ready for a new life.
As they arrive at Sinai... Moses is called to go upon the mountain to receive the Law. Meanwhile, the people become impatient and begged Aaron for a god to worship... A god they can see and feel rather than one seen only by faith. Aaron does as they wish... Giving them a Golden Calf... proclaiming that it was this idol which brought them out of Egyptian slavery. The incident incites God’s wrath against Israel, but Moses pleads their case. God relents, but does not excuse their sin.
For our lesson this morning... What can we learn from this Golden Calf incident?
First... We learn that idolatry is a grievous sin before God. Bernard Ramm in His commentary on Exodus says... What happens here should never have happened... It’s like a murder during a worship service... A rape at a wedding feast... Or goofy clowns at a funeral. What occurs here is entirely out of place. In the midst of a high and holy revelation... In the midst of the manifestation of the glory of God... There is an incident of idolatry.
It should not surprise us that Jehovah God became angry: In fact... in verse 9... God told Moses He wanted to consume the people in His wrath. Consume here literally means to cease to exist. God was so upset that He wanted to destroy them. Notice that in verse 28... Moses indicates that 3,000 did perish that day.
Church... I think we can see how God feels about idolatry in the fact that, in Scripture, God recounts this incident... this event several times. It is mentioned by... Nehemiah... Ezekiel... David and Luke in Acts 7. Ironic isn’t it that while they are clamoring for the idol... Moses is coming home with the Ten Commandments... The first of which contain God’s direct command against idolatry? Thou shall have no other gods before Me... Thou shall make no graven image... Thou shall not bow down before them or serve them.
Jesus speaks against idolatry when He said:... The first commandment is to love God with all your heart, mind, body and soul. John closes his first letter to the churches by saying... My little children... Keep yourselves from idols. Jesus and John are not just speaking of idols made of wood... stone... or plastic. They are saying that this whole world is one big IDOL... And that when you place anything in this world before God... Then that thing becomes our idol... Whatever it is!!
Two more thoughts here...
Idolatry always has its beginning in faithlessness. The children of Israel lost faith in God... and in Moses. In verse 8 they said... These are the gods that brought us out of Egypt and across the Red Sea. Folk... When we lose sight of God... and His mighty hand working daily in our lives, we are susceptible to Idolatry.
Idolatry always leads to immorality. When we put the end of verse 6... and verse 25 together, we find that the people were eating, drinking and playing... without restraint. The King James says... They were naked. Their behavior was so detestable that they became a laughingstock even to their heathen enemies.
Paul tells us in Romans chapter one that IDOLATRY... losing sight of God in our lives leads to every kind of wickedness... evil... greed... and depravity... Lives full of envy... murder... strife... deceit... and malice... gossips... slanderers... God-haters... insolent... arrogant... those disobedient to parents... heartless... ruthless... and boastful. Church read the list... This is not all... The list goes on in Romans 1.21-32. A list of things that will occur when we turn from God to idolatry.
Next... We learn that right is not determined by numbers. Aaron had a crowd of people at this assembly. It had to be a significant crowd because they provided enough gold to allow Aaron to construct the calf.
As teenager... We used to tell our parents... Well, everybody else is doing it... That must make it right... RIGHT? Generally speaking... People think that crowds make something right. When a crowd assembles, the mentality is... They must be doing something right. Virgil Poe said it well... We are into Crowds. We easily become obsessed with numbers... We make the assumption that a large gathering... Large churches must spell success. But... This is man’s reasoning... Not God’s! It is interesting to me... That back in Exodus 23.2... God had said to the children of Israel... Thou shalt not follow a multitude to do evil...A large crowd assembled around the Golden Calf, but this event was in error.
The lesson for us individually and corporately as a church is that... No matter how many other people are doing something... This is never an indication of right or wrong. Doing something in a church, in order to obtain numbers is never right. If it is wrong, the end never justifies the means.
Thirdly... Giving people what they want frequently fails. And the people said to Aaron... Come... Make us gods... Which shall go before us Israel wanted new gods... They wanted a new style of worship. When we put verses 19 and 25 together, we find that the crowd was acting wild and unrestrained The New King James says... They were dancing naked and unrestrained. The children of Israel were doing their own thing without any regard for what God wanted.
You see... Even though Aaron knew better... He never told them so... He never warned them... Never rebuked them... Never used the Scriptures to convict and convince them.
Please understand that Elders... Teachers... Preachers... Parents are under obligation from God to preach and teach the word without compromise. And that giving in to our own wants and wishes will never make us pleasing to God. Listen to these verses which support such a premise: Galatians 1.10... I am not trying to win the approval of men, but of God? Ephesians 6.4... Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord. 2 Timothy 4.2... Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine.
Sometimes we get the idea that... If we will give in to pleasing others... including our children that this will help make them Christian... Not likely.!!.. Not Likely!! This kind of permissive mentality did not work at Sinai... and it will not work in the church... Or in our homes in 21st century America. We must do... not what pleases us... But what pleases God.
We also learn that... Worship should be pleasing to god... Not self. Israel had become dissatisfied with God-pleasing worship and so... They invented worship that was more meaningful to them. For those who indulged that day... In that revelry... It was quite a religious experience. Their worship may have pleased them... But it was far from pleasing God.
They were worshiping a false god... But did so with sacrificial burnt offerings... fellowship... and peace offerings. You see... They changed what they wanted to change... To make their worship feel better to them To make it more meaningful to them. Folk... Israel had a great worship experience that day... But it was forever condemned by God.
Now... Is it possible that Worship... according to God’s standards has become old fashioned and outdated to us? We must be careful today that we do not substitute a great worship experience... for spirit and truth worship demanded by our Father. Jesus said... A time is coming and has now come when the true worshippers will worship the Father... (HOW?)... In spirit and truth... For they are the kind of worshippers the Father seeks. God is spirit, and his worshippers must worship in spirit and in truth.
You see... Entertainment MUST NOT BE CONFUSED WITH WORSHIP. That day... Israel’s worship was fun... They were indeed entertaining themselves. The end of verse six says... Israel sat down to eat... drink... and rose up to play. Their worship was earthly... sensual... devilish... and a mockery of God.
Genuine Christian worship is not a performance to please us... but Him. -Our song service is not just to sound good to us... But offered in worship to Him. -Our preaching is not just to be short and entertaining... But the truth proclaimed in such a way that we will be drawn closer to God and closer to one another. -The communion service is not left to our preference... But in His memory. -Our prayers are not prayed to one another... But to the God who gives us every good blessing.
Folk... We need to remind ourselves that we do not assemble... for our own entertainment. We come here for the express purpose of worshiping God. And like Israel... We must never lose sight of this purpose.
MEETING THE NEEDS OF THE PEOPLE IS NOT necessarily WORSHIP. Before the Golden Calf... Israel allowed their sensual lusts and desires to dictate their worship. Today... When churches are advertised as meeting the needs of the community... At some point we must realize that giving people what they want... MAY not be true worship. When we: Alter the worship service... Change our singing praises to God... Alter the Lord’s Supper... Change how we give and raise funds in the church... Preach the philosophies of men... Rather than the Word of God... We may be meeting needs... But... Are we worshipping God?
At Sinai we learn that prayer changes things. Moses went to God on behalf of Israel. His request caused God to relent. God went from destroying to blessing them... Note verses 14 & 29. Church... If there were no other verses about the benefit of prayer from the lips of a righteous man... This would be enough to cause us to pray fervently... Right?
This historical narrative is a testimony to the instructions of James... Is any one of you in trouble? He should pray. Is anyone happy? Let him sing songs of praise. Is any one of you sick? He should call the elders of the church to pray over him and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise him up. If he has sinned, he will be forgiven. Therefore, confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.
This narrative proves that intercessory prayer for fellow believers can change the mind of God. Church... Listen to me... It’s time we stopped discussing these verses and just practice them!... RIGHT?
We learn here that we all need atonement. Look at verse 32... Moses offers himself as an atonement for the sins of the people. Moses said... Please forgive their sin... But if not... Then blot me out of the book you have written. It’s interesting to note that God did not take Moses up on his offer to blot his name out of the book of life in exchange for the sins of the people... But 1500 years later... God accepted the blood of his own Son on the cross as an atonement for our sins... all of them... regardless of how ugly and vile they may be.
Then finally... We learn that God will not forgive the unrepentant. When we examine this narrative closely... We find that some were consecrated to the Lord that day... Verse 29... And some were punished... Verse 33. The difference is found in verse 26 where it says... Some came to the Lord. Audience... God makes it plain in verse 33... Whoever has sinned against me I will blot out of My book. Our hope is the same as the hope of Israel that day... We can be saved... If we will come to the Lord... Are we willing?
Let us give up our own personal preferences... And give in to becoming just what God wants us to become... Doing just what He asks of us... As we submit to His will.
For instance... He tells us that we can become His children by faith and Genuine New Testament baptism... We are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus... For as many of you who have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ... Have been clothed with Christ. This morning... Right now... We give you the opportunity to worship and serve Him in this way.
Perhaps as a child of God... You have been more interested in following others... Or pleasing your own self... Rather than worshiping and serving God as He desires. Today is the day... Now is the time to correct such an attitude and practice.
Come to the Lord... Come to Jesus... As we stand and sing this invitation song. Will you come?
