Monday, June 07 2010 14:11

[This is part 18 of "101 verses you need to know about angels, gods, and demons." For best results, it is best to start at the beginning of this thread by hitting "Read More" below, then going to "Pastor's Corner" at the left side of the next screen. You will then see (at the bottom) a list of all previous posts, which you can read in biblical order, from the bottom up.]

Over the course of the entire Bible, the incident which most signifies Israel’s disloyalty to Yahweh is the choice to worship the golden calf when waiting for Moses to return from Sinai. To realize that this happened while Moses was at the same time receiving the Law--and we are struck by the oddity of the moment. Just when they were being given God’s “oracles,” or that which would set them apart from every nation in the world (cp. Romans 3:2), they were acting like any other nation of the world. Disloyalty ran deep within the Israelite heart.

 

The people’s request to Aaron (“Come, make us elohim who will go before us,” Exod. 32:1) was a failure on two levels: Israel was purposely forgetting what Yahweh had done for them in rescuing them from slavery (Exod. 14:30-31), and they were intent on giving another god the chance to lead the nation. The “mixed multitude” (Exod. 12:32) that left Egypt likely included many polytheists who were intent on challenging the notion of Yahweh’s sovereignty. Aaron obliged the people’s foolishness, instructing them to use their Egyptian gold (cp. Exod. 3:21-22; 11:2-3; 12:35-36) to cast an idol in the shape of a calf, or a young bull, the ancient symbol of virility. Aaron then made the bold claim, “These [plural] are your elohim, that brought you out of the land of Egypt!” (Exod. 32:4). Much later, king Jeroboam will borrow this statement when he installs two golden calf idols at the division of the kingdom in 931 B.C.(1 Kings 12:28).

 

This is bad enough. But notice what comes next: “So when Aaron saw [the idol], he built an altar before it. And Aaron made a proclamation and said, ‘Tomorrow is a feast to Yahweh’” (Exod. 32:5). Aaron seems to have asked Israel to worship Yahweh by means of an idol! Either he was not aware of the heinousness of such an action, or he was prepared to fully defend his actions as what Yahweh himself would find pleasing. We do not know much more than what we see in the text.

 

This introduces us to idea of syncretism, or attempting to mix the worship of multiple gods at the same time. As Christians, we never would give this idea a second thought, for we know that our Lord Jesus Christ would never accept such double-minded worship. We cannot serve two masters. Yet, in the ancient Near East, syncretism was a normal way of life. You and I would have been tempted, on a day-to-day basis, to worship as many gods as possible in as many ways as available. To think that any one god would require exclusive worship may not have come to mind.

 

How different a story Israel will hear through their prophets! The book of Deuteronomy, for example, will spend considerable effort reminding God’s people that “Yahweh your elohim is elohim of Elohim and lord of lords, the great elohim, mighty and awesome” (10:17). Syncretistic worship would be out of question in this society. Yet despite the prohibition of images in Israel’s official religion and the contempt for images found throughout the prophets, a number of biblical passages make it clear that the problem of idolatry continued through much of Israel’s history. It was only after the Babylonian Exile that the problem was effectively eradicated.

 

So while we will now leave this unfortunate incident behind us as we move forward in Exodus, the golden calf will remain an all-too strong memory for Israel. Be prepared to hear about worshipped calves again as the nation struggles to worship Yahweh with singleness of heart (Deuteronomy 9:13-21; 1 Kings 11-12; 2 Kings 10:31; 17:16;  Nehemiah 9:18; Hosea 8:5; 10:5-6).

 

 

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