What Is Your Golden Calf?

 “...And I said to them, ‘Whoever has any gold, let them break it off.’ So they gave it to me, and I cast it into the fire, and this calf came out.”

Exodus 32:24

It would have been amazing had it happened as Aaron described. He cast the gold into the fire, “..and this calf came out.” Did it climb out on its own or did it just float to the top. More importantly did Aaron truly believe his own lie or was he simply unable to make up anything better on the spot? In fact, he wasn’t the only one buying into explanations that defied what the people experienced and saw with their own eyes. And yet they were comfortable believing in a golden calf, choosing it over God even while seeing and hearing the storm that resulted from His presence on top of the mountain.

In fact they had witnessed a number of different events and things that should have told them to trust in the God of Jacob over some man made statue. Back in Egypt they had front row seats for the battle between the God of Israel and the gods of the Egyptians. With every plague God proved Himself superior to the beliefs of the Egyptians and over their idols. With one parting shot He then proved Himself superior to Pharoah, who was supposed to be the closest to the gods or perhaps even a god himself.

The people of Israel were led out of Egypt, following a pillar of cloud and a pillar of fire (Exodus 13:21) which represented the LORD going before them on their journey. They saw the Red Sea parted so that they could cross it on dry land (Exodus 14:15-22) and as the Egyptians tried to follow their army was drowned (Exodus 14:23-31). When they needed it, God provided water (Exodus 15:22-27; 17:1-7). He provided bread from heaven and meat for them to eat (Exodus 16). He gave them victory over the Amalekites (Exodus 17:8-16). Afterwards, He brought them safely to Mount Sinai where they saw the lightning and they heard thundering along with the sound of trumpets, and they trembled as they witnessed the smoke that covered the top of the mountain. Yet, even in the face of all this evidence of the presence of God with them, they chose to worship a golden calf just because they had to wait a few days for Moses to come down from off the mountain.

Not only do they worship and have a feast in the calf’s honor but they also gave this…thing…credit for the deliverance they had received from their LORD (Exodus 32:4). What a slap in the face. And yet while it’s easy for us, as we read the narrative, to become critical of the people of Israel, there is a question each of us has to ask in order to see what is in our own hearts. Do you and I remain loyal to our God or do we have a golden calf to which we turn in order to cope with the difficulties of life?

What is your golden calf? What are you turning to (or giving credit to) in place of God? Is it your money or your ability to find answers on your own? Is it your job? Is it your control over circumstances? Is it the government or a political party or certain politicians? True, you might not have an object that magically appeared but are there things or people whom you believe in more than you believe in God? When times are difficult or when the answers seem too far off, are you any different than Aaron and the people of Israel?