Moses and Aaron finally lead the children of Israel to Egypt. They are free! The enemy was drowned in the Red Sea! Moses had gone up to talk to God, and receive the Ten Commandments. Wouldn't you think that the children of Israel would have been waiting in eager anticipation for Moses? Unfortunately, that is not the case! Let's open our Bibles to the Old Testament. We are going to Exodus 32.
Exodus 32:1
And when the people saw that Moses delayed to come down out of the mount, the people gathered themselves together unto Aaron and said unto him, "Up, make us gods, which shall go before us; for as this Moses, the man that brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we wot not what is become of him.
Aaron is the mouthpiece of God. He has heard the voice of the living God speak and direct him in what to say. Now he is alone. Moses is up on the mountain with Joshua and this man of God is surrounded by a mob of ungrateful people who have dismissed Moses as their leader. He is just some random man that brought them out of Egypt. Can you hear the disdain in their voices as they demand Aaron get up and make them idols to worship instead of the very God that anointed Aaron to be their leader. What would you do? How would you feel?
Aaron does not try to change their mind. He does not remind them of the blessings! He does not put up a fight. He is called to be a leader and yet his response is one of compromise. He actually instructs them to bring him gold. He forms it into an image. When the people see it they proclaim it as their new god that brought them out of Egypt. He could have regretted what he had done but instead he builds an altar so they can offer a sacrifice to this false god.
Moses is not dead like they may think. He did not get lost in the mountains with Joshua. They are talking with God and He is giving them these laws for the children of Israel to obey. God sees what they are up to and tells Moses to quickly get back down there because of the evil they are doing. He told Moses He would consume them all and kill them for their stiff-necked ways. He would not destroy Moses, though, and promised to make him a great nation. Moses convinced God to reconsider and God obliges him. He extends mercy instead and Moses is on his way back down the mountain in an angry fury.
Exodus 32:15, 16
And Moses turned, and went down from the mount, and the two tables of the testimony were in his hand: the tables were written on both their sides; on the one side and on the other were they written.
And the tables were the work of God, and the writing was the writing of God, graven upon the tables.
Joshua hears the noise of the children of Israel dancing and playing around. He mistakes it for a battle cry, but Moses knew it was no war breaking out... yet! He gets near the camp and sees the dancing and looks over to see what the celebration was about: there is a calf... the golden idol. Moses is so angry that he throws the Holy tablets down to the ground. The tablets broke into pieces. Moses had taken the Holy gift of God and destroyed them because he was angry about the sin of others. It was a good excuse but it was still wrong.
Moses demands to know how the people have deceived Aaron into sinning so greatly. Aaron immediately throws the children of Israel under the bus. He explains it away. He even tells Moses, "You know how they are!" He minimizes his part in all of this.
Exodus 32:24
And I said unto them, "Whosoever hath any gold, let them break it off. So they gave it me: then I cast it into the fire, and there came out this calf."
Aaron doesn't know how it turned into the shape of a calf. Really, Aaron? This is a really big deal! What would you say? Would you have given in to the people? Was the experiences Aaron had with God not enough to stand up against these stiff-necked people? It's easy to judge him when we are on this side of the book. But what about those times we compromise in our own lives? Don't we want forgiveness? Don't we want mercy and grace? None of us are perfect.
Our favorite preachers, singers, authors, and heroes of great faith are merely human. We are all in the Lord's Army and we all make mistakes. We are all flawed and broken. Our great example is Jesus and while none of us will ever be perfect like Him, we are to strive to live like Him.
Romans 3:23
For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;
I don't know about you, but I breathe a small sigh of relief when I read that. I am not the only one who messes up. I am not the only one who gives in and follows the crowd sometimes. I am not the only one who does the easier wrong instead of the harder right. I am not the only one who answers in anger or sharp tones when I know a soft answer turns away wrath. (Proverbs 15:1)
Today I want you to know that I am not throwing any stones. I am not picking on Aaron. I hope you can see how human he is and that even though he had such a powerful calling on his life, when push came to shove, he fell in a way that you and I may have also. The good news is that we can get up and try again. God's mercies are new every single morning. Great is His faithfulness to us. (Lamentations 3:21-23)
If you have fallen, you can get back up my friend. God is right there, ready to dust you off, and refresh your soul. You are not alone. You are loved. You have not made so great a mistake that God stopped loving you. Nothing will ever separate us from the love of God and that is a great promise! (Romans 8:35-39)
I hope you are blessed by today's message. I hope you find encouragement and hope in this lesson. It's a beautiful reminder that God does not call perfect people to perform His perfect will, no, he calls the imperfect and then uses our mistakes, disappointments, and failures to shape us into a more perfect version of who He is calling us to be. If today's devotion has helped you, feel free to share the message with others, and together we will obey the Scriptures.
1 Thessalonians 5:11
Wherefore comfort yourselves together, and edify one another, even as also ye do.
God bless you!
~Bridgett Owens