In Exodus 32
Over the last several weeks, we have explored the passages leading up to Exodus 32 to understand why the Israelites disobeyed the LORD and turned to idolatry.
Ultimately, their decision was not just one of impatience, but in the words of Paul many years later,
They exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever![1]
Keeping in mind that scripture says we were created in the LORD’s image (Genesis 1:26), have you ever considered how humanity’s tendency to worship things or people other than Him affects the LORD?
Also, why would the LORD create us to have this tendency?
What purpose does this serve?
God’s Response to Idolatry in Exodus 32 | Moses and the LORD
Moses had been with the LORD forty days and nights on a fiery mountain receiving instructions to share with the Israelites when suddenly, the LORD said to Moses,
“Go down, for your people, whom you brought up out of the land of Egypt, have corrupted themselves. 8 They have turned aside quickly out of the way that I commanded them. They have made for themselves a golden calf and have worshiped it and sacrificed to it and said, ‘These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt!’ ”[2]
Describe how the LORD feels about the Israelite’s behavior.
Why does the LORD say the Israelites are Moses’ people and that Moses brought them out of Egypt?
Consider what the LORD said to Moses next.
“I have seen this people, and behold, it is a stiff-necked people. 10 Now therefore let me alone, that my wrath may burn hot against them and I may consume them, in order that I may make a great nation of you.”[3]
If needed, review the chapters leading up to Exodus 32 to explain why the LORD refers to the Israelites as a stiff-necked people.
Describe the LORD’s reaction to the Israelites worshiping a lifeless idol they made for themselves instead of Him.
What are the implications of the LORD telling Moses to leave Him alone?
Surprisingly, instead of agreeing with the LORD, Moses intercedes to hold back the LORD’s wrath.
Consider the two questions Moses asks the LORD.
“O Lord, why does your wrath burn hot against your people, whom you have brought out of the land of Egypt with great power and with a mighty hand?”[4]
“ Why should the Egyptians say, ‘With evil intent did he bring them out, to kill them in the mountains and to consume them from the face of the earth’?” [5]
Describe the significance of Moses’ questions. (See Exodus 5:22-6:12)
Consider what Moses said next to the LORD.
“Turn from your burning anger and relent from this disaster against your people. 13 Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, your servants, to whom you swore by your own self, and said to them, ‘I will multiply your offspring as the stars of heaven, and all this land that I have promised I will give to your offspring, and they shall inherit it forever.’ ” [6]
What does Moses’ response to the LORD’s anger reveal about Moses’ relationship with the LORD?
Conversely, what does Moses’ boldness in responding to the LORD’s anger reveal about the LORD’s relationship with Moses?
The LORD’s response to Moses is stated succinctly.
And the Lord relented from the disaster that he had spoken of bringing on his people. [7]
Remember, the conversation is only between Moses and the LORD at this point.
Down at the base of the fiery mountain, the Israelites were busy worshiping a lie and indulging in revelry.
They were oblivious to the fact that the LORD knew what they were doing and had threatened to destroy them and start over with Moses alone.
Moses asked the LORD to remember the freely given covenant offered to Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and their descendants, the Israelites.
Before Moses went down the mountain to confront the Israelites for their disobedience, the LORD extended mercy yet again to this stiff-necked group of malcontents.
God’s Response to Idolatry in Exodus 32 | Personal Application
As our creator, the LORD certainly has every right to dispense judgment upon our behavior.
Consider the word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD,
Behold, like the clay in the potter’s hand, so are you in my hand, O house of Israel. 7 If at any time I declare concerning a nation or a kingdom, that I will pluck up and break down and destroy it, 8 and if that nation, concerning which I have spoken, turns from its evil, I will relent of the disaster that I intended to do to it. 9 And if at any time I declare concerning a nation or a kingdom that I will build and plant it, 10 and if it does evil in my sight, not listening to my voice, then I will relent of the good that I had intended to do to it.[8]
Reflect on a time when you were disobedient to the LORD. How did the LORD reshape you because of your disobedience?
Are you aware of anyone who interceded on your behalf during your time of disobedience? If so, do you know how their relationship with the LORD grew during that time?
Is there anyone you are currently interceding for before the LORD? If so, what promises from scripture can you claim with the LORD as Moses did for Israel?
Again, how can reminding yourself that you are made in the LORD’s image enable you to stay faithful in your worship of the LORD?
How have this passage and the questions asked helped to answer why the LORD created humanity with a tendency towards disobedience?
Could it be that the LORD has designed us this way so that we can better see our intrinsic need for Him and each other?
Could it also be that the LORD has designed us this way to reveal His mercy to us?
Why or why not?
Blessings,
Barbara Lynn
[1] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), Ro 1:25.
[2] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), Ex 32:7–8.
[3] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), Ex 32:9–10.
[4] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), Ex 32:11.
[5] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), Ex 32:12.
[6] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), Ex 32:12–13.
[7] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), Ex 32:14.
[8] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), Je 18:6–10.
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Jane – Did you have more to write?