Merry Christmas to all...I hope your holiday was a wonderful one :o) I am ready to start back into my daily reading and I hope you are able to join me. Today I read through Exodus 32:1-35.
1Now when the people saw that Moses delayed to come down from the mountain, the people assembled about Aaron and said to him, "Come, make us a god who will go before us; as for this Moses, the man who brought us up from the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him."
So Aaron tells them to tare off their gold and bring it to him...he then makes a golden calf from the gold and says "this golden calf is your god"
4He took this from their hand, and fashioned it with a graving tool and made it into a molten calf; and they said, "This is your god, O Israel, who brought you up from the land of Egypt."
The next day they rose early and made burnt offerings to the golden calf.
7Then the LORD spoke to Moses, "Go down at once, for your people, whom you brought up from the land of Egypt, have corrupted themselves
The Lord was indeed very angry at this and told Moses to go back to his people
9The LORD said to Moses, "I have seen this people, and behold, they are an obstinate people.
10"Now then let Me alone, that My anger may burn against them and that I may destroy them; and I will make of you a great nation."
11Then Moses entreated the LORD his God, and said, "O LORD, why does Your anger burn against Your people whom You have brought out from the land of Egypt with great power and with a mighty hand?
13"Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, Your servants to whom You swore by Yourself, and said to them, 'I will multiply your descendants as the stars of the heavens, and all this land of which I have spoken I will give to your descendants, and they shall inherit it forever.'"
14So the LORD changed His mind about the harm which He said He would do to His people.
15Then Moses turned and went down from the mountain with the two tablets of the testimony in his hand, tablets which were written on both sides; they were written on one side and the other.
16The tablets were God's work, and the writing was God's writing engraved on the tablets.
17Now when Joshua heard the sound of the people as they shouted, he said to Moses, "There is a sound of war in the camp."
and Moses answered...this is no sound of defeat...this is the sound of singing I hear.
19It came about, as soon as Moses came near the camp, that he saw the calf and the dancing; and Moses' anger burned, and he threw the tablets from his hands and shattered them at the foot of the mountain.
20He took the calf which they had made and burned it with fire, and ground it to powder, and scattered it over the surface of the water and made the sons of Israel drink it.
21Then Moses said to Aaron, "What did this people do to you, that you have brought such great sin upon them?"
22Aaron said, "Do not let the anger of my lord burn; you know the people yourself, that they are prone to evil.
Moses was very angry and took the calf and burned it up and ground it to dust.
25Now when Moses saw that the people were out of control--for Aaron had (let them get out of control to be a derision among their enemies--
26then Moses stood in the gate of the camp, and said, "Whoever is for the LORD, come to me!" And all the sons of Levi gathered together to him.
27He said to them, "Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, 'Every man of you put his sword upon his thigh, and go back and forth from gate to gate in the camp, and kill every man his brother, and every man his friend, and every man his neighbor.'"
28So the sons of Levi did as Moses instructed, and about three thousand men of the people fell that day.
29Then Moses said, "Dedicate yourselves today to the LORD--for every man has been against his son and against his brother--in order that He may bestow a blessing upon you today."
30On the next day Moses said to the people, "You yourselves have committed a great sin; and now I am going up to the LORD, perhaps I can make atonement for your sin."
31Then Moses returned to the LORD, and said, "Alas, this people has committed a great sin, and they have made a god of gold for themselves.
32"But now, if You will, forgive their sin--and if not, please blot me out from Your book which You have written!"
33The LORD said to Moses, "Whoever has sinned against Me, I will blot him out of My book.
34"But go now, lead the people where I told you Behold, My angel shall go before you; nevertheless in the day when I punish, I will punish them for their sin."
35Then the LORD smote the people, because of what they did with the calf which Aaron had made.
So as I am here reading the passage for today I can't help to think that no wonder the Lord wants us to love each other and support each other...we are easily prone to sin...our friends and family can help us to stay on track...Aaron...who was easily distracted by sin thought that Moses was taking to long...so he took things into his own hands. He took a whole group of people with him to in his eagerness...they easily followed. I can see now why the Lord may get so angry with a leader who leads his flock astray...
please join me in reading Exodus 33:1-23
1Now when the people saw that Moses delayed to come down from the mountain, the people assembled about Aaron and said to him, "Come, make us a god who will go before us; as for this Moses, the man who brought us up from the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him."
So Aaron tells them to tare off their gold and bring it to him...he then makes a golden calf from the gold and says "this golden calf is your god"
4He took this from their hand, and fashioned it with a graving tool and made it into a molten calf; and they said, "This is your god, O Israel, who brought you up from the land of Egypt."
The next day they rose early and made burnt offerings to the golden calf.
7Then the LORD spoke to Moses, "Go down at once, for your people, whom you brought up from the land of Egypt, have corrupted themselves
The Lord was indeed very angry at this and told Moses to go back to his people
9The LORD said to Moses, "I have seen this people, and behold, they are an obstinate people.
10"Now then let Me alone, that My anger may burn against them and that I may destroy them; and I will make of you a great nation."
11Then Moses entreated the LORD his God, and said, "O LORD, why does Your anger burn against Your people whom You have brought out from the land of Egypt with great power and with a mighty hand?
13"Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, Your servants to whom You swore by Yourself, and said to them, 'I will multiply your descendants as the stars of the heavens, and all this land of which I have spoken I will give to your descendants, and they shall inherit it forever.'"
14So the LORD changed His mind about the harm which He said He would do to His people.
15Then Moses turned and went down from the mountain with the two tablets of the testimony in his hand, tablets which were written on both sides; they were written on one side and the other.
16The tablets were God's work, and the writing was God's writing engraved on the tablets.
17Now when Joshua heard the sound of the people as they shouted, he said to Moses, "There is a sound of war in the camp."
and Moses answered...this is no sound of defeat...this is the sound of singing I hear.
19It came about, as soon as Moses came near the camp, that he saw the calf and the dancing; and Moses' anger burned, and he threw the tablets from his hands and shattered them at the foot of the mountain.
20He took the calf which they had made and burned it with fire, and ground it to powder, and scattered it over the surface of the water and made the sons of Israel drink it.
21Then Moses said to Aaron, "What did this people do to you, that you have brought such great sin upon them?"
22Aaron said, "Do not let the anger of my lord burn; you know the people yourself, that they are prone to evil.
Moses was very angry and took the calf and burned it up and ground it to dust.
25Now when Moses saw that the people were out of control--for Aaron had (let them get out of control to be a derision among their enemies--
26then Moses stood in the gate of the camp, and said, "Whoever is for the LORD, come to me!" And all the sons of Levi gathered together to him.
27He said to them, "Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, 'Every man of you put his sword upon his thigh, and go back and forth from gate to gate in the camp, and kill every man his brother, and every man his friend, and every man his neighbor.'"
28So the sons of Levi did as Moses instructed, and about three thousand men of the people fell that day.
29Then Moses said, "Dedicate yourselves today to the LORD--for every man has been against his son and against his brother--in order that He may bestow a blessing upon you today."
30On the next day Moses said to the people, "You yourselves have committed a great sin; and now I am going up to the LORD, perhaps I can make atonement for your sin."
31Then Moses returned to the LORD, and said, "Alas, this people has committed a great sin, and they have made a god of gold for themselves.
32"But now, if You will, forgive their sin--and if not, please blot me out from Your book which You have written!"
33The LORD said to Moses, "Whoever has sinned against Me, I will blot him out of My book.
34"But go now, lead the people where I told you Behold, My angel shall go before you; nevertheless in the day when I punish, I will punish them for their sin."
35Then the LORD smote the people, because of what they did with the calf which Aaron had made.
So as I am here reading the passage for today I can't help to think that no wonder the Lord wants us to love each other and support each other...we are easily prone to sin...our friends and family can help us to stay on track...Aaron...who was easily distracted by sin thought that Moses was taking to long...so he took things into his own hands. He took a whole group of people with him to in his eagerness...they easily followed. I can see now why the Lord may get so angry with a leader who leads his flock astray...
please join me in reading Exodus 33:1-23
