Exodus 32:1-35
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 for this Moses, the man that brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we wot not what is become of him.
2 And Aaron said unto them, Break off the golden earrings, which are in the ears of your wives, of your sons, and of your daughters, and bring them unto me.
3 And all the people brake off the golden earrings which were in their ears, and brought them unto Aaron.
4 And he received them at their hand, and fashioned it with a graving tool, after he had made it a molten calf: and they said, These be thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt.
5 And when Aaron saw it, he built an altar before it; and Aaron made proclamation, and said, To morrow is a feast to the LORD.
6 And they rose up early on the morrow, and offered burnt offerings, and brought peace offerings; and the people sat down to eat and to drink, and rose up to play.
7 And the LORD said unto Moses, Go, get thee down; for thy people, which thou broughtest out of the land of Egypt, have corrupted themselves:
8 They have turned aside quickly out of the way which I commanded them: they have made them a molten calf, and have worshipped it, and have sacrificed thereunto, and said, These be thy gods, O Israel, which have brought thee up out of the land of Egypt.
9 And the LORD said unto Moses, I have seen this people, and, behold, it is a stiffnecked people:
10 Now therefore let me alone, that my wrath may wax hot against them, and that I may consume them: and I will make of thee a great nation.
11 And Moses besought the LORDa his God, and said, LORD, why doth thy wrath wax hot against thy people, which thou hast brought forth out of the land of Egypt with great power, and with a mighty hand?
12 Wherefore should the Egyptians speak, and say, For mischief did he bring them out, to slay them in the mountains, and to consume them from the face of the earth? Turn from thy fierce wrath, and repent of this evil against thy people.
13 Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, thy servants, to whom thou swarest by thine own self, and saidst unto them, I will multiply your seed as the stars of heaven, and all this land that I have spoken of will I give unto your seed, and they shall inherit it for ever.
14 And the LORD repented of the evil which he thought to do unto his people.
15 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.
16 And the tables were the work of God, and the writing was the writing of God, graven upon the tables.
17 And when Joshua heard the noise of the people as they shouted, he said unto Moses, There is a noise of war in the camp.
18 And he said, It is not the voice of them that shout for mastery, neither is it the voice of them that cry for being overcome: but the noise of them that sing do I hear.
19 And it came to pass, as soon as he came nigh unto the camp, that he saw the calf, and the dancing: and Moses' anger waxed hot, and he cast the tables out of his hands, and brake them beneath the mount.
20 And he took the calf which they had made, and burnt it in the fire, and ground it to powder, and strawed it upon the water, and made the children of Israel drink of it.
21 And Moses said unto Aaron, What did this people unto thee, that thou hast brought so great a sin upon them?
22 And Aaron said, Let not the anger of my lord wax hot: thou knowest the people, that they are set on mischief.
23 For they said unto me, Make us gods, which shall go before us: for as for this Moses, the man that brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we wot not what is become of him.
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.
25 And when Moses saw that the people were naked; (for Aaron had made them naked unto their shame among their enemies:)
26 Then Moses stood in the gate of the camp, and said, Who is on the LORD'S side? let him come unto me. And all the sons of Levi gathered themselves together unto him.
27 And he said unto them, Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, Put every man his sword by his side, and go in and out from gate to gate throughout the camp, and slay every man his brother, and every man his companion, and every man his neighbour.
28 And the children of Levi did according to the word of Moses: and there fell of the people that day about three thousand men.
29 For Mosesb had said, Consecrate yourselves to day to the LORD, even every man upon his son, and upon his brother; that he may bestow upon you a blessing this day.
30 And it came to pass on the morrow, that Moses said unto the people, Ye have sinned a great sin: and now I will go up unto the LORD; peradventure I shall make an atonement for your sin.
31 And Moses returned unto the LORD, and said, Oh, this people have sinned a great sin, and have made them gods of gold.
32 Yet now, if thou wilt forgive their sin-; and if not, blot me, I pray thee, out of thy book which thou hast written.
33 And the LORD said unto Moses, Whosoever hath sinned against me, him will I blot out of my book.
34 Therefore now go, lead the people unto the place of which I have spoken unto thee: behold, mine Angel shall go before thee: nevertheless in the day when I visit I will visit their sin upon them.
35 And the LORD plagued the people, because they made the calf, which Aaron made.
Exodus: *Israel becomes a nation
God’s instructions to Moses
Exodus Chapter s 19 to 40
Hilda Bright and Kitty Pride
Chapter 32
The young *bull that the *Israelites *worshipped – verses 1-35
Aaron makes a young *bull out of gold – verses 1-6
v1 The people saw that Moses stayed on the mountain for a long time. So they gathered round Aaron. ‘You must make a god for us and he will lead us. Then he will protect us’, they said to Aaron. ‘This man called Moses led us here from Egypt. But we do not know what has happened to him now.’
v2 Then Aaron answered them. ‘Take off the gold rings that your wives, your sons and your daughters are wearing in their ears. Bring them all to me.’ v3 So all the people took off the rings from their ears and they brought them to Aaron. v4 He received the gold rings. Then he melted them, and he made an image with that gold. He shaped it with a tool and it was like a young *bull.
Then the people spoke to each other. ‘This is our god’, they said. ‘This god brought us here from Egypt.’
v5 Aaron saw what was happening. So he built an *altar in front of the image. Then he announced to the people. ‘Tomorrow will be a special day when we will give honour to the *LORD.’
v6 So the next day the people got up early. They killed animals to give as gifts to their false god. They burnt some animals on the *altar. And they prepared the other animals for a special meal together. Then the people sat down to eat the meal. And they ate and they drank too much. That caused them to dance in a mad manner in front of their false god.
Verse 1 Moses had stayed away on the mountain for a long time on. The people became impatient. They gathered round Aaron. Perhaps they had become an angry and dangerous crowd. But perhaps just their leaders approached Aaron on the people’s behalf. Some translations use the plural word gods because the *Hebrew word ‘elohim’ is plural. But the *Jews use the word to mean God himself. The people spoke about Moses as ‘this man’. This showed that they did not respect him now. They said that Moses had brought them there from Egypt. They spoke as if Moses had forced them. They forgot that the *LORD had rescued them from Egypt’s king and his army.
Verses 2-4 Aaron was probably afraid. He knew that earlier the *Israelites were angry with Moses. They had almost killed him (Exodus 17:4). This time Moses had told the people to wait. And he had appointed Hur to help Aaron with the people (Exodus 24:14). They must deal with problems together. But Aaron forgot to talk to Hur about that. Also, the *Israelites had 70 other leaders who should have supported Aaron and Hur (Exodus 24:9). Perhaps Aaron thought that the people would not want to give away their valuable possessions. Perhaps he hoped so, but he made a mistake. The people had received the gold rings in their ears as gifts. Their *Egyptian neighbours gave those gifts to them when they left that country.
When Aaron had melted their rings, he shaped the gold lump. He made it into an image like a young *bull. This image was probably like the *bull called Apis. The *Egyptians *worshipped the image of Apis. The*Israelites asked the image to help them. Probably they also wanted something to look at when they *worshipped God. But the *LORD does not allow anyone to make an image in order to *worship it. People who *worship like that are not obeying God’s first and second *commandments. Many years later, king Jeroboam made two gold images of young *bulls that the *Israelites *worshipped. He placed one image at the place called Dan. And he placed the other image at the place called Bethel. Jeroboam used the same words to persuade the people. He said that those images were their gods. And he said that those gods had brought them from Egypt (1 Kings 12:28-30). But those images were false gods. They were not the real God.
The *LORD’s message to Moses – verses 7-10
v7 Then the *LORD spoke to Moses again. ‘Go down’, he said. ‘You brought your people here from Egypt, but they have become very fond of *sin. v8 They have not obeyed me. They have turned away from what I ordered them. They have made an image like a young *bull, and they are *worshipping it. They killed animals and they gave them as gifts to this image. They have said to each other, “This is our god. This god brought us here from Egypt.” ’
v9 ‘I have seen these people’, the *LORD said to Moses. ‘They are proud, so they have stiff necks. v10 Now do not try to stop me when I express my anger against them. I will kill them. Then I will make you yourself become a great nation instead.’
Verses 7-10 God did not call the *Israelites ‘my’ people, but said ‘your’ people (verse 7) and ‘these’ people (verse 9). The *Israelites had not been loyal to God. So God was showing that they did not behave like his people now. The *Israelites were proud with stiff necks. They were like animals that refused to work. People fastened wooden things round the animals’ necks to guide them in their work. But when the animals made their necks stiff, their masters could not guide them. And the *Israelites always refused to obey God when he wanted to guide them. God said that he would kill all those people.
God sometimes compared the *Israelite nation to a wife. The *Israelites must not *worship any other God. That would be like a bad wife. The bad wife left her husband and she had another man. Therefore, the punishment for the *Israelites should be similar to the punishment that a bad wife received (Numbers 5:27). God said that Moses himself would become a great nation instead. God made that promise first to Abraham (Genesis 12:2). But now he said that he had changed his plans. Perhaps that promise tempted Moses. The *Israelites were such difficult people. Perhaps he would be glad to give up his responsibility as God’s leader for them. But Moses was sorry for them.
Moses’ prays to God – verses 11-14
v11 But Moses asked the *LORD to show kindness to the people. ‘*LORD, please do not express your anger against your people’, he said to God. ‘You brought these people away from Egypt by means of your great power. v12 If you kill them, the *Egyptians will hear about it. The *Egyptians will say, “Their false god took them away from Egypt for a bad purpose. He wanted to kill them in the mountains. He wanted to remove them completely from the earth.” Please turn away from your fierce anger, and do not kill your people. v13 Remember your servants Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. You made a definite promise to them. “I will make your children and their families become as many as the stars in the sky. I will give to them all this country and it will belong to them always.” ’
v14 Then the *LORD changed his plans. So he did not kill his people as he had said.
Verse 11 Moses used the word ‘your’ people. He understood what God had meant. God had said that he would not own those people now. Moses reminded God about how he had rescued his people from Egypt.
Verse 12 Moses appealed to God. Moses did not want the *Egyptians to have wrong thoughts about God. They must not say that God’s purpose had been an evil purpose.
Verse 13 He also reminded God about the special promise that he had made a long time ago. God had promised Abraham, Isaac and Jacob that he would increase the number in their families. They would become a great nation. God had promised to give the country to their nation (Genesis 12:2; Genesis 12:7; Genesis 26:2-5; Genesis 28:13-14). God cannot deny his own nature. So always, he will do what he has promised.
Verse 14 The *LORD pitied the *Israelites. So he did not kill them as he had said in his anger.
Moses breaks the flat stones – verses 15-20
v15 Moses went down the mountain and he was carrying the two flat stones in his hands. God had written his laws for his people on those stones. He had written on both sides of the stones. He had written on both the front and the back. v16 This was God’s work. God had written his *commandments on the flat stones.
v17 Then Joshua heard a lot of noise. This noise came from the people who were shouting. So he spoke to Moses. ‘It sounds as if they are fighting in the camp’, Joshua said.
v18 Moses replied to him. ‘That is not the sound when people win a battle. And it is not the sound when people lose a battle. I hear sound from people who are singing. And they sound like crazy people.’
v19 When Moses came near to the camp, he saw the image. And the people were dancing in front of it. Then Moses became very angry and he threw the flat stones out of his hands. So the stones broke into pieces there. v20 Then Moses took the image that they had made. He burned the image in the fire and then he made it into powder. He scattered the powder on the water. And then he forced the people to drink that water.
Verse 15-16 ‘God had written.’ These words emphasise how important that was. The *commandments are Gods words. But these verses do not explain how God wrote the words.
Verses 17-18 Joshua had gone a part of the way up the mountain with Moses. Now they came down together.
Verse 19 Moses and Joshua saw that the people were dancing in front of the image. Probably that crazy behaviour included sex acts. People from nations that did not know God *worshipped their false gods in that way. Moses was so angry that he threw down those important flat stones. They broke, and that was a *sign to the *Israelites. They had not been loyal to their agreement with God.
Verse 20 The water where Moses scattered the powder was a stream. It flowed down the mountain (Deuteronomy 9:21).
Aaron’s excuse – verses 21-24
v21 Then Moses spoke to Aaron. ‘What did these people do to you? How did they cause you to lead them into such a terrible *sin?’
v22 ‘Do not be angry with me, my *Lord’, Aaron answered. ‘You know that these people like to do evil things. v23 They said to me, “Make us a god who will lead us. This man, Moses, led us away from Egypt. But now, we do not know what has happened to him.” v24 So I told them to bring to me the gold rings from their ears. “Anyone who is wearing gold rings should take them off”, I said. Then they gave me their gold rings, and I threw them into the fire. And this gold image, like a young *bull, came out of the fire!’
Verses 21-23 Moses’ questions showed how angry he was with his brother Aaron. At the same time, he knew the *Israelites bad behaviour. Aaron’s answer was the truth about the people. He even repeated their lack of respect for Moses. But Aaron did not seem to respect his brother. Instead, Aaron listened to the *Israelites’ demand and he made the image.
Verse 24 Aaron told Moses, ‘Then this gold image came out of the fire’. He suggested that it was not his fault. That was a weak, stupid excuse. Perhaps he was too ashamed to say that he had *sinned against the *LORD.
The *Levites remain loyal to God – verses 25-29
v25 Moses saw that the people were out of control. Aaron had let them become crazy. So now, their enemies would laugh at them. v26 Then Moses stood at the entrance to the camp and he shouted to the people. ‘Anyone who is on the *LORD’s side, come to me’, he said. And men from the family called Levi came to stand with him. v27 Then Moses was very serious as he spoke to them. ‘The *LORD, who is *Israel’s God, says this to you. “Each man must take his sword. Then you must go forward and back again through the camp. You must go from one end of the camp to the other end. Each man must kill his relative, his friend or his neighbour.” ’
v28 The *Levites did what Moses had ordered them. And that day about 3000 people died. v29 Then Moses spoke to the *Levites. ‘You obeyed the *LORD today when you acted against your own sons and brothers. So the *LORD has chosen you to serve him. The *LORD has *blessed you today.’
Verses 25-27 Moses appealed to anyone who remained loyal to the *LORD. He wanted them to join him. Moses also belonged to the family called *Levi. Perhaps that helped the *Levites to remain loyal to Moses and to the *LORD. ‘Relative’ means any other person who lived with the *Israelites.
Verses 28-29 The *Levite men killed 3000 people. Perhaps they were the people who demanded another god. But this was a false god. The people died because death is the punishment for that *sin. The *Levites remained loyal to God. So God chose them to serve him. They were separate from all the other *Israelites. They looked after God’s special tent and its contents. When the *Israelites moved the camp, the *Levites carried God’s special tent with all its equipment. Each group of *Levites was responsible to carry different parts of it (Numbers 3:5-7; Numbers 3:46-49).
Moses’ prayer – verses 30-35
v30 The next day Moses spoke to all the people. ‘You have done a terrible thing. But now I will go back up the mountain to the *LORD. Perhaps I can do something so that God will not continue to punish you because of your *sin.’
v31 So Moses went back to the *LORD. ‘These people have done a terrible thing! They have made a gold image. They made it as a false god for themselves in your place. v32 But now, please forgive them. But if you will not forgive them, then remove my name from your book.’
v33 And the *LORD replied to Moses. ‘I will remove people’s names from my book. But I will remove only the names of those people’s who have *sinned against me. v34 Now go. I have spoken to you already about the place where you must lead the people. And my *angel will go in front of you. But the time will come when I will punish the people. Then I will punish them because of this *sin.’
v35 So the *LORD sent a terrible disease to punish the people. He punished them because they had *worshipped the young *bull. Aaron had made that image from the gold that they gave to him.
Verses 30-32 Moses used the word perhaps. He was humble in front of the *LORD. He did not decide how the *LORD would answer his prayer. Moses cared very much about his people. So he offered to receive their punishment. The idea that God has a book may come from the lists of *Israelites (Numbers Chapter s 1-4). The man who wrote Psalms 69:28 refers to the ‘book of those who live’. Deuteronomy 9:20 tells us that Moses prayed especially for Aaron on that occasion. In the *New Testament Paul was like Moses. Paul almost wished that he had the *Jews punishment in their place (Romans 9:3). Also, Paul spoke about the names in God’s book. Those friends who worked with Paul had their names in that book. This book is a list of people who will live with God always (Philippians 4:3). And John wrote to the Christians at a place called Sardis about that book. They received God’s promise because they had remained loyal. So God would never remove their names from his book (Revelation 3:5).
Verse 33 God did not accept Moses’ offer. He reminded Moses that a person is responsible for his own *sin. Sometimes children have troubles because of their parents *sins. But God does not punish the children. Perhaps the parents neglect their children. Perhaps the parents are a bad model to their children. But that is the parents’ fault (Jeremiah 31:29-30). Also Ezekiel explained in detail that everyone is responsible to God because of his own *sin (Ezekiel 18:1-32).
Verses 34 Moses’ task was to lead the *Israelites. He must take them to the country that God had promised to them. And God said that his *angel would go in front of them. The *LORD’s *angel had guided the *Israelites before they reached the Red Sea (Exodus 14:19). God had promised the country to them. And he promised that he would take the *Israelites there (Exodus 23:23). The *LORD’s *angel is the same as God himself.
Verse 35 Israel *sinned when they *worshipped the gold image. This terrible disease was a punishment because of their *sin. It may refer to all the *Israelites who came out from Egypt. They all died in the *desert except Joshua and Caleb (Numbers 14:30).
Israel ~ the nation of people from the family of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob; the name of the country that God gave to that nation.bull ~ male farm animal; (the female is called a cow). The Israelites made a metal image of a bull, which they worshipped as an idol.
Israelite ~ a person from the nation called Israel. Israelite is another name for the Jews. Anything that has a relationship with Israel.
worship ~ when people show honour to God, or to a false god. People may sing or pray. Or they may kneel down or give a gift to God.
idol ~ an object that people worship instead of God; an object made out of wood, stone or metal that people worship.
Israel ~ the nation of people from the family of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob; the name of the country that God gave to that nation.
Jew ~ a person who is from the family of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and their children.
Israelite ~ a person from the nation called Israel. Israelite is another name for the Jews. Anything that has a relationship with Israel.
Israel ~ the nation of people from the family of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob; the name of the country that God gave to that nation.
Jew ~ a person who is from the family of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and their children.
worship ~ when people show honour to God, or to a false god. People may sing or pray. Or they may kneel down or give a gift to God.
altar ~ a table on which people give gifts or *sacrifices to God or to a false god.
LORD ~ God gave this special name to himself. It translates the word ‘Yahweh’ in the Hebrew language. It links to the words ‘I am’; it means that God has been here always.
Lord ~ a name for God. It translates the Hebrew word ‘Adonai’, which means ‘my ruler’. The word ‘lord’ (without a capital letter) means an ordinary ruler.
Hebrew ~ the language that the Israelites spoke. A Hebrew is a Jewish person or an Israelite
Israelite ~ a person from the nation called Israel. Israelite is another name for the Jews. Anything that has a relationship with Israel.
Jewish ~ a word that describes a Jew or anything that belongs to the Jews.
Israel ~ the nation of people from the family of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob; the name of the country that God gave to that nation.
Jew ~ a person who is from the family of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and their children.
Hebrew ~ the language that the Israelites spoke. A Hebrew is a Jewish person or an Israelite
Israelite ~ a person from the nation called Israel. Israelite is another name for the Jews. Anything that has a relationship with Israel.
Jewish ~ a word that describes a Jew or anything that belongs to the Jews.
Israel ~ the nation of people from the family of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob; the name of the country that God gave to that nation.
Jew ~ a person who is from the family of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and their children.
Jew ~ a person who is from the family of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and their children.
Egyptian ~ someone from the country called Egypt; anything that has a relationship with Egypt.
commandment ~ a rule or an order that God gave to the Jews. The 10 rules that God gave to Moses on the mountain called Mount Sinai (or Horeb); an order from someone who has authority.
Jew ~ a person who is from the family of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and their children.
Mount ~ another name for mountain.
sin ~ the wrong things that people do against God or against other people; or, not to obey God.
sign ~ a signal; a mark to show that something is special; a powerful act.
LORD ~ God gave this special name to himself. It translates the word ‘Yahweh’ in the Hebrew language. It links to the words ‘I am’; it means that God has been here always.
Lord ~ a name for God. It translates the Hebrew word ‘Adonai’, which means ‘my ruler’. The word ‘lord’ (without a capital letter) means an ordinary ruler.
Hebrew ~ the language that the Israelites spoke. A Hebrew is a Jewish person or an Israelite
Israelite ~ a person from the nation called Israel. Israelite is another name for the Jews. Anything that has a relationship with Israel.
Jewish ~ a word that describes a Jew or anything that belongs to the Jews.
Israel ~ the nation of people from the family of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob; the name of the country that God gave to that nation.
Jew ~ a person who is from the family of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and their children.
Levite ~ someone who belonged to the family called Levi. Levi was a son of Jacob. Levites had special duties. They helped the Israelites to worship God in the proper way. All Israelite priests were Levites.
Israelite ~ a person from the nation called Israel. Israelite is another name for the Jews. Anything that has a relationship with Israel.
worship ~ when people show honour to God, or to a false god. People may sing or pray. Or they may kneel down or give a gift to God.
Israel ~ the nation of people from the family of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob; the name of the country that God gave to that nation.
Jew ~ a person who is from the family of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and their children.
bless ~ to say or do much good to a person; to call something holy; to call for good things to happen; to guard and to keep from evil.
angel ~ a servant of God who sometimes brings messages from him.'New Testament ~ the second part of the Bible. It tells about Jesus Christ and his followers.
desert ~ a wild place where there are small bushes and not much water. It has poor soil and people cannot grow crops there. So, not many people live there.