The Propensity of Sin

Exodus 32:1 (ESV) When the people saw that Moses delayed to come down from the mountain, the people gathered themselves together to Aaron and said to him, “Up, make us gods who shall go before us. As for this Moses, the man who brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.”

There are times when God and His work in our lives seems distant. Moses has been on the mountain with God for 40 days. The people grow anxious as if God and Moses are out of touch with their situation. When we get to places like this, we must be on our guard. God has not forgotten us, He's actually preparing us for His ultimate purpose. But we need to be patient in the process. 

The Golden Calf story illustrates what happens to us when God puts the brakes on our lives and seems distant. 

It is interesting that this terrible sin follows the section where God instructs Moses concerning the temple and its instruments, fills a man with the Spirit to build the temple and then reminds the people of the Sabbath rest. The original creation story is repeating itself. Man's propensity to deny God on full display no matter how much He gives them. Just as soon as God creates a dwelling for Himself and man in Sabbath rest in both Genesis 3 and here, man runs to do his own thing and fashion God in his own image. 

Someone once said, “In the beginning God made man in His image. And man has been returning the favor ever since.” This passage makes that quote absolutely true. Our evil hearts, left to themselves will always seek to fashion a god of our own liking. Notice the words the people use for the golden calf. 


Exodus 32:4 (ESV) “These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt!”

Israel does not introduce themselves to a NEW god. No, they just decided to shape the God they "followed" in their own image. Herein lies the temptation of all Christians when God does not seem to be moving in the direction we want Him to move. We start reimagining Him. We start fashioning our own ideas and imaginations. We create God the way we want Him to be created. Watch out, your propensity for false prophecies and teachers is very high during these times.

In the beginning, Eve sinned trying to be like God, this time, man is recreating God as he imagines. Neither will work. Our idols always fall short and leave us frustrated and disappointed.

I heard a preacher put it like this, "If the God you worship always agrees with you, you're not worshiping the true God but only a deified version of yourself." A more accurate description of today's version of Christianity cannot be found. This is why people who have no problem believing in God have a hard time accepting Christ. God in the general sense can be what I want him to be (at least in my own estimation), Jesus on the other hand leaves you no option - He is who He is, and we know how He lived and what He said. Jesus is the fullest expression of the Godhead in the way we can understand. When we recoil at Him, it shows our own self-exaltation above God and it exposes the idolatry of our hearts. 

The people gave the gold to Aaron and watched create a calf. Why a calf? Because a calf was a common symbol of the gods of Egypt. The main god of Egypt was called Isis, represented by the shape of a bull and creator the world. But Israel commits the ultimate offense to God... they credited that image of that false god with the works of Yahweh!

This is our human propensity. We give the credit God deserves to the shapes and patterns of this world. We start to credit our ambition or accomplishments. Perhaps we give glory to our looks or our intelligence. Did you notice that Israel did not demand ONE God (as the Lord truly is) but many! "Make us gods!" was the cry. The foray into idolatry is NEVER satisfied with one god. We give our allegiance to one, they will all follow soon after. Sin never satisfies, and so it entices us to go further and further into desperate actions to do what only the Lord can do for us.

It is no wonder John ends his first epistle with the command:
1 John 5:21 (ESV) Little children, keep yourselves from idols.

In the end, there is only ONE Lord and ONE hope. All other gods will fail... or be crushed by the truth of God.