Golden calf

By Elizabeth Prata

After making their covenant, Moses taught the people what God wanted. This included instructions on worshipping God. God was very specific about it. So the Israelites worshipped God His way, which included making an altar with nothing man-made on it- no objects, no idols, nothing even that a man made tool had touched or fashioned. Only stones. Then God called Moses back up to the mountain so He could give him the law in physical form (the tablets containing the Ten Commandments). Moses was gone 40 days and 40 nights.

Being stiff-necked and impatient, the Israelites worried about Moses and they decided he was not coming back. Abandoning the worship of God His way,

“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.” Aaron said to them, “Tear off the gold rings which are in the ears of your wives, your sons, and your daughters, and bring them to me.” Then all the people tore off the gold rings which were in their ears and brought them to Aaron. He 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.”

“So the next day they rose early and offered burnt offerings, and brought peace offerings; and the people sat down to eat and to drink, and rose up to play.” Exodus 20:22-25, Exodus 32-34

They worshipped a golden calf. An idol.

Paul wrote to Timothy that there will be Godlessness in the last days. We are in the last days. They are the time between the Ascension of Jesus and His return. Paul wrote: “Do not be idolaters, as some of them were; as it is written: “The people sat down to eat and drink and got up to indulge in pagan revelry.”  1 Corinthians 10:7.

Are you ready? Turn your eyes upon Jesus and Him only. Serve Him and walk in His ways. Forego the golden idols of this world. There are so many! For Westerners, they might not be actual cast idols, as they are in the East, but we have idols that fill football fields, we set up monuments to worshiping work, we’ve got idols of entertainers and musicians. Instead, plan on eternal rewards. The temporary rewards and idols of this world are just that, all too temporary.