At least three times during the months at Sinai, the Jewish people had promised to obey whatever God told them to do (19:8; 24:3, 7; and see 20:19). The Lord knew that it wasn’t in their hearts to keep their promises (Deut. 5:28–29), and the tragedy of the golden calf proved Him right.
The great sin (32:1–6). Moses called what they did “a great sin” (vv. 21, 30–31), and his assessment was accurate. It was a great sin because of who committed it: the nation of Israel, the chosen people of God, His special treasure. It was great because of when and where they committed it: at Mount Sinai after they had heard God’s law declared and seen God’s glory revealed. They had promised to obey God’s law, but in making a golden calf and indulging in a sensual celebration, the nation broke the first, second, and seventh commandments. It was a great sin because of what they had already experienced of the power and mercy of God: the judgments against Egypt, the deliverance at the Red Sea, the provision of food and water, and the gracious leading of God by the pillar of cloud and fire. What they did was rebel against the goodness of the Lord. It’s no wonder their sin provoked God to anger (Deut. 9:7).
Why did Israel commit such an evil act at such a glorious time in their history? To begin with, they were impatient with Moses who had been on the mount with God for forty days and nights (vv. 11–12), and impatience is often the cause of impulsive actions that are sinful. Israel didn’t know how to live by faith and trust God regardless of where their leader was. Whether Moses was with them or away from them, they criticized him and ignored what he had taught them.
But Aaron and the tribal leaders were to blame because they didn’t immediately turn to God for help and warn the people what would happen. Aaron and Hur had authority from Moses to lead in his absence (Ex. 24:14), and though they were men who had seen God’s mighty acts, they failed God and Moses. Instead of restraining the people, Aaron went along with them and gratified the desires of their sinful hearts. Later, he offered a feeble excuse and tried to blame the people (vv. 22–24), but God knew better. God was so angry that He would have killed Aaron had Moses not interceded for him (Deut. 9:20).
Israel’s lust for idols was born in Egypt and still worked in their hearts (Josh. 24:14; Ezek. 20:4–9; 23:3, 8). Aaron fed that appetite by giving the people what they wanted. Much is being said these days about “meeting the felt needs of people,” but here was a nation that didn’t know what its needs really were. They thought they needed an idol, but what they really needed was faith in their great God who had revealed Himself so powerfully to them. Israel exchanged the glory of the true and living God for the image of an animal (Ps. 106:19–23), which means they acted like the heathen nations around them (Rom. 1:22–27). Many people can rise early to sin but not to pray.
The great test (vv. 7–14). In leadership, the difficult experiences with our people either make us or break us, and Moses was about to be tested. God called Israel “your people whom you brought out of Egypt,” as though the Lord were abandoning the nation to Moses, but Moses soon reminded Him that they were His people and that He had delivered them. Furthermore, God had made a covenant with their forefathers to bless them, multiply them, and give them their land (Gen. 12:1–3). Moses intended to hold God to His word, and that’s what God wanted him to do.
The Lord then took a different approach: He offered to wipe out Israel and make a new nation out of Moses’ descendants. A lesser man might have accepted this invitation, but not Moses. He loved his people, sinful as they were, and he wanted more than anything else to glorify the God of Israel and see Him fulfill His promises. Moses wasn’t worried about his own future; he was concerned about God’s reputation. What would the Egyptians say about God if they heard that the whole nation of Israel had been destroyed at Sinai?
God had a right to be angry at Israel’s flagrant sin of idolatry and sensuality (Ex. 32:10–12), but Moses convinced God not to destroy Israel. In writing this account, Moses used human terms to describe divine actions, which is why he wrote in verse 14 that God “repented.” The Hebrew word means “to grieve, to be sorry” (Gen. 6:6; 1 Sam. 15:29) and describes God’s change of approach in dealing with His people (Jer. 18:1–12; 19; 26). God’s character doesn’t change, but God does respond to the prayers and confessions of His people.
The great discipline (32:15—33:11). God in His grace forgives our sins, but God in His government allows sin to work out its terrible consequences in human life. We reap what we sow (Gal. 6:7–8). For example, God put away David’s sin, but warned him that the sword wouldn’t depart from his own household, and it didn’t (2 Sam. 12:1–14). What a tragedy it is to reap the consequences of forgiven sin!
Moses disciplined the people (32:15–29). As he came down the mountain, he asked Joshua to join him (24:12–13). One day Joshua would replace Moses, so he needed to learn how to handle these difficult matters. Moses was angry (32:19, 22), but it was anger tempered by love, which is anguish. The breaking of the stone tablets was a symbolic act: Israel had broken the covenant and would have to face discipline. But before he dealt with the people, Moses confronted Aaron, for the privilege of leadership brings with it both responsibility and accountability. Evangelist Billy Sunday said that an excuse was the skin of a reason stuffed with a lie, and Aaron’s feeble excuses didn’t convince Moses.
Then Moses turned to the people and asked, “Who is on the Lord’s side?” (See Josh. 24: and 1 Kings 18:21.) This was an opportunity for all Israel to repent and reaffirm their commitment to the Lord, but only the Levites responded to the call. Ignoring the ties of family and friendship (Matt. 10:34–39; Luke 14:26–27), they courageously killed all who were involved in the orgy, which was about 3,000 men. Centuries later, Paul used this event among others to warn Christian believers about rebelling against God (1 Cor. 10:1–12).
Moses then destroyed the shameful golden calf by burning it (it may have been made of wood overlaid with gold), grinding the gold to powder, throwing the powder in a nearby stream (Ex. 17:10), and making the people drink it (Deut. 9:21). By doing this he totally destroyed the idol and also forced the people to identify with their terrible sins.
Moses returned to God on Mount Sinai where for forty more days and nights he fasted and prayed for his people (Ex. 32:30–34; 34:28; Deut. 9:18–20). He told God he was willing to be killed if it would mean life for the Jews, but God rejected his offer. The Lord assured Moses that His angel would go before them and that Moses was to lead the people just as before. However, God would punish them in His own way and His own time. Had the Jews known all that Moses endured for their sake, they might have appreciated him more, but such is the price of faithful spiritual leadership.
God disciplined the people (32:35—33:11). God’s first discipline was to send a plague among the people, but we aren’t told how many were killed. The Levites had killed 3,000 men who were engaged in idolatrous worship and immoral practices, but God knew who all the guilty people were. Sometimes God passes the sentence of judgment immediately but then delays executing the penalty. However, whether in the Old Testament or the New, “there is a sin leading to death” (1 John 5:16–17 nkjv).
God’s second judgment was to refuse to go before Israel as they marched to the Promised Land (Ex. 33:1–6). God would keep the covenant promises He had made to the patriarchs, but instead of going before Israel in the person of His Son, the Angel of the Lord (23:20–23), He would appoint an angel to accompany the Jews. The reason? “You are a stiff-necked people” (32:9; 33:3, 5). If they had been a people who were suffering and afflicted, the Lord would have come to them in grace and mercy (3:7–10), but a stubborn people can only be disciplined. Better that God depart from them than that He come suddenly upon them and destroy them!
When Moses gave Israel this message, they responded by taking off their ornaments and mourning. Whether this was true repentance or not, only the Lord knew. Previously, they had contributed their gold ornaments to the making of an idol, and this had been their undoing. Perhaps they were starting to learn their lesson—the hard way.
The third judgment was to move Moses’ “tent of meeting” to a site outside the camp, where he would personally meet with God. This isn’t the tabernacle of the Lord, since the tabernacle had not yet been erected and dedicated. This was a special tent that Moses used when he wanted to consult with God. God graciously met with Moses and spoke with him face-to-face, the way friends talk together (Num. 12:1–8; Deut. 34:10). The cloudy pillar that led the nation on their journey would hover at the tent door, and the people would know that Moses and the Lord were in conference.
Sin is always costly, and Israel’s sin had not only led to the death of thousands of people, but it had robbed the nation of the presence of the Lord in the camp and on their pilgrim journey to the Promised Land. As Charles Spurgeon said, “God never permits His people to sin successfully.”