The Golden Curse (Exodus 32) - Part 1

I pray that the words that God has shared with me are a blessing to you. I pray that as God opens up my heart to share His word with you that you to are transformed. I only stand in obedience to be used by God to reach His people in a method foreign to others but receptive to most. I pray that you are blessed by the devotionals I have been instructed to share with you

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New Living Translation (NLT)

Exodus 32


The Gold Calf


1 When the people saw how long it was taking Moses to come back down the mountain, they gathered around Aaron. “Come on,” they said, “make us some gods who can lead us. We don’t know what happened to this fellow Moses, who brought us here from the land of Egypt.”
2 So Aaron said, “Take the gold rings from the ears of your wives and sons and daughters, and bring them to me.”
3 All the people took the gold rings from their ears and brought them to Aaron. 4 Then Aaron took the gold, melted it down, and molded it into the shape of a calf. When the people saw it, they exclaimed, “O Israel, these are the gods who brought you out of the land of Egypt!”
5 Aaron saw how excited the people were, so he built an altar in front of the calf. Then he announced, “Tomorrow will be a festival to the Lord!”
6 The people got up early the next morning to sacrifice burnt offerings and peace offerings. After this, they celebrated with feasting and drinking, and they indulged in pagan revelry.
7 The Lord told Moses, “Quick! Go down the mountain! Your people whom you brought from the land of Egypt have corrupted themselves. 8 How quickly they have turned away from the way I commanded them to live! They have melted down gold and made a calf, and they have bowed down and sacrificed to it. They are saying, ‘These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you out of the land of Egypt.’”
9 Then the Lord said, “I have seen how stubborn and rebellious these people are. 10 Now leave me alone so my fierce anger can blaze against them, and I will destroy them. Then I will make you, Moses, into a great nation.”
11 But Moses tried to pacify the Lord his God. “O Lord!” he said. “Why are you so angry with your own people whom you brought from the land of Egypt with such great power and such a strong hand? 12 Why let the Egyptians say, ‘Their God rescued them with the evil intention of slaughtering them in the mountains and wiping them from the face of the earth’? Turn away from your fierce anger. Change your mind about this terrible disaster you have threatened against your people! 13 Remember your servants Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.[a] You bound yourself with an oath to them, saying, ‘I will make your descendants as numerous as the stars of heaven. And I will give them all of this land that I have promised to your descendants, and they will possess it forever.’”
14 So the Lord changed his mind about the terrible disaster he had threatened to bring on his people.
15 Then Moses turned and went down the mountain. He held in his hands the two stone tablets inscribed with the terms of the covenant.[b] They were inscribed on both sides, front and back. 16 These tablets were God’s work; the words on them were written by God himself.
17 When Joshua heard the boisterous noise of the people shouting below them, he exclaimed to Moses, “It sounds like war in the camp!”
18 But Moses replied, “No, it’s not a shout of victory nor the wailing of defeat. I hear the sound of a celebration.”
19 When they came near the camp, Moses saw the calf and the dancing, and he burned with anger. He threw the stone tablets to the ground, smashing them at the foot of the mountain. 20 He took the calf they had made and burned it. Then he ground it into powder, threw it into the water, and forced the people to drink it.
21 Finally, he turned to Aaron and demanded, “What did these people do to you to make you bring such terrible sin upon them?”
22 “Don’t get so upset, my lord,” Aaron replied. “You yourself know how evil these people are. 23 They said to me, ‘Make us gods who will lead us. We don’t know what happened to this fellow Moses, who brought us here from the land of Egypt.’ 24 So I told them, ‘Whoever has gold jewelry, take it off.’ When they brought it to me, I simply threw it into the fire—and out came this calf!”
25 Moses saw that Aaron had let the people get completely out of control, much to the amusement of their enemies.[c] 26 So he stood at the entrance to the camp and shouted, “All of you who are on the Lord’s side, come here and join me.” And all the Levites gathered around him.
27 Moses told them, “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: Each of you, take your swords and go back and forth from one end of the camp to the other. Kill everyone—even your brothers, friends, and neighbors.” 28 The Levites obeyed Moses’ command, and about 3,000 people died that day.
29 Then Moses told the Levites, “Today you have ordained yourselves[d] for the service of the Lord, for you obeyed him even though it meant killing your own sons and brothers. Today you have earned a blessing.”
Moses Intercedes for Israel
30 The next day Moses said to the people, “You have committed a terrible sin, but I will go back up to the Lord on the mountain. Perhaps I will be able to obtain forgiveness[e] for your sin.”
31 So Moses returned to the Lord and said, “Oh, what a terrible sin these people have committed. They have made gods of gold for themselves. 32 But now, if you will only forgive their sin—but if not, erase my name from the record you have written!”
33 But the Lord replied to Moses, “No, I will erase the name of everyone who has sinned against me. 34 Now go, lead the people to the place I told you about. Look! My angel will lead the way before you. And when I come to call the people to account, I will certainly hold them responsible for their sins.”
35 Then the Lord sent a great plague upon the people because they had worshiped the calf Aaron had made.


There was so much the Lord spoke to me about this passage and I will have to separate it by verse as it was given to me. The story of the Golden Calf should be familiar to many believers because it is a story of rebellion and impatience. It is a story in which we learn as believers what God will tolerate and what He will not. It is a story that serves as a type and shadow of Moses and Jesus; how Moses intercedes on behalf of the children of Israel and how Jesus intercedes on our behalf to the Father constantly. It is a story that teaches us there are consequences for our actions both good and bad. It is a story in which we see the anger of God yet are able to encounter the mercy and grace of God.


The story begins with the children of Israel growing impatient with Moses who was still on top of the mountain talking to God for them. They went to Aaron and asked him to make them gods in which they could follow since Moses was basically MIA (missing in action). Aaron agrees in v.2  So Aaron said, “Take the gold rings from the ears of your wives and sons and daughters, and bring them to me.” Now what is interesting about Aaron's response was not only did he agree, but more so the fact that he was addressing the men, the husbands, and the fathers. The gold rings were a sign of slavery/bondage while they were in Egypt. Aaron only asked for the gold of the wives (reproduction), sons (next generation of leaders), and daughters (reproduction for the next generations to come)...he did not ask for the gold of the men. [why is this?] Only the men remained in bondage while their families were released. The head of the family unit was not yet released ;however, everything up under him was...the wife, the son, and the daughter. If the head of a body is still in captivity then the entire body remains in captivity regardless if the arms and the legs are free. The body follows where the head goes. Think about it this way, if you put someone in a head lock you control their head by having a grip around their neck. Wherever you take that person's head their body has to follow as well. Although the body was released the head was not. This is what was taking place with God's people. For so many generations the body  (wife, son, daughter) was released however the head (husband/father) was still in captivity. This is the reason Jesus had to come to Earth in the form of man in order to release the body of Christ. Once he died and rose again the head was released therefore allowing the rest of humanity to be free.


We are also slowly seeing this within our own homes. And in this season God is calling for a restructure of the house. He is calling his sons back into their rightful places as men, as husbands, as fathers. I myself have seen this transformation take place even in my own personal life. My son's father has really grown and matured over the past 2-3 years. He has even found himself a wife and one whom I get along with great. He has a sense of peace about himself and in his home. He has even started taking a more active role in our sons life and that was a prayer answered from many years ago. I can see how God has restored their relationship to the point where my son actually wants to go spend time with his dad and step mother...this has never been the case prior. I knew no one could do this but God. But as a mother I also knew I had to take my hands and mouth off of this man and allow God to step in and do what he needed to do. Sometimes as women we get impatient and take matters into our own hands. Other times when we don't get our way we run off at the mouth and we end up killing our men before they even have a chance of redemption and we cannot seem to understand why they are still falling by the waste side, when we are the ones undermining God's authority and adding our won two cents when we really need to sit down and simply SHUT UP! (But that part of my life is another blog for the future).


For years the women have been the head of households...raising children, working multiple jobs, paying the bills, maintaining the house, etc. We are slowly seeing a transition taking place in which the men are being released in this season. We are slowly seeing the call for men to step forward and take their rightful place among God's children and in their homes. The enemy knows that if he can cut off the head of a body then the entire body will crumble and die. As a culture we have seen this happen for decades if not centuries. We have witnessed the enemy take control of our men, our husbands, our fathers, and our sons; and break them down to a level in which they no longer recognized themselves. They no longer saw their power that came from God, they no longer recognized their purpose in life. They became deaf to the voice of God and as a result were lost for so long...


Aaron only asked for the rings out of their ears...not their noses, or their necks, or their arms, or their feet....only their ears! Releasing their ears allowed them to be able to hear. Romans 10:17 So faith comes from hearing, that is, hearing the Good News about Christ. At the same time their ears were being released from their rings of gold; the Word of God was being spoken to Moses on top of the mountain. As a mother I tell my son that I have satellite ears and it was a gift God gave me the moment I became a mother. For some reason a mother can hear at a higher level than she could prior to becoming a mother. The same can be stated on a spiritual level. The moment we are freed from our bondage of slavery we are able to hear things from God on a level in which we were not prior accustomed to. This is our indication that freedom has taken place. Recently my Bishop challenge us to go deeper in our devotionals during the week and my ears have been burning ever since because of what God has placed in them; hence the reason for the blogs. We have to be obedient to His word and know when to simply be still. Bishop also told us that God has answers prepared for us, we just cannot hear them because we have to get closer to God in order to understand. This is where we as believers should be DAILY...not once a week or twice a month...DAILY.


[Back to the passage]


What is interesting about the men at this time was that, they were quick to release their wives and their children; however, they never thought to release themselves. The men petitioned a high priest [Aaron] to create gods in which they could SEE not HEAR. They were not concerned about what God was SAYING to Moses on top of the mountain. They wanted to see something tangible in order to follow it. It is amazing because this same mindset continues to torment many men today. So many times I meet men who are focused on what they can see rather than listening to God and following his direction over their lives. A lot of men like bright flashy metal objects...oh you think I am lying and being harsh... try me. Men like cars, and rims, and money, and big houses, and electronics, and other gadgets, and so many other flashy shiny things. There are so many songs playing on radios today that continue to feed this alter ego mindset of men as they seek these tangible objects for personal satisfaction, rather than seeking God for his eternal satisfaction and stability.This mindset has not changed at all. The deal breaker was that if there was to be a golden calf created then the sacrifice would be the head of the house; in order for their wants and desires to be fulfilled. What the men did not know at this time was that although there was a request being honored the price to pay far exceeded that of gold rings. Eventually the price to be paid would be death. This is what sin does...it leads us to a life of death and separation from God.


Since their ears were still covered in the gold from their past they were not able to hear and receive the directions and provisions God was making for them. They maintained a mindset of slavery in which they were forever subjective to based on the Egyptian customs and philosophies. Their concept of servings gods [plural] was correct however their method in which they intended to carry out their worship was wrong. We serve a great God who operates in the trinity being of one body. The men asked for a [singular] golden calf yet referred to it as gods; one body multiple positions. We serve ONE God however we also understand that within that ONE God is the Father; the Son; and the Holy Spirit. Their concept was correct their method was corrupt.


As we reflect back over God's word and his teaching we must re-evaluate our own situations. What is covering our ears from hearing the Word of God in our own lives? What continues to hold us hostage in a mindset of slavery to sin that we cannot rid ourselves due to our impatience and lack of knowledge [ignorance]? What have we allowed the enemy to bribe us with in order to get a cheap low budget satisfaction that we have traded our freedom for a temporary high or fix? What is it that we are locked up in (bondage) behind because we want to stay in our old mindsets and ways of doing things? These are just a few questions we should be asking ourselves in order to know if we have really surrendered ourselves over to God completely. Have we given God all of us? Are we patient enough to wait for His word to come to us in God's timing and not our own? What are you still holding on to that is blocking your ability to hear God clearly? Think about it!