Exodus 32:17 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.
The Bible is clear that God does not want man to be deceived. Adam was given very clear and precise instructions which He chose to reject. He chose to listen to the noise of the devil. The devil is good at making noise. The consequences of that noise are always disaster. Much harm and often irreparable harm is done by listening to the noise of the devil.
It used to be that churches sang hymns. There were no microphones for the choir or for the special music. The preacher might have a microphone, but certainly not a sophisticated one like we have today. The people sitting in the pews needed to sit quietly and attentively in order to hear what the preacher was saying. Those that were harder of hearing would sit near the front and they might even cup their ears with their hands in order to hear the message.
In most churches now, that has gone out the window. There is seldom a choir. The special music has to have microphones. In many churches there is a “worship team” that leads the congregation into a frenzy. Then the speaker, he is not called a preacher anymore, gets up and gives a pep talk. The people are so out of it and they could not identify the voice of the Holy Spirit if they wanted to. Jesus is standing outside of many churches today. There is no place for Him in the building or in the hearts of the people.
Joshua described what he heard as they approached the camp as the noise of war in the camp. It certainly was a war. The devil was leading the charge against God. He would not win the war, but he certainly destroyed many lives in his efforts.
In verse 18 we read that they could identify the noise was not the shout for mastery, nor was it the voice of them crying because they were overcome. It was the noise of them that sing. The question is: ‘what were they singing’? That is the question that needs to be asked and answered today as well. Most don’t care about that. They just like the noise.
In verse 19 we read that this calf could be seen even before they entered the camp. That calf was large enough and set in a prominent place so that all were drawn to it. Not only that, but there was dancing taking place. This certainly describes much of the activity in many churches today. It is not reverent worship of God. It is fleshly and devilish. People take great offence to being told that, but it is true.
Moses became very angry as he witnessed what was taking place. He had earlier tried to calm down the anger of the LORD. Now he had a better glimpse of what God already knew. Moses lost control of his emotions and he threw those tables that he had in his hands, to the ground. Those tables broke into pieces at the bottom of the mount. The people had already broken God’s law. The broken tables were a picture of the broken law of God.
It is important to note that the tables were broken but the law was not destroyed. In verse 20 we read that Moses took that golden calf and burnt it in the fire and ground it to powder and spread the powder on the water. Then he made the children of Israel drink that water. They were guilty of this wickedness and they would partake of that wickedness in a very intimate manner.
Having done that, Moses turned his attention to Aaron. He wanted to know what the people did to him to cause him to commit such a great sin. Moses did not want to believe that Aaron was that evil. He was looking for a scapegoat for Aaron. The reality is that every person is responsible for their own actions. The devil is very subtle.
Remember in Genesis 3, Adam tried to blame his sin on Eve. Eve tried to blame her sin on the serpent. God did not play the blame game. Adam was held accountable for his actions. Eve was also held accountable for her actions.
In verse 22, Aaron asked for mercy. He did not want Moses to be so angry. He was willing to try to use the people as his scapegoat. He hid behind them and suggested that Moses knew how wicked the people were.
In verse 23 he tried to justify his actions. He gave Moses a very brief summary of what led to this great sin. The people did not know what had happened to Moses. They were not ready to wait on God’s timing. They wrongly assumed that God would leave them without a leader. They were far too foolish to lead themselves. Aaron was also far to foolish to lead them.
In verse 24 Aaron admitted that he encouraged the people to give him their gold and that it was just ‘accidental’ that a golden calf came out of the fire when the gold was melted down. What a foolish excuse. When there is no recognition of the gravity of the sin committed, there is no forgiveness of the sin either.
In verse 25 we read that Moses’ anger was not appeased by this wimpy talk. We read here that God knew the facts. Aaron had made the people become naked. This nakedness caused them to be a shame among their enemies. Israel was in the wilderness, but they were not hidden from the eyes of the enemies of God. Other nations could see what was going on there.
In verse 26 Moses stood in the gate of the camp and called for those who were on the LORD’s side. We read that the children of Levi came forward to him. He then commanded them to put their swords on and go out and kill as many people as they could. They were not to spare brothers or companions. No one would be safe from the judgment that was about to fall on the people.
That day some three thousand people were killed. This slaughter was not because of an external enemy. It was an enemy from within. It was an enemy that was lurking in the hearts of the people. Their noise was soon turned into the noise of weeping and mourning. The cost of rebellion is high.
This account reminds me of what happened just over two years ago in Israel. The people were throwing a wild party on a religious holiday. Security at the border was extremely weak. The people were intent on exalting evil and God was angry with them. He allowed the enemy to come in and destroy a number of the people and take others captive. It took more than two years to get the living captives back. Israeli soldiers lost their lives in the fighting since that day.
However, Israel has not learned their lesson yet. They did not learn it in our text either. This was one event of many that would follow yet.
The good news then was the same as it is now. God made a promise to Abraham, and He would not break His promise. Many would perish due to their unbelief and many are still perishing today. It is important to listen to God. God is looking for individuals today who will take Him seriously and live for Him. Those who are truly born again have the Spirit of God dwelling in them. God has also preserved His Word and we can know the Truth.
Today is another day to go to a good local church and hear the truth. It is important to hear the Word of God, rather than going somewhere where your itching ears are scratched. You need the Truth. Be sure you are receiving the Truth. If you have a true Bible believing church, be thankful and pray for the pastor. He needs to be bold and willing to speak the truth because it is the truth. There is no place for a compromiser in the pulpit. We do not need more Aarons. We need some Moses’ today.
Pastor Bartel
