Focus

Pay attention to the tension in your body. Let go of it and any expectations to do anything other than God’s will today. Prepare yourself to hear God’s word.

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Read

Exodus 32:15-35 (NRSV)

Then Moses turned and went down from the mountain, carrying the two tablets of the covenant in his hands, tablets that were written on both sides, written on the front and on the back. The tablets were the work of God, and the writing was the writing of God, engraved upon the tablets. When Joshua heard the noise of the people as they shouted, he said to Moses, “There is a noise of war in the camp.” But he said,

“It is not the sound made by victors,
or the sound made by losers;
it is the sound of revelers that I hear.”

As soon as he came near the camp and saw the calf and the dancing, Moses’ anger burned hot, and he threw the tablets from his hands and broke them at the foot of the mountain. He took the calf that they had made, burned it with fire, ground it to powder, scattered it on the water, and made the Israelites drink it.

Moses said to Aaron, “What did this people do to you that you have brought so great a sin upon them?” And Aaron said, “Do not let the anger of my lord burn hot; you know the people, that they are bent on evil. They said to me, ‘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.’ So I said to them, ‘Whoever has gold, take it off’; so they gave it to me, and I threw it into the fire, and out came this calf!”

When Moses saw that the people were running wild (for Aaron had let them run wild, to the derision of their enemies), then Moses stood in the gate of the camp, and said, “Who is on the LORD’s side? Come to me!” And all the sons of Levi gathered around him. He said to them, “Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, ‘Put your sword on your side, each of you! Go back and forth from gate to gate throughout the camp, and each of you kill your brother, your friend, and your neighbor.’” The sons of Levi did as Moses commanded, and about three thousand of the people fell on that day. Moses said, “Today you have ordained yourselves for the service of the LORD, each one at the cost of a son or a brother, and so have brought a blessing on yourselves this day.”

On the next day Moses said to the people, “You have sinned a great sin. But now I will go up to the LORD; perhaps I can make atonement for your sin.” So Moses returned to the LORD and said, “Alas, this people has sinned a great sin; they have made for themselves gods of gold. But now, if you will only forgive their sin—but if not, blot me out of the book that you have written.” But the LORD said to Moses, “Whoever has sinned against me I will blot out of my book. But now go, lead the people to the place about which I have spoken to you; see, my angel shall go in front of you. Nevertheless, when the day comes for punishment, I will punish them for their sin.”

Then the LORD sent a plague on the people, because they made the calf—the one that Aaron made.

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Reflect

When I hear the word idolatry, my mind eye automatically brings forth Aaron’s golden calf and an assembly of people dancing about. If that type of idolatry existed in today’s world, Christians could easily avoid this sin. Unfortunately, today’s idolatry isn’t as obvious. If it were, maybe we wouldn’t fall prey to it so easily.

There are so many false gods that seem to draw us in on a daily basis. I have, on several occasions, fallen victim to these temptations myself. We become so caught up in status symbols, the lives of Hollywood stars, the lives of those close to us who may seem to have it better or easier, etc. These things may appear to be innocent, but they can become the proverbial golden calf. For instance, I replace my devotional time with an issue of People magazine just so I can see who’s dating whom now. When the new car I bought to make myself look better causes me to decrease my tithe so I can make a car payment, the car becomes a false god. Or when I spend more time on Facebook instead of volunteering in the community, I am participating in idolatry.

We all have something in our lives that could potentially become a hindrance to our time with and worship of God. It’s just not as obvious as it was during the Exodus. When I begin to feel out of sorts and can’t figure out why, I have to stop and take a good look at the things I am doing. If and when I see I’ve allowed my activities to become my “golden calf,” I try to reevaluate my priorities. It’s not easy. It’s much easier to give in to the idolatry that’s all around us.

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Pray

Lord, help us to see those idols we are allowing to detract our attention from you. We want to be content with all that you and you alone offer and so greatly bless us with. You are the one true God, and not anyone or anything should come before you. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

Go with God.