The "gods" Before Us
Now when the people saw that Moses delayed coming down from the mountain, the people gathered together to Aaron, and said to him, "Come, make us gods that shall go before us; for 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." - Exodus 32:1 NKJV
As I typed the last part of that verse, I thought that some of you might be wondering what has become of me over the last few weeks with my sparse postings here! In short, I've been wrapping up some new projects for my business and ramping up for another project that is ministry related, which you shall be hearing about soon. But enough of me, let's get to the good stuff!
The scene pictured in the above passage has always intrigued me. First of all, I can't imagine praying to a "god" that I've made with my own hands. That doesn't make sense to me. But is not praying to the real God because we are too busy with all of our own little "gods" of material things and activities for our children, ministries and personal leisure really any different? Sadly, we are just as guilty as the Israelites. But why did they and why do we stray from a deep relationship with the one true God? Let's look at the Israelites in this verse to see what happened to them.
1. Impatience - The Israelites didn't want to wait for God's timing, they wanted blessings on their own terms so they coerced Aaron to take over.
2. A Short Memory - Did the Israelites forget the nature of their God? How could they think that Moses, or God for that matter, would abandon them after rescuing them from the clutches of Pharoah? Apparently their faith was small and their memory short.
3. Faith by Proxy - I wonder if the Israelites really ever had their own relationship with God. If they were strong in their faith, why would that faith in God disappear in 40 days time, so much so that they were willing to make other gods to replace God?
There is a lot to this one verse, isn't there? Christians today aren't much different the Israelites in Moses' day. We get impatient, we have short memories regarding what God has done for us and who He is, and we rely on others to give us messages from God. In reality, if we would devote ourselves to spending time with Him through the Bible, our faith would be strong enough to withstand uncertain times. With a strong personal faith, we won't put other "gods" before us as frequently. How strong is your faith?
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Janna Rust is a Professional Coach and Speaker dedicated to encouraging others towards lives God intends for them. For more information, visit her at www.purposefulpartnerships.com.