The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him today and what came to my heart and mind in Exodus 32:1,
"When the people saw that Moses was so long in coming down from the mountain, they gathered around Aaron and said, 'Come, make us gods who will go before us. As for this fellow Moses who brought us up out of Egypt, we don't know what has happened to him.'"
Astonishing! The bizarre and shocking aspect of this account is both the speed and the depth of depravity to which the Israelites sank as Moses was up on the mountain receiving the commands of the covenant and the law from the Lord!
As they turned from the Lord in a timeframe marked by numbers of days, it was the Lord who brought them out of slavery in Egypt they turned from! It was the Lord whom they observed bringing plagues on Egypt on their behalf they turned from! It was the Lord that provided them escape from Pharaoh and his military through sea they turned from! It was the Lord who provided a miraculous supply of manna and fowl in the wilderness they turned from! It was the Lord who provided water miraculously for a nation of several million they turned from!
And, just what was it they turned from him to? A lifeless chunk of gold fashioned into a calf of their own making! A lifeless calf with a mouth that could not speak, as the Lord at the very time was speaking to Moses. A lifeless calf with eyes that could not see. A lifeless calf with ears that could not hear. A lifeless calf with a nose that could not smell. A lifeless calf with a body but could not feel anything. A lifeless calf with hooves but could not walk. A lifeless chunk of metal!
I am reminded of a passage, Psalm 115:4-8, where the psalmist criticizes the idolatrous Gentiles,
"When the people saw that Moses was so long in coming down from the mountain, they gathered around Aaron and said, 'Come, make us gods who will go before us. As for this fellow Moses who brought us up out of Egypt, we don't know what has happened to him.'"
Astonishing! The bizarre and shocking aspect of this account is both the speed and the depth of depravity to which the Israelites sank as Moses was up on the mountain receiving the commands of the covenant and the law from the Lord!
As they turned from the Lord in a timeframe marked by numbers of days, it was the Lord who brought them out of slavery in Egypt they turned from! It was the Lord whom they observed bringing plagues on Egypt on their behalf they turned from! It was the Lord that provided them escape from Pharaoh and his military through sea they turned from! It was the Lord who provided a miraculous supply of manna and fowl in the wilderness they turned from! It was the Lord who provided water miraculously for a nation of several million they turned from!
And, just what was it they turned from him to? A lifeless chunk of gold fashioned into a calf of their own making! A lifeless calf with a mouth that could not speak, as the Lord at the very time was speaking to Moses. A lifeless calf with eyes that could not see. A lifeless calf with ears that could not hear. A lifeless calf with a nose that could not smell. A lifeless calf with a body but could not feel anything. A lifeless calf with hooves but could not walk. A lifeless chunk of metal!
I am reminded of a passage, Psalm 115:4-8, where the psalmist criticizes the idolatrous Gentiles,
"Their idols are silver and gold,
made by human hands.
They have mouths, but cannot speak,
eyes, but cannot see.
They have ears, but cannot hear,
noses, but cannot smell.
They have hands, but cannot feel,
feet, but cannot walk,
nor can they utter a sound with their throats.
Those who make them will be like them,
and so will all who trust in them."
made by human hands.
They have mouths, but cannot speak,
eyes, but cannot see.
They have ears, but cannot hear,
noses, but cannot smell.
They have hands, but cannot feel,
feet, but cannot walk,
nor can they utter a sound with their throats.
Those who make them will be like them,
and so will all who trust in them."
These could not be truer words spoken about these Israelites. The Lord was so furious with them he set about to annihilate them, and only relented when Moses stepped into the breach and talked him out of it. It is really quite fascinating to behold.
This is the nation God determined to use as his vehicle to pursue his redemption of mankind through. Clearly the Lord had his work cut out for him as he began the centuries long program of bringing them into what he needed when it was time to bring his Son into the world. It is amazing what God accomplished through this dull people!
However, Israel appears on the stage here as such a spiritually dull people as an illustration of the heart of all mankind. Just look about yourself today and see what today's Gentiles have traded an opportunity to know God for. Amazing, bizarre and shocking!
Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!
If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just reply and let me know. A blog with all my posts can be found here: http://worshipfortoday.blogspot.com/
Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!
If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just reply and let me know. A blog with all my posts can be found here: http://worshipfortoday.blogspot.com/
No comments:
Post a Comment