They made a calf in Horeb, and worshiped the molded image. Thus they changed their glory into the image of an ox that eats grass. They forgot God their Savior. (Psalm 106:19-21)

To this day, the sin of the Golden Calf remains one of the most egregious examples of rebellion and hypocrisy on record. Consider the irony: in the very place where the people pledged to obey the word of the Lord which said, “You shall not make for yourself a carved image” (Exodus 20:4), they did just that. When Moses did not return from the summit when they thought he should have, they forgot their pledge and dismissed the command of the Lord. In just a few weeks, they went from a being congregation that bowed in awe before the Almighty to a reveling mob prostrating themselves before an image made by their own hands.

Apparently, they could not long tolerate the expectations of a God they could not see; as it is written, “They could not endure what was commanded” (Hebrews 12:20). They needed a god that was familiar to them; a god they could see, touch, perceive, and I would argue, control. If my assessment is accurate, that means they essentially considered themselves to be their own gods which makes their declaration regarding the image even more provocative and incendiary: “This is your god, O Israel, that brought you out of the land of Egypt!” (Exodus 32:4). In other words, they wanted a god that would allow them to do as they pleased.

Obviously their will ran counter to what the God of Israel had called them to be and we know how things turned out for those who fell into this sin — destruction. On that note, some commentators suggest the reason Sinai is also referred to as Horeb is because of the sin of the Golden Calf. Originally it was called Sinai, but after the Golden Calf debacle, it was often called Horeb, which means “destruction.” In other words, Scripture repeats a name that  memorializes the terrible choice Israel made that fateful day.

So, what can you and I glean from this story and its lesson besides the obvious? We need to acknowledge that, though most of us would never think of bowing to a graven image, most of us have a hard time telling ourself, “No.” Most of us realize the greatest adversary we face is the person we see in the mirror every day. If we aren’t on guard, that man, that woman has the potential to resort to things familiar — things that we can understand and control — and let it become our god.  Therefore, let us not be as those who could not endure what was commanded; let us be those who gladly and with willing hearts say, “All that the Lord has said we will do, and be obedient” (Exodus 24:7).

Blessings and Shalom,  

Bill