ONE-YEAR JOURNEY OF THE BIBLE
Day 29 - Exodus 30-32 (Man’s Rebellious Nature Unbelieveably Displayed)
“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." … And he received the gold from their hand, and he fashioned it with an engraving tool, and made a molded calf. Then they said, "This is your god, O Israel, that brought you out of the land of Egypt!"... Then they rose early on the next day, offered burnt offerings, and brought peace offerings; and the people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to play (wild partying).” (Exodus 32:1.4.6)
Many things are hard to accept in the Bible but the rebellion of the Israelites in our text tops it for me. God had just delivered the Jews from bondage in Egypt after witnessing the ten horrible plagues culminating in the death of all first-born in Egypt. The Jews also witnessed the parting of the Red Sea and crossed the same with the wall of water on both sides. Then they saw the Egyptian army drown behind them when God caused the waters to return as the last Israelite stepped on the other side of the sea.
There were numerous other miracles these people were privileged to witness first-hand including the pillar of cloud and pillar of fire; God’s voice thundering in their hearing as He spoke to Moses so that they pleaded to Moses not to hear God again; the bread from heaven in the morning and birds in the evening for their food; the water that gushed from the rock after Moses struck it for their drink; and many other miracles.
What made the rebellion of the Jews even more shocking to me was the fact that Aaron consented to it and even fashioned an idol for the people to worship and then lied about it when he was confronted by Moses! The absence of anyone protesting this disgrace tells me that everyone was in it without exception.
It would be easy for me to say that I would never rebel against God like the Israelites did in the wilderness and perhaps it is true. But I know that I could easily be guilty of consenting of sin through my silence and apathy. Abortion is one example. Millions of Christians who may be against abortion can be contributors to this greatest of all genocide in history by our silence.
I do not have any intention to put any guilt trip on anyone regarding non-involvement in abortion protest or any other anti-Christian movement. I simply am commenting on how believers today can be guilty of rebellion against God just like the Jews in the Old Testament with the prayer that you and I can avoid falling into the same trap of the devil repeatedly. Let us heed the words of the apostle Paul:
“Moreover, brethren, I do not want you to be unaware that all our fathers were under the cloud, all passed through the sea, all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea, all ate the same spiritual food, and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them, and that Rock was Christ. But with most of them God was not well pleased, for their bodies were scattered in the wilderness. Now these things became our examples, to the intent that we should not lust after evil things as they also lusted. And do not become idolaters as were some of them. As it is written, "The people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to play." Nor let us commit sexual immorality, as some of them did, and in one day twenty-three thousand fell; nor let us tempt Christ, as some of them also tempted, and were destroyed by serpents; nor complain, as some of them also complained, and were destroyed by the destroyer. Now all these things happened to them as examples, and they were written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the ages have come. Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall.” (1 Corinthians 10 1-12)
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