We had a peek at the context of this incident, as it always helps to know what's been going on before the incident. We went back to Ex 19 and 20, where we find Israel at Mt Sinai. God is talking to his people, showing that He is prepared to communicate with them, so long as they approach Him in the right way:
19v10,11 - Then the LORD said to Moses, "Go to the people and consecrate them today and tomorrow, and let them wash their clothes.
And let them be ready for the third day. For on the third day the LORD will come down upon Mount Sinai in the sight of all the people."
He promises the people that He'll make them a 'special treasure above all nations' IF they're good. (19v4-6)
However, the people don't want things this way. They cannot see the goodness of the promise, or that God brought them there to learn, they only see fear. In 20v18,19, they are so scared that they plead with Moses that God speaks to them no more and that Moses speaks to Him for them. It's interesting that the last commandment that God gives to them (through Moses now) before Moses speaks privately to God,is this:
20v23 You shall not make anything to be with Me - gods of silver or gods of gold you shall not make for yourselves.
Fitting, eh?!
In ch 24, the people's plea is put into practice, and Moses repeats to them the words of the Law given to him in 23-24. In v9-11 Aaron goes part way up the mountain with Moses, other nobles and Josuhua, before Moses leaves them and later Joshua to go back again to God for forty days and nights. But the point is, it says Aaron 'saw God' - although God is angels here, its still a pretty amazingly mindblowing experience to go through!
And so we come past all the commandments God gives to Moses, to the people, less than five weeks after God thundered at Mount Sinai... The people are having a hard time remembering what God has done for them throughout their wilderness journey, so much that in v1 they say it was MOSES who was the 'man who brought us up out of the land of Egypt.' They had forgotten all about God, had limited their horizons to man, and so Moses had become their highest authority, in place of the LORD their God! Moses had been gone weeks, so the people lose faith in even him, and start asking for a replacement 'god.' We might say but HOW could a people who'd been through all they had FORGET about God?! But it was incredibly easy, simply because they'd STOPPED REMEMBERING! This is really quite important for us too - if we stop remembering what God has done and is doing for us, then it's too easy to forget Him.
Aaron, too, who'd seen 'God' was soon swayed and overcome by the people - this is also something we must be careful, and once again it is a matter of remembering God and His doings so that people in the world can't change our mind about His sheer righteousness and lovingkindness - God is the best thing we have but even so people will try to take us away from Him! So keep remembering Him, it's important.
Moses' actions in this chapter are quite an interesting type of Jesus. When he sees the scale of the people's sin (the 'unrestrained'/'nakedness'/'broken loose' in v25 seems to have connotations of sexual sinning too, not just idolatry) he throws the tablets down in disgust (God's commandments are broken). Then comes the 'who is on the LORD's side' call, and the Levites join Moses. (It seems as if the Levites had been resisiting this new move of the people all the way through, if you look at v25 it says the people were sinning 'to their shame among their enemies', which would suggest there is some adversity to the events of the 5 and 1/2 weeks, most likely the Levites, who were on 'the Lord's side'). Anyway, Moses later, having ordered 3000 to be killed for the sin, later goes to 'make atonement for your sin' with God. We are reminded of Jesus, especially when he asks God to either forgive the people, or put their sins on him and 'blot me out of Your book.' He is offering up his life to allow the people to be forgiven. It was a huge sacrifice to make (even though God's justice meant he didn't have to actually make it in the end), especially since the Book is probably the Book of Life - the people who will be in Kingdom... Moses was offering to be disallowed into the Kingdom of God!! That's some sacrifice, just like Jesus gave His whole life to our forgiveness - He had to spend every minute of every day not sinning FOR US! It's just amazing!
Moses also gave God the glory - he wanted the sin/wrath lifted because God's reputation would be at stake! It wasn't about him, it wasn't about the people, it was about God that Moses was worried. We can learn from him!
So. Why was it a CALF the people decided to make? Well it's all to do with Egypt, really. They had a lot of cow gods or similar. Especially Ptah, a creator god, who had a 'living image' (sort of manifestation on earth) in the Apis Bull. This was a bull that was chosen from the flocks of Egypt and basically treated like a god and royal. It had everything your average cow could ask for, plus more..! This Bull (there were also statue idols of it around Egypt, not just the living thing) had a disc between its horns, which represented the Sun God. There was Hathor, a cowheaded goddess of the desert, too - so you can see that calves would be quite special in Egypt- revered really. Perhaps an Israelite had brought along a wee Apis Bull idol and they made a mold (mould?) from that? Whatever it was, they were certainly looking back to Egypt. But 'remember Lot's wife'!
Dont stop remembering, because then you'll forget!
