#214 Crafting gods

19 When Moses approached the camp and saw the calf and the dancing, his anger burned and he threw the tablets out of his hands, breaking them to pieces at the foot of the mountain. 20 And he took the calf the people had made and burned it in the fire; then he ground it to powder, scattered it on the water and made the Israelites drink it.

21 He said to Aaron, “What did these people do to you, that you led them into such great sin?”

22 “Do not be angry, my lord,” Aaron answered. “You know how prone these people are to evil. 23 They said to me, ‘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.’ 24 So I told them, ‘Whoever has any gold jewelry, take it off.’ Then they gave me the gold, and I threw it into the fire, and out came this calf!”

25 Moses saw that the people were running wild and that Aaron had let them get out of control and so become a laughingstock to their enemies. 26 So he stood at the entrance to the camp and said, “Whoever is for the Lord, come to me.” And all the Levites rallied to him.

27 Then he said to them, “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘Each man strap a sword to his side. Go back and forth through the camp from one end to the other, each killing his brother and friend and neighbor.’” 28 The Levites did as Moses commanded, and that day about three thousand of the people died. 29 Then Moses said, “You have been set apart to the Lord today, for you were against your own sons and brothers, and he has blessed you this day.”

30 The next day Moses said to the people, “You have committed a great sin. But now I will go up to the Lord; perhaps I can make atonement for your sin.”

31 So Moses went back to the Lord and said, “Oh, what a great sin these people have committed! They have made themselves gods of gold. 32 But now, please forgive their sin—but if not, then blot me out of the book you have written.”

33 The Lord replied to Moses, “Whoever has sinned against me I will blot out of my book. 34 Now go, lead the people to the place I spoke of, and my angel will go before you. However, when the time comes for me to punish, I will punish them for their sin.”

35 And the Lord struck the people with a plague because of what they did with the calf Aaron had made. Exodus 32:19-35 NIV

"What did these people do to you, that you led them into such a great sin?" Wow! Surely he must have been beaten or at least threatened, for the keeper of the law, the head priest, to have turned from God and lead the people in the way that they requested. No, it is the squeaky wheel that decides the religion of the state. Few in our country or time recognize that such man based religions rise and take mandate all the time. Born of desire, emotion, not bound by sound logic or the truth, but always in the face of God, Who existed before any government or religion. It was Aaron's job, his duty to stand firmly on the Word of God, not to see the law as open to interpretation or clever handling. He was popular for a moment.

15Take pains with these things; be absorbed in them, so that your progress will be evident to all. 16Pay close attention to yourself and to your teaching; persevere in these things, for as you do this you will ensure salvation both for yourself and for those who hear you. 1Timothy 4:15&16

A great many lessons to be learned here, but rest assured, my heart was as hard as yours when I came to this in my youth. "Whoever is for the Lord, come to me." The warning is of old, the fall, the just nature of God, the flood, plagues and God's mercy to those in whom He calls out to save in all these things. They are no longer a people ignorant of God or His stand against sin, and the call goes out, choose ye this day whom you will serve. The Levites rallied to him, and Moses directs them into this mob and they lay waste this rebellion. They are directed in such a way as to make no exception for respect of persons. When I read this as a young man, I was angry and there was no candy coating for such a judgment. So, I took Aaron's road, and I agreed with all of society that the God of the old testament was harsh and His followers were brash. I hated anyone who wanted the Book to be sealed and suggested that I was a sinner and an enabler. 

3 And I will appoint my two witnesses, and they will prophesy for 1,260 days, clothed in sackcloth.” 4 They are “the two olive trees” and the two lamp stands, and “they stand before the Lord of the earth.”[a] 5 If anyone tries to harm them, fire comes from their mouths and devours their enemies. This is how anyone who wants to harm them must die.6 They have power to shut up the heavens so that it will not rain during the time they are prophesying; and they have power to turn the waters into blood and to strike the earth with every kind of plague as often as they want.

7 Now when they have finished their testimony, the beast that comes up from the Abyss will attack them, and overpower and kill them. 8 Their bodies will lie in the public square of the great city—which is figuratively called Sodom and Egypt—where also their Lord was crucified. 9 For three and a half days some from every people, tribe, language and nation will gaze on their bodies and refuse them burial. 10 The inhabitants of the earth will gloat over them and will celebrate by sending each other gifts, because these two prophets had tormented those who live on the earth.

11 But after the three and a half days the breath[b] of life from God entered them, and they stood on their feet, and terror struck those who saw them.12 Then they heard a loud voice from heaven saying to them, “Come up here.”And they went up to heaven in a cloud, while their enemies looked on.

13 At that very hour there was a severe earthquake and a tenth of the city collapsed. Seven thousand people were killed in the earthquake, and the survivors were terrified and gave glory to the God of heaven.

14 The second woe has passed; the third woe is coming soon. Revelation 11:3-14

"Then blot me out of the book You have written." Moses loves his people and speaks to God out of his own understanding. We can say it's foolish and that understanding the logical end, he would never want what he is saying. He is human though, and how many of us when faced with only telling the world of sin and judgment, shrink from our duty. In this dispensation of grace, we appeal to grace based most often on emotion, and the belief that there is a kind of human goodness that supersedes the judgment of a holy God. We think we are doing our "friends", neighbors and family some great service by staying silent, denying the truths of God and suggesting contrary to His assessment, that no worries, you have a good heart.  The only difference now as to then, is that Christ has come and fulfilled the law, God's word has not changed, and so Christ had not only to die but also live that which we could not. The law for us is certain death; it only reveals that we are incapable.