Exodus 32:1-5 –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.” 2 Aaron answered them, “Take off the gold earrings that your wives, your sons and your daughters are wearing, and bring them to me.” 3 So all the people took off their earrings and brought them to Aaron. 4 He took what they handed him and made it into an idol cast in the shape of a calf, fashioning it with a tool. Then they said, “These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of Egypt.” 5 When Aaron saw this, he built an altar in front of the calf and announced, “Tomorrow there will be a festival to the LORD.” 6 So the next day the people rose early and sacrificed burnt offerings and presented fellowship offerings. Afterward they sat down to eat and drink and
got up to indulge in revelry.
God had just brought the Israelites out of Egypt. By this time no one had seen such great miracles before and no one since has seen the vast number of them in a short time period of time. Yet the stiff necked people were quick to forget the Lord God that brought them out of Egypt and referred to them as His
people.
What happened?
I believe they got idle. They were free, Moses was gone for quite awhile and they didn’t know what to do with themselves. Fresh out of slavery and the Egyptians served many idols.
How Aaron so quickly turned is another amazing story of how even those closest are prone to falling on their faces when it comes to correctly living for the Lord. These stories are throughout the Bible and actually give us hope. Men trying to serve the Lord have never made an impossible example to live up too. It’s what makes the Bible Unique.
When we are walking on the path and seeking God on a regular basis, we have a tendency to be walking closer to Him. Once we get bored and look elsewhere, get idle, we tend to wander off the path.
Idleness is a bad thing. We need to constantly stay linked into the Holy Spirit or the batteries run down. We get amnesia on things we should be doing. Once we start trying to please the flesh it hungers for more and never fulfills.
Seek the Lord and leave the golden calf alone. In the spectrum of eternity it’s a no brainer.