As I read through Exodus this year, I was struck by something new (in an otherwise very familiar story). I’ve heard and read about the events found in Exodus 32 many times in my life. It’s the story of Aaron making an idol of the golden calf for the Israelites to worship; this happened when Moses took too long returning from Mount Sinai. However, the Lord brought a new wrinkle of the story to me when I read it this time.
Aaron crafted the golden calf and told the Israelites, “Take off the gold earrings that your wives, your sons, and your daughters are wearing, and bring them to me.” (Exodus 32:2). When I read that, I simultaneously remembered where they got the gold jewelry to begin with. In Exodus 12, the Lord gave His people an abundance of gold as an act of judgment on the nation of Egypt. Verses 35-36 say, “The people of Israel had also done as Moses told them, for they had asked the Egyptians for silver and gold jewelry and for clothing. And the LORD had given the people favor in the sight of the Egyptians so that they let them have what they asked. Thus they plundered the Egyptians.”
Did you catch that?! The gold was tremendous favor from the Lord. And what did they do with His extravagant gift? They turned it into an idol — one to worship and prostitute themselves with! They did it without a second thought of their True and Living Almighty God.
It’s easy to read these stories and think, “What a bunch of fools! God literally just saved them from slavery and death at the hands of the Egyptians and they go and do something so stupid and sinful!”
“As that condescending thought goes through my mind, I am reminded that I am just like those foolish and depraved people. How often have I taken one of God’s many blessings in my life and allowed it to take root in my selfish heart and grow into an idol? More than I’d like to admit.
We can easily do this with everything we’ve been given. We take a killer job that God gives us and turn it into our source of identity and value. We take an amazing relationship He brings into our life and have it become the primary place we seek satisfaction, acceptance and love — instead of first finding it in Jesus. We take the beautiful inheritance of children and turn them into an unhealthy idol. We make them the center of our universe instead of seeing them as the God-given responsibility they are meant to be. Perhaps, worst of all, we take the completely free gift of salvation (given only through the grace of Jesus Christ), and twist it into our own accomplishment; we live deceived and self-righteous lives.
So many gifts we receive from Jesus turn into golden calves in our hearts. Praise the Lord that He is a God of patience and mercy. It’s a daily war to unwrap the idols that grip our hearts. We need to seek the Lord and the wisdom of His Word. We need to cry out to our wonderful Savior and High Priest. We need to sanctify our lives by His love and grace — that we would see Him as the supreme treasure to behold. Finally, we need to be open and honest with fellow believers about the golden calf we are battling. We’re all dealing with one — we just need to be real about it.
Today, let’s all do an honest inventory of our hearts. Let’s allow Jesus to graciously reveal the idols we need to give up. We can then begin to reestablish the true nature of what His gifts were in the first place.
Praying for you,
Posted in A Word from the Pastor