Exodus 32:7, commentary and pictures

While Moses remained prolonged on the mount receiving the law, God warned him of apostasy in the camp below and directed him to go down without delay because the people were corrupted and in danger of destruction. By calling Israel thy people and ascribing their deliverance from Egypt to Moses, He signified that He disowned them and counted His covenant broken. Their corruption was that they quickly turned aside from the commanded way and broke their pledged obedience by demanding gods to lead them and making a molten calf to worship and sacrifice to as their deliverer. God's declaration of hot wrath and proposal to consume them and make a great nation from Moses was a proving of Moses' faithfulness and love for leading an erring people. Moses would not consent to their destruction or receive personal greatness, but pleaded for pardon for God's promises and glory before the nations, and God heard and promised to spare Israel and give another opportunity.

Setting on Sinai

Moses remained prolonged on the mount receiving the tables of stone written with the finger of God, the directions for the sanctuary and the ark, the sacred oracles and the written law amid God's glory, while the people below grew discontented at his delay in coming down. Their unbelief openly revealed itself soon after they had heard God speak the Ten Commandments and had pleaded for Moses to speak to them instead, when in a crisis of severe temptation they corrupted themselves by turning to idolatry. This apostasy unfolded in sight of the mount on which they had shortly before seen a wonderful display of God's power, with the people left in Aaron's charge turning to worship a golden calf.

While still on the mount in the presence of His glory, God warned Moses of the apostasy in the camp below, telling him they had made an idol and sacrificed to it, and directed him to go down without delay. The warning carried that the people were in danger of being destroyed, for by turning again to heathen worship and rebellion they provoked God to consider destroying them. Moses came down from God's glory with that knowledge, yet still in a measure unprepared for the degradation of shouting and dancing around the calf in excited imitation of Egyptian feasts, so unlike reverent worship.

By calling Israel thy people and ascribing their deliverance from Egypt to Moses, God signified that He disowned them, no longer took them as His own, and counted His covenant with them disannulled and broken. The offense of quickly turning from His commands to make and worship the golden calf is shown in refusing to claim them, and the breach was later signified when Moses in utter discouragement and wrath threw down and broke the tables of stone. In speaking this word to Moses, God was also proving and testing him with the choice to let them be destroyed.

The wording that Moses brought them out sets up a contrast Moses later uses to deny that honor and return honor and responsibility to God. Moses answers by insisting Israel belongs to God, whom God alone brought out, while he acted only as God's instrument in obeying God's commands. That reply opens a plea for their salvation and for God's glory not to be disgraced before the nations, and introduces the judgment on the apostasy and the threat that follows.

Israel's Corrupt Idolatry

To corrupt themselves means they quickly turned aside from the commanded way and broke their pledged allegiance and covenant to obey. The apostasy was the people's own departure from the right way, in which each is drawn aside by his own lusts. It came despite deliverance and witnessed power and glory.

The corruption was making a molten or golden calf, worshiping it and sacrificing to it. They demanded gods to lead them, claiming they did not know what had become of Moses, whom they blamed for bringing them out of Egypt. They credited the idol with bringing them out of Egypt.

In their hearts they turned back to Egyptian idolatry at the suggestion of those who had practiced it in Egypt, where the ox or calf was regarded as a symbol of deity. Though professing to worship Jehovah they really adored the Egyptian sun-god by the similitude of an ox, with lewd conduct belonging to heathen rites. In this they violated the first and second commandments. Corrupted carries the same sense as in Genesis 6:11-12 where people corrupt their way.

This was done in sight of the mount where they had lately seen God's power, with the cloud of the Presence still before them. It was done though God had given no similitude of Himself and had prohibited any material representation. The miracles in Egypt and at the Red Sea were meant to establish faith in Him as the invisible, all-powerful Helper and only true God, and the desire for a visible manifestation had already been granted in the pillar of cloud and of fire and in the revealing of His glory on Sinai. Instead they became careless, inattentive and lawless rather than meditating on the law heard and preparing their hearts. Impatient to reach the land flowing with milk and honey, they lost sight that it was promised only on condition of obedience, felt helpless without a leader, and desired a visible god to go before them in the place of Moses.

The movement was led by the mixed multitude. It revealed a continual disposition to rebel, to murmur in difficulty, and by works to provoke God. The people determined to wait no longer for Moses.

Aaron, left in charge to guard the people, betrayed his trust and proved weak and unfaithful. He yielded to the demand, allowed reveling and a first departure from God's commands, calmly carried out their plans and united with them. His failure to stand firm let idolatry take hold and grow until stern measures were needed. His compliance emboldened the people to go to greater lengths in sin than had before entered their minds. This proves he did not bear the burden of the work as Moses did.

Divine Displeasure and Judgment

God called the people stiff-necked because they would not respect His law or submit to His rule, declared His wrath hot against them, and proposed to disown, consume and divorce them while making a great nation from Moses. Their corruption was quickly turning aside from the commanded way to make a molten calf, worship it, sacrifice to it, and credit it with bringing them out of Egypt. He saw that they, especially the mixed multitude, were continually disposed to rebel and by their works provoked Him to destroy them, and He knew they would murmur against Moses in difficulty and grieve him by continual rebellion.

He could have checked the idolatrous movement at the outset but suffered it to come to its height and deliberately permitted the evil to develop until the leading men had done all in their power, so that His punishment of treason and apostasy would teach all a lesson. He sees what is in human hearts and at times permits evil to work itself out in order to prevent still greater evils that would come from designs hidden in human hearts. The statement that the people made themselves corrupt means apostasy, turning aside quickly from the commanded way, because every person is tempted when drawn aside by his own lusts.

The judgment that followed maintained His government yet showed mercy, for the people had freedom to repent and another opportunity. He would not arbitrarily destroy that people but would give them a chance to return and take a decided position on His side. Only those who persisted in rebellion and stubbornly ranged themselves on Satan's side were cut off, while the humbled and repentant were mercifully pardoned. Prompt punishment protected Israel from greater corruption and from enemies, restrained the spread of sin, and even spared the transgressors from continuing in a course that would lead to hatred, strife and mutual destruction, so the punishment was both just and an act of love toward Israel, the world and the sinners themselves.

Corrupted carries the same sense as in Genesis 6:11-12 where people corrupt their way, which explains His anger and why He wanted to destroy them. The history of this sin stands as a perpetual testimony to the guilt and punishment of idolatry and to the justice and long-suffering mercy of God. Yet the calf episode as a lesson of His displeasure was not heeded, and repeated offenses against the Angel who led them brought broken ranks and missing numbers. At the foot of Sinai Satan was executing the same work of overthrowing God's law begun in heaven, devising the idolatry in open defiance of the law being given during the forty days to insult Jehovah and cause Israel's ruin. By their degradation and breaking of solemn pledges of loyalty he sought to secure their divorce, destruction and the extinction of Abraham's promised seed through whom Christ was to come as the true seed to conquer him, but he was defeated, for sinful Israel was not destroyed, though his efforts then laid many in graves.

Moses Tested and Interceding

God's word to go down because the people had corrupted themselves was a proving of Moses, testing his perseverance, faithfulness and love for the laborious and soul-trying work of leading an erring and ungrateful people through to the promised land when he was given the choice to let them be destroyed. He knew they were continually disposed to rebel, especially the mixed multitude, that by their works they provoked Him to destroy them, and that they would murmur against Moses in difficulty and grieve him by continual rebellion. In that word He disowned them as thy people, Moses's people, no longer taking them as His own because in the foolishness of calf worship at the foot of the mount they did not serve the living God but made foolish excuses, turning quickly aside from the way He commanded to make a molten calf, worship it, sacrifice to it, and credit it with bringing them out of Egypt. His declaration that His wrath was hot against this stiff-necked people and His proposal to consume them and make of Moses a great nation set before Moses personal greatness against their survival.

Moses would not consent to have Israel destroyed and would not receive personal greatness. He showed by his intercession that he valued the prosperity of God's chosen people more highly than a great name for himself or being made father of a greater nation than Israel, choosing to keep bearing responsibility for the rebellious people rather than accept their destruction when they were in danger of being destroyed. God would not arbitrarily destroy that people but would give them a chance to return and take a decided position on the Lord's side, and Moses pleaded for them instead.

He pleaded for pardon before leaving the mount, appealing to God's promises to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and to the danger that the nations would mock God if Israel were destroyed. Their sin in turning to worship the golden image placed a grave burden on him as he was sent down to rebuke their apostasy, and he feared the consequences if they remained hardened and impenitent. God heard the unselfish prayer and graciously promised to spare Israel and give another opportunity. That threatened judgment for idolatry after deliverance from Egypt and experience of God's power and glory was thus answered by intercession with another opportunity.

Moses came down from the presence of God's glory with knowledge from the warning that they had made an idol and sacrificed to it, yet he was still in a measure unprepared for the sight of their degradation. What he found was shouting and dancing around the calf in excited imitation of the idolatrous feasts and idol-worshipers of Egypt, so unlike reverential worship of God. In utter discouragement and wrath over their great sin before God he threw down and broke the tables of stone.

He also interceded for Aaron, who, left in charge while Moses was on the mountain receiving the stone tablets, failed to lead the people through the temptation and joined in carrying out their plans. The Lord declared that Aaron certainly would have been slain for uniting with their plans had not Moses interceded in his behalf. This proves Aaron did not bear the burden of the work as Moses did, for Moses felt his own weakness and felt the greatness of the work committed to him as no other man had ever felt it, with God ever his counselor.

Warning for Today

The corruption at Sinai shows how swiftly rebellion can break out even after extraordinary favor and unmistakable evidence of divine presence. It came soon after deliverance from Egypt and the display of witnessed power, soon after the people heard God speak the Ten Commandments and pleaded for Moses to speak to them instead. While Moses was away receiving instruction, the people turned to idolatry and demanded gods to lead them back toward Egypt, and Aaron, left in charge, failed to stand firm.

That evil could have been checked and the apostasy prevented if Aaron had stood for the right irrespective of consequences. He should have maintained allegiance to God, warned the people of the perils of Sinai, and reminded them of their solemn covenant to obey God's law. Instead his compliance with their desires and his calm carrying out of their plans emboldened them to go to greater lengths in sin than had before entered their minds. The account therefore warns against trusting human leaders instead of God, since leaders who act like Aaron can lead into error and division.

Aaron proved an unfaithful general in that crisis of severe temptation, failing to carry the people through and uniting with them in their plans, an offense for which he would certainly have been slain had Moses not interceded. Those acting as guardians of youth must read this history with fear, putting trust in God and walking tremblingly for fear of offending Him, so that they walk safely and prove true shepherds who carry people through temptation. What happened in sight of the mount where divine power had shortly before been displayed was Satan's devising to introduce idolatry, and his efforts then laid many in graves. He is using the same devising today to introduce the same evils with the same results.

The same corrupting influence comes from idols cherished in families and churches today, in small as well as large matters. That modern idolatry is pride revealed in apparel, conformity to the world in fashions of dress, speech and deportment instead of being a distinct and separate people, outward adorning with plaited hair, gold, pearls and costly array, worship of self, spending for self-gratification, and selfishness that steals away love and trust and confidence in God and mars religious experience. It calls for self-examination and for shepherds to act as faithful sentinels to expose cherished idols. When reproved there must be repentance rather than mere shame, with zeal according to knowledge in being doers of the Word. Transformation of mind and heart and character is to be shown in modest apparel with shamefacedness and sobriety and good works, in self-denial and in relieving suffering humanity.