Three months after the Israelites left Egypt they came to the base of Mt. Sinai. On the third day, as God had commanded, the people came forth purified to meet God at the foot of the mountain. God spoke to Moses alone on the mountain and gave him many commands, including the Ten Commandments forbidding idols. Moses returned to the people repeating everything the Lord had told him and the people said, "We will do everything the Lord has said; we will obey." Moses then returned to the mountain leaving the elders, Aaron, and Hur in charge telling them to wait for his return. Moses was up on the mountain for forty days and forty nights. During that time the Israelites became impatient and said to Aaron, "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" (Exodus 32:1). So Aaron had the people give him their gold and he made an idol cast in the shape of a calf. The people claimed it was the god who brought them out of Egypt and Aaron declared the following day their would be a festival to the Lord.At first when I read this I thought, seriously Aaron? I wanted to tell the Israelites, um, didn't God just tell you that you are supposed to have no other gods before him? It had not even been that long since God had released them from their bondage in Egypt. How quickly they forgot what God had done for them! Forty days before they were trembling in fear as they gazed upon the lightning, thunder, and smoking mountain. Where was that fear when they ate, drank, and got up to indulge in revelry? They had told the Lord they would obey him, yet they disobeyed his very first commandment.
As I was pondering all these thoughts, it suddenly struck me that I am similar to the Israelites. No, I have not been released from physical bondage or seen the Red Sea parted or received water from a rock. However, the Lord has worked in my life, displaying his glory, showing me He is going before me as a protector and provider. The Israelites promised to obey God and well, I have too, the day I gave my life to Him. The Isrealites grew impatient waiting for Moses, waiting for God. They failed to trust God, not remembering who He was, what He had done for them, and what He had commanded them. Hmm.
Who am I to judge the Israelites when I act the same way they do? I am so impatient in my life sometimes. I have been impatient in provision for jobs, finances, and relationships. I have been impatient in prayer wanting an answer immediately. I have been impatient in trials wishing them to be over. I fail to trust God's timing, forgetting what He has done for me, who Scripture says He is, and what He has commanded me to do. I may not cast a golden calf, but I do disobey doing what I think is best in my impatience, trusting myself. I try to provide for my own needs, but I am not very good at it. Only God is the true protector, provider, and fully trustworthy.
"Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord" Psalm 27:14
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