Sin Matters

Exodus Sin Matters

Text: Ex. 32

Intro: “What would it take for you to walk away from God?” “Not forever. Just for a moment. What would it take for you to say, ‘I know God has been faithful… but I need something else right now’?” “Imagine discovering that your spouse didn’t just cheat on you—but pawned their wedding ring to pay for the hotel.” “That’s not just unfaithfulness—that’s using a symbol of love to fund betrayal.” “That’s exactly what Israel does in Exodus 32. God gives them gold as a gift when they leave Egypt, and they melt it down to form an idol. They don’t deny God exists. They just use His gifts to create a supplemental god.”

1. God Rejected 32:1-6
   1. God repeatedly revealed His presence.
      1. Approximately three months previously, the Lord delivered them from the Red Sea and the Egyptian Army.
      2. The Lord gave His presence as a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night.
      3. The Lord fed them manna and quail in the evenings
      4. The Lord turned rocks into water fountains
      5. They witnessed a light display of thunder, lightning, fire, and smoke as the presence of God descended upon Mt. Sinai.
   2. Now, they do not think about any of this. It had only been 30-40 days since Moses had been gone, and they weren’t thinking at all about the goodness of God.
   3. They totally rebel against God, making false gods because they don’t know where Moses is and when or if he will return. They had lost self-control. They rebelled in spite of the fact that they promised they would obey all the Lord had said. Ex. 19:8
   4. They take off their gold rings and earrings, and Aaron shapes them into an image of a golden calf. The golden earrings they received were gifts from God as they left Egypt.
      1. God’s gave them gol dthat should have been used for teh tabernacle but was ultimately used for their own idol. They wanted to worship but they wanted to worship as they chose not to worship as God had planned.
      2. God gave them currency designed for His purposes and they used it for an idol.
   5. How could the people worship a golden calve, have a festival to the Lord, and then offer burnt offerings and peace offerings to the Lord? Let us be clear: this was 100% sin. 32:6
      1. They were anxious because Moses had been away longer than they expected, revealing that they trusted the leader rather than the Lord.
      2. God had met their needs, but they FEEL exposed, vulnerable, and afraid.
      3. In their minds, they weren’t rejecting God but adding to Him. gods 32:4, feast to the Lord 32:5, burnt and peace offerings 32:6. They do not understand that adding to the Lord is a rejection of Him.
      4. They ate, drank and played as they worshipped the golden calf. NO ONE said to stop.
   6. Why did Aaron choose a calf? It was the most popular Egyptian god. He saw the Egyptians worship golden calves, and it was imprinted on his mind and heart. Often, what the world worships affects us when we begin seeking a substitute for God.
   7. When we are anxious, feel vulnerable, and afraid, we often look for other gods to trust alongside the Lord.
2. God Responds 32:7-29
   1. God talks with Moses
      1. The Lord tells Moses that his (Moses) people, whom he brought up out of Egypt, have corrupted themselves and have turned aside quickly from his commands. 32:7-8 The Lord doesn’t take responsibility for the rebellious Israelites but says they are Moses’ problem. The Lord is angry. They are your kids.
      2. The Lord knows what they have been doing at the bottom of the mountain. Never believe that the Lord doesn’t see what you are doing.
      3. Moses knew that the people were stiff-necked - stubborn, obstinate, unwilling to submit to God’s guidance. Remember, as Moses led them out of Egypt, every time there was a problem, the people grumbled. Moses then took their grumbling to the Lord.
      4. Moses becomes a defense attorney for Israel, who is guilty but Aaaron was unwilling to defend the Lord or Moses when the accusations came.
      5. For every leader in the room, Aaron handled people’s problems differently from how Moses did. Moses brought the people’s complaints to God, whereas Aaron simply said “yes” to whatever complaint the people had.
      6. God tells Moses he’s ready to burn them all (32:9-10).
         1. Would God have been just in starting over? Yes, because the people deserved to be punished by death.
         2. Could God have started over with Moses and fulfilled His plan of having a people just slightly delayed? No. Because God made a covenant promise to Abraham, and that covenant remains unfulfilled. Moses knew that.
      7. Moses clarifies to God whose people they are. God owns them; they are his prized possession, not Moses’. Don’t get past that Moses reminds God who’s people they are and to whom He has made promises.
      8. If you desire to pray effectively, remind God of His promises. Show examples of
      9. Moses prays to the Lord, making it clear that the glory of His name is at stake depending on what the Lord does in this moment.
      10. God relents. God would have been righteous to destroy Israel in teh sense of they were sinners.
   2. God Sends Moses
      1. Moses heads down to the bottom of the mountain with Joshua, and Joshua believes he hears those in the camp preparing for war or coming back from war. Moses knew it was singing - electric slide, disco, mechanical bull, etc.
      2. Moses sees the people's sin and gets angry.
         1. Moses mistreats the word of God 32:16, 19. In the weeks ahead, we will see that Moses pays a penalty for his mistreatment of the tablets.
         2. Moses melts the calf and made the people drink the remains.
            1. In Numbers 5, when a man suspected his wife of adultery he would bring her to the tabernacle. She would have in her hand a grain offering and they would take the dust of the tabernacle and put the dustof the tabernacle and put it in the golden censer, she would drink it and if she became ill then she was guilty and if she was not sick then she wasn’t.
            2. I am sure this tasted awful, and some scholars say that it could have been fatal. 32:20 When we worship false gods, they bring destruction, but when we worship the Lord, He brings life.
      3. Moses confronts Aaron: 32:21-23
         1. Aaron deflects onto the people and their evil hearts.
         2. Aaron deflects onto Moses for being late.
         3. Aaron deflects personal responsibility for the golden calf. It just happened. 32:24
      4. 32:25 could be restated as - Moses saw that the people were out of control—since Aaron had let them get out of control.
      5. Moses gave people an opportunity to choose to follow the Lord. 32:26 The sons of the tribe of Levi came and stood by Moses. He told them to grab their swords, and there was about 24 hours of fighting. Three thousand people were killed who chose a golden calf over a holy, majestic God. 32:27-29
3. Next:
   1. When we are afraid, stressed, and anxious, we run back to the idols that have given us the most temporary kickback.
      1. We all have sinful old habits. Some of our sinful old habits are completely gone, but others have hung on, and it is a fight in our flesh.
      2. The Egyptians worshipped calves, and during the time the Israelites were there, some adopted that worship as their own. They didn’t replace God with a calf, but wanted to worship the golden calf alongside God.
      3. What do you turn to for comfort in times of anxiety and fear? Drugs, alcohol, pornography, work, TV, possessions, etc.
      4. What makes you feel ok in life when troubles come without turning to God? I am smart enough, religious enough, wealthy enough, moral enough, etc.
      5. What puts you on edge? Money is slim, other people are not happy with you, family problems, etc.
      6. Life's situations are not the cause of my problems. I can experience peace and joy no matter what is happening around me when I am committed to worshipping and following only the Lord.
   2. We Regularly Choose Between Faith and Feelings
      1. The Israelites were in the valley, looking up at a mountain filled with smoke, thunder, and lightning. They knew Moses was there and thought he should have returned; they were scared. They did not trust that the Lord was in charge of the situation, and they allowed their feelings to control their decisions.
      2. When you can’t feel God’s presence as you pray, what do you do? Pray. Trust. Believe that He is there because the Bible says that He is. The Israelites felt alone, but God was there.
      3. We uniquely have the presence of God through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. 1 Corinthians 3:16 We have the presence of God by faith, not by feeling. Everyone tends to measure God through what they see and feel rather than believing what God has said about Himself in His word.

• Don’t doubt in the dark what you can see in the light.

1. The cross of Jesus promises us His presence in our darkest moments. His love is revealed on the cross and is foundational to our belief that He watches us at all times.
2. Keep the word of God in front of you. Spend time with God’s word every day. Pray every day and keep track of His answered prayers. Be involved in a small group.
3. Attend a church that doesn’t give you what you want to hear but gives you the truth.
   1. The people desired an idol to worship alongside the Lord, and Aaron submitted to their wishes.
   2. We need to fight our desire for idols - Aaron’s idol was the need for others to be pleased. Every pastor, when he preaches the word of God, should be thinking about an audience of one, just as every believer should as they go to work each day.
4. Sin is not to be celebrated but is to be rooted out.
   1. Did you notice Moses’ attitude towards their idolatry?
   2. He forced them to make a choice, and death came to those who chose sin over the Lord.
   3. One surprising insight to me was that we see there is no opposition, protesting or even grumbling to the killing.
   4. For those of us who are intentionally choosing sin over the Lord, you are not being murdered, but are experiencing a spiritual death that separates you from the Lord forever. I fail at this, but I try to bring you to a decision every week.
5. There is only one leader who will not fail you.
   1. Aaron failed the people as Moses was on the mountain. Moses does well in Exodus 32.
      1. He offers to take the palace of the people if the Lord would forgive them 32:31-32. Moses needed forgiveness as well. He will fail in Numbers and will not be allowed to enter the Promised Land.
      2. There is one and only one greater than Moses and that is Jesus. 1 Tim. 2:5
   2. There’s only one leader who is always dependable, 24/7, and that is Jesus. Every leader will let you down at some point, including me, but if you follow Jesus, He will never let you down.

Conclusion: “After major floods, rescuers will tell you about people found in their homes—sometimes even drowned—still holding onto furniture, counters, or stair rails. They had access to rescue. Boats came. Helicopters hovered. But they wouldn’t let go of what felt solid.”

“One rescuer said something that stuck with me. He said, ‘They weren’t rejecting rescue. They just didn’t trust it enough to let go.’”

“Israel didn’t say, ‘We don’t believe in God anymore.’ They said, ‘We just need something else right now.’”

“They held onto a golden calf because Moses was gone, because they were afraid, because they felt exposed. And instead of trusting the God who had never failed them, they grabbed onto something they could see, touch, and control.”

“But when Moses came down the mountain, there was no middle ground. He didn’t say, ‘Everyone just try harder next time.’ He said, ‘Who is on the Lord’s side?’”