Below are some preliminary questions to assist in the study of this passage. For a comprehensive study of the passage, download the Study Guide (PDF download).
1. What “dilemma” did the people of Israel face? What course of action did they take? See Exodus 32:1 (printed below)
When the people saw that Moses delayed in coming down from the mountain, they gathered around Aaron and said, Come, make us a god who will go before us. As for this Moses, the man who brought us up out of Egypt, we do not know what has happened to him. (Exodus 32:1)
Here is the dilemma that Israel faced: Moses, their leader, had been up on top of Mt. Sinai for forty days. They do not know what has become of him, and they assume the worse: he must be dead. So the question is raised among them, “Now what are we to do? We need a leader, and we need ‘a god’ who will visibly go before us.” In their view they faced a serious dilemma and they were taking necessary action to remedy the situation. So it was that they requested Aaron to make a god who would go before them.
2. What does Aaron do for the people? Do they view their action as a violation of their commitment to Jehovah? See Exodus 32:2-6 (printed below)
Aaron said to them, Break off the earrings that your wives, your sons and your daughters are wearing, and bring them to me. (3) So all the people broke off the gold earrings they were wearing and brought them to Aaron. (4) He took what they handed over to him, and fashioning the gold with a craving tool, he made it into an idol cast in the shape of a calf. Then they said, This represents your God, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt! (5) When Aaron saw this, he built an altar in front of the calf, and made a proclamation, saying, Tomorrow there shall be a feast for Jehovah. (6) So the next day the people rose early and offered burnt offerings and brought peace offerings. Afterward they sat down to eat and drink and then got up to indulge in revelry. (Exodus 32:2-6)
Aaron instructs the people to bring to him their golden jewelry. He then has the gold melted down and fashioned into a golden calf (a young bullock). When the people see the golden calf, they exclaim, “This represents your God, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt!” (verse 4) The next day the people present their offerings before the golden calf and they “got up to indulge in revelry” (i.e.; a pagan religious orgy). Note: the people did not view themselves as forsaking the Lord to worship another god; they viewed this as an alternative way of worshiping the Lord—although the Lord Himself found it to be a great offense. It was a blatant violation of the second commandment: You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any replica of anything that is in heaven above or that is on the earth beneath or that is in the water below the earth. (Exodus 20:4)
3. Later when Moses confronts Aaron about this incident, how does Aaron respond? See Exodus 32:21-24 (printed below)
Then Moses said to Aaron, What did these people do to you to cause you to bring this great sin upon them? (22) Aaron replied, Do not let my lord’s anger burn hot. You know these people, that they are prone to evil. (23) They said to me, Make us a god who shall go before us. As for this Moses, the man who brought us up out of Egypt, we do not know what has happened to him. (24) So I said to them, Whoever has any gold earrings, let him break them off. So they gave me the gold, and I threw it into the fire, and out came this calf! (Exodus 32:21-24)
When Aaron is confronted by Moses concerning this incident he seeks to pacify Moses and convince him that this is no big deal, it is not something about which to become angry and upset; he urges Moses, “Do not let my lord’s anger burn hot” (verse 22a). Aaron is somewhat surprised that Moses does not know that “these people… are prone to evil” (verse 22b). Aaron’s argument is, “What else can you expect from these people? They are sinners, they act like sinners, and they always will.” Aaron’s counsel: accept sinners for what they are, expect them to sin and don’t get too upset over it. Aaron furthermore seeks to excuse his sinful conduct by pointing out the coercive demands of the people (verse 23) and presenting his sinful action as something that just happened, something that was beyond his control, something for which he was not responsible and could not really be held accountable (verse 24).
4. How does the Lord react to the peoples’ conduct? See Exodus 32:7-10 (printed below) How does Moses react when he witnesses their conduct? See Exodus 32:19 (printed below)
Jehovah said to Moses, Go down, because your people, whom you brought up out of the land of Egypt, have corrupted themselves. (8) They have been quick to depart from the way I commanded them. They have made for themselves an idol cast in the shape of a calf. They have worshiped it and offered sacrifices to it and have said, This represents your God, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt. (9) Jehovah said to Moses, I have observed these people, they are an obstinate people. (10) Now, therefore, leave me alone so that my anger may burn hot against them and that I may consume them. Then I will make you into a great nation. (Exodus 32:7-10)
As soon as he approached the camp, he saw the calf and the dancing. Then Moses’ anger burned hot and he flung the tablets out of his hands, breaking them to pieces at the foot of the mountain. (Exodus 32:19)
The Lord defines their conduct as sin—they “have corrupted themselves. They have been quick to depart from the way I commanded them”—and He distances Himself from them, identifying sinful Israel to Moses as “your people” rather than “my people.” The Lord exhorts Moses, “leave me alone so that my anger may burn hot against them and that I may consume them,” because “they are an obstinate people” (verses 9-10). The Lord desires to start all over again (“leave me alone so that…I may consume them”) and make His faithful servant, Moses, the father of a new nation. When Moses saw for himself as the Lord saw, Moses had the same reaction as the Lord: “As soon as he approached the camp, he saw the calf and the dancing. Then Moses’ anger burned hot and he flung the tablets out of his hands, breaking them to pieces at the foot of the mountain.” (Exodus 32:19)
5. How does Moses intervene to spare the people from the righteous wrath of the Lord their God? See Exodus 32:11-14,30-32 (printed below)
But Moses earnestly implored Jehovah his God, saying, Jehovah, why does your anger burn hot against your people, whom you brought up out of Egypt with great power and a mighty hand? (12) Why should the Egyptians be permitted to say, It was with evil intent that he brought them out, so that he might kill them in the mountains and consume them from off the face of the earth? Turn from your fierce anger and do not bring disaster upon your people. (13) Remember Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, your servants, to whom you swore by your own self, and said to them, I will multiply your descendants like the stars of the sky, and all this land of which I have spoken I will give to your descendants, and they shall inherit it forever. (14) So Jehovah relented and did not bring upon his people the disaster he had threatened…(30) The next day Moses said to the people, You have committed a great sin. Now I will go up to Jehovah, perhaps I will be able to make atonement for your sin. (31) So Moses returned to Jehovah and said, Oh, what a great sin these people have committed! They have made for themselves a god of gold. (32) But now, please forgive their sin—but if not, then blot me out of the book you have written. (Exodus 32:11-14.30-32)
The only thing that stood between the outbreak of the Lord’s holy wrath and the people of Israel was the intercession of their mediator. Moses emphasizes that Israel is the Lord’s people whom He brought forth out of Egypt (verse 11). In concern for the honor of the Lord’s name, Moses pleads with the Lord not to bring disaster upon His people, but to remember His covenant (verses 12-13). The Lord is moved by Moses’ intercession; the Lord turned from the calamity He said He would bring upon His people, namely, the annihilation of the entire nation (verse 14). Moses confronts the people with their sin and offers to make atonement on their behalf (verse 30). Moses, in his capacity as mediator, pleads with the Lord to grant the people forgiveness, offering to take their place: “please forgive their sin—but if not, then blot me out of the book you have written.” (verse 32)
