Worshipping Gold instead of God
Click here to read the story of the golden calf
Exodus 32 tells the story of the Israelites who, in Moses’ absence, made a golden calf to worship in God’s absence. Remember- God has just delivered them from slavery in Egypt and continues to watch over them and provide for them as they travel. There are, of course, plenty of complications along the way. There is food insecurity, anxiety about the future, and so on and so forth. The Israelites’ fears are easy to judge- but also quite easy to understand if we’re willing to take a step back. How would you feel about your God if he “rescued” you and then you didn’t have any food to eat? Given all this- the story offers a few insights into human nature and our relationship with God.
This is, perhaps, the most famous story of idolatry in the entire Bible and it demands that we wrestle with the question of what idolatry is (and how might it look today). Idolatry, at its core, is the act of placing our own priorities above God’s. It is easy to assume that we would never make the same mistake as the Israelites and worship a physical object instead of God…in fact, the story probably seems quite silly to you (as it does to me). Worship a golden statue? Ummm, why?
And so we might ask ourselves- what exactly are God’s priorities anyway? My answer will not shock you: Living lives (or trying to live lives) defined by their grace, love, forgiveness, mercy, and so on. Including those who seem like they don’t belong. Providing for those who can’t provide for themselves. Etc. etc. This is roughly the scope of what God calls his people to be and do in the world.
We are, of course, not always going to do these things perfectly. The idea here is that, hopefully, God’s people on the aggregate are doing these things. So that the entire community of people of faith is carrying on the mission on our off days. I say this because it’s important to me to communicate that having “off days” doesn’t put you in trouble with God. That is not an equivalent act to building a golden calf. The calf was an organized and concerted effort to turn away from God by almost all of God’s people at one time. So, let’s just all agree we’re not going to do that, okay? Agreed. Moving on.
The story of the golden calf also highlights how fear and anxiety can sometimes push us to choose priorities that aren’t in line with who we really are. The Israelites were afraid and anxious about Moses’ absence, and so they turned to idol worship as a way to feel safe. They felt that God went missing, and they wanted a god who was active, present, and taking care of them in a moment of weakness. But it highlights a very real dynamic- our fear and anxiety can carry us to strange places. Now, this is not my way of saying, “Don’t have fear and don’t be anxious.” That just isn’t realistic. If there were a concrete takeaway from this point- it would have something to do with learning to pay attention to our fears and anxieties so we can be conscious of the impact that they have on us.
As an aside it’s my personal opinion that when we are at our best, our priorities are in line with God’s. This raises the question of how we get to be “at our best” and/or how we know when we are at our best- perhaps a question best answered by you (or tackled more in depth at another time).
You’ll know if you’ve listened to me talk about the Old Testament in this series that I have strong feelings on how we often caricature the God of the OT. So I want to highlight this- even given the Israelites’ idolatry, God remained faithful to them. This highlights the very unique dynamic relationship between God and his people. It is a two-way relationship, in which God does not demand obedience because he loves being the boss, but because he honors his commitment to people and wants there to be mutuality in the relationship. This mutuality is about humans carrying God’s way of being to the rest of the world.
And while God does get angry from time-to-time, he’s not an angry God. It is important to note how God responds to his own anger. He frequently backs off. He can be temperamental, there’s no denying it, but the real question is: what does he do with that anger? In the case of the Israelites, God ultimately forgave them and continued to work with them despite their mistakes.
Alright how about some takeaways, shall we?
The story of the golden calf in Exodus 32 offers insights into human nature and our relationship with God. It’s a two-way relationship, built on mutual respect (yes, God respects humanity) as well as mutual expectations. No good relationship has one party doing all the work, right? It highlights the role fear and anxiety play in the human relationship with God. And it highlights, once again, that while God can and does get angry- his dominant side is his gracious and merciful side.
