LifeWay Bible Studies for Life Series for November 13: Standing on the promises

If Moses had known about a rollercoaster in his day, emotionally he would have felt as if he were on one practically every day in his efforts to lead God’s people into the Promised Land. God couldn’t do enough miracles to satisfy these folks. For every miracle he performed, they wanted two more. God just wasn’t producing miracles fast enough for them.

People are so fickle that outward conditions often change inward feelings. One day, they’re on a spiritual mountaintop singing “I shall not be moved,” and the next day, they’re in a swamp neck deep in mud lamenting God has deserted them.

Just think about all the varying moods of the Israelites toward Moses over a 40-year period. They ran the gamut of human emotions, and the Bible doesn’t attempt to cover any of them up.

Some days, the people would be so pleased with God and Moses there would be music and dancing in the Israelite camp. But a day or two later, Moses would have the makings of a rebellion on his hands because of some particular lament, usually resulting in a chorus of whining because of something God hadn’t given them. But be assured, these people weren’t all that interested in giving to God—not even all their worship.

In Exodus 32, Moses came down from the mountain carrying two tablets of stone, and on those tablets were commandments written by the finger of God. It should have been one of the most memorable and wonderful episodes in Israel’s history, but it turned out to be memorable only in the worst sense of the word. While Moses had been talking to God and obtaining the greatest principles for life, the people had been busy building a golden calf they could worship.

Imagine Moses’ frustration—a frustration that became so boiling hot with anger, he threw the tablets down and broke them. Here he was carrying the very words of God in his hands, rules to live by, and the people were worshipping a golden calf. He had laid his all on the altar, beseeching God to have mercy on this people, and they had chosen to worship a golden calf instead of the Lord God Almighty.

Before we vote to send these folks to the abyss, let’s look at our own golden calf or calves. There will be people in worship services this Sunday who can pray with a straight face, “We love you so much, Lord,” all the while thinking “I hope the preacher doesn’t go over his allotted time, because I don’t want to miss any of the game.” Or, some won’t even show up for worship if they think they might miss the opening kickoff.

Or, if we had to choose between God and football, or some other form of entertainment, which would it be?

You might think that harsh, but in thousands of years people haven’t changed all that much.  You still have a few people like Moses, and you have a whole lot of people like the calf worshippers.

God was doing all kind of good stuff for the Israelites, but they couldn’t see him. They couldn’t touch him. Most of them probably had some uncertainty about God, maybe wanting to believe in him, but not grasping the concept of “Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” They certainly didn’t have as much evidence of God as we do today, even though he was doing miraculous things in their midst. Chances are, some of the miracles God did probably were attributed to Moses, because they could see Moses.

You might ask, “How could anyone worship a golden calf?  How could they believe a golden calf that they made with their own hands could do anything for them?”

Well, a lot of things can become an idol in your heart, and a lot of people can become an idol in your heart. Material things—money, cars, clothes, houses, boats, etc.—are not idols unless you make them idols. People aren’t idols unless you make them idols. Ballplayers don’t make themselves idols. Actors and actresses don’t make themselves idols. Singers don’t make themselves idols. Somebody else has to do that for them—somebody like you, if you’re into that sort of thing.

Moses, of course, took the golden calf, burned it in the fire and ground it into powder. He spread the powder on the water and made the Israelites drink it. So in a sense they ingested the object of their worship, but that didn’t seem to make a difference to them. Indications are that for the most part they were not repentant.

Moses chastised Aaron for letting the people run amok and becoming a laughing stock to their enemies. He then stood in the middle of the camp and asked those who would stand for God to stand with him. The Levites, obviously, came in force.  

If you think you’re in no danger of idol worship when you become a Christian, you’re wrong. Jesus said, “In the world you will have tribulation.” You can count on Satan to entice you to engage in idol worship and any other evil pursuit that tickles your fancy. He will do anything he can to cause you to hurt your witness, because hurting your witness wounds God.