By The Rev. Dr. Paul A. Leggett
Sunday, July 11, 2010
Sermon Text: Exodus 32:7-14
Sermon Theme
The people of Israel have turned against God. They have grown impatient waiting for Moses’ return. They want a god that is concrete, physical and tangible. They want a god they can experience directly. So they made one (two?) golden calves. In Aaron’s mind they were worshipping the Lord, but on their own terms (Exodus 32:5). Throughout history people have made idols and claimed they represented the one true God. The Lord is prepared to abandon the people because of their unfaithfulness. Moses intercedes for them wrestling with God in prayer. Moses does not make an appeal based on the unfaithful people. He implores God to stand by his own promises. God changes his mind, but remains true to his basic nature of being “merciful and gracious” (Exodus 34:6-7). Our prayers need to be based on who God is, not on what we are.
Sermon Outline
- Rebellion. There is no excuse for Israel’s idolatry. They are impatient because God is not fitting into their agenda. They have witnessed miracle after miracle, yet they are tired of waiting for Moses to return. They quickly turn to the alternative of creating their own gods. This idolatry has several facets. First, they are creating their own god on their own terms. Second, this is a god of gold signifying riches and wealth. Third, it is a god that represents the culture of the world in which they live. Fourth it is a god that expresses sensual indulgence (Ex. 32:6). The calf has elements of both Egyptian and Canaanite religion. The golden calves represent the temptations we all face. They will return again in Israel’s history (I Kings 12:25-30). Symbolically they have been with the people of God throughout the ages (I Corinthians10:13).
- Remember. God is prepared to destroy the Israelites. The greatest sin of which they are guilty is ingratitude. God is gracious and merciful (Exodus 34:6). He intervened on behalf of Israel when they had no hope, no support. He rescued them not only from the hand of Pharaoh in Egypt but, more importantly, from the gods of Egypt (Exodus 12:12). The spiritual deliverance is greater than the political. Therefore the behavior of the people in turning to an idol is completely without excuse or justification. God is completely in his right to destroy them (Exodus 32:10). Moses makes no excuse for the people’s behavior. There is none. Rather Moses calls God to remember the promises he made to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Moses is asking God to change his mind for God’s own sake not for Israel’s. Moses has the boldness to say to God, in effect, remember who you are.
- Reverse. We read then that God changed his mind. How is this possible? In dealing with us God enters into the limitations of time and space that we share. Some commentators believe then that references to God changing his mind are only symbolic and therefore are to be taken figuratively in the same sense as speaking of God having physical attributes such as a nose or a hand (Psalm 18:15; Isaiah 50:2). They would argue that God never changes (Numbers 23:19) and that language about him changing his mind is simply an attempt to help us understand the working out of God’s will (Ephesians 1:11). Yet such a view misses the point that God continues to limit himself for our sake. This begins in creation and reaches its full reality in the incarnation of Jesus Christ. When Scripture says that God doesn’t change, it is referring to God’s character (as the full text of Numbers 23:19 makes clear). God condescends to deal with us on our level. God can and does change his mind in response to fervent prayer. We cannot make God change his mind. Yet we can pray as Moses does, daring even to call God to account based on God’s nature (as Abraham did in the case of Sodom of Gomorrah). The pagan king of Nineveh prays in a way that Jonah does not. This leads God to change his mind about the fate of the king’s city (Jonah 3:6-9). Prayer can change the course of history. Prayer can even change the mind of God.
Questions for Us
- Why do you think the golden calf idol and all that it represents has been so appealing to God's people throughout the centuries?
- How are we ungrateful in the ways we live? Why is it that we so quickly forget God's great benefits to us?
- Why is it that we seldom pray with the intensity that Moses shows here? Have we dared to ask God to change his mind?
