Today's reading is Exodus chapters 32-34

As I began reading in chapter 32, I realized how foolish people are, how impatient we are, and how quickly we forget. God had led his people out of slavery, fed them on a daily basis, protected them from an entire army by dividing the red sea, and yet, they have forgotten all of it.

The Gold Calf (32:1-35)
Because Moses, didn't come down from the mountain (where he was talking with God) as quickly as the people thought he should, they got restless and impatient. Moses was face to face with God, pleading for the people, getting wisdom from God to help the people and risking death himself to do so. But what were the people doing? They were bending the ear of Aaron and convincing him that Moses wasn't coming back at all.
Aaron's action, at the insistence of the people, came only forty days after they received the commandments not to worship other gods, nor to make other images for worship.

Don't forget, there were about 2 million people in the nation of Israel when they left Egypt. Perhaps Aaron was afraid that the people would revolt against him, get angry, and kill him if he didn't do what they wanted.
Perhaps he feared the people more than he feared God. That was his first mistake. But for whatever reason, he yielded to the will of the people and built a golden calf, which they began to worship. Keep in mind this is the very same Aaron who had been consecrated to serve in the tabernacle and lead the people in worshiping the true God. What happened? How in the world could he get so far from the plan that God himself had established for worship?

We could ask ourselves the same question. How can we worship God on Sunday and live like the way we want to the rest of the week? How can we worship the god of money by robbing God of the tithes and offerings that He commanded us to give? How can we totally ignore gathering ourselves together to honor God on Sunday and spend our time worshiping the links or the lake? Just because we don't build the likeness of an animal and bow down to worship it, does not mean that we are not worshipping idols.

There's a very simple explanation, we have been given a free will, and often make poor choices, in spite of what God has done for us. I don't know about you, but God has blessed me far beyond what I deserve, and yet I fail him in so many ways. Don't be too hard on the children of Israel, we are all guilty of some or all of the same things, we just don't have our sins written down in a book for everyone to read about. And we are great at rationalizing and making excuses that sound really good. Aaron was trying to give an explanation to Moses (Ex. 32:22-24). Nice try Aaron, but it sounds as foolish as many of our excuses.

Don't be fooled God is not mocked "whatsoever a man sows that shall he also reap" (Gal.6:7). We will not get away with our sin. Though God loves us, His holiness will not allow Him to overlook sin. But He has made a way, it is called repentance. We have been given the answer for our sin problem through the blood of Jesus Christ. It lies in the confession of sin, daily dieing to self, and fully trusting in God for all that we need.

Except for the pleading of Moses for the people, God would have destroyed them. When Moses saw that the people were worshiping the calf, he got angry and broke the very laws that were given by God (the ten commandments) to guide them into proper worship (32:19). The other problem with sin-there are always consequences. Three thousand men died as a result of the idol worship (32:28). What a big price to pay.

The Command to Leave Sinai (33:1-6)
Moses Meets with the Lord (33:7-11)
It was the job of Moses as the leader to meet with God, then give the people the words of the Lord for daily worship. When Moses went to meet with the Lord, all the people worship at the entrance to their tents.

The Promise of God's Presence (33:12-23)
How precious was the promise of God to Moses, that He would never leave him, but would go before him and the people that he was charged to lead. We have that same promise in Hebrews 13:5-6 "...I will never leave you nor forsake you." so we may boldly say: The Lord is my helper: I will not fear."

Moses Makes New Tablets (34:1-9)

The Covenant Renewed (34:10-28)
God renewed His blessing on the children of Israel. The ten commandments represent the renewal of the covenant between God and his chosen people.
Their obedience of the commandments was the source of their continued relationship with God.

The Shining Face of Moses (34:29-36)
Whenever Moses met with God, his face would be shining and he would wear a veil to keep the people from being afraid of him.
This passage brought a thought to my mind. I have heard it said that there is a "glow" on the face of those who have met with God. I wonder if this scripture is the original source for that analogy. I also wonder, have you met with God lately? Can people see the glow in you? Do they know that you have been with God? I hope so. I have often been in conversation with people whom I haven't met previously; and there is just something about them... they don't have to tell me, but I can tell that they know the Lord. There should be something distinctively different about God's people.
WE SHOULD GLOW!!!