The Golden Calf

32 The people saw that a long time had passed and Moses had not come down from the mountain. So the people gathered around Aaron. They said to him, “Look, Moses led us out of the land of Egypt. But we don’t know what has happened to him. So make us some gods to go before us and lead us.” ²Aaron said to the people, “Bring me the gold earrings that belong to your wives, sons, and daughters.” ³So all the people gathered their gold earrings and brought them to Aaron. ⁴Aaron took the gold from the people. Then he used it to make a statue of a calf. Aaron used a chisel to carve the statue, {and then he covered it with gold}. Then the people said, “Israel, here are your gods! These are the gods that brought you out of the land of Egypt!” ⁵Aaron saw all these things. So he built an altar* in front of the calf. Then Aaron made an announcement. He said, “Tomorrow will be a special feast to honor the Lord.” ⁶The people woke up very early the next morning. They killed animals and offered them as burnt offerings and fellowship offerings. The people sat down to eat and drink. Then they got up and had a wild party. ⁷At the same time, the Lord said to Moses, “Go down from this mountain. Your people, the people you brought out of the land of Egypt, have done a terrible sin. ⁸They have very quickly turned away from the things I commanded them to do. They made a calf from melted gold for themselves. They are worshiping that calf and making sacrifices* to it. The people have said, ‘Israel, these are the gods that led you out of Egypt.’” ⁹The Lord said to Moses, “I have seen these people. I know that they are very stubborn people. They will always turn against me. ¹⁰So now let me destroy them in anger. Then I will make a great nation from you.” ¹¹But Moses begged the Lord his God, “Lord, don’t let your anger destroy your people. You brought these people out of Egypt with your great power and strength. ¹²{But if you destroy your people,} then the Egyptians can say, ‘The Lord planned to do bad things to his people. That is why he led them out of Egypt. He wanted to kill them in the mountains. He wanted to wipe them off the earth.’ So don’t be angry at your people. Please change your mind! Don’t destroy your people. ¹³Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel (Jacob). Those men served you. And you used your name to make a promise to them. You said: ‘I will make your people as many as the stars in the sky. I will give your people all this land like I promised. This land will be theirs forever.’” ¹⁴So the Lord felt sorry {for the people}. The Lord did not do the thing that he said he might do—he did not destroy the people. ¹⁵Then Moses went down the mountain. Moses had the two flat stones with the Agreement* on them. Those commandments were written on both sides of the stone, front and back. ¹⁶God himself had made those stones. And God himself wrote the commandments on those stones. ¹⁷{While going down the mountain, Joshua heard the noise from the party in camp. Joshua said to Moses, “It sounds like war down in the camp!” ¹⁸Moses answered, “It is not the noise of an army shouting for victory. And it is not the noise of an army crying from defeat. The noise I hear is the sound of music.*” ¹⁹Moses came near the camp. He saw the golden calf, and he saw the people dancing. Moses became very angry, and he threw the flat stones on the ground. The stones broke into several pieces at the bottom of the mountain. ²⁰Then Moses destroyed the calf that the people had made. He melted it in the fire. Then he ground the gold until it became dust. And he threw the dust in the water. He forced the people of Israel to drink that water. ²¹Moses said to Aaron, “What did these people do to you? Why did you lead them to do such a bad sin?” ²²Aaron answered, “Don’t be angry, sir. You know that these people are always ready to do wrong. ²³The people said to me, ‘Moses led us out of Egypt. But we don’t know what has happened to him. So make us some gods to lead us.’ ²⁴So I told the people, ‘If you have any gold rings, then give them to me.’ The people gave me their gold. I threw the gold into the fire, and out of the fire came this calf!” ²⁵Moses saw that Aaron had let the people lose control. The people were being wild, and all their enemies could see them acting like fools. ²⁶So Moses stood at the entrance to the camp. Moses said, “Any person who wants to follow the Lord should come to me.” And all the people from the family of Levi ran to Moses. ²⁷Then Moses said to them, “I will tell you what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘Every man must get his sword and go from one end of the camp to the other. {You must punish these people, even if} each man must kill his brother, friends, and neighbors.’” ²⁸The people from the family of Levi obeyed Moses. That day about 3,000 of the people of Israel died. ²⁹Then Moses said, “The Lord has chosen you today to be the people who will bless your sons and brothers.” ³⁰The next morning Moses told the people, “You have done a terrible sin! But now I will go up to the Lord, and maybe I can do something so he will forgive you for your sin.” ³¹So Moses went back to the Lord and said, “Please listen! These people did a very bad sin and made a god from gold. ³²Now, forgive them of this sin! If you will not forgive them, then erase my name from the book* you have written.” ³³But the Lord said to Moses, “The only people that I erase from my book are the people who sin against me. ³⁴So now, go down and lead the people where I tell you. My angel will go before you and lead you. When the time comes to punish the people who sinned, then they will be punished.” ³⁵So the Lord caused a terrible sickness to come to the people. He did this because they told Aaron to make the golden calf."

altar A table or raised area used for offering sacrifices. sacrifice(s) A gift to God. Usually, it was a special animal that was killed and burned on an altar. Agreement Literally, “Proof.” The flat stones with the Ten Commandments written on them. These were proof of the Agreement between God and the people of Israel. music Or, “singing.” the book This is the “Book of Life,” a book with all the names of God’s people written in it.

"I Will Not Go with You”

33 Then the Lord said to Moses, "You and the people you brought out of Egypt must leave this place. Go to the land that I promised to give to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. I promised them that I would give that land to their descendants. ²So I will send an angel to go before you. And I will defeat the Canaanites, the Amorites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. I will force those people to leave your land. ³So go to the land filled with many good things.* But I will not go with you. You people are very stubborn, {and you make me very angry}. If I go with you, I might destroy you along the way.” ⁴The people heard this bad news and became very sad. And the people stopped wearing jewelry. ⁵Why? Because the Lord said to Moses, “Tell the people of Israel, ‘You are a stubborn people. I might destroy you even if I travel with you only a short time. So take off all your jewelry while I decide* what to do with you.’” ⁶So the people of Israel stopped wearing their jewelry at Mount Horeb (Sinai).

The Temporary Meeting Tent

⁷Moses used to take a tent a short way outside the camp. Moses called it “the meeting tent.*” Any person who wanted to ask something from the Lord would go to the meeting tent outside the camp. ⁸Any time Moses went out to the tent, all the people watched him. The people stood at the entrance of their tents and watched Moses until he entered the meeting tent. ⁹Whenever Moses went into the tent, the tall cloud would come down and stay at the entrance to the tent. And the Lord would speak with Moses. ¹⁰So when the people saw the cloud at the entrance of the tent, they would go to the entrance of their own tents and bow down {to worship God}. ¹¹In this way the Lord spoke to Moses face to face. The Lord spoke to Moses like a man speaks with his friend. After speaking with the Lord, Moses would go back to the camp. But his helper always stayed in the tent. This helper was Joshua son of Nun.

Moses Sees the Glory of the Lord

¹²Moses said to the Lord, “You told me to lead these people. But you did not say who you would send with me. You said to me, ‘I know you very well, and I am pleased with you.’ ¹³If I have truly pleased you, then teach me your ways. I want to know you. Then I can continue to please you. Remember that all these are your people.” ¹⁴The Lord answered, “I myself will go with you. I will lead you.*” ¹⁵Then Moses said to the Lord, “If you don’t go with us, then don’t send us away from this place. ¹⁶Also, how will we know if you are pleased with me and these people? If you go with us, then we will know for sure! If you don’t go with us, then I and these people will be no different than any other people on the earth.” ¹⁷Then the Lord said to Moses, “I will do what you ask. I will do this because I am pleased with you and because I know you very well.”* ¹⁸Then Moses said, “Now, please show me your Glory.”* ¹⁹Then the Lord answered, “I will cause my perfect Goodness to go before you. I am the Lord and I will announce my name so that you can hear it. Why? Because I can show my kindness and love to any person I choose. ²⁰But you can’t see my face. No person can see me and continue to live. ²¹“There is a rock at a place near me. You can stand on that rock. ²²My Glory* will pass by that place. I will put you in a large crack in that rock, and I will cover you with my hand while I pass. 23Then I will take away my hand, and you will see my back. But you will not see my face.”

filled … good things Literally, “flowing with milk and honey.” jewelry … decide This is a word play in Hebrew, but people often wore jewelry to remind them of their false gods. meeting tent This is probably a tent that Moses used only until the real Meeting Tent was built. lead you Or, “give you rest.” I know you very well Literally, “I know you by name.” Glory The Glory of the Lord. One of the forms God used when he appeared to people. It was like a bright shining light.