As we come to Exodus 32 things seem to be going fairly well. Moses has led his recently delivered people out of Egypt on their way to the Promised Land. They land at Mt. Sinai and God promises Moses and his people, “if you will indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possession among all peoples, for all the earth is mine, and you shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. (Ex. 19:5,6)” In unison, all the people said to Moses, “All that the Lord has spoken we will do. (Ex. 19:8)” We then read in chapter 20 how God spoke directly to them the Ten Commandments, and following this Moses spends 40 days upon the mount. Near the end of his time away, God gives him the two tablets of testimony written by the very finger of God (31:18). I can imagine him thinking this is going to go over so well when I get back to the people. Unfortunately, things have taken a turn for the worse as Israel turns away from the good things of God, making and worshipping a golden calf.
Exodus 32 is one of the key texts we look at when we think of the topic of idolatry. Today we consider what idolatry is before considering the whys and consequences of idolatry, and the antidote to it. At its root, idolatry is a sin of the heart. It is that internal longing and desiring for, and satisfaction found in, anything other than God. It is a perversion of love in that, as John Piper says, we love “more than God what ought to be loved less than God and only for the sake of God.” This means idols and idolatry for us is far broader than a fashioned statue. It is any thing or person elevated to a position of worship, reverence, and desire besides God himself.
Something to See:
Look back to the day depicted in Exodus 19/20 as God speaks his Ten Commandments from the “thunders and lightnings and a thick cloud” on Mt. Sinai (19:16). Moreover, the Lord descended in fire (19:18). When God spoke his first words, before even the first commandment to have “no other gods before me”, he said, “I am the Lord your God. (20:2)” The “I am”, the one who created yet also transcends nature, is your God. God is not a depersonalized force, he is personal and relational – he is your God!
P.S. I forgot to include resources for further study on the Law last Friday. Here are two helpful books:Tom Schreiner’s 40 Questions About Christians and Biblical Law; Frank Thielman’s The Law and the New Testament.