출애굽기 Chapter 32

Translation: ESV

1

When the people saw that Moses delayed to come down from the mountain, the people gathered themselves together to Aaron and said to him, 'Up, make us gods who shall go before us. As for this Moses, the man who brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.'

Key Message

Loss of patience and the desire for something visible is the fastest road to idolatry.

▸The golden calf incident is a shocking betrayal occurring at the very moment God's law is being given.

The golden calf incident is a shocking betrayal occurring at the very moment God's law is being given. 'Saw that Moses delayed'—a mere forty days of Moses' absence from among them led the people to idolatry. The human desire for a visible god and impatience with their leader are the seeds of this tragedy.

Related Verses

But they soon forgot his works; they did not wait for his counsel.
4

And he received the gold from their hand and fashioned it with a graving tool and made a golden calf. And they said, 'These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt!'

Key Message

A leader's spiritual failure can lead the entire community into sin, and the responsibility of spiritual leadership is that weighty.

▸The act of Aaron himself making the golden calf is shocking.

11

But Moses implored the LORD his God and said, 'O LORD, why does your wrath burn hot against your people, whom you have brought out of the land of Egypt with great power and with a mighty hand?'

Key Message

True intercessory prayer gives up personal benefit and prays for others on the basis of God's promises and glory.

▸Moses 'implored the LORD his God'—beginning intercessory prayer seeking God's grace.

14

And the LORD relented from the disaster that he had spoken of bringing on his people.

Key Message

Intercessory prayer has the power to change history, and God is one who actually responds to prayer.

▸'The LORD relented'—God answered the intercessory prayer.

19

And as soon as he came near the camp and saw the calf and the dancing, Moses' anger burned hot, and he threw the tablets out of his hands and broke them at the foot of the mountain.

Key Message

The sin of breaking the covenant is an act that demolishes the very symbol of God's grace, and only God's new grace can restore it.

▸Moses' act of breaking the tablets is not a mere outburst of anger but a theological symbol.

32

But now, if you will forgive their sin—but if not, please blot me out of your book that you have written.

Key Message

True love can give even the most precious thing for the sake of others, and this prefigures the atoning work of Christ.

▸This is the climax of Moses' intercessory prayer.