We Miss Exodus: When We Get Tired of Waiting
Exodus 32:1
"When the people saw that Moses was so long in coming down from the mountain, they gathered around Aaron and said, 'Come, make us gods who will go before us. As for this fellow Moses who brought us up out of Egypt, we don't know what has happened to him.'"
We can survive hardship.
We can survive opposition.
We can survive bad news.
But waiting?
Waiting reveals our hearts.
Israel had seen miracle after miracle:
* The plagues
* The Red Sea
* Manna from heaven
* Water from a rock
* God's presence on the mountain
Yet the greatest threat to their faith wasn't Pharaoh.
It was forty days of silence.
God doesn't answer the prayer immediately.
The marriage doesn't improve quickly.
The finances don't turn around fast enough.
The diagnosis doesn't change.
And we begin reaching for substitutes.
Because waiting requires trust.
Control feels easier.
Most of our worst decisions are made in seasons of waiting.
* We date people we shouldn't date.
* We buy things we can't afford.
* We quit too soon.
* We compromise convictions.
Not because God failed us.
Because we got tired of waiting.
We Miss Exodus: When We Create God in Our Own Image
Exodus 32:2-6
Aaron answered them, "Take off the gold earrings that your wives, your sons and your daughters are wearing, and bring them to me." So all the people took off their earrings and brought them to Aaron. He took what they handed him and made it into an idol cast in the shape of a calf, fashioning it with a tool. Then they said, "These are your gods, Israel, who brought you up out of Egypt."
When Aaron saw this, he built an altar in front of the calf and announced, "Tomorrow there will be a festival to the Lord." So the next day the people rose early and sacrificed burnt offerings and presented fellowship offerings. Afterward they sat down to eat and drink and got up to indulge in revelry.
The calf wasn't a rejection of God.
It was an attempt to make God manageable.
What's fascinating is they didn't create a new religion.
Aaron says:
"Tomorrow there will be a festival to the Lord."
They're still using God's name.
They're just redefining Him.
The calf represented:
* Strength
* Power
* Fertility
* Success
* Predictability
In other words, they created a god that fit what they wanted.
A god they could see.
Aaron literally takes the gold God provided when they left Egypt and turns God's blessing into an idol.
How often do we do the same?
We take:
* Success
* Relationships
* Money
* Influence
* Ministry
And turn the gifts into the thing we worship.
We Miss Exodus: When We Exchange Worship for Control
Exodus 32:7-8
Then the Lord said to Moses, "Go down, because your people, whom you brought up out of Egypt, have become corrupt. They have been quick to turn away from what I commanded them and have made themselves an idol cast in the shape of a calf. They have bowed down to it and sacrificed to it and have said, 'These are your gods, Israel, who brought you up out of Egypt.'"
The calf gave them something Moses couldn't:
* Immediate certainty
* A visible answer
* A manageable god
The irony is powerful.
They had been delivered from slavery.
Now they are voluntarily putting chains back on.
Because control often feels safer than faith.
Real Worship vs. Control
Real Worship Says:
* "God, I trust You."
* Waits.
* Listens.
* Follows.
**Control Says:**
* "God, I'll handle this myself."
* Manufactures.
* Acts prematurely.
* Leads.
The calf was never about cows.
It was about control.
Modern Golden Calves
Our calves just look different.
For some people it's money.
For others it's politics.
For others it's relationships.
For others it's success.
For others it's ministry itself.
Anything we use to feel secure apart from God can become a golden calf.
God's Faithfulness Is Greater Than Your Failure
God's Answer
Exodus 34:6-7a
"And he passed in front of Moses, proclaiming, 'The Lord, the Lord, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin.'"
Most people think this story is about Israel's failure.
It isn't.
This may be the most important self-description God gives in the entire Bible.
The real hero of Exodus is God.
Because if Exodus were about Israel's faithfulness, the story would end right here.
They failed.
Badly.
Yet God refuses to abandon them.
Exodus isn't about the success or faithfulness of Israel.
It's about the faithfulness of God.
Notice What God Doesn't Say
He doesn't say:
* "I am easily offended."
* "I am impatient."
* "I am finished with you."
Instead, He reveals Himself as:
* Compassionate
* Gracious
* Slow to anger
* Abounding in love
* Abounding in faithfulness
* Forgiving wickedness, rebellion, and sin
Israel failed.
God remained faithful.
And the same God who remained faithful to Israel remains faithful to us.
Bottom Line
When we get tired of waiting, we often reach for control.
When we reach for control, we often create idols.
But even when we fail, God's faithfulness is greater than our failure.
The story of Exodus is not ultimately about the faithfulness of God's people.
It's about the faithfulness of God.
