The Gold Calf
1 When the people saw that Moses delayed in coming down from the mountain, they gathered around Aaron and said to him, “Come, make gods for us who will go before us because this Moses, the man who brought us up from the land of Egypt—we don’t know what has happened to him! ” v
2 Aaron replied to them, “Take off the gold rings w that are on the ears of your wives, your sons, and your daughters and bring them to me.” 3 So all the people took off the gold rings that were on their ears and brought them to Aaron. 4 He took the gold from them, fashioned it with an engraving tool, and made it into an image of a calf.
Then they said, “Israel, these are your gods, who brought you up from the land of Egypt! ” x
5 When Aaron saw this, he built an altar in front of it and made an announcement: “There will be a festival y to the LORD tomorrow.” 6 Early the next morning they arose, offered burnt offerings, and presented fellowship offerings. The people sat down to eat and drink, and got up to party. z
7 The LORD spoke to Moses: “Go down at once! For your people you brought up from the land of Egypt have acted corruptly. a 8 They have quickly turned from the way I commanded them; they have made for themselves an image of a calf. They have bowed down to it, sacrificed to it, and said, ‘Israel, these are your gods, who brought you up from the land of Egypt.’ ” b 9 The LORD also said to Moses: “I have seen this people, and they are indeed a stiff-necked c people. 10 Now leave me alone, so that my anger can burn against them and I can destroy them. Then I will make you into a great nation.” d
11 But Moses sought the favor of the LORD his God: “LORD, why does your anger burn against your people you brought out of the land of Egypt with great power and a strong hand? 12 Why should the Egyptians say, ‘He brought them out with an evil intent to kill them in the mountains and eliminate them from the face of the earth’? Turn from your fierce anger and relent concerning this disaster planned for your people. e 13 Remember your servants Abraham, Isaac, and Israel—you swore to them by yourself f and declared, ‘I will make your offspring as numerous as the stars of the sky and will give your offspring all this land that I have promised, and they will inherit it forever.’ ” g 14 So the LORD relented h concerning the disaster he had said he would bring on his people.
15 Then Moses turned and went down the mountain with the two tablets of the testimony in his hands. They were inscribed on both sides—inscribed front and back. 16 The tablets were the work of God, and the writing was God’s writing, engraved on the tablets. i
17 When Joshua heard the sound of the people as they shouted, he said to Moses, “There is a sound of war in the camp.”
18 But Moses replied:
It’s not the sound of a victory cry
and not the sound of a cry of defeat;
I hear the sound of singing!
19 As he approached the camp and saw the calf and the dancing, Moses became enraged and threw the tablets out of his hands, smashing them at the base of the mountain. 20 He took the calf they had made, burned it up, and ground it to powder. He scattered the powder over the surface of the water and forced the Israelites to drink the water.
21 Then Moses asked Aaron, “What did these people do to you that you have led them into such a grave sin? ”
22 “Don’t be enraged, my lord,” Aaron replied. “You yourself know that the people are intent on evil. j 23 They said to me, ‘Make gods for us who will go before us because this Moses, the man who brought us up from the land of Egypt—we don’t know what has happened to him! ’ 24 So I said to them, ‘Whoever has gold, take it off,’ and they gave it to me. When I threw it into the fire, out came this calf! ”
25 Moses saw that the people were out of control, for Aaron had let them get out of control, making them a laughingstock to their enemies. 26 And Moses stood at the camp’s entrance and said, “Whoever is for the LORD, come to me.” And all the Levites gathered around him. 27 He told them, “This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says, ‘Every man fasten his sword to his side; go back and forth through the camp from entrance to entrance, and each of you kill his brother, his friend, and his neighbor.’ ” k 28 The Levites did as Moses commanded, and about three thousand men fell dead that day among the people. 29 Afterward Moses said, “Today you have been dedicated to the LORD, since each man went against his son and his brother. Therefore you have brought a blessing on yourselves today.” l
30 The following day Moses said to the people, “You have committed a grave sin. Now I will go up to the LORD; perhaps I will be able to atone for your sin.” m
31 So Moses returned to the LORD and said, “Oh, these people have committed a grave sin; they have made a god of gold for themselves. n 32 Now if you would only forgive their sin. But if not, please erase me from the book you have written.” o
33 The LORD replied to Moses: “Whoever has sinned against me I will erase from my book. p 34 Now go, lead the people to the place I told you about; see, my angel will go before you. But on the day I settle accounts, I will hold them accountable for their sin.” q 35 And the LORD inflicted a plague on the people for what they did with the calf Aaron had made.
A. The golden calf (32:1–29). 32:1. While Moses is on the mountain receiving the instructions regarding the tabernacle and the special position and function of Aaron as the high priest, Aaron succumbs to the popular demand that he take over for Moses, who has been gone for a disturbingly long time.
32:2–6. The calf may represent Israel’s return to the gods of Egypt, flagrant idolatry. On the other hand, when Aaron fashions the calf, declares it is the god who has brought them out of Egypt, and proclaims the next day a festival to the Lord, he apparently does not view himself as engaged in wholesale apostasy (32:2–5). Ezekiel’s vision of cherubim involves calves’ feet and a face like an ox (Ezk 1:5–10). When the temple is constructed according to plans that the Spirit has given David (1 Ch 28:11–13), the great basin stands on twelve bulls (2 Ch 4:3–4). In Moses’s absence, perhaps the people choose to celebrate the Lord as a warrior, symbolically representing him as a strong bull, the pedestal on which Yahweh stands. If so, the Lord is not replaced by an idol but misrepresented, a far more insidious danger. Aaron has broken the second commandment, led the people astray with language that sounded orthodox, and allowed them to get wildly out of control (32:6). This incident is a sobering reminder that the very heart of religion can be fraught with danger. It is also a humbling reminder that leaders of God’s people need intercession and forgiveness.
32:7–14. God’s words to Moses contain an ominous distancing. He calls the Israelites “your people you brought up from the land of Egypt” (32:7) and declares his intention to destroy them and make Moses into a great nation (32:10); this is a significant temptation to Moses, who has already endured immense distress on account of the people. Nevertheless, he intercedes for them even before descending from the mountain, asking God to turn from his anger and his destructive intentions and remember the covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Israel (32:11–13). In response to Moses’s plea, God chooses not to bring disaster on the people (32:14). The Hebrew word for “relented” means to change one’s course of action. It can apply both to humans and to God. With regard to humans, the term is generally translated “repent.” When God “changes course,” it means that his intention, articulated at a given point in response to specific circumstances, has been altered to best address current developments (e.g., “regret” in Gn 6:6–7; 1 Sm 15:11; “relent” in Jnh 4:2). In ways that are beyond human comprehension, this is part of the complexity of God’s sovereignty.
32:15–20. When Moses descends the mountain, he carries two tablets, written both front and back (32:15). These are likely two complete copies of the covenant, one for God as suzerain and one for the vassal, Israel (see the article “Hittite Treaties and the Structure of Deuteronomy” in the introduction to Deuteronomy). Both copies would be put into the ark as a witness on behalf of the people. When Moses sees that the people have rebelled so blatantly against the covenant, in an action laden with symbolism he hurls and breaks the tablets (32:19). Then he burns the calf, grinds it, and makes the people drink the powder mixed with the water (32:20). There are possible parallels with the later legislation regarding the wife suspected of adultery (Nm 5:5–31). Curses are written on a scroll and washed off into water, and the woman must drink this bitter water. If she is guilty it will enter her and cause suffering. In this case, the idolatrous Israelites have committed spiritual adultery by breaking their marriage covenant with the Lord. Here, unlike Nm 5, the Israelites’ guilt is not in question.
32:21–29. Aaron does not manifest great strength of character. His response to Moses’s inquiry sets the responsibility almost entirely on the Israelites and their fundamentally evil nature (32:21–24). Worse yet, he reduces his active role in fashioning the calf to a passive one: “When I threw it into the fire, out came this calf!” (32:24). It seems that the destruction of the calf prompts a riot among the people, and the Lord calls on those who are faithful to him to kill the idolaters (32:25–29). The choice made by the tribe of Levi, Aaron’s own tribe, is not an easy one (32:26). Killing three thousand people who are continuing in flagrant disobedience is a horrifying task and a severe punishment for not standing up for righteousness in the first place. The weight of responsibility Aaron must have felt would undoubtedly have been crushing. Yet, in the sovereign workings of God, he will be the ideal human high priest, fully aware of his own weakness, knowing God’s mercy and forgiveness, and able to deal gently with those who stray (Heb 5:2).
B. Moses intercedes for the people (32:30–33:17). 32:30–33:6. Recognizing that the heinous sin still needs to be addressed, Moses continues his role as mediator, declaring his willingness to sacrifice himself (32:30–32). In response, God declares that the Israelites will go forward to the covenant land, but they have forfeited the fullness of God’s presence. Instead, God’s angel will accompany them (32:33–34; cf. 23:20–23). Paradoxically, God’s threat to withdraw his presence is for Israel’s protection. He knows their ongoing rebellion against him will bring just punishment of sin (33:1–6). The forgiving mercy of God is always balanced with his sovereign justice; neither can be minimized.