MPV Commentary

1. When the people saw that Moses delayed returning from his meeting with God on the mountain, they assumed he had lost his way in the darkness or perished in the fire.

The people gathered against Aaron, demanding that he make them a god to go before them. This incident reveals a stark contrast between their initial reverence and awe at receiving the law just thirty days prior. Despite being camped on holy ground, surrounded by the cloud of God's glory, they seemed to have forgotten the profound experiences they had recently witnessed.

They said to Aaron, "Make us gods that will go before us." The Hebrew word for "gods" is simply the plural form of the name of God. They didn't intend to abandon the worship of the true God; rather, they wanted a visible symbol of His presence, something to replace the Shekinah glory that had been veiled from their sight.

2. Aaron instructed them to break off their golden earrings. This was likely an attempt to gain time or exploit their love of finery and jewelry. However, his plan backfired, as they were more inclined towards idolatry than he anticipated.

The people broke off the golden earrings, which were round massy plates of metal, producing a large store of precious metal. Aaron then fashioned the gold into an image using a graving tool after melting it down. The idol was likely modeled after the Egyptian god Apis, a live ox with distinctive markings.

They said, "These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of Egypt." It's astonishing that they could so quickly forget their recent experiences and imagine that human art or hands could create a god to go before them. Their sin lay not in rejecting the first commandment but in violating the second by creating an image.

3-4. Aaron announced a feast to the Lord, which was likely a celebration of their newfound idolatry. However, this event also had elements of revelry and drunkenness, characteristic of heathen festivals.

5-6. The Lord spoke to Moses, instructing him to descend from the mountain and confront the people's idolatrous behavior. God's words were laced with indignation and a sense of betrayal, as if He was rejecting them and their privileges.

7-14. Moses received news of the idolatry and descended from the mountain to address the situation. The Lord's judgment against the people was severe, threatening to make Moses a great nation instead of Israel.

15-18. Moses returned to the camp, where he witnessed the chaos and revelry surrounding the golden calf. He cast the tables of the law to the ground in righteous indignation, symbolizing God's potential withdrawal from their covenant relationship.

19. Moses took the idol and burned it in the fire, then ground it into powder. This act was intended to show contempt for the worthless gods they had created.

20-22. Aaron attempted to placate Moses' anger, but his excuse only highlighted his own guilt and fear of Moses' wrath.

23-25. The people were summoned to gather before Moses, who asked them to identify themselves as those on God's side. Those who refused to renounce their idolatry were put to death, while the rest were spared.

26-28. Moses stood at the gate of the camp and called out to those who remained faithful to God. The Levites distinguished themselves by their zeal for God's honor and their role in executing judgment on this occasion.

29-33. Moses addressed the people, acknowledging their great sin and urging them to repentance. He also interceded on their behalf, offering to be blotted out of God's book if it meant sparing his brethren.

35. The Lord punished the people for making the golden calf, although no immediate judgments were inflicted at this time. This early lapse into idolatry would later become a recurring theme in Israel's history as an aggravation of their subsequent apostasies.