Posted on 12/03/2019 2:28:13 PM PST by Faith Presses On
It's pretty amazing how what the Israelites did under Aaron's leadership (while Moses was up on the mountain with God receiving His commandments) closely resembles the idolatrous idea that God didn't create the universe, but instead all this physical and non-physical (spiritual) order and meaning simply produced itself by chance, without any intelligent direction and for no purpose. It sounds a lot like Aaron's defense to Moses that he merely put the gold the people had brought him into the fire, and out came the golden calf.
"And Moses said unto Aaron, What did this people unto thee, that thou hast brought so great a sin upon them? And Aaron said, Let not the anger of my lord wax hot: thou knowest the people, that they are set on mischief. For they said unto me, Make us gods, which shall go before us: for as for this Moses, the man that brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we wot not what is become of him.
"And I said unto them, Whosoever hath any gold, let them break it off. So they gave it me: then I cast it into the fire, and there came out this calf." Exodus 32:21-24
I don't know if it's been determined whether the calf really came out of the fire without human shaping, in which case God allowed Satan to produce it himself, or if Aaron was simply lying, but either way, the people's sin of unbelief created it, and it certainly wasn't created by the random actions of nature.
And it's revealing, too, that the people clamored for the calf "god" as they began to fear and lose their faith because their leader and chosen intermediary between themselves and God had, to them, gone missing. Whenever it seems like the Lord might not be there in our problems, Satan tries to tempt us into believing that He doesn't exist. But His Word teaches and assures us that faith means believing that He is, and that He's a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him (Hebrews 11:6).
In the golden calf, we see, too, that even when people end up denying their creator, they end up recreating a false one, and that one, with Satan behind it, in some ways can deceptively imitate the true, living God.
Climate God is the new worship...its all about how to save the planet...instead of how to save their souls.
So who is this satan, and why does G-d permit him to do anything; or is G-d maybe not all powerful?
ML/NJ
Thanks, Faith. I had forgotten that Aaron denied making the idol.
God is all-powerful. Nothing can happen outside of what He permits. He desires that all beings, angels and men, to use their free will to choose good, and He has permitted us to have the free will choice to do so. But like Satan, people can also choose to do evil.
You’re welcome. It’s similar to how Adam and Eve tried to shift the blame from themselves, too. We all do it, yet many people will still sadly insist that they have no sin!
Exo 32:5 Aaron saw how excited the people were, so he built an altar in front of the calf. Then he announced, “Tomorrow will be a festival to the LORD!”
Is it possible that Aaron thought he could redirect this excitement toward God. He built an alter in front of it, thinking that might sanctify it. Building an alter in front of climate change, homosexuality, social justice won’t work today either.
Exo 32:10 Now leave Me alone so My fierce anger can blaze against them, and I will destroy them. Then I will make you, Moses, into a great nation.”
God was so angry He was ready to destroy them all except for a remnant named Moses and start all over for His purposes.
Read the whole chapter, there is much detail for a purpose there. Let him who has ears to hear.....................
to use their free will to choose good,
All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.
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