“‘I have seen these people, ‘the Lord said to Moses, ‘and they are a stiff-necked people'” (Exodus32:9).
They just witnessed a series of wonderful miracles like walking through the Red Sea, cloud covering during the day and fire covering during the night, manna falling down from heaven to feed them, water running out of the rock at Horeb, winning the battle against the Amalekites, and the sun stopped moving… But at the point where they had to practice being patient while waiting for Moses to come down from the mountain, their faith turned against God and they went to look for other idols. A golden calf was made to become the religious leader to lead the Israelites in the middle of the vast desert. They angered God because idol worship was a direct attack on God. It proved that they had not changed at all from the customs of idol worship in the land of Egyptians, even though God had proved to them that He was the only true God. They lowly bowed down to the golden calf and asked it to lead them. They mistakenly thought that worshiping the calf was honoring God. The instructions from God to Moses, on how to build the temporary temple, were interrupted. God told Moses to come off the mountain, because it made no sense to build a temple for God when the people’s hearts still wanted to worship idols.
What good is it if we worship God but don’t accept His leading and when our hearts only wait for the instructions from this world! Today, many church members do not view God as a necessary part in their lives. They act as if they do not need the leadership of God. They feel that waiting for God’s direction is too slow for the fast-paced world they live in today. They build a golden calf of intellect to lead them. In their business life, they need a golden calf of business to rule; In marriage they need a golden calf of techniques on love and they don’t need God. They do not wait for God to lead but they lead themselves in their own lives. They know God exists but they still have many other gods in their lives. When God is silent, He wants to know if we have enough faith to overcome the moments we think He is absent from our lives!
Pastor Thoai Duong
Translated by MinhMerideth
