“Prone to Wander” (Exodus 32:1–6)

“Prone to Wander” (Exodus 32:1–6)
Pastor Cameron Jungels
Eastside Baptist Church
Sunday PM, February 10, 2019

Exodus 32:1–6 (NIV)
32 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.”
       2 Aaron answered them, “Take off the gold earrings that your wives, your sons and your daughters are wearing, and bring them to me.” 3 So all the people took off their earrings and brought them to Aaron. 4 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.”
       5 When Aaron saw this, he built an altar in front of the calf and announced, “Tomorrow there will be a festival to the Lord.” 6 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.

What is the root cause of this idolatrous sin? This idolatrous sin of the Israelites can be traced back to unbelief. In spite of the fact that Israel has just entered into a newly ratified covenant with the Lord, they are still full of unbelief. That unbelief manifests itself in many different ways in the text:

1. Their unbelief was manifested in a lack of patience.

2. Their unbelief manifested itself in rebellion against God-appointed authority.

       a. Contempt of Moses

       b. Confrontation with Aaron

3. Their unbelief is manifested in the demand for tangible signs of reassurance of God’s presence.

4. Their unbelief is manifested in a desire to return to the paganism of their past.

5. Aaron’s unbelief (or at least weakness of faith) manifested itself in weak leadership that succumbed to the cries of the mob.

6. Their unbelief manifested itself in direct covenant violation of the 2nd commandment.

7. Their unbelief manifested itself in false forms of worship.