Exodus Chapter 32
The Golden Calf
1 When Moses hadn’t come down from the mountain for a long time, the people gathered around Aaron and said, “Make us a god to go ahead of us. We don’t know what’s happened to this Moses that brought us out of Egypt.”
2 Aaron said, “Take the gold earrings off of your wives, sons, and daughters, and bring them to me.” [ 3 ] 4 He took them, and with a graving tool shaped a molten calf.
They said, “This is your god, Israel, that brought you out of Egypt!”
5 When Aaron saw it, he built an altar in front of it, and made a proclamation, “Tomorrow will be a feast to Yahveh.” 6 They got up early, offered burnt offerings, and brought peace offerings. The people sat down to gluttony and got up to revelry.
Ex 32:1-6
7 Yahveh told Moses,
“Go down right now. The people have corrupted themselves. 8 They’ve turned aside so soon from what I commanded them. They’ve made a molten calf and worshiped it, sacrificed to it, and said, ‘This is your god, Israel, that brought you out of Egypt!’ 9 These are stubborn people. 10 Let me alone so my anger can burn against them and destroy them. I’ll make a great nation out of you.”
11 Moses asked Yahveh his God,
“Why does your anger burn against the people you brought out of Egypt with such power? 12 Why should the Egyptians be able to say you brought them out to kill them in the mountains and destroy them from the earth? Turn from your furious anger and change your mind about harming them. 13 Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, the servants you swore to by yourself, ‘I’ll multiply your descendants like stars in the sky, and this land I’ve talked about I’ll give your descendants as a permanent inheritance.’”
14 So Yahveh changed his mind about harming them.
Ex 32:7-14
15 Moses went down the mountain, carrying the two tablets of the Testimony, engraved on both sides 16 with God’s writing. 17 When Joshua heard the people shouting, he told Moses it sounded like war in the camp.
18 But Moses said, “That’s not the shout of triumph or defeat. I hear singing.”
19 As soon as he got close to the camp, he saw the calf and the dancing, and his anger flared. He threw the tablets down and shattered them at the foot of the mountain. 20 He took the calf they’d made, burned it, and ground it to powder. He scattered it on the water and made the people drink it.
Ex 32:15-20
21 Moses asked Aaron, “What did these people do to get you to bring such a great sin on them?”
22 “Don’t be furious with me. You know they’re prone to evil. 23 They told me, ‘Make us a god to go in front of us. We don’t know what’s happened to this Moses who brought us out of Egypt.’ 24 I told them, ‘Whoever has gold, take it off.’ They gave it to me; I threw it into the fire, and this calf came out.”
Ex 32:21-24
25 Moses saw that the people were out of control (Aaron had let them get out of control to be ridiculed by their enemies). 26 So he stood at the entrance to the camp and said, “Whoever is for Yahveh, come to me!” Levi’s descendants went to him,
27 He said,
“Yahveh God of Israel, says, ‘Every one of you, put your sword on your thigh, and go back and forth from gate to gate in the camp. Each man, slay your brother, friend, or neighbor.’”
28 The Levites did that and slew about 3,000 men that day. 29 Then Moses said, “Dedicate yourselves to Yahveh (because every man has been against his son and brother) so he can bless you today.”
Ex 32:25-29
30 The next day, Moses told the people, “You’ve committed a serious sin. I’m going up to Yahveh. Maybe I can atone for you.” 31 He went back to Yahveh and said,
“The people have committed a serious sin by making a god out of gold. 32 But if you will, forgive them. If not, erase me out of your scroll!”
33 Yahveh told him,
“The ones that have sinned against me are the ones I’ll erase out of my scroll. 34 Go lead them where I said. My angel will go ahead of you. When I punish, I’ll punish them for their sin.”
35 Yahveh struck the people because of what they’d done with the calf Aaron had made.
Ex 32:30-35