Ki Tissa (Exodus 30:11 – 34:35)
“The Lord said to Moses, ‘Go down! Hurry! Your people, whom you brought up from the land of Egypt, have become corrupt! So quickly they have turned aside from the way I ordered them to follow! They have cast a metal statue of a calf, worshipped it, sacrificed to it and said, ‘Israel! Here is your god, who brought you up from the land of Egypt!’” (Exodus 28:1-3).
One of the most distressing moments recorded in the Torah is the sin of the Golden Calf. When Moses appears, lost the children of Israel beg Aaron to make a new “god” to go before them (Ex. 32:1). Rabbinic sources note that it was not the Lord that the children of Israel were desiring to replace, as deep meaningful relationship had not yet developed, but Moses; as they identified Moses as having delivered them from Egypt (Ex. 32:1). And when the Lord tells Moses to hurry back to the camp of Israel, he refers to them as “your people, whom you brought up from the land of Egypt.” In the short span of forty days a great divide had once again developed between the covenant Lord and his people. This was not a failure of the Sovereign Lord, but rather, the covenant community.
As I have previously suggested, in the article on Parsha T’rumah, the wilderness Tabernacle was the cure sent before the illness of the Golden Calf. For generations of Jews and Christians, as they read the Torah (the Law of Moses), they will first read of the way of forgiveness and reconciliation, not the sin of idolatry. The order to this narrative gives hope to the repentant heart.
Still, the Tabernacle was a unique space – not only because it would be the site of the condescending presence of the Living God – but also because it was a space woven together by communal contribution. This simple action reveals the picture of covenant community, and the responsibility we have for each other.
The hearts that eagerly gave for the creation of the Golden Calf are seen giving wholeheartedly to the cause of the Tabernacle (Ex. 25:1-9). This Tabernacle would not be a mere tent in the wilderness, but a place where the Lord of all creation would commune with his people. Every donated item utilized according to the pattern revealed in heaven, every knot holding great significance, and every chamber greater intimacy. While the Golden Calf brought destruction upon those desiring it, the Tabernacle would create a community whose center was the Lord himself – a space woven by willing hearts.
As I mentioned above, the sin of the Golden Calf was a failure of covenant community. Aaron, the brother of Moses, when asked to create this golden idol, should simply have refused; and those whose hearts were not for the Golden Calf could have strengthened Aaron’s position. This is part of the strength of covenant community – correction in the face of error.
Regarding correction, at times the apostle Paul instructs us to be gentle, “Also he should be gentle as he corrects his opponents. For God may perhaps grant them the opportunity to turn from their sins, acquire full knowledge of the truth” (2 Tim. 2:25). While to Titus, Paul mentions that severity is sometimes necessary, “For this reason you must be severe when you rebuke those who have followed this false teaching, so that they will come to be sound in their trust” (Titus 1:13). Moreover, at other times respectful, “Do not rebuke an older man sharply, but appeal to him as you would to a father; treat younger men like brothers, older women like mothers and younger women like sisters, with absolute purity” (1 Tim. 5:1-2). Each situation, obviously, requires discernment, consideration, counsel, and a heart focused on the love of God in covenant. When we waver in our commitment to correcting each other in godly love and respect, we must heed the words of the apostle James, “My brothers, if one of you wanders from the truth, and someone causes him to return, you should know that whoever turns a sinner from his wandering path will save him from death and cover many sins” (James 5:19-20).
Moses corrected Israel when he returned to camp, but it was too late.
The ecclesia (out called ones) of Messiah are to live and share life in faith community. As in times of old, it is easy to become captured by a sin once we have started on the way – accountability to covenant brethren can turn that heart back from its calf of choice, and cause them to again wholeheartedly contribute to the fabric of the Tent of the Living God.
“Only when awe of God rules your heart will you be able to keep
the pleasures of the material world in their proper place.”
Dr. Paul David Tripp
Shalom;
Dr. J.D. Elwell