涩里番

Selections From Israel's Story Week 4

The Golden Calf: Exodus 32

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From Covenant Sealing to Covenant Breaking

Our last Lectio ended with , and we have skipped over , in which God gives Moses instructions about the tabernacle. It makes dramatic sense for us to move from : was when the covenant was sealed, and is when the covenant is broken. But we cannot miss the importance of the intermediate chapters, and the context they provide.

give instructions about the tabernacle, recount the problem of the golden calf, and return to the topic of the tabernacle. The story of the golden calf is literarily and literally in the middle of God鈥檚 Torah on tabernacle, and, within that context, the problem becomes even more serious.

The Tabernacle

Tabernacle is both a noun and a verb. , its meaning is fairly complex, encompassing the 鈥渢ent of meeting鈥� [Author鈥檚 Note 1] and the various things inside the tent, including the 鈥渁rk of the covenant鈥� [Author鈥檚 Note 2]. One of the benefits of the tabernacle is its portability 鈥� as the Israelites move from Mount Sinai to the Promised Land, they can disassemble the tabernacle for travel, and reassemble it when they stop to camp.

, tabernacle means 鈥渄well鈥�: God will tabernacle with the Israelites, will pitch God鈥檚 tent in their midst. The 涩里番鈥檚 explanation that they want a god 鈥渨ho will go before us鈥� () is ironic at best within a text that describes God鈥檚 plan to tabernacle with them.

This chapter is one of the most dramatic in the entire Old Testament, based on what is done and said by the Israelites, Aaron, Moses, and God. But adding to the drama are the different places within the story where motivations and words are not entirely clear, and those will be noted below. Ultimately, this story is about God鈥檚 covenant with Israel: a covenant that is maintained 鈥� despite what the Israelites do 鈥� by and because of God.

In this first verse, we encounter the first ambiguity: Moses鈥� long absence from the Israelites. When we last saw Moses, he was going up to meet God on Mount Sinai, and tells us that he remained on the mountain for 40 days and 40 nights. That number is not always meant to be read literally in the Bible; it can represent a full period of time.

According to , it was 鈥渨hen the 涩里番 saw that Moses delayed to come down from the mountain鈥� that they approached Aaron and asked him to make them a god. It is not clear whether the 涩里番 had been told how long Moses would be and he truly was late, or the 鈥渄elay鈥� was simply their perception and they were impatient. Either way, they instigate what is to follow.

There is another ambiguity that is built into . It is translated in most English versions as 鈥済ods,鈥� but can also be translated as the singular noun 鈥淕od.鈥� Are the 涩里番 asking Aaron to create other gods for them to follow, or are they asking for Aaron to fashion a physical representation of God? Or it could be that the 涩里番 are asking for other gods, but Aaron hears their request differently. In , Aaron declares a festival to the LORD, which would support that, at least in Aaron鈥檚 mind, the golden calf is an image of the LORD.

Third, are the 涩里番 gathering 鈥渁gainst鈥� Aaron in a hostile manner? The same string of words that is used in appears in in an explicitly threatening act. But the text records no protest from Aaron and no statement about his fear. He responds to the 涩里番鈥檚 request with one of his own, that they bring him the golden rings from their ears [Author鈥檚 Note 3]. After Aaron receives the raw materials, he fashions it into the form of a calf. Here, too, the Hebrew is not clear as to whether Aaron shapes the calf with a graving tool or casts it into the mold, but, aside from the specifics of how, the text is quite clear that Aaron did make this object.

Why a Calf?

Several 涩里番 have wondered about the choice of a calf. In Egypt the bull symbolized , while in Canaan it represented Baal. Again, we must return to the ambiguity in the word elohim. Did Aaron make a foreign god for the Israelites to follow, or did Aaron make a physical representation of the LORD, choosing a familiar object? Is this a breaking of the first or second commandment?

Either way, the 涩里番 immediately assign the image a function: in , they 鈥� and not Aaron 鈥� say, 鈥淭hese are your gods [Author鈥檚 Note 4], O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt!鈥� After Aaron proclaims the ensuing festival to be directed to the LORD, the 涩里番 perform a fast-paced series of actions: in one verse () they rise, they offer, they bring sacrifices, they sit down, and they rise up to 鈥渞evel鈥� [Author鈥檚 Note 5].

changes locations from the base of the mountain to the top, where the LORD tells Moses to 鈥淕o down!鈥� God鈥檚 command is followed by the reason: the 涩里番 are acting perversely. God describes the 涩里番 to Moses as 鈥測our 涩里番, whom you brought up out of the land of Egypt鈥� () and Moses does the same, asking God, 鈥渨hy does your anger burn hot against your 涩里番, whom you brought out of the land of Egypt 鈥︹�� (). It is as if neither one wants to claim ownership of the Israelites!

Several commentators have noticed that God鈥檚 severe punishment, 鈥淚 may consume them鈥� is conditioned on Moses鈥� agreement to God鈥檚 statement, 鈥渓et me alone.鈥� It is as if God has opened up the door to Moses to intercede, in contrast to a passage like , where Moses has no say. But that must not diminish the seriousness of the threat, nor the intensity of Moses鈥� intercession 鈥� according to and , Moses lies prostrate before the LORD, praying for the 涩里番 for another 40 days and nights.

Does God Change God鈥檚 Mind?

When Moses responds to God, he does not give God any excuses or apologies for the Israelites鈥� actions. Instead, he makes three different appeals to God:

• First, Moses refers to the history of God鈥檚 deliverance of the Israelites from Egypt ().
• Second, Moses wonders about God鈥檚 reputation among the Egyptians ().
• Third, Moses calls God to remember Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and the promise that was made to them.

And immediately after Moses鈥� appeals, we read, in the New Revised Standard Version, 鈥淎nd the LORD changed his mind about the disaster that he planned to bring on his 涩里番鈥� (). Different English translations soften this statement: the Jewish Publication Society Translation reads, 鈥渢he LORD renounced the punishment he had planned to bring on his 涩里番,鈥� and the New International Version reads, 鈥淭hen the LORD relented and did not bring on his 涩里番 the disaster he had threatened鈥� [Author鈥檚 Note 6].

There are theological dangers if we push too hard on either side of this issue. On the one hand, if we overemphasize that God can 鈥� and does 鈥� change God鈥檚 mind, where is God鈥檚 omniscience? Why would God change if God knows all things that are going to happen? If we argue that God has been convinced by Moses鈥� appeals, where is God鈥檚 omnipotence? What kind of sovereignty does God have if a mere human can talk God out of what God planned to do?

On the other hand, if we overemphasize that God is in complete, total control; that God has a plan for everything that is to happen from before the foundations of the earth and will make that plan happen, where is human free will? What role do humans play at all? Some 涩里番 explain that God knew all along that God would not destroy the Israelites, and was just testing Moses to see how he would respond. Others will say that prayer is not to change God, but to change the humans who pray it; therefore, Moses鈥� intercession had no effect on God but was for the point of shaping Moses鈥� own feelings about the Israelites.

Strangely enough, the safest theological space is to take seriously the words of the text and believe that in response to Moses鈥� plea, God decided not to do what God originally said. Indeed, like Abraham pleading with God for Sodom and Gomorrah, the Old Testament gives us examples of humans who understand prayer to be a conversation, and God to be a relational God who does actually listen to humans. To settle here does not deny that God is God, but clarifies that God is a God for us and with us.

As Moses descends the mountain, his action is interrupted by the description of the tablets of the law in . Despite the urgency of Moses鈥� descent, we are asked to pause and reflect 鈥� in some detail 鈥� on the physical details of these tablets. Moses meets up with Joshua (compare ), who seems to have misunderstood the sound that he has heard, describing it as a 鈥渘oise of war鈥� ().

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Moses鈥� Reaction to the Golden Calf

God had asked Moses in , 鈥淣ow let me alone, so that my wrath may burn hot against them and I may consume them.鈥� Moses did not do so then, but in we see Moses鈥� own anger expressed in a series of violent actions. First, he throws down the tablets with such force that they are broken (). Second, he burns the calf, grinds it up, and scatters it on the water. Then, he forces the 涩里番 to drink it [Author鈥檚 Note 7]. If Israelites can ingest that which they were just worshipping, it demonstrates the lack of power of this 鈥済od.鈥�

Moses also has a question for Aaron, and it shows the shared responsibility of the 涩里番 and Aaron: what did they do to you that you brought such a great sin against them? At first, the 涩里番 are the subject, doing something to Aaron. But then Aaron is the subject, bringing a sin on the 涩里番. Aaron鈥檚 response verges on the ludicrous. He refuses to take any responsibility, telling Moses, 鈥測ou know the 涩里番, that they are bent on evil鈥� (). He then repeats verbatim what the 涩里番 had said, but drastically minimizes and abbreviates his own role:

Moses鈥� violence then extends to the , whose actions may also be a commentary on Aaron. Aaron let the 涩里番 run wild (), but his relatives respond 鈥渃orrectly.鈥� How can someone reading this text today not be disturbed by ? Ancient commentators were also bothered by it, but explained it in a number of ways.

• First, the 涩里番 are described as a collective throughout the chapter until this section, when the Levites separate themselves out from others, and 3,000 of them are killed.
• Second, when we compare that number with , which tells us that 鈥渁bout six hundred thousand men … besides women and children鈥� left Egypt, we see that 3,000 is a fraction (1/200) of the entire population.
• Third, in the Exodus Rabbah, the rabbis argue that all of those 3,000 are the foreigners who left with the Israelites.

If those explanations mitigate our discomfort, good. Still, we take note that Moses tells the Levites that God commanded them to kill (). We note that, after they do so, Moses explains that their actions (1) equal their ordination and (2) have resulted in a blessing (). Perhaps what must be taken away from is the enormous cost 鈥� to themselves and to the 涩里番 鈥� by which the Levites distinguish themselves. Again, this may also be a commentary against Aaron, who was less than rigorous in separating out false deities from the LORD.

The final section of this chapter, , shows Moses as a mediator between the 涩里番 and God. Moses is neither complacent nor certain about his ability to intercede; he tells the 涩里番, 鈥減erhaps I can make atonement for your sin鈥� (). When Moses does intercede, he asks for God to forgive the 涩里番 at a potential cost for himself, 鈥渋f not, please blot me out of your book鈥� (). Moses鈥� offering of himself is not necessary, for God does forgive. Yet, God鈥檚 forgiveness does not preclude punishment, as the final verse in the chapter indicates.

It is hard not to see foreshadowing of Jesus in Moses鈥� actions: one who did not sin, but is willing to offer himself in their place, whose own blood makes atonement for the sins of all humans. In Exodus as well as in the New Testament and beyond, the covenant between God and the 涩里番 is maintained because of God鈥檚 mercy.

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