It occurs to me, as we sit here in our big beautiful church, me wearing a white robe and you your Sunday best, as we harmonize our voices to the melodies of our grand piano, and as we solemnly bow our heads and reverently fold our hands to pray our pious prayers, It occurs to me that it is possible that we have forgotten just how gross our relationship with our God really is.
Today it is my intention to remind us all that our relationship with God is gross. To do that we turn to Exodus 32:15-29. There we find ourselves at the base of Mount Sinai. The Israelites have been set free from slavery in Egypt. The LORD God miraculously parted the waters of the Red Sea for them so that they could escape the chariots of Pharaoh’s army that pursued them. Under the leadership of Moses, the LORD led the Israelites through the Desert of Shur. When they became thirsty the LORD made the bitter dessert pools sweet enough to drink. When they became hungry the LORD provided them Manna and quail from heaven. When enemies attacked, the LORD gave them the strength to overpower them. Finally, after 3 months of such providence the LORD brings the Israelites to Mount Sinai.
As the Israelites stand before the mountain, the sound of thunder fills their ears, the sight of lightening blinds their eyes, the smell of smoke stings their noses, and they feel the earth trembling beneath their feet. A trumpet blast grows louder and louder and the Israelites tremble with fear as the LORD speaks these words: “I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. “You shall have no other gods before me. “You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. You shall not bow down to them or worship them.”[1] The LORD spoke other commandments to them, ten in all and when He had finished the people responded, “Everything the LORD has said, we will do”[2]
After the Israelites vow faithfulness to the LORD, Moses is called to the top of the mountain. There the LORD gives Moses detailed instructions as to how the Israelites are to live and worship. The LORD speaks to Moses about social responsibilities and laws. He speaks about festivals and covenants. He speaks about the Tabernacle and the Ark. He describes the dimensions of the alter and the garments that were to be worn by the priest. (It seems as though the LORD is like an excited bride who careful plans her wedding day so that everything is just right.)
Moses stays atop Mount Sinai with the LORD for 40 days. During that time the Israelites grow impatient. “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.”[3] Can you imagine how that felt when the Omniscient, all-knowing LORD heard the Israelites unfaithfulness? He was in the middle of planning a beautiful life together with them when they make their indecent proposal to Aaron, “make us gods who will go before us”. Their promise to do everything the LORD had said, lasted about a month. By the time Moses comes back down the mountain the people have given themselves to their false god. This is where our lesson begins.
“15 Moses turned and went down the mountain with the two tablets of the Testimony in his hands. They were inscribed on both sides, front and back. 16 The tablets were the work of God; the writing was the writing of God, engraved on the tablets.” Can you imagine the value of these tablets? I have a few handwritten letters that I keep for sentimental reasons. There is something about a handwritten letter that is special. A handwritten letter leaves a bit of the person on the paper. You sense personality, mood, and intention in the stroke of the pen. Moses possessed the handwritten commandments from God. I am sorry to keep making marriage references, but the two tablets of testimony are like the LORD’s handwritten vows to His people. “19 When Moses approached the camp and saw the calf and the dancing, his anger burned and he threw the tablets out of his hands, breaking them to pieces at the foot of the mountain.” The LORD God is right there at the top of the mountain, He has just finished making plans for a life with them, He has sent Moses to deliver handwritten vows to them, but when Moses arrives, he catches them in the act of defiling themselves with a false god. It’s gross! Moses was so grossed out by the people’s idolatry that he threw the tablets and broke them just as the people had broken their covenant with the LORD.
The Israelites make me think of the people in our community that breath the air that the LORD provides, soak in the sun that the LORD provides, fill themselves with the food that the LORD provides, but instead of gathering in a house of worship to give thanks to the LORD for all that He provides they slumber in their beds, slink off to their beach houses, and make excuses why they can’t set aside just one hour a week to worship the LORD. The idolatry that exist among the people of our community is gross.
After everything God had done for them and was planning to do for them, the Israelites idolatry is gross. But it gets even grosser. To see how gross, we look not to the people but to the priest. Moses asks Aaron, “What did these people do to you, that you led them into such great sin?” “Tell me Aaron, what torture were you forced to endure before these gross sinners convinced you to lead them in such a great sin?” “It must have been something horrific because, Aaron, not only have you enjoyed all the blessing the LORD has poured out on these people, but you have been chosen by the LORD to be a priest.” “You have had a front row seat to the great things the LORD has done. You have been allowed to come closer to the glory of the LORD than most. You more than the rest of these people know what the LORD’s will is. So, tell me Aaron,” “What did these people do to you, that you led them into such great sin?”
Are you ready to be grossed out? Listen to Aaron’s answer. 22 “Do not be angry, my lord,” Aaron answered. “You know how prone these people are to evil. 23 They said to me, ‘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.’ 24 So I told them, ‘Whoever has any gold jewelry, take it off.’ Then they gave me the gold, and I threw it into the fire, and out came this calf!” We aren’t told what Moses said in response to this answer, but I imagine it went something like this, “Seriously Aaron? What do I look like? Why don’t you speak those words one more time and you tell me if you can hear how crazy you sound.”
People tend to lose their brains when they are trying to justify sin. Aaron sure has lost his. He starts out trying to justify his sinful behavior by comparing it to the sins of others, “You know how prone these people are to evil. As if to say, “by comparison to those people my sins aren’t that bad.” “Compared to those people, the ones who cheat on their spouse, abandon their children, defraud their companies, and abuse their employees, compared to those people my sins aren’t that bad.” “The sins that I commit against the LORD should be seen as somehow less damnable when compared to the sins of those people.”
Aaron must have heard how stupid those words sounded as the came out of his own mouth, so he continued to try to justify his sinful behavior by playing the victim card. They said to me, ‘Make us gods who will go before us. “They started it; it was their idea. I didn’t know any better; I was misled. Everyone is doing it; I was overcome by peer pressure. I am a victim of circumstance. The sins that I commit against the LORD should be seen as somehow less damnable because I am not the only one sinning.”
Maybe at this point Moses looked at Aaron like that was the most ridiculous thing he had ever heard, so Aaron tries one more time to justify his sinful behavior by blaming his action on a mysterious force, “they gave me the gold, and I threw it into the fire, and out came this calf!” Aaron acts like he has no idea how this evil thing happened. He acts like forces beyond his control were at work. But the truth is, it was Aaron’s idea to collect the gold they had plundered from the Egyptians, it was Aaron who fashioned the idol in the shape of the Egyptian fertility god Apis, and it was Aaron’s idea to throw a party celebrating their debauchery. Aaron knew how this evil thing happened and yet he claims, “the devil made me do it.”
Aaron’s attempts to justify his sinful behavior are just gross, and so are yours. In 1 Peter2:9 you are called “a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God”. You like Aaron have enjoyed all the blessing the LORD pours out on the people of this earth and you like Aaron have been chosen by the LORD to be His chosen people and members of His royal priesthood. Through the waters of baptism and the sacrament of the supper you have been allowed to come closer to the glory of the LORD than most. You have studied the scriptures and know better than the people of the earth what the LORD’s will is. That is why your attempts to justify your sin by comparing your sinful behavior to others, or acting like you are a victim, or trying to blame the devil, is not only insulting to the LORD God, it’s just gross.
Your attempts to justify your sin are just about the grossest thing there is, just about but not quite. There is something about your relationship with your LORD that is even grosser than your sin. The grossest thing about your relationship with your LORD is His grace. The entire time the LORD provided for the Israelites in the wilderness they grumbled and complained and yet He continued to provide for them. Instead of wiping the idolatrous Israelites from the face of the earth, the LORD remembered His promise to Abraham and relented. Instead of condemning Aaron for his sin, the LORD forgave him. The Israelites had broken their relationship with the LORD, but the LORD restored it.
The grace that the LORD showed to the gross sinners who bowed down to the golden calf has also been shown to you. Your pathetic attempts to justify your sinful behavior have not and will never restore your relationship with the LORD. That is why you need something even grosser than your sin; you need the grossness of the LORD’s grace. Thankfully, the LORD still remembers His promise to Abraham. Through Jesus, the relationship your sins destroyed has been restored. Your unjustifiable sinful behavior had been reconciled by the blood of the sinless Son of God. Your sin against the LORD God is gross, but in Jesus God’s grace is grosser.
As we sit here in our big beautiful church, me wearing a white robe and you your Sunday best, as we harmonize our voices to the melodies of our grand piano, and as we solemnly bow our heads and reverently fold our hands to pray our pious prayers, I pray we never forget just how gross our relationship with our God really is. Amen.
[1] Exodus 20:2-5
[2] Exodus 24:3
[3] Exodus 32:1v