Exodus 32
Israel makes a golden idol
When the Israelites saw that Moses was taking a while to come back down from the mountain, they approached Aaron and said,
“Make us a god who will lead us, because we don’t know what happened to Moses.”
Aaron said,
“Have your wives, sons, and daughters take off their gold jewelry and bring them to me.”
So they gave Aaron their gold and he made a molten cow out of it, saying,
“This is your god, Israel, who brought you out of Egypt.”
After looking at it, Aaron built an altar in front of it and announced,
“Tomorrow we’ll have a feast to the Existing One.”
So they woke up early the next day and sacrificed roasted offerings and alliance offerings. After everyone ate and drank, they got up and played.
Moses stops God from destroying Israel
Then the Existing one told Moses,
“Go back down because your people, who you brought out of Egypt, have corrupted themselves. They derailed so quickly. They made a molten bull, bowed to it, sacrificed to it, and said that it was their god who brought them out of Egypt.
“I’ve been watching these people and see how stubborn they are. Give me some space so I can sit in my anger and erase them. I’ll turn your descendants into a country instead.”
But Moses calmed down his God the Existing One and said,
“Existing One, why are you angry with your people who you brought out of Egypt so powerfully? Won’t the Egyptians say that you maliciously rescued them only to slaughter them in the mountains and wipe them from the face of the earth? I think you should calm down and change your mind about harming your people. Also, remember the promise you made to your servants Abraham, Isaac, and Israel: you said that you’d multiply their descendants to be like stars in the sky. You told them you’d give their descendants the land you’ve been talking about, and that they’d keep it forever.”
So the Existing One changed his mind about the harming his people.
Moses gets mad at Israel
Then Moses took the two slabs with the evidence written on both sides, and he climbed back down the mountain. The slabs were made by God, and their engravings were written by him.
When Moses reached Joshua and they heard the Israelites shouting, Joshua said,
“It sounds like a battle cry. But it’s not the sound of victory or defeat—it’s more like singing.”
As Moses approached the camp he saw the young bull and the dancing. That made him so furious that he threw the slabs, shattering them at the foot of the mountain. He burned the young bull, ground it to powder, sprinkled the powder in their water, and made the Israelites drink it.
Moses asked Aaron,
“What did they do to you that made you bring so much corruption on them?”
Aaron replied,
“Leader, don’t be mad. You know how prone they are to do wrong. They told me to make a god to lead them since you had gone missing. I collected their gold, threw it in the fire, and this young bull came out.”
Moses executes 3,000 Israelites
Moses saw the Israelites’ lack of restraint (no thanks to Aaron), and he realized that their enemies would see it too. He stood up at the camp entrance and said,
“If anyone is for the Existing One, they should come stand over here.”
Then all of Levi’s descendants came over and Moses told them,
“Israel’s God, the Existing One, says that each of you should sheath your sword and walk from gate to gate within the camp killing your brothers and friends.”
So Levi’s descendants followed Moses’s instructions and killed about 3,000 people that day. Moses said,
“Dedicate yourselves to the Existing One today. These men came against their children and brothers today so that God would give you prosperity.”
Moses climbs back up the mountain
The next day Moses told the Israelites,
“You guys really went down the wrong path in a big way. Now I’ll go up to the Existing One to hopefully cover up your crime.”
So Moses climbed back up to the Existing One and said,
“These people really went down the wrong path, making a god out of gold for themselves. Would you be willing to forgive their crime? And if not, then please just erase me out of the book you wrote.”
The Existing One told Moses,
“Whoever has wandered away from my path will be erased from my book. Now go lead the people to the place I told you about. My representative will go ahead of you. When the assessment day comes, I will assess them for their guilt.”
Then the Existing One struck the people for what they did regarding Aaron’s young bull.