When God was betrayed by the Israelites with their golden calf, Moses asked God to sacrifice him in their place...
After the Israelites were freed from Egypt, and while Moses was on Mount Sinai receiving the Ten Commandments from God in the Bush that burned and was not consumed, the Israelites lost faith and built a calf made of gold and began to worship it as their god.
And I have been reflecting on that story of the betrayal of the Israelites, because their decision to turn away from God right after He had saved them, was a grave offence. Just think about what they actually did. They built a statue of gold and it was a statue of a mere animal. And then they all sat around and worshiped that golden animal. They put a golden animal statue above GOD – the Creator of the Universe.
Now, when I was a little girl, I used to think that the Israelites were somehow deranged to come up with that idea about the golden calf. But that was before I started thinking about the circumstances surrounding their decision. You see, Moses did not ascend Mount Sinai and stay there for a matter of mere hours. No. Moses was up there communing with God for months. Meanwhile the Israelites stayed below the Mountain and started to doubt what their eyes had seen. They started to forget about the pillar of fire that kept Pharaoh’s army from bringing them back. They forgot also about the parting of the Red Sea that made way for them and drowned the Egyptian army.
And at first such forgetfulness seems astonishing. But I can sort of understand what was going on. You see, I am someone who – at the first sign of trouble – routinely forgets all the miracles that I have been privy to in my entire life. And the Israelites did exactly the same thing. They believed in God when the times were going well, but they forgot all about Him when times were tough. While they were camping at the bottom of Mount Sinai, without a clear plan for the future, without clear direction for how to move forward and without a clear indication of what was going to happen next, they simply lost sight of God and tried to find Him instead in a golden calf.
And as I have been reflecting on that mistake of the Israelites, I have been considering my own golden calf. For in times of worry and stress, in times when I lack direction, I too – like the Israelites – make golden calves of shopping, and money and socialising and work and any other thing that I use to make myself feel better in the world.
And today, I hang my head in shame. Because when God was betrayed by the Israelites with their golden calf, Moses asked God to sacrifice him in their place. And for my betrayal of God, Christ Himself asked God to allow Him to be a Sacrifice in my place.
And when I stop and think about that, I bow my head in shame. For how could one such as I ever thank one such as He for a sacrifice like that?
For with prayer, I stand on Holy Ground where everything is clear. Here. At the Foot of the Cross.
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