READING: Exodus 30-32, Matthew 24:1-28
Moses had been on the mountain by himself for some time, and the Hebrews just assumed that something bad had happened to him. He would not be coming back, they thought, so they sought after gods to lead them: “When the people saw that Moses delayed in coming down from the mountain, they gathered around Aaron and said to him, ‘Come, make gods for us who will go before us because this Moses, the man who brought us up from the land of Egypt—we don’t know what has happened to him!'”(Exo. 32:1). They apparently believed they could create a god to replace their former God, so they sought Aaron’s help. From their combined effort came the golden calf for which the Hebrews are often best known.
The Hebrews remind us that we’re often an impatient people. When God doesn’t come through according to our schedule, we get stressed. We want God’s answers to our prayers today, if not yesterday. I would hope that we not build golden calves, but we need to be aware of our turning to other false gods when we’re under the strain of waiting. Some folks get angry with God for His delay and turn their backs on Him. Others fill their waiting time with other gods (e.g., playing video games, watching TV non-stop, eating junk). Some want to trust Him, but that’s easier to do when you can just sense God’s presence in a place; His apparent silence makes it hard to trust Him.
How quickly we grow impatient and turn in the wrong direction!
PRAYER: “God, please keep me focused on You even when I’m weary. I don’t want to move in the wrong direction.”
TOMORROW’S READING: Exodus 33-34, Matthew 24:29-51
