A question about Aaron and the Golden Calf?

[Kouyate42]

This is a random-sounding question but is something that’s been bugging me for a while. It is taught in the Bible that Moses requested of God that Aaron be an assistant in his misson to free the Israelites. This was granted and Aaron indeed is very much involved in the Egyptian narrative.

But later on in Exodus 32, we are then told that it is Aaron that ordered the making of the Golden Calf:

1 When the people saw that Moses was so long in coming down from the mountain, they gathered around Aaron and said, “Come, make us gods[a] 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.”

2 Aaron answered them, “Take off the gold earrings that your wives, your sons and your daughters are wearing, and bring them to me.” 3 So all the people took off their earrings and brought them to Aaron. 4 He took what they handed him and made it into an idol cast in the shape of a calf, fashioning it with a tool. Then they said, “These are your gods,** Israel, who brought you up out of Egypt.”

5 When Aaron saw this, he built an altar in front of the calf and announced, “Tomorrow there will be a festival to the LORD.” 6 So the next day the people rose early and sacrificed burnt offerings and presented fellowship offerings. Afterward they sat down to eat and drink and got up to indulge in revelry.

So, why did Aaron do this bearing in mind the blessing he’d been given in being chosen by God to lead the Israelites from Egypt?**

 

[ConstantineTG]

Probably there’s some similarity on how Peter faltered in his faith many times and yet eventually became the rock where Christ established His Church.

 

[Kouyate42]

Probably there’s some similarity on how Peter faltered in his faith many times and yet eventually became the rock where Christ established His Church.

But why, when the other Israelites were killed for idolatry, wasn’t Aaron also punished? And surely it’s an insult to think that such a Godly man was enticed by Apis worship?

 

[PJM]

=Kouyate42;8406744]This is a random-sounding question but is something that’s been bugging me for a while. It is taught in the Bible that Moses requested of God that Aaron be an assistant in his misson to free the Israelites. This was granted and Aaron indeed is very much involved in the Egyptian narrative.

But later on in Exodus 32, we are then told that it is Aaron that ordered the making of the Golden Calf:

1 When the people saw that Moses was so long in coming down from the mountain, they gathered around Aaron and said, “Come, make us gods[a] 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.”

2 Aaron answered them, “Take off the gold earrings that your wives, your sons and your daughters are wearing, and bring them to me.” 3 So all the people took off their earrings and brought them to Aaron. 4 He took what they handed him and made it into an idol cast in the shape of a calf, fashioning it with a tool. Then they said, “These are your gods,** Israel, who brought you up out of Egypt.”

5 When Aaron saw this, he built an altar in front of the calf and announced, “Tomorrow there will be a festival to the LORD.” 6 So the next day the people rose early and sacrificed burnt offerings and presented fellowship offerings. Afterward they sat down to eat and drink and got up to indulge in revelry.

So, why did Aaron do this bearing in mind the blessing he’d been given in being chosen by God to lead the Israelites from Egypt?**

***How many leaders that God choose can you name from the OT that sinned grievously?

Aaron was certainly NOT the only one

Why: Because humanity DOES have a “natural” tendency towards sin. Concupiscence.

Man, naturally is weak and prone to sin. Aaron’s heart was NOT with God and therefore he stumbled. Keep in mind also that Aaron and his wife were also against the wife of Moses who was a foreigner and punished by God for there evil thoughts of her.

Finally, I believe God; not Moses choose Aaron because of Moses concerns about being inarticulate; and Aaron was a gifted speaker.***

 

[SonCatcher]

But why, when the other Israelites were killed for idolatry, wasn’t Aaron also punished? And surely it’s an insult to think that such a Godly man was enticed by Apis worship?

Aaron was not as strong a leader as Moses was. It seems from the context that he acted under duress.
Exodus 32:1,22-23
When the people saw that Moses was delayed in coming down from the mountain, they gathered around Aaron and said to him, “Come, make us a god who will go before us; as for that man Moses who brought us out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has happened to him.”
…
Aaron replied, “Do not let my lord be angry. You know how the people are prone to evil. They said to me, ‘Make us a god to go before us; as for this man Moses who brought us out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has happened to him.’

Apparently, God threatened to destroy Aaron, too, according to the version in Deuteronomy:

Deuteronomy 9:20
With Aaron, too, the LORD was deeply angry, and would have destroyed him; but I prayed for Aaron also at that time.

 

[Kouyate42]

There has also been a suggestion that Aaron was punished in other ways- his two sons were killed by God for not following procedure in amking offerings, and Aaron himself never saw the Promised Land.

 

[Huiou_Theou]

Having just had my wife whine about “duress” where there was none… and still is none… I am very familiar with the definition of duress; and in the case of AAron, duress doesn’t quite work either… (but it’s a hell of a lot closer than what I faced…!)

Notice: Fire is how one purifies things according to the Law. Aaron’s response to these people was to “throw these into the FIRE” … and behold “out came…”.

AAron’s defense is about the best clue we have to his reasoning. He was responsible for what he did – not what others did (at least in his own mind); And he might or not have feared death threats. (He didn’t seem bothered about that when facing Pharaoh…)

BUT: Notice, Aaron is not said to have “made the mold” that the golden creatures came out of; (The strictly forbidden part was to make the image of OTHER Gods…). And Upon hearing AAron’s flimsy sounding excuse, Moses does not accuse him – but rather takes action against those who might have secretly been affiliated with those who “rose up to play” (sport/mock) in front of the Golden calf in worship of a different God; For (I humbly think) AAron’s actions would have allowed God to punish those who did the other parts of the action – but lacked faith. It does puzzle me why things happened as they did, though.

The question is, did “Aaron” CAUSE the israelites to sin, or was it a different cause? Was he responsible for stopping them? (In what way?)

God, too, on the mountain says to Moses “your people” – not singling out Aaron. Aaron’s son’s were punished (yes indeed) for their own sins in the later chapters.

But – Between the punishment of the whole people for their sins (see the grinding up of the calf, and the forcing of the people to drink it.) I seem to recall a scene where Moses “washes” the Levites in preparation for their priesthood; so that any sin they had associated with the Golden calf was already decided at the drinking of the gold dust water – and after this new washing (baptism into Moses?) is a “new” life/priesthood for the Aaronites. Even God did not condemn AAron upon the drinking of the “gold dust” and water of “idolatry” (or adultery with another God.) test.

Just so, in light of these passages, it is very important to notice that God does command to Moses the image making of two Golden angels to be placed on the ark of the convenant – the VERY place one WOULD have to bow down in order to worship the presence of God. (eg: in spite of the statue’s presence). This alternative “ikon” problem exists in EVERY structure of worship commanded by God after the golden calf incident. The ONLY thing prohibited, was to make a statue representing God himself – for NO israelite SAW the shape of God on the mountain – and therefore, they could not make an accurate image.

The fact that the new testament says that Jesus is “the very IMAGE” (IKON) of God, and that Jesus says “Philip, how can you say show me the Father when I have been with you this long – he who has seen me, has seen the father” gives to us something that the Israelite people were denied; For this reason, I believe this was a sin of their weakness – not because statues or paintings or carvings were wrong in themselves.

For, in the temple – the curtains were woven with images, the ark covered with statues, and we today have pictures of Jesus that are hand made, no one thinks these things are wrong – and we even sometimes have photographs that were made with light carving the images out on silver halide film; eg: of our friends and family hung upon our walls. ( The digital pictures are less arguably carvings than older photographs – but it is still images that we have.)

It is not wrong to bow down and worship God when non-gods (or their images) are present; it is in fact going to be necessary to bow down before at least the Seraphim, and likely the cherubim too – who uphold God’s throne as if on a pedestal. I won’t refuse to worship God just because his angels are present in vision – for that is what the Ark of the covenant teaches; – but I won’t worship (adoration and latria) the angel in place of God the Father or Son !!.

If Jesus sits on his mother’s lap – I’ll even worship him there, and I will honor his mother (mariodula) recognizing her motherhood – but never will I worship her (mariolatry) or the angels (angeolatry) as foolish people accuse us. Let the angels accuse them back if they are to be judged as they judge us. The angels have less right to my honor than his mother; so I will give her at least as much as I give them.

Amen.

 

[Thee_awfullest]

This is a random-sounding question but is something that’s been bugging me for a while. It is taught in the Bible that Moses requested of God that Aaron be an assistant in his misson to free the Israelites. This was granted and Aaron indeed is very much involved in the Egyptian narrative.

But later on in Exodus 32, we are then told that it is Aaron that ordered the making of the Golden Calf:

1 When the people saw that Moses was so long in coming down from the mountain, they gathered around Aaron and said, “Come, make us gods[a] 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.”

2 Aaron answered them, “Take off the gold earrings that your wives, your sons and your daughters are wearing, and bring them to me.” 3 So all the people took off their earrings and brought them to Aaron. 4 He took what they handed him and made it into an idol cast in the shape of a calf, fashioning it with a tool. Then they said, “These are your gods,** Israel, who brought you up out of Egypt.”

5 When Aaron saw this, he built an altar in front of the calf and announced, “Tomorrow there will be a festival to the LORD.” 6 So the next day the people rose early and sacrificed burnt offerings and presented fellowship offerings. Afterward they sat down to eat and drink and got up to indulge in revelry.

So, why did Aaron do this bearing in mind the blessing he’d been given in being chosen by God to lead the Israelites from Egypt?**

According to the USCCB here is their commentary.

• [32:4–5] Who brought you…a feast of the LORD: it seems that the golden calf was intended as an image, not of another god, but of the Lord, whose strength was symbolized by the strength of a young bull. The Israelites, however, had been forbidden to represent the Lord under any visible form. Cf. 20:4. In the tenth century Jeroboam made golden calves for the shrines at Bethel and Dan, presumably to function as thrones for the Lord as the ark did in Jerusalem (see 1 Kgs 12:27–30).

 

[Huiou_Theou]

According to the USCCB here is their commentary.

• [32:4–5] Who brought you…a feast of the LORD: it seems that the golden calf was intended as an image, not of another god, but of the Lord, whose strength was symbolized by the strength of a young bull. The Israelites, however, had been forbidden to represent the Lord under any visible form. Cf. 20:4. In the tenth century Jeroboam made golden calves for the shrines at Bethel and Dan, presumably to function as thrones for the Lord as the ark did in Jerusalem (see 1 Kgs 12:27–30).

Sometimes I wonder who edits these things; it’s a small anachronism – but 20:4 is part of the ten commandments which weren’t given as a set until Moses came down from the mountain. The people made the calf while Moses was fetching the commandments.

The appropriate quote would be where they were warned not to make the image before the event of the mountain, and Moses going up it. Anyone know a verse?


But there are two things to consider about the calf in addition; the first is that when Moses came down, he saw the people “mocking/sporting” before the golden calf. (The people rose up to “play” – but not play nicely). So, they were worshiping in a pagan manner before the calf ( pornographic and otherwise. ). The second is that in pagan cultures, the Idol was thought to capture/hold the deity and give people some power over it. (Knowing a person’s name gives a little power too…)

It is interesting that Jeroboam made the bulls – and one might assume he meant it for the Lord; But the ark had already made clear that at least Seraphim (and cherubim?) were the appropriate creatures for his enthronement. The Cherubim are found in other cultures as throne animals as well – so it is hard to see why Jeroboam would change the tradition in favor of one which was heretofore unknown – and if going back to the Golden CALF of Exodus – Jeroboam was clearly declaring apostasy for he already knew that the sacred “cow/bull” was a fatal mistake in their history.

 

[Thee_awfullest]

Sometimes I wonder who edits these things; it’s a small anachronism – but 20:4 is part of the ten commandments which weren’t given as a set until Moses came down from the mountain. The people made the calf while Moses was fetching the commandments.

The appropriate quote would be where they were warned not to make the image before the event of the mountain, and Moses going up it. Anyone know a verse?


.

Chapter 32 was the 2nd trip down the mountain 20:4 was the first, in other words the warnings should have been fresh in their minds…

 

[TimothyH]

Sometimes I wonder who edits these things; it’s a small anachronism – but 20:4 is part of the ten commandments which weren’t given as a set until Moses came down from the mountain. The people made the calf while Moses was fetching the commandments.

The appropriate quote would be where they were warned not to make the image before the event of the mountain, and Moses going up it. Anyone know a verse?


But there are two things to consider about the calf in addition; the first is that when Moses came down, he saw the people “mocking/sporting” before the golden calf. (The people rose up to “play” – but not play nicely). So, they were worshiping in a pagan manner before the calf ( pornographic and otherwise. ). The second is that in pagan cultures, the Idol was thought to capture/hold the deity and give people some power over it. (Knowing a person’s name gives a little power too…)

It is interesting that Jeroboam made the bulls – and one might assume he meant it for the Lord; But the ark had already made clear that at least Seraphim (and cherubim?) were the appropriate creatures for his enthronement. The Cherubim are found in other cultures as throne animals as well – so it is hard to see why Jeroboam would change the tradition in favor of one which was heretofore unknown – and if going back to the Golden CALF of Exodus – Jeroboam was clearly declaring apostasy for he already knew that the sacred “cow/bull” was a fatal mistake in their history.

I agree. Jeroboam was clearly apostasizing himself, with the intent to drive the ten tribes of Israel away from the true God in order to maintain his own temporal power and political position.

It seems like the USCCB commentary is wildly inaccurate.

-Tim-

 

[jcrichton]

This is a random-sounding question but is something that’s been bugging me for a while. It is taught in the Bible that Moses requested of God that Aaron be an assistant in his misson to free the Israelites. This was granted and Aaron indeed is very much involved in the Egyptian narrative.

But later on in Exodus 32, we are then told that it is Aaron that ordered the making of the Golden Calf:

1 When the people saw that Moses was so long in coming down from the mountain, they gathered around Aaron and said, “Come, make us gods[a] 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.”

2 Aaron answered them, “Take off the gold earrings that your wives, your sons and your daughters are wearing, and bring them to me.” 3 So all the people took off their earrings and brought them to Aaron. 4 He took what they handed him and made it into an idol cast in the shape of a calf, fashioning it with a tool. Then they said, “These are your gods,** Israel, who brought you up out of Egypt.”

5 When Aaron saw this, he built an altar in front of the calf and announced, “Tomorrow there will be a festival to the LORD.” 6 So the next day the people rose early and sacrificed burnt offerings and presented fellowship offerings. Afterward they sat down to eat and drink and got up to indulge in revelry.

So, why did Aaron do this bearing in mind the blessing he’d been given in being chosen by God to lead the Israelites from Egypt?**Scriptures does not explain it… I believe it had to do with several quantifiers: ego, regret, envy, lust for power, fear…

Moses was the only person who had Yahweh God’s ear, he commanded the people; he had first hand knowledge of everything delegated to by God Himself… there could well have been special treatment by the people as well as the admiration of all–specially the females!

We find a similar situation when Aaron and Miriam question Moses authority–after all, Aaron was also working for the Man!

Maran atha!

Angel

 

[jcrichton]

But why, when the other Israelites were killed for idolatry, wasn’t Aaron also punished? And surely it’s an insult to think that such a Godly man was enticed by Apis worship?

…did you fail to head Moses’ pleading with Yahweh God to spare the people? …once he recovered from the shock, Moses commanded that those who truly wanted to serve Yahweh God separate themselves from the rest–since the economy was more temporal than spiritual, those who obstinately refused to repent and turn back to Yahweh God were put to death… I do not think that all who rejected Yahweh thought it mattered nor that Moses would command their death as a means to irradicate idol worship and all of the immoral acts that went with it.

I’m also sure that many claimed conversion out of fear but did not truly Believe–they would stay their execution for a later time, during other rebellions.

Maran atha!

Angel

 

[jcrichton]

There has also been a suggestion that Aaron was punished in other ways- his two sons were killed by God for not following procedure in amking offerings, and Aaron himself never saw the Promised Land.

…when called to bring the Sacred Fire they took a short-cut and brought fire from a different source… Yahweh God’s command was ignored!

Maran atha!

Angel

 

[jcrichton]

Having just had my wife whine about “duress” where there was none… and still is none… I am very familiar with the definition of duress; and in the case of AAron, duress doesn’t quite work either… (but it’s a hell of a lot closer than what I faced…!)

Notice: Fire is how one purifies things according to the Law. Aaron’s response to these people was to “throw these into the FIRE” … and behold “out came…”.

AAron’s defense is about the best clue we have to his reasoning. He was responsible for what he did – not what others did (at least in his own mind); And he might or not have feared death threats. (He didn’t seem bothered about that when facing Pharaoh…)

BUT: Notice, Aaron is not said to have “made the mold” that the golden creatures came out of; (The strictly forbidden part was to make the image of OTHER Gods…). And Upon hearing AAron’s flimsy sounding excuse, Moses does not accuse him – but rather takes action against those who might have secretly been affiliated with those who “rose up to play” (sport/mock) in front of the Golden calf in worship of a different God; For (I humbly think) AAron’s actions would have allowed God to punish those who did the other parts of the action – but lacked faith. It does puzzle me why things happened as they did, though.

The question is, did “Aaron” CAUSE the israelites to sin, or was it a different cause? Was he responsible for stopping them? (In what way?)

God, too, on the mountain says to Moses “your people” – not singling out Aaron. Aaron’s son’s were punished (yes indeed) for their own sins in the later chapters.

But – Between the punishment of the whole people for their sins (see the grinding up of the calf, and the forcing of the people to drink it.) I seem to recall a scene where Moses “washes” the Levites in preparation for their priesthood; so that any sin they had associated with the Golden calf was already decided at the drinking of the gold dust water – and after this new washing (baptism into Moses?) is a “new” life/priesthood for the Aaronites. Even God did not condemn AAron upon the drinking of the “gold dust” and water of “idolatry” (or adultery with another God.) test.

Just so, in light of these passages, it is very important to notice that God does command to Moses the image making of two Golden angels to be placed on the ark of the convenant – the VERY place one WOULD have to bow down in order to worship the presence of God. (eg: in spite of the statue’s presence). This alternative “ikon” problem exists in EVERY structure of worship commanded by God after the golden calf incident. The ONLY thing prohibited, was to make a statue representing God himself – for NO israelite SAW the shape of God on the mountain – and therefore, they could not make an accurate image.

The fact that the new testament says that Jesus is “the very IMAGE” (IKON) of God, and that Jesus says “Philip, how can you say show me the Father when I have been with you this long – he who has seen me, has seen the father” gives to us something that the Israelite people were denied; For this reason, I believe this was a sin of their weakness – not because statues or paintings or carvings were wrong in themselves.

For, in the temple – the curtains were woven with images, the ark covered with statues, and we today have pictures of Jesus that are hand made, no one thinks these things are wrong – and we even sometimes have photographs that were made with light carving the images out on silver halide film; eg: of our friends and family hung upon our walls. ( The digital pictures are less arguably carvings than older photographs – but it is still images that we have.)

It is not wrong to bow down and worship God when non-gods (or their images) are present; it is in fact going to be necessary to bow down before at least the Seraphim, and likely the cherubim too – who uphold God’s throne as if on a pedestal. I won’t refuse to worship God just because his angels are present in vision – for that is what the Ark of the covenant teaches; – but I won’t worship (adoration and latria) the angel in place of God the Father or Son !!.

If Jesus sits on his mother’s lap – I’ll even worship him there, and I will honor his mother (mariodula) recognizing her motherhood – but never will I worship her (mariolatry) or the angels (angeolatry) as foolish people accuse us. Let the angels accuse them back if they are to be judged as they judge us. The angels have less right to my honor than his mother; so I will give her at least as much as I give them.

Amen.

There was a resolution: those for Yahweh God rejoined Moses and put to death those who, though Moses had returned, still rejected Yahweh God ('course, they did not even suspect that Moses would command their death when they chose to stay separated from God’s people)…

I concur with your observation of the ikons (icons); it it not that there cannot be any images around Yahweh God’s Alter, all places of worship and even among the people… what is forbidden is the use of idol-worship; this means that if the cherubs or the bronze serpent had been adopted as “gods” by Israel, they would have been risen to the level of idols–ditto in the two thousand years of Christianity: icons/sacramentals are just that images that assist us in worshiping Yahweh God!

Maran atha!

Angel

 

[jcrichton]

According to the USCCB here is their commentary.

• [32:4–5] Who brought you…a feast of the LORD: it seems that the golden calf was intended as an image, not of another god, but of the Lord, whose strength was symbolized by the strength of a young bull. The Israelites, however, had been forbidden to represent the Lord under any visible form. Cf. 20:4. In the tenth century Jeroboam made golden calves for the shrines at Bethel and Dan, presumably to function as thrones for the Lord as the ark did in Jerusalem (see 1 Kgs 12:27–30).

…the problem with that interpretation is that the “scholars/theologeans” refuse to take into consideration the context and content: the people did not ask for a representation of Yahweh God while Moses’ status was unknown–they asked for a substitute to worship as them days in Egypt!

Maran atha!

Angel

 

[jcrichton]

It is interesting that Jeroboam made the bulls – and one might assume he meant it for the Lord; – Jeroboam was clearly declaring apostasy for he already knew that the sacred “cow/bull” was a fatal mistake in their history.

…actually, Jeroboam knew exactly that it was idol-worship… he simply did not care since his aim was political: give the people something to worship and the goods (everything associated with the worship) would stay in his control and not with the Temple!

Maran atha!

Angel

 

[jcrichton]

I agree. Jeroboam was clearly apostasizing himself, with the intent to drive the ten tribes of Israel away from the true God in order to maintain his own temporal power and political position.

It seems like the USCCB commentary is wildly inaccurate.

-Tim-

…yeah… I suspect that some rossy coloured glasses were used when seeking to bring about clarity!

Maran atha!

Angel

 

[patrick457]

Sometimes I wonder who edits these things; it’s a small anachronism – but 20:4 is part of the ten commandments which weren’t given as a set until Moses came down from the mountain. The people made the calf while Moses was fetching the commandments.

According to Mr. DeMille at least! Reading through Exodus (chaps. 19-20) would suggest the giving of the Ten Words (as opposed to the Tablets of the Law) was a public event and that Moses was down with the people at the time.

And the Lord said to him, “Go down, and come up bringing Aaron with you. But do not let the priests and the people break through to come up to the Lord, lest he break out against them.” So Moses went down to the people and told them. And God spoke all these words, saying, “I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.” …] Now when all the people saw wthe thunder and the flashes of lightning and the sound of the trumpet and the mountain smoking, the people were afraid and trembled, and they stood far off and said to Moses, “You speak to us, and we will listen; but do not let God speak to us, lest we die.” Moses said to the people, “Do not fear, for God has come to test you, that the fear of him may be before you, that you may not sin.”

Moses only climbs up to receive further instructions and the Tablets four chapters later (Exodus 24).

 

[PJM]

=Thee awfullest;8410006]According to the USCCB here is their commentary.

• [32:4–5] Who brought you…a feast of the LORD: it seems that the golden calf was intended as an image, not of another god, but of the Lord, whose strength was symbolized by the strength of a young bull. The Israelites, however, had been forbidden to represent the Lord under any visible form. Cf. 20:4. In the tenth century Jeroboam made golden calves for the shrines at Bethel and Dan, presumably to function as thrones for the Lord as the ark did in Jerusalem (see 1 Kgs 12:27–30).

Friend I **assume **this is true?

On THAT basis I would strongly suggest you find a different resource [YES I do know what the USCCB “stands for.”]

What did Yahweh get angry and whay did Moses have to beg forgivness for the people if what you sare is correct?

God Bless,
Pat