Evil Confronted, Part 1

Sermon 80 in Series

Exodus 32:15-24
[15] Then Moses turned and went down from the mountain with the two tablets of the testimony in his hand, tablets that were written on both sides; on the front and on the back they were written. [16] The tablets were the work of God, and the writing was the writing of God, engraved on the tablets. [17] When Joshua heard the noise of the people as they shouted, he said to Moses, “There is a noise of war in the camp.” [18] But he said, “It is not the sound of shouting for victory, or the sound of the cry of defeat, but the sound of singing that I hear.” [19] And as soon as he came near the camp and saw the calf and the dancing, Moses’ anger burned hot, and he threw the tablets out of his hands and broke them at the foot of the mountain. [20] He took the calf that they had made and burned it with fire and ground it to powder and scattered it on the water and made the people of Israel drink it.

[21] And Moses said to Aaron, “What did this people do to you that you have brought such a great sin upon them?” [22] And Aaron said, “Let not the anger of my lord burn hot. You know the people, that they are set on evil. [23] For they said to me, ‘Make us gods who shall go before us. As for this Moses, the man who brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.’ [24] So I said to them, ‘Let any who have gold take it off.’ So they gave it to me, and I threw it into the fire, and out came this calf.”

DEEP SHEET: Sermon Study Questions
1.   How is the golden calf story rich in doctrine? What are some theological points that stand out to you?
2.   How does Moses’ intercession show the relationship between prayer and knowledge? How is “knowledge” sometimes denigrated by Christians?
3.   Why is the breaking of the tablets meant to shock the reader? What does it symbolize, and how can it be misinterpreted?
4.   Why does Moses make the people drink the pulverized idol? What does this teach us about sin in general and idolatry in particular?
5.   How do Moses and Aaron see Aaron’s sin differently? How does this point back to the Fall?
6.   In what ways have you been tempted to dodge/deflect/defend rather than own and confront your sin? How can we help one another fight this battle within the church?

References: Exodus 24:12; Deuteronomy 9:21; Numbers 5:11-31; Genesis 20:9; 3:12; Deuteronomy 9:20; Romans 8:3.