Introduction
After 7 chapters of revelation on the Temple and Priesthood, we get back to where we left off, Moses has been communicating directly with God, “in the mount forty days and forty nights.” (Ex. 24:18) In Exodus, there are three great revelations:
1) The Law (comprising Exodus 20-23)
2) The Tabernacle/Priesthood (comprising Exodus 25-31)
3) The reiteration of both after the tablets had been broken (Ex. 34:27-29).
To receive the first, Moses was on the mount an unspecified length of time. To receive the second and third, Moses was on the mount forty days and forty nights. We pick up the story at the conclusion of Moses’ first 40 day/40 night vision.
Contrary to common conception, the Law was not originally recorded on the tablets of stone but by Moses himself, “Moses wrote all the words of the Lord (i.e. the content of Exodus 20-23) … and he took the book of the covenant, and read in the audience of the people: and they said, All that the Lord hath said will we do.” (Ex. 24:4, 7) This is important as we start chapter 32 of Exodus. The time gap between the children of Israel covenanting to keep the Law, including, “Thou shalt have no other gods before me” (Ex. 20:3) and the golden calf incident could have been no longer than 2 or 3 months. One month, they make a blood covenant with God to keep his commandments, the next, they are asking for a golden calf. Indeed, “the people had turned from their righteousness, like the dog to his vomit, or like the sow to her wallowing in the mire” (3 Ne. 7:8). Only months ago, the children of Israel had watched the waters of the Red Sea collapse upon the armies of Pharaoh. Then they sang the song of Moses, “Who is like unto thee, O Lord, among the gods?... the Lord shall reign for ever and ever” (Ex. 14:11, 18). How do you go from that to the golden calf so quickly? How is it possible to be so stupid? How could Aaron have gone along with them? For believers, it is hard to fathom.
Exodus 32:1 when the people saw that Moses delayed to come down out of the mount
Apparently, the people got tired of waiting for Moses. Perhaps camping in the wilderness made them cranky and impatient. Perhaps bad habits are hard to break, and idolatry was the norm in Egypt. Perhaps Aaron didn’t want to stand up against an angry crowd. They just needed one excuse to get out from underneath the rule of this Moses. They decided on a golden calf! How dumb is an idol of a calf, anyway? They were the shepherds from Goshen. They were the masters of cattle, not the servants of cattle. When did the cow ever give them life, answer a prayer, deliver them from Egypt, or confront Pharaoh? It’s ridiculous. Yet, they were following the culture of Egypt’s polytheism.
Or perhaps, Satan had been busy for 40 days and 40 nights. Whenever God reveals a dispensation to his people, the evil one is there to wreak as much havoc as possible. This happens collectively or individually. For example, in an earlier incident, Satan showed up after Moses finished communing with God, “Satan came tempting him, saying: Moses, son of man, worship me.” (Moses 1:12) Satan was there for the end of Christ’s preparatory 40 day fast (Matt: 4:1-11). Satan showed up for the beginning of Joseph Smith’s First Vision (J.S.-Hist. 1:15-16). Just when God deems to make himself a people, “a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation,” (Ex. 19:6) Satan is there to make sure it doesn’t happen. Having failed to corrupt Moses, he turned to a much easier target, the children of Israel.
"As has been observed before, it was one thing to get Israel out of Egypt, and another thing entirely to get Egypt out of Israel! Indeed, the compelling drama of the deliverance, exodus, and wanderings of Israel proved to be a tragedy, a story of lost opportunities—a saga of things as they might have been." (Kent P. Jackson and Robert L. Millet, eds., Studies in Scripture, Vol. 3: Genesis to 2 Samuel [Salt Lake City: Randall Book, 1985], 109)
Exodus 32:4 These be thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt
Are you kidding me? After the plagues of Egypt, after a cloud of darkness protected them from Pharaoh’s armies, after the water of the Red Sea stood on either side as a wall, after the armies were destroyed by water, after manna came from heaven, after living water was brought forth out of the rock, after thunder, lightning, and smoke consumed mount Sinai, after all the people heard the voice of the Lord, after 70 elders saw God, after all that and more, the people are going to give the credit to a golden calf of their own making? I don’t get it. What more proof do you need? How could it be any plainer? How faithless can you be? They actually made a dumb idol and rejected God!? It’s unfathomable!
These by thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt?????
The next time you think to yourself, “I wish God would show more of his power,” or, “I wish we didn’t always have to walk by faith,” you can blame the children of Israel. He tried being a demonstrative God, and unbelievably, He was rejected. No wonder God was ready to wipe them all out and start over!
Orson Pratt
Scores of miracles were wrought in ancient times; but how did they benefit the children of Israel? When they saw the waters of the Red Sea divided and the Egyptians overthrown in its depths (Ex. 14:15-30) when they were brought up before mount Sinai and heard the voice of the trumpet out of the midst of the cloud and from the flaming mountain, proclaiming the ten commandments in their ears, and saw Moses go up in the midst of the fire (Ex. 19:16-20) when they beheld all this display of the power of God, what effect did it have on the great majority who saw? Did it affect their conduct? No. Miracles had become a little common with them, and said they, What has become of this Moses? (Journal of Discourses, 7:179)
Orson Pratt
If I had seen angels, I might doubt, without having the Holy Ghost. I might doubt if I had seen great miracles, without the Holy Ghost accompanying them; and I might doubt if I saw the heavens opened, if I heard the thunders roll; and I might go and build a golden calf and worship it: (Ex. 32:1-4) but when the Holy Ghost speaks to me and gives me a knowledge that this is the kingdom of God, so that I know it just as well as I know anything else, then that knowledge is past controversy. By that knowledge I know this work to be true; by it I know that this kingdom will roll on until it shall attain its high destiny, and the kingdoms of this world become the kingdoms of our God and his Christ. (Journal of Discourses, 8:313).
Exodus 32:8 they have made them a golden calf
Have we made for ourselves a golden calf? Do we dare liken this scripture unto ourselves?
"Another golden calf in modern guise is crafted when Church members counsel contrary to that of the Church leadership. Of Almon Babbitt, the Lord said, 'There are many things with which I am not pleased; behold, he aspireth to establish his counsel instead of the counsel which I have ordained, even that of the Presidency of my Church; and he setteth up a golden calf for the worship of my people.' (D&C 124:84.
"Following counsel that deviates from the counsel of the First Presidency and the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles is like worshipping a golden calf. Just as there is no life in a graven image, there is no saving power outside the truth God imparts through his appointed channels. The Apostle John gave us a way to discern such idols: 'We [the Apostles] are of God: he that knoweth God heareth us; he that is not of God heareth not us. Hereby know we the spirit of truth, and the spirit of error.' (1 Jn. 4:6.
"...Anything can become a 'golden calf.' When activities or material blessings become so important that by turning to them we turn from God, we are breaking the second commandment. We are walking 'in [our] own way, and after the image of [our] own god, whose image is in the likeness of the world, and whose substance is that of an idol, which waxeth old and shall perish.' (D&C 1:16; emphasis added.) The solution is to prioritize our loyalties and turn our affections back to God." (Dennis Largey, "Refusing to Worship Today's Graven Images," Ensign, Feb. 1994, 10-13)
Exodus 32:10 let me alone, that my wrath may wax hot against them
God is a God of passions; He has a reason to be mad. The more you think about all he had done for the children of Israel, the more maddening it becomes. The ingratitude, insolence, and idiocy of their idolatry are infuriating!
Lorenzo Snow
There are many things that I admire in the character of the prophets, and especially in that of Moses. I admire his determination to carry out the word and will of God with regard to Israel, and his readiness to do everything that was in the power of man, assisted by the Almighty; and above all I admire his integrity and fidelity to the Lord… It will be remembered that the Lord became angry with the Israelites, and declared to Moses that he would destroy them, and he would take Moses and make of him a great people, and would bestow upon him and his posterity what he had promised to Israel. But this great leader and lawgiver, faithful to his trust, stood in the gap and there plead with the Lord on behalf of his people; by the power that he could exercise and did exercise, he was the means of saving the people from threatened destruction. (Ex. 32:7-14) How noble and glorious Moses must have appeared in the eyes of the Lord, and what a source of satisfaction it must have been to him to know that his chosen people, in their obstinate and ignorant condition, had such a man at their head. (Journal of Discourses, 23:191)
Exodus 32:19 he saw the calf, and the dancing: and Moses’ anger waxed hot
Once Moses had a look for himself, he had the same response as Jehovah did--he was furious. He was more like Jehovah in character and virtue that he knew. He devised his own punishment for them: grinding up the burnt calf to powder and making them drink the concoction. It turns out that gold is not toxic to humans, although Moses didn’t know that. Maybe in his anger, he didn’t care. Then he turns to Aaron to ask how in the world he could have let this happen!
Exodus 32:22-24 Aaron said... I cast it into the fire, and there came out this calf
Can you imagine the expression on Moses face when he hears this explanation from his older brother and spokesman to the people? Aaron is trying to get away with an excuse, "the people made me do it." "It wasn't my idea; you know how wicked and mischievous these people are!" "Of course, I would never want to make a golden calf for them!"
In fact, Aaron was complicit with the crime. It was even his idea (see verse 2). He took their gold. He melted it down. He formed it into one block. Then he "fashioned it with a graving tool" (Ex. 32:4) in direct violation of the second commandment, “Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image” (Ex. 20:4) Instead of stopping the people and calling them to repentance, he helped them make an idol god.
Then after all that-when he is caught red handed-when Moses is asking him what he has done-he says "I just took their gold and threw it into the fire and 'poof!' a golden calf came out." "It was like magic!" Can you imagine how this explanation sat with Moses? He knew who was to blame. That is why he asked the question, what could possibly have happened "that thou hast brought so great a sin upon [this people]"?
Exodus 32:26 Who is on the Lord’s side?
Joshua was famous for asking the Israelites to choose sides, saying, “choose you this day whom ye will serve” (Josh. 24:15), but Moses had proposed the same idea asking, “Who is on the Lord’s side?
Robert C. Oaks
Standing firm on the Lord’s side is especially valuable today. Our prophet regularly points out that these are the last days. We know from the signs of the times that the end is drawing near. And Satan knows it as well. He and his forces never seem to sleep. . .
Our hymn “Who’s on the Lord’s Side?” instructs us, “Now is the time to show.” Now is the time to stand fast in our faith and on our principles, as did Captain Moroni. . . Now is the time to show our appreciation for the atoning sacrifice of our Lord Jesus Christ. Now is the time to show our faith through our obedience to such basic commandments as the laws of chastity and tithing, the Word of Wisdom, and keeping the Sabbath day holy.
Now is the time to warn our neighbors by sharing the gospel message with them. Now is the time to provide the world with an example of decency and modesty, an example of virtue and cleanliness. We should never squander our priesthood power, wallowing in the corruptive, corrosive filth and slime of pornography.
Now is the time to review the covenants we have made with the Lord at the waters of baptism, covenants we made when we accepted the oath and covenant of the priesthood, and covenants we have made in His holy temples.
Now is indeed the time to show we are on the Lord’s side. (https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/2005/04/whos-on-the-lords-side-who?lang=eng)
Charles W. Dahlquist II
In February 1852, a young woman by the name of Hannah Last Cornaby was baptized in Yarmouth, England. It was not the quiet, reverent experience most have but was described by her in these words: “We found the house surrounded by a mob, through which we with difficulty made our way. … Before we reached the water’s edge, the whole horde was upon us; and my husband baptized me amid a shower of stones, and shouts … and, although the stones whizzed around us thick as hail, not one touched us, and we reached home in safety, thanking God for our miraculous deliverance” (Hannah Cornaby, Autobiography and Poems [1881], 24–25).
Her life that followed was not an easy one. Years later, she wrote these words:
Now is the time to show.
We ask it fearlessly:
Who’s on the Lord’s side? Who?
(“Who’s on the Lord’s Side?” Hymns, no. 260)
Although these are the words of a song we do not sing very often, it has become one of my favorite hymns because of the commitment to truth and right. In fact, it is a question that should be in the mind of each young man and each young woman the world over: “Who’s on the Lord’s side?” And our resounding answer should be, “I am!” (https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/2007/04/whos-on-the-lords-side?lang=eng)