exodus

Chaplain Daily Touchpoint #386: Making ‘gods’

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Text:

32 When the people saw that Moses delayed to come down from the mountain, the people gathered themselves together to Aaron and said to him, “Up, 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.” (Exodus 32:1-2)

Context, Context, Context: Moses, the shepherd/intercessor/leader of Israel, had just come down from meeting with God atop Sinai: “And he [God] gave to Moses, when he had finished speaking with him on Mount Sinai, the two tablets of the testimony, tablets of stone, written with the finger of God” (Exodus 31:18). Moses had received the Decalogue from the Lord. They were ‘the ten words,’ if you will, from God. (They are, by the way, the basis of what’s left of civilization. Deny transcendence, deny human responsibility, deny individual property rights, deny law and order, and see what happens. You get chaos. But if folks cannot see that unfolding in front of their very eyes, I do not know how they will ever admit truth and reality until they stand before the Lord. You can deny both, but you don’t break them; they break you.)

Teaching: When Moses had been away from his people for a while, the people grew restless, unbelieving, and selfish. They demanded Aaron’s brother take charge and “make us gods who shall go before us” (Exodus 32:1b). In other words, all people everywhere are religious. It is only a matter of whether they worship the true God or an idol/false god.

Encouragement: In 2026, folks might scoff at this historical event of the golden calf and think, “What? Really? A bovine creature crafted with a gold patina?” Yes, folks. If you don’t worship the true God, you will worship necessarily at the altar of an idol–be it cows, self, power, popularity, or Satan; but you will worship.

This Sunday my family and I are praying that this weather will spare us and others, so that we can gather with the saints in worship of the true and living God, because he alone is worthy.

Chaplain Daily Touchpoint #382: God Alone

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Question: Who is to receive glory?

Text:

6 But the Lord said to Moses, “Now you shall see what I will do to Pharaoh; for with a strong hand he will send them out, and with a strong hand he will drive them out of his land.”

2 God spoke to Moses and said to him, “I am the Lord. 3 I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, as God Almighty, but by my name the Lord I did not make myself known to them. 4 I also established my covenant with them to give them the land of Canaan, the land in which they lived as sojourners. 5 Moreover, I have heard the groaning of the people of Israel whom the Egyptians hold as slaves, and I have remembered my covenant. 6 Say therefore to the people of Israel, ‘I am the Lord, and I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, and I will deliver you from slavery to them, and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with great acts of judgment. 7 I will take you to be my people, and I will be your God, and you shall know that I am the Lord your God, who has brought you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians. 8 I will bring you into the land that I swore to give to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob. I will give it to you for a possession. I am the Lord.’” 9 Moses spoke thus to the people of Israel, but they did not listen to Moses, because of their broken spirit and harsh slavery. (Exodus 6:1-9)

The Same Question: Who is to receive glory?

Who does God tell Moses will give Israel the land in verse 4? Who said He remembers the covenant in verse 5? Who will bring Israel out from under the burdens of the Egyptians in verse 6? Who will deliver the people from slavery and redeem via judgment in verse 6? Who has His people in verse 7? Who will bring the people out in verse 8?

Soli de Gloria: Over and over again, God reveals Himself to Moses in order to teach him and those he led one overarching lesson: God alone gets the glory.

It’s not about us. We’re the problem. We’re the recalcitrant ones. We’re the ones in need of redemption.

When we make ourselves the heroes in Scripture, we err grievously.

Encouragement: If you’re a Christian, dear ones, you’re to be humble. We’re not to be doing things for our glory. That’s pride, and stinks in the nostrils of God, and it repels people.

Moses was called the meekest of men. And look at how God used him. Want to be great? Be humble. Want to be used of God? Acknowledge that God is the hero of redemption; it’s not you or me. Give it all to the Lord, work hard, and trust God with the results.