WHAT CALF ARE YOU DANCING AROUND?
Exodus 32:1-4,19
INTRODUCTION
A. HUMOR
1. A drill sergeant had just chewed out one of his cadets. As he was walking away, he turned to the cadet and said, "I guess when I die you'll come and dance on my grave." The cadet replied, "Not me, Sarge...no sir! I promised myself that when I got out of the Army I'd never stand in another line!"
2. Husband and wife go to a club. They notice a guy on the dance floor giving everyone a show. He's breakdancing, moon walking and even throwing in a few backflips. The wife turns to the husband and says, "see that guy on the dance floor? He proposed to be 25 years ago and I turned him down!" Husband says "Yeah looks like he's still celebrating!"
3. These humorous stories connect to our scripture tonight.
B. TEXT
32 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 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.” Exodus 32:1-4
C. A SHOCKER
1. It was not yet six weeks since the people had stood before Mt. Horeb and sworn, 'All that the Lord has spoken will we do.' The blood of the covenant, sprinkled on them, was scarcely dry when they flung off allegiance to Jehovah, demanding other gods to lead them!
2. And when they get their new ‘convenient’ god, their response was so euphoric that it betrayed their feeling of relief from a God who actually expected something from them! The title of this message is, “What Calf Are You Dancing Around?”
I. WE ALL HAVE IDOLS IN OUR HEARTS
A. OUR UNIVERSAL CONDITION
1. Aaron’s statement, “These are your gods, Israel, who brought you up out of Egypt” is one of the most shocking statements in Scripture.
2. How could anyone – who witnessed the 10 plagues in Egypt, the opening of the Red Sea, the destruction of the Egyptian army, and Mount Horeb on fire – give the credit to a crudely made metal cow? It just goes to show the magnitude – and our willingness – to be deceived.
3. God told Ezekiel, “Son of man, these men have SET UP IDOLS IN THEIR HEARTS....I will [confront them about it] to recapture the hearts of the people of Israel, WHO HAVE ALL DESERTED ME FOR THEIR IDOLS.” Ezek. 14:3,5.
4. Notice the word “ALL.” God said it was the universal condition of the people of God that they ALL had idols in their hearts. Ever since the “Fall” of mankind in Genesis 3, humans have put something else in the place of God. It might be our money, our jobs, or sports, our education, our pleasures, our drug, or a loved one, etc. God said, “You shall have no gods before Me.”
B. MAN, AS A CREATED BEING, MUST HAVE A GOD
1. “Up, make us gods.” The most popular person today will be the one who makes gods for the people. It’s a sign of our times that science, medicine, and government are revered almost as gods in our society: they’re the providers and healers of the masses.
2. A “god” is defined as “the principal object of faith and worship...which controls human events and provides benefits to its followers.” That’s exactly what these do.
3. Trouble was, the Israelites didn’t like the God they had – a God who had strict demands and required sacrifices, so they decided to make-up their own version of God. Of course, they chose a god of convenience and leniency.
4. “Aaron, make us a nice little god that we can bring out when it suits us or ignore if we don’t want him around. One that won’t require much or notice if we choose to sin.”
C. WHY EGYPTIAN STATUES HAVE NO NOSES
1. Edward Bleiberg, an overseer of Egyptian art, was surprised when he was asked why the noses were uniformly missing. He thought: over time they get damaged; but he learned another reason.
2. Ancient thieves believed that the statues, placed around burial sites to protect them, were actually gods. So if the thief knocked off the nose with a hammer, the god couldn’t exhale its spirit. If the ear was knocked off, the god could no longer hear what they were doing when they robbed the tomb.
3. They so limited their god’s abilities that they thought they could outfox them. I hope no one here thinks they’re smarter than the Living God! They’re in for a terrible surprise! C T
II. WE CELEBRATE OUR IDOLS
A. THE FALLEN NATURE CELEBRATES SIN
1. Moses, coming down the mountain, told Joshua, “It is the sound of singing that I hear.” “When Moses approached the camp and saw the calf and the dancing, his anger burned and he threw the tablets out of his hands, breaking them to pieces at the foot of the mountain” Ex. 32:18-19.
2. The Israelites were singing and dancing around the Golden Calf! They were celebrating it, singing praises to it, rejoicing in sin. Verse 25 tells us they were out of control, going wild, and were made a laughingstock to the enemies of God.
3. The Calf was nothing more than a block of carved wood with a layer of gold on it (or of solid gold). Yet the people treated it as if it were alive, a personality. They lavished their devotion on it and made sacrifices to it. They bowed down to a block of wood or hunk of metal!
4. Celebrating is usually a good thing, but when it elevates something we enjoy to be the center of our devotion, then that thing has usurped the place of God!
5. No activity, blessing, or person should rival our devotion to God or cause us to disobey God’s Word. If that happens, it has become a god to us. God is a jealous God; He allows no rivals to our love – not because HE needs it – but because it would be destructive to us.
6. What are our idols? Look closely at what you celebrate: because what you shower your time, money, and love on – is probably your idol!
B. “FOLLOW THE MONEY”
1. God told the Israelites that He had given them their earrings for adornment, “I dressed you in fine linen and covered you with costly garments. I adorned you with jewelry: I put bracelets on your arms and a necklace around your neck, and...earrings on your ears” Ezek. 16:10-12. Yet what had the Israelites done with their earrings?
2. Ex. 32:3-4 says, “So all the people took off their earrings and brought them to Aaron. He took what they handed him and made it into an idol cast in the shape of a calf.” They took the ornaments that God had given them (out of His love) and they gave it to God’s rival! What an insult!
3. People, as a rule, spend freely on their vices: boats, RV’s, vacations, high-end cars, clothes, improving their looks, food, etc. But people aren’t so quick to part with their valuables in the service of Jehovah. We tend to give God a “tip” instead of a “tithe.”
4. Investigators into corruption have a principal that exposes criminals – “follow the money.” The use of our money always exposes our priorities. What do YOU spend your money on? If you have an idol, that’s what it will be.
III. GOD SAYS, “CHOOSE WHOM YOU’LL SERVE!”
A. CHOOSING WHOM YOU’LL SERVE HAS ALWAYS BEEN RQUIRED
1. Noah separated himself from the ungodly world and prepared the Ark to save his family.
2. Abraham -- left his country and kindred, became a stranger and Pilgrim.
3. Moses chose reproach for Christ as greater riches than all the treasures of Egypt.
4. Elijah stood alone & defied the 450 prophets of Baal.
5. Daniel chose the doom of the lion’s den rather than failing to seek God.
6. The 3 Hebrews faced devouring flames rather than bow to an idol.
7. John the Baptist lived in the desert and ate detestable food rather than serving in a compromised priesthood.
8. Paul -- stood against the Roman world and altered its course. God needs people of such resolve/grit today! Jesus demands we choose!
B. WHY MUST YOU CHOOSE? BC….
1. GOD COMMANDS YOU TO CHOOSE! He doesn't give us the luxury or option of not choosing. God wants ALL our love or NONE of it; He won't take leftovers!
2. OUR NATURE DEMANDS IT. You can't serve two masters. There was a circus rider who rode on two horses: 1 foot on each horse’s back. If one of the horses veered, the contingency plan of the rider was to jump on the horse he was closest to. That's what we will do spiritually too.
3. THERE’S NO NEUTRAL GROUND: IT FORCES A CHOICE
a. The tops of FENCES aren’t meant to be a location to stay; they are a divider between two areas; you must get on one side or the other.
b. [One of my favorite stories]: During the Civil War, a man in a border state couldn't make up his mind which side to fight for – the North or the South. At last, he put on a Confederate shirt and Union pants and went into the battle. During the battle, the union shot him in the shirt and the Confederacy shot him in the pants. The moral? Choose one side or else both sides will shoot you!
4. Judges 2:15 says that because the Lord loved the Israelites, He actually went out to FIGHT AGAINST THEM. God loves you enough to chastise you for disobedience. “Whom the Lord loves He chastens.”
5. POINT? God wants you to be saved. You can get to Heaven the EASY way of ‘surrender,’ or the HARD way of ‘correction through suffering.’ The choice is yours. You should FEAR THE LORD and serve Him freely!
C. CONCLUSION: THE ISRAELITE’S PUNISHMENT
1. Moses showed that false gods can’t save themselves or their worshippers; he burned the Calf and ground it into powder – he reduced it to atoms – that it might be clearly seen that an idol is nothing.
2. Then Moses mixed this powder into their drinking water, which made it bitter to the taste. When the Israelites had to drink the water, it served as a concrete example of the bitterness of forsaking the True God. I hope WE don’t have to learn this lesson first-hand!
CONCLUSION
A. ILLUSTRATION: Man Crashes Wearing Fake Seat Belt
1. Seatbelts can be a hassle. Some people just don't want to be bothered even when the law requires them to buckle up. According to the Associated Press, a New Zealander named Ivan Segedin took it to an extreme.
2. The police ticketed him 32 times over five years for failing to use his seat belt. Even though this was costing him big money, Segedin refused to buckle up. Finally, instead of obeying the law, the man decided to rely on deception.
3. He made a fake seat belt that would hang over his shoulder and make it appear that he was wearing a seat belt when he was not. His trick worked for a while.
4. Then, he had a head-on collision. He was thrown forward onto the steering wheel and killed. The coroner said, "Though his car was fitted with seat belts, an extra belt with a long strap had been knotted above the seat belt on the driver's side, providing a belt to simply sit over the driver's shoulder."
5. When truly tested, our false god will fail us. We don’t need a substitute Jesus, we need the real thing! We need the One who said, “If anyone would come after Me, let them deny themselves, take up their cross, and follow Me.” That’s the only One who will save!
B. THE CALL
1. How many say, “It’s time I got back to a real relationship with the Living God”? I’ve been dancing around the wrong thing; I want to get back to God!” “I’m getting off the fence tonight!” “I want to choose to serve Jesus!”
2. PRAYER