Which God Is Your God?

There is a quality in humankind that propels us to worship a god. There is something in us that causes us to worship something or someone. Even the most primitive people from the beginning of time felt a need to worship a tree, a flower, a star, the sun, or anything else. We hear some people say that they are not a religious person. Everybody is religious in the sense that we have a need to worship something. Even the atheist worships something if it is nothing else them himself. There is something in our lives which we worship. Whatever is the closest to your heart is your God. It may be money, possessions, power, fame, fortune, influence, popularity, children, houses, or whatever. Everybody worships something. But the question becomes what god are you worshipping? Basically, there are only 2 gods. There is the god or gods whom we make of our own. Then there is the God who made us. Which God are you worshiping? Are you worshiping the god you have made or are you worshiping the God who made you?

That is our subject for today. Which God is your God? Our text is found in Exodus 32; 1-14. This text presents the contrast between gods in a very compelling way. The people of Israel have left Egypt some time ago. They had seen God do his miracle at the Red Sea. They had seen God provide water for their thirst and food for their hunger. God had revealed to them who he was and had laid down some rules, regulations, and practices which they were to obey. The key part of these instructions was the 10 Commandments which God gave them through Moses at a holy mountain in the wilderness. Now Moses has gone up into the mountain to receive further instructions and to have God engrave his commandments on tablets of stone. Moses was having a conference with God. He had been gone for over a month. But no doubt Moses was in no hurry to come down from that mountain top experience with God. If you could spend a month communicating with God would you want to come back down again?

But anyway the people grew impatient from waiting for Moses to return. So they said to Aaron who was Moses’ brother, “Come, and make us gods who shall go before us, for we don’t know what has become of this fellow Moses.” Aaron gave into the people and made a golden calf from the gold the people gave him. Then the people said, “These are your gods, Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt.” Then Aaron built an altar before the golden calf and proclaimed a feast day to the Lord. The people rose up early the next day, bringing offerings before the altar and sat down to eat and drink. What are some lessons we can learn from this story of the golden calf?

First of all, they had violated the first two of the Ten Commandments which said you shall have no other gods before me and you shall not make for yourself an idol. The golden calf was made by their hands and was worshiped as god or at least was a representation of God. In either way, they were violating two of the greatest of the Ten Commandments. Here we see the distinction between a god we make and a God who made us. The people were worshiping a god whom they had made while Moses was communing with a God who had made them. That’s a choice we must make. Who is your God? No matter who you are you have a god. Ask yourself now what is the closest thing to you? Whatever that is, that thing becomes your god. The question is which God is your God? Is it the god we have made ourselves or is it the God who has made us? Now the basic truth is that we have many gods. Many things are close to our hearts: our homes, our possessions, our money, our children, our jobs, and so on. But the commandment says that you shall have no other gods before God. The God who made you must come first in our lives. There are many things we value in our lives. But we must view those things from the perspective that only God deserves our worship. God must come first. . Are you worshiping the god you have made or are you worshiping the God who made you?

The people of Israel looked at the golden calf as a representation of the God who had brought them out of Egypt. But nobody or nothing can represent God but God himself. To represent someone or something comes as close as you can to becoming that person or thing. That’s why God forbade the use of any idols or objects to represent him. The temptation is to worship the idol or the object instead of God. Some people fall into the habit of elevating and almost worshiping something or someone we see as representing God. Some people almost worship some priest, some minister, some pastor, or some spiritual leader. We put that thing or person on a pedestal. Then when that person or thing lets us down we blame God for it. But only God himself is to be worshiped. . Are you worshiping the god you have made or are you worshiping the God who made you?