When Moses was away with God on the Mount Sinai a long time, the people went to Aaron and said, "Come, make us a god who will be our leader, for Moses has not returned."
Aaron replied, "Have your wives and sons and daughters bring their golden earrings to me." And they did. Aaron fashioned the gold with a graving tool into a molten calf.
Then the people cried out, "Israel, this is your god who brought you out of the land of Egypt."
Aaron built an altar for the calf and said, "Tomorrow is the feast of the Lord." So early the next day the people made offerings to the molten calf. Then they sat down to eat and drink and enjoy themselves.
The Lord got angry. He told Moses, "Go down at once to your people whom you brought out of Egypt? Please excuse them. Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel."
So the Lord relented. Moses went down the mountains with two tablets of the Commandments in his hands. When he saw the golden calf Moses got very angry. He took the golden calf and threw it into the fire, ground it into powder, and scattered it on the water and made the Israelites drink it.
Then Moses asked Aaron, "What did they do to you that you should lead them into so grave sin?"
Aaron replied, "You know well enough how prone the people are to evil." Moses punished those who were not the Lord. Then the Lord forgave them and told Moses to continue lending his people to Canaan..
Comments
Post a Comment