Re: Verse reading–Exodus 32:1-19, 30-33; 33:12-17; 34:1-7 (day one)
“He took what they handed him and made it into an idol cast in the shape of a calf.”–v 32:4. It was an epic fail! How could it happen? Just weeks before (in Exodus 24) these same people had promised full obedience to the Lord and His commandments. “No other gods. . .no images.” With sincere hearts (we assume) they entered into a covenant of obedience with God. How, then (by chapter 32), could they stumble so badly, so publically, as to make a golden calf and represent it as Jehovah God? Those of us who have made promises to God know the answer. So long as we count on ourselves and our own resources to do God’s will, we fail every time. “The Spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak” said Jesus to Peter. “Prone to wander, Lord I feel it” we sing in confession of this truth. We need God in order to obey God.