Exodus 32:1-9 “And when the people saw that Moses delayed to come down out of the mount, the people gathered themselves together unto Aaron, and said unto him, Up, make us gods, which shall go before us; for as for this Moses, the man that brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we wot not what is become of him. And Aaron said unto them, Break off the golden earrings, which are in the ears of your wives, of your sons, and of your daughters, and bring them unto me. And all the people brake off the golden earrings which were in their ears, and brought them unto Aaron. And he received them at their hand, and fashioned it with a graving tool, after he had made it a molten calf: and they said, These be thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt. And when Aaron saw it, he built an altar before it; and Aaron made proclamation, and said, To morrow is a feast to the Lord. And they rose up early on the morrow, and offered burnt offerings, and brought peace offerings; and the people sat down to eat and to drink, and rose up to play. And the Lord said unto Moses, Go, get thee down; for thy people, which thou broughtest out of the land of Egypt, have corrupted themselves: They have turned aside quickly out of the way which I commanded them: they have made them a molten calf, and have worshipped it, and have sacrificed thereunto, and said, These be thy gods, O Israel, which have brought thee up out of the land of Egypt. And the Lord said unto Moses, I have seen this people, and, behold, it is a stiffnecked people:”
Exodus 32:1 “And when the people saw that Moses delayed to come down out of the mount.”
Before us is a very dark day in the lives of God’s chosen people. It was an event that openly revealed the corrupt nature that resided in their hearts; “behold, it is a stiffnecked people:” In carefully examining the text; the devastation can be traced back to a fatal flaw; dangerous assumptions revolving around the activities of others. There was the dangerous assumption of timing; “when the people saw that Moses delayed.” Who said that Moses was delayed? Just because Moses’ return wasn’t in accordance to their schedule, they assumed things had broken down. The Master was in control of Moses’ mountain top experience and not man. The glorious truth is; God was equipping Moses with everything the people will need to move forward in their walk with Him!
Secondly, there was the dangerous assumption of tactics; “make us gods, which shall go before us; for as for this Moses.” The people assume that the right course of action was tied to the activities of a man; they had lost sight of God in their attempt to keep up with a man. Their faith was so closely linked to a man that when they lost Moses, they lost God! We always have the tendency to do the wrong thing when we begin to allow our focus on man dictate what we do! Abraham fabricated a lie about Sarah when considering the ways of the Egyptians (Genesis 20:1-11). Naaman almost returned without a cure because Elisha didn’t come to the door and place his hands upon him (II Kings 5:10-14).
The people assumed that Moses was delayed and God had deserted them! These dangerous assumptions were the result of focusing upon the activities of a man and not resting in the presence and the promises of God.