February 10, 2025
An unfounded excuse
Read: Exodus 31, 32; Psalm 41; Matthew 21:1-22
Scripture: Exodus 32: 22 “Do not be angry, my lord,” Aaron answered. “You know how prone these people are to evil. 23 They said to me, ‘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.’ 24 So I told them, ‘Whoever has any gold jewelry, take it off.’ Then they gave me the gold, and I threw it into the fire, and out came this calf!”
Observation: While the Holy God gave his ordinances for the Israelites through Moses, the Israelites grew impatient and demanded Aaron to make gods to lead their journey. Aaron yielded to the pressure and led the people to idolatry by collecting jewelry and making a calf their god. On the other hand, although Moses pleaded for God’s mercy to cool off the wrath of God against the Israelites, when he came down, he openly confronted Aaron. In Aaron’s response, we see a suppression of the fact, i.e., what exactly Aaron did, and he made a wrong statement as if an idol automatically came out of the fire. Instead of accepting his mistakes and failing to keep up his responsibility, Aaron blamed the Israelites with lame excuses. He might have feared the people and worried about the consequences of not accepting their demands. Eventually, it led the people to sin against God, and they started to do abominable things that were not pleasing to God. The Exodus story would have had a different end if it were not for Moses and the Levites who stood firm for the Lord.
Application: At times, I may get pressures and demands to do something against God. It may come from within the family or workplace or from friends and relatives. Every person who lives in the world has these possible dangers of acting against his/her conscience. However, how I respond to such a situation will make a vast difference between me and others. If I ever yielded to the pressures of others and sinned against God, I would ask God to forgive me instead of justifying my failure. As a Christian, I should not give space to anything that could lead me to sin. I will fearlessly take a stand for God and pray for the people who go away from God.
Prayer: Father God, whenever I face the pressures of this world, help me be strong and bold. Protect me from yielding to the ungodly demands of the people. As Luther once said, “Here I stand; I can do no other. God help me.” Amen.
✍️: Arputharaj Samuel
📕: Quiet Time Companion
🗓️ Day – 41