“Do Not Be Attracted To Idol Worship!”

“Do Not Be Attracted To Idol Worship!”
Welcome to Day Four of Lent 2023.
Moses was up Mount Sinai receiving instruction from the LORD and “the two tablets of the Testimony, tablets of stone inscribed by the finger of God.” The people were tired of waiting for him, so they approached Aaron and asked him to make gods who will go before them. Aaron complied and made the Golden Calf which he presented to them as their gods who brought them out of Egypt. The people sacrificed to the idols, after which “they sat down to eat and drink and got up to indulge in revelry.”
Moses was absent for just a few weeks, but the people forgot too soon about the God who had brought them out of Egypt. Moses was now called “this fellow;” albeit that they knew he brought them out of Egypt. They did not know what had happened to him and they did not care to know where he was. That is how people are. As soon as you are absent for just a while, you become “this fellow” and nobody cares where you are or what is happening to you. It doesn’t matter how much you sacrificed for them.
Aaron, God’s chosen priest can be said to be a great disappointment for easily giving in to popular opinion and doing the wrong thing! Aaron’s compliance is the evidence that religious authorities can easily lead people to official idolatory.
Imagine Aaron who had been the LORD’s priest for all this time! He was the one who asked the people to bring their trinkets for him to make the Golden Calf. He also decided on the nature and design of the gods. After making the calf he presented it to the people saying, “These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you out of Egypt.” Imagine the priest of YAHWEH saying this!
Moses is not exempted from the happenings at the bottom of the mountain. Moses threw the baby with the dirty water! Out of anger “he threw the tablets out of his hands, breaking them to pieces…”
“The tablets were the work of God; the writing was the writing of God, engraved on the tablets.” But Moses was so blinded with anger that within a split second he destroyed what had taken weeks to be engraved! We should learn to control our temper in the face of challenges.
My friend, all the above notwithstanding, when Moses and Joshua were coming down the mountain, Joshua heard the noise of people shouting and he said to Moses, “There is the sound of war in the camp.” Moses replied, “It is not the sound of victory, it is not the sound of defeat; it is the sound of singing that I hear.”
Dear friend, the world is full of the noise of people shouting. But what sound do you hear? The greatest and loudest sound is the sound of singing, celebrating the triumph of evil over good. Yes, the sound of singing that surrounds us – of which we are often part of – is usually the celebration of sin.
Whether you are a Aaron, a Moses or an ordinary person, we may have forgotten the One who led us out of the bondage of sin. Let us take this Lent season to reflect and make a U-turn back to the LORD!
Prayer: Holy Spirit help me not to turn to idolatory but to remain faithful to the God of our salvation. Amen!
Have a blessed weekend! Peace be with you!
Rev Babila Fochang.