THE GOLDEN CALF

1. Bible Stories

a) The Bible is full of so many great stories, from struggle to triumph and impossible to miraculous. There are many different kinds of famous stories in the Bible. If you have to read and study the verses closely, there is so much to learn about what the story really means. Such story allows us to know God more deeply and helps us grow up in spiritual life.

b) If you are new to the Bible and want to know some of the most famous Bible stories, here is one of them.

2. The Golden Calf 

a) The Bible Story of the Golden Calf is very revealing of human nature and the tendency of people to stray away from devotion to God.  It is ironic that while Moses was on Mount Sinai, receiving the Ten Commandments from God, the Israelites were breaking the very first commandment "thou shall not have any gods before me."  This makes it very evident why the commandments were needed as people exhibit a natural drift towards sin without the proper leadership and constitution of morality.  As the Israelites grew impatient with Moses on Mount Sinai, they decided to make a new god to "go up before them" or worship so they took their gold jewelry and melted it down to build a Golden Calf.  God saw that his people had constructed a false idol as his replacement and planned to "consume" or kill all of them but Moses courageously requested God to "relent from this disaster against your people." 

b) Moses then went down from the mountain with two tablets inscribed with the Ten Commandments written by God and saw the Israelites dancing and singing around the Golden Calf.  So enraged by their betrayal to God, he threw the tablets and broke them at the foot of the mountain. He then "took the calf that they had made and burned it with fire and ground it to powder and scattered it on the water and made the people of Israel drink it."  Moses informs the Israelites, "You have sinned a great sin, and now I will go up to the Lord; perhaps I can make atonement for your sin."  God tells Moses to lead his people to the promised land of Canaan, and he will visit them there.  The chapter ends with a plague being cursed upon the Israelites for the Golden Calf as they embark towards Canaan.

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