If you want to know about human impatience, ungratefulness & stubbornness, just read about our ancestors, the people of Israel, in Exodus 32 & Deuteronomy 9 & 10.
We all know about the 10 Commandments that God gave to the prophet Moses. God literally wrote the 10 Commandments with His finger on the tablets of stone, thousands of years ago (the handwriting on those stones are similar to the advanced laser technology of today, as discovered by archeologist).
Yet, many of us don’t know what happened, when the 10 Commandments were given to Moses.
Let’s take a walk back into history.
Imagine you are one of people of Israel, in the desert. Imagine, your leader, the prophet Moses, tells you he’s going up the mountain to fast and pray.
What would you be doing while waiting for your leader to return?
Take note, just some time before that, the people of Israel suffered as slaves in Egypt! They prayed and asked to Lord to save them, out of Egypt. Then, the Lord sent Moses to come and lead them. They had received miracles after miracles from the Lord. They saw a stick turn into a snake. They saw water turn into blood. They saw the Lord part the sea before their very eyes and they managed to escape from Pharoah in Egypt, with Moses as their leader. When they didn’t have food to eat, the Lord sent food from heaven.
The people of Israel experienced the Lord’s great power, literally! They knew that the Lord always answered their prayers and that He spoke to Moses. Yet, they couldn’t wait for their leader to come down from the mountain.
Here’s what the Israelites did, while Moses was away.
They said, “We don’t know what happened to that fellow Moses. Wives, daughters and sons – take off all your gold earrings! We’ll make a god for ourselves!”
They melted all the gold they had to make a statue of a young cow! They made a Golden Calf to worship it as God!
When the golden statue was complete, they said, “This is the Lord who brought us safely out of Egypt!”
Can you even believe this was happening?
And Moses’ assistant, Aaron, announced the next day as a festival to God! Everyone woke up early and sacrificed burnt offerings; they ate and drank well while enjoying great celebrations.
During that moment, the Lord was giving Moses the 10 Commandments, up on the mountain, after he fasted and prayed for 40 days.
Then the Lord told Moses, “Go down from here at once, because the people you brought out of Egypt have become corrupt!”
Can you imagine your leader, who had not eaten for 40 days and 40 nights, coming down from the mountain, carrying 2 stone tablets (with the handwriting of God)?
What does Moses see?
He sees his dear assistant, Aaron, leading the pact into worshipping a Golden Cow as God!
Moses became terribly angry with the people because they were so impatient and stubborn – they had sinned against the Lord! They were worshipping a golden cow, as God! They had reduced the greatness of the Almighty God into a statue, formed and shaped with human hands! What an insult to the Lord!
Immediately, Moses threw the 2 stone tablets (containing the 10 Commandments) out of his hands, breaking them into pieces in front of their eyes! (some parts of these broken stones have been discovered by archeologists, and science reveals the modern laser technology on the stones dated thousands of years back!)
The Lord burned with anger towards the people of Israel! The Lord had LOVED THEM, and had done SO MUCH for them. Yet, they were so stubborn, impatient and disobedient.
The Lord told Moses,”Let Me destroy Aaron & all these people!”
But Moses begged the Lord not to kill Aaron and the people of Israel. Again, Moses fasted and prayed for 40 days, asking the Lord to forgive all their sins.
The Lord listened to Moses’ prayer, and spared their lives. The Lord was gracious enough to tell Moses to prepare 2 more stone tablets. Once again, the Lord wrote the same 10 Commandments (which was broken when Moses threw them in front of the Golden Calf) on the 2 new stone tablets. The Lord gave them a SECOND CHANCE!
The Lord also asked Moses to make a wooden chest to keep the 10 Commandments. This box was called the Ark of Covenant. ’Covenant‘ means contract or agreement. And the stone tablets are in that Ark till today (many archeologists are still searching for it).
There was a special way to carry the Ark of Covenant so that it won’t be touched, and only a selected tribe was allowed to carry it. Even if people accidentally touched the Ark of Covenant, they died! So great and holy was the handwriting of the Lord! (perhaps that’s why it’s so hard to discover the Ark and the 10 Commandments stone tablets till today).
The people had to carry the Ark wherever they went, and it brought blessings to the land. Then the Lord asked Moses to tell the people to follow all the Commandments, so that they will be blessed. The Lord warned them not to create any statue to worship as God, or worship anything else besides the Lord.
What do you think of the 10 Commandments?
Can you see how serious it is? To the extent that the Lord wrote it twice! So important that it had to be placed in a special chest, carried in a special way, by selected people – to bring blessings.
What do you think of the Golden Calf?
If you were one of the Israelites, would YOU have been melting your gold jewellery to create the golden statue of a cow, or would you have TRUSTED & OBEYED the Lord who brought you that far?
-JJ-
We all know about the 10 Commandments that God gave to the prophet Moses. God literally wrote the 10 Commandments with His finger on the tablets of stone, thousands of years ago (the handwriting on those stones are similar to the advanced laser technology of today, as discovered by archeologist).
Yet, many of us don’t know what happened, when the 10 Commandments were given to Moses.
Let’s take a walk back into history.
Imagine you are one of people of Israel, in the desert. Imagine, your leader, the prophet Moses, tells you he’s going up the mountain to fast and pray.
What would you be doing while waiting for your leader to return?
Take note, just some time before that, the people of Israel suffered as slaves in Egypt! They prayed and asked to Lord to save them, out of Egypt. Then, the Lord sent Moses to come and lead them. They had received miracles after miracles from the Lord. They saw a stick turn into a snake. They saw water turn into blood. They saw the Lord part the sea before their very eyes and they managed to escape from Pharoah in Egypt, with Moses as their leader. When they didn’t have food to eat, the Lord sent food from heaven.
The people of Israel experienced the Lord’s great power, literally! They knew that the Lord always answered their prayers and that He spoke to Moses. Yet, they couldn’t wait for their leader to come down from the mountain.
Here’s what the Israelites did, while Moses was away.
They said, “We don’t know what happened to that fellow Moses. Wives, daughters and sons – take off all your gold earrings! We’ll make a god for ourselves!”
They melted all the gold they had to make a statue of a young cow! They made a Golden Calf to worship it as God!
When the golden statue was complete, they said, “This is the Lord who brought us safely out of Egypt!”
Can you even believe this was happening?
And Moses’ assistant, Aaron, announced the next day as a festival to God! Everyone woke up early and sacrificed burnt offerings; they ate and drank well while enjoying great celebrations.
During that moment, the Lord was giving Moses the 10 Commandments, up on the mountain, after he fasted and prayed for 40 days.
Then the Lord told Moses, “Go down from here at once, because the people you brought out of Egypt have become corrupt!”
Can you imagine your leader, who had not eaten for 40 days and 40 nights, coming down from the mountain, carrying 2 stone tablets (with the handwriting of God)?
What does Moses see?
He sees his dear assistant, Aaron, leading the pact into worshipping a Golden Cow as God!
Moses became terribly angry with the people because they were so impatient and stubborn – they had sinned against the Lord! They were worshipping a golden cow, as God! They had reduced the greatness of the Almighty God into a statue, formed and shaped with human hands! What an insult to the Lord!
Immediately, Moses threw the 2 stone tablets (containing the 10 Commandments) out of his hands, breaking them into pieces in front of their eyes! (some parts of these broken stones have been discovered by archeologists, and science reveals the modern laser technology on the stones dated thousands of years back!)
The Lord burned with anger towards the people of Israel! The Lord had LOVED THEM, and had done SO MUCH for them. Yet, they were so stubborn, impatient and disobedient.
The Lord told Moses,”Let Me destroy Aaron & all these people!”
But Moses begged the Lord not to kill Aaron and the people of Israel. Again, Moses fasted and prayed for 40 days, asking the Lord to forgive all their sins.
The Lord listened to Moses’ prayer, and spared their lives. The Lord was gracious enough to tell Moses to prepare 2 more stone tablets. Once again, the Lord wrote the same 10 Commandments (which was broken when Moses threw them in front of the Golden Calf) on the 2 new stone tablets. The Lord gave them a SECOND CHANCE!
The Lord also asked Moses to make a wooden chest to keep the 10 Commandments. This box was called the Ark of Covenant. ’Covenant‘ means contract or agreement. And the stone tablets are in that Ark till today (many archeologists are still searching for it).
There was a special way to carry the Ark of Covenant so that it won’t be touched, and only a selected tribe was allowed to carry it. Even if people accidentally touched the Ark of Covenant, they died! So great and holy was the handwriting of the Lord! (perhaps that’s why it’s so hard to discover the Ark and the 10 Commandments stone tablets till today).
The people had to carry the Ark wherever they went, and it brought blessings to the land. Then the Lord asked Moses to tell the people to follow all the Commandments, so that they will be blessed. The Lord warned them not to create any statue to worship as God, or worship anything else besides the Lord.
What do you think of the 10 Commandments?
Can you see how serious it is? To the extent that the Lord wrote it twice! So important that it had to be placed in a special chest, carried in a special way, by selected people – to bring blessings.
What do you think of the Golden Calf?
If you were one of the Israelites, would YOU have been melting your gold jewellery to create the golden statue of a cow, or would you have TRUSTED & OBEYED the Lord who brought you that far?
-JJ-
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