The Daily Memo | March 1, 2023 | The Gold Bull-Calf

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When the people saw how long it was taking Moses to come back down the mountain, they gathered around Aaron. “Come on,” they said, “make us some gods who can lead us. We don’t know what happened to this fellow Moses, who brought us here from the land of Egypt.” (Exodus 32:1 NLT)

So, what’s wrong with this picture?

Moses is meeting with God; Joshua is part way up Mt. Sinai and the rest of the Israelites are left in Aaron’s capable hands. Or so we thought. He tells everyone to gather their gold and forms a calf for them to worship. Somehow they believe this inanimate object will save them, not the God that performed countless miracles to get them out of Egypt and parted the Red Sea wiping out the Egyptian army in the process. How quickly they chose not to remember. In fact, God told Moses, ‘They have been quick to turn away from what I commanded them’. (32:8)

The initial cause of their idolatry was a lack of patience. You’d think that after hundreds of years in captivity they would sit tight for a bit. I’m sure we would have, in the same circumstance…. Maybe.

Yet, it was the prayer of Moses, after the people made the golden calf as an idol, that averted total disaster.

Two observations. Our timing is not God’s timing. By the power of prayer, it is possible to change the course of history.

Think about it. Are we that much different than the people of Israel? We simply have hindsight and the ability to judge more harshly these monumental events, forgetting that miracles happen all around us. God asks us to be patient and wait on Him. He also provides the power of prayer to seek the best outcome for our lives.

And that’s the Memo.

Steve

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