EXODUS 32
15 Then Moses turned and went down from the mountain with the two tablets of the testimony in his hand, tablets that were written on both sides; on the front and on the back they were written. 16 The tablets were the work of God, and the writing was the writing of God, engraved on the tablets. 17 When Joshua heard the noise of the people as they shouted, he said to Moses, “There is a noise of war in the camp.” 18 But he said, “It is not the sound of shouting for victory, or the sound of the cry of defeat, but the sound of singing that I hear.” 19 And as soon as he came near the camp and saw the calf and the dancing, Moses’ anger burned hot, and he threw the tablets out of his hands and broke them at the foot of the mountain. 20 He 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.21 And Moses said to Aaron, “What did this people do to you that you have brought such a great sin upon them?” 22 And Aaron said, “Let not the anger of my lord burn hot. You know the people, that they are set on evil. 23 For they said to me, ‘Make us gods who shall go before us. As for this Moses, the man who brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.’ 24 So I said to them, ‘Let any who have gold take it off.’ So they gave it to me, and I threw it into the fire, and out came this calf.” – Exodus 32:15-24
EXODUS 32 MOSES’ ANGER OVER THE GOLDEN CALF
A poem by ILMA inspired by these verses
Coming down from the mountain, Moses brought down God’s tablet
Then he witnessed the golden calf they built
Moses’ anger grew and he threw the tablet and burned the calf
Then he threw the calf’s ashes in the water
Then he made the people drink the water with ashes
Finally, he confronted his brother Aaron who actually made the idol.
Was Moses’ anger righteous? Wasn’t he very harsh with letting them drink the water with the burnt ashes of the golden calf? I think that his anger was appropriate because the people of God actually broke their covenant promise to God in just those 40 days that Moses was gone. God tested them and they didn’t pass that test.
REFLECTION
- How was Moses’ anger towards the people building the calf justified?
