Then the LORD said to Moses, “I have seen this people. Look what a stiff-necked people they are! So now, leave me alone so that my anger can burn against them and I can destroy them, and I will make from you a great nation.”
Exodus 32:9-10 NET
The second of the Ten Commandments prohibited creating images to worship (Ex. 20:4-6). The people agreed to abide by the terms of God’s covenant, including the prohibition against making images (Ex. 24:7).
Then Moses went up Mt. Sinai for 40 days, receiving additional instructions from God. And, while he was gone, Israel broke this second commandment, making a golden calf to represent the Lord who had brought them out of Egypt. And they began to worship it (Ex. 32:1-6).
God’s response to this (quoted above) seems strange. It would be easy in this passage to see him acting like a petulant child who did not get his way: throwing a temper tantrum, asking Moses for permission to destroy these people, and offering to make a great nation out of Moses instead.
A Test for Pride
But is that what is happening here? Or was Moses being tested, similar to Abraham’s test when he was instructed to offer Isaac as a burnt offering (Gen. 22:1-18)?
Abraham’s test was to see if he would give up his hope for the future, the son through whom God would fulfill his promise. And he passed his test.
Moses’ test appealed to his pride. God offered Moses the opportunity to replace Abraham and become the father of a great nation. That could have been a very tempting offer for one who had grown up in Pharoah’s household.
Moses Passed His Test
But Moses sought the favor of the LORD his God and said, “O LORD, why does your anger burn against your people, whom you have brought out from the land of Egypt with great power and with a mighty hand?
Exodus 32:11 NET
But Moses passed his test. Turning down the offer of greatness, he advocated for Israel instead, continuing in the role God had assigned him. And, in doing so, he achieved true greatness.
How do you respond when tested? Do you take the easy and more appealing choice? Or do you choose the hard path of obedience and surrender to the Lord’s will–the path to greatness in the kingdom?
