InSINerating Our Idols
Philip Ryken tells this story: When I was a child, someone gave me a record album of Bible sounds. The album contained a series of audio riddles. As we listened, we would hear a sequence of sound effects, and then we would try to figure out which Bible story they told. For example, we would hear the sound of a crackling fire, followed by a rooster crowing three times, and then the sound of a man sobbing. That was an easy one: It was Peter’s denial of Christ. Most of the riddles were more difficult, but they opened up a whole new way of listening to the Bible. Consider some of the great sounds in Scripture. Think of the noise that Gideon and his soldiers made when they attacked the Midianites: blaring trumpets, smashing pots, and battle cries. Or think of the sound that David’s soldiers heard when they attacked the Philistines, the sound of God’s army marching in the treetops. Then there were the sounds that Elijah heard on God’s Mountain: wind, earthquake, fire, and the still small voice. There were all kinds of sounds in the Gospels too: animals blowing in the stable, water splashing into wine jars, wind storming on the lake, silver clinking in a bag, and bloody cries of anguish from the cross. But at the end of days, we will hear the happiest sounds ever: the trumpet of God, the last shout of victory, and the chorus of Heaven.
In our scripture this morning we hear one of the strangest sounds in the Bible. As Moses and Joshua were coming down off the mountain, they heard a strange sound coming from the camp. It was such a strange sound that at first Joshua thought it was one thing and Moses thought it was another. Moses was able to identify the sound, but he knew something was off. Their confusion indicated that there was something not quite right going on in the Israelite camp. And so, when Moses and Joshua finally get down to the foot of the mountain, the people are indulging in revelry. Now as I said before we aren’t totally sure what revelry refers to. It could have been partying without moral constraint or it could have been just an old-fashioned hoe-down kind of party. We can probably lean toward the former but whatever it was, we know that God was not happy as He wanted to destroy His people. And as we will see today, Moses is not happy, either, because they are not worshipping God but a golden calf. In today’s scripture, through the obedience of Moses, God will teach us how we should confront our idols or the idols around us and how we must own our sin, confess our sin, and repent of our sin. That brings us to our big idea that God desires His people to destroy their idols and own their sin.
Let’s pray: Heavenly Father, we pause and thank you for another opportunity to be in your house to worship and praise you with other like-minded people. Pour out your Holy Spirit on us as we hear your word and open our hearts and minds to what Your Spirit is saying to us. Let us take it deep into our hearts and souls and allow it to transform us. And then help us to pass it onto others that need to know about your salvation. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
We have two points this morning, the first is Anger, found in Exodus 32:15-20. Follow along as I read. This is what God’s Word says, “Moses turned and went down the mountain with the two tablets of the covenant law in his hands. They were inscribed on both sides, front and back. The tablets were the work of God; the writing was the writing of God, engraved on the tablets. When Joshua heard the noise of the people shouting, he said to Moses, “There is the sound of war in the camp.” Moses replied: “It is not the sound of victory, it is not the sound of defeat; it is the sound of singing that I hear.” When Moses approached the camp and saw the calf and the dancing, his anger burned and he threw the tablets out of his hands, breaking them to pieces at the foot of the mountain. And he took the calf the people had made and burned it in the fire; then he ground it to powder, scattered it on the water and made the Israelites drink it.
Our scripture this morning shows us practical ways we must confront idolatry. The first way is with doctrine or scripture. We will notice some contrasts as we study our passage today. The first is Moses contrasted with the Israelites. Last week in verse 8 we saw that the people were “quick to turn away” from the Lord’s commands. Today, after Moses interceded for the people and God relented from destroying them, he “turned and went down the mountain.” After securing a reprieve for the people, Moses now obeys God’s command to “go down.” The people “turned away” in disobedience but Moses “turned” in obedience. We need to use scripture or doctrine to confront idolatry and we can do so with scripture in two ways. The first way is with the “sufficiency of scripture.” Moses is coming down the mountain with the two tablets of the covenant law in his hands. These two tablets, that he received directly from the Lord, were inscribed on both sides, front and back. This means that the entire two tablets were fully written on so nothing could be added to them. God’s Word, the Bible, is still sufficient today and we are commanded not to add or subtract from it. 2 Peter 1:3 says, “His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness.” Our knowledge of God and how to live a godly life comes from His Word, and so we can use it to confront our idolatry, because it is sufficient to teach us how to live righteous and obedient lives.
The second way that scripture or doctrine confronts idolatry is through the “authority of scripture.” The two tablets were the work of God, the writing was the writing of God, and the writing was inscribed or engraved by God. This means that God himself was the author and the authority of what is written, which was the covenant law that the Israelites were to obey. God is still the author and the authority of the Bible, today. 2 Timothy 3:16-17 says, “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.” The Word of God comes right from the mouth of God. We can use it to confront our idolatry, because it has the authority to rebuke and correct us of our sin and teach and train us in the way we should go.
The second way we must confront our idols is with discernment. This goes for the idolatry in our lives, the idolatry in the lives of others and the idolatry in the church. We may have forgotten about Joshua. He accompanied Moses halfway up the mountain and stayed there for forty days and forty nights while Moses was on top of the mountain. We notice a contrast here between Joshua and the Israelites. After forty days and nights, the people build an idol because Moses has been gone “so long”, and they don’t know where he is or if he has abandoned them. And Joshua, after the same period of time, has been obediently waiting for Moses to return. He didn’t leave his post or try to follow Moses up the mountain; he just waited patiently for Moses to return.
Then we come to the scene I alluded to in the introduction. When Joshua hears the people “shouting” from the foot of the mountain, he believes there are the sounds of war in the camp. Now Joshua was a warrior, and you would think he would be able to recognize the sounds of war. But Moses, remember, has more information about what is happening than Joshua, and seems to contradict him. He says it is not the sound of victory or defeat but of “singing.” But they both knew that this singing sounded different. First, it was probably loud. When you get a lot of people at a party, it can get really loud. Second, they were worshipping an idol without moral constraint. So, it was probably raucous, indecent and obscene. Third, they were probably getting drunk and so there may have been some pushing, shoving and fighting going on. A party can get out of hand when you have huge numbers of people, loud noise, alcohol and loose morals. Singing in itself is not sinful but the “singing” sounds that Moses and Joshua heard were not the sounds of worshipping the one true God but the sounds of worshipping a dead idol.
So why is discernment important for us today? First, it can be hard to see something being or becoming an idol in our own lives, our family’s lives, our friends’ lives and in the life of our church. And we need to be discerning so we don’t worship creation but only the Creator. Idolatry can creep subtly in until it consumes us completely. Second, we need discerning friends, who like Moses, will keep us accountable. We need trusted Christian friends who we allow and who are willing to confront the idols in our lives and vice versa. We see this in 2 Samuel 12 as Nathan confronts David with his adultery with Bathsheba. David had allowed lust to become an idol and it wreaked havoc in his life. In verse 13, David owns his sin, confesses his sin and repents of his sin. We also see in James 5:16, in the context of praying for physical, emotional and spiritual healing, that we are to confess our sins to each other. “Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.” We can be healed of our guilt and shame when we confess to others.
The third way we must confront idolatry is with disgust. When Moses saw the calf and the dancing, his “anger burned” and he was disgusted with what the people were doing. It was one thing to be told about their idolatry but clearly another thing for Moses to see it with his own two eyes. This is another reason to lean toward the people partying without moral constraint. In his disgust, Moses confronted the people’s idolatry in two ways. First, he was “indignant.” Indignation means expressing strong displeasure at something considered unjust, offensive, insulting or base. Moses had a righteous anger and showed strong displeasure because what the people were doing was offensive and insulting to God. Remember, Moses was zealous for God’s glory, and what was happening was not glorifying God. We see a comparison here between the Lord and Moses. Last week, the Lord was angry with the people, and it says that literally “his nostrils flared.” And we see the same word attributed here to Moses. We also see a comparison with Jesus who with righteous anger cleansed the temple in Luke 19:46-47. “When Jesus entered the temple courts, he began to drive out those who were selling. “It is written,” he said to them, “‘My house will be a house of prayer’; but you have made it ‘a den of robbers.’”
Next, Moses did something that may shock us. He threw the two tablets of the covenant law down, breaking them into pieces at the foot of the mountain. Moses was not out of control, he didn’t get so mad, that in his anger he threw the tablets down. This is not an “oops, I am sorry God.” This was a serious and symbolic action on Moses’ part. Cole says, “The breaking of the tablets [was] a significant ceremonial act, not a mere exhibition of anger.” What Moses was conveying to the people was that since they had broken their covenant with the Lord, the covenant the Lord had made with them was now broken, being rendered null and void. It was also significant and symbolic where Moses broke the two tablets. He broke them at the foot of the mountain at the place where the altar to the golden calf sat and where the altar to God should have been. The Israelites were covenant-breakers and that was a very precarious place to be. The Lord’s covenant relationship meant that they were His people, and He was their God. Within this relationship, the Lord promised to make them a great nation, to provide land, blessings, prosperity and protection. All that was required was their obedience.
Moses realized what breaking their covenant with the Lord meant. He knew that the Israelites were in major trouble, so he took four practical steps for the people to realize this, to confront and destroy their idols and own their sin (big idea). One, he took the golden calf the people had made and burned it in the fire. Second, he ground it into powder. Third, he scattered the powder into the Israelites drinking water supply. Fourth, he made the Israelites drink it. Moses showed his leadership here but more importantly he showed that he had a reverent “fear of the Lord” and did not fear man. We can imagine that at least some of the people would not have been happy with what Moses was doing. But he didn’t care. He was disgusted with what he saw and was convicted to do something about it. There is a clear lesson for us here. We must also have a reverent “fear of the Lord” and be zealous for God’s glory and honor. When we see blatant idolatry and sin in our lives, the lives of others and our church we must be disgusted and hopefully we are convicted by the Holy Spirit, follow Moses’ example, and do something about it.
Why did Moses take these particular steps to destroy the people’s idol? First, it would have tasted pretty bad, and he wanted them to know that idolatry was disgusting just like the water was. This would have been humiliating for them and so to drink the water the people would have had to humble themselves, own their sin, confess their sin and repent of their sin. In fact, it seems that the people who had been convicted of their idolatry and sin when confronted by Moses were the ones who drank the water. This would not have been a punishment for them, but a lesson learned. They needed to taste the consequences of their sin so that they would think twice about doing it again. Reminds me of parents saying, “I am going to wash your mouth out with soap.” After that happens once, we would hopefully be wary of committing the same sin again.
Second, Moses wanted the people to realize the folly of worshipping dead idols. If Moses could burn and ground up their god and make them drink their god, he obviously was not much of a god. They would consume it, and eventually it would come out as waste. It would be corrupted, defiled and ruined permanently, not being fit to be an idol. Their little god could not even survive a digestive system! Third, Moses wanted them to realize the cost of their idolatry. The cost of idolatry and sin can be expensive. The gold used to make the calf should have been given to construct the tabernacle and the items used for it. God had given it to them to be used for His service, and they had thrown it away like pearls to swine.
How does this apply to us today? When we fall into idolatry, we need to be disciplined so that we feel the consequences of our sin, are disgusted with it and will strive not to do it again. Hebrews 12 tells us that God disciplines those who are His children and He does it for our good so that we may share in His holiness. It will also produce righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it. We need to realize that our puny idols today: security, meaning, ambition, sex, money, possessions, careers, sports, etc. are dead idols. They can’t satisfy us in any way, shape or form and they can be destroyed and inSINerated. Only God is the one true and living God. Any other things or person including ourselves, that we worship as an idol, fall desperately short.
Finally, the cost of our idolatry is expensive. It can cost us our families, our marriages and our children. It can cost us our reputation, our health, opportunities to serve the Lord and to lay up treasures in heaven. We need to experience God’s discipline so that we become disgusted with our idolatry, and through the Holy Spirit’s help resist future temptation. Like Moses, we must deal decisively with our sin and destroy our idols (big idea). Often, we as Christians, try to deal with our idols and sin by hiding them away in our closets or cupboards instead of taking them out with the trash and inSINerating them. We pretend our spiritual house is clean, but the next time we are tempted, we go right back to our pride, gossip, pornography, greed, alcohol, drugs, food, etc. The only way to not go back to dabbling with our idols is by destroying them. That brings us to our first next step which is to Stop dabbling with my idols and destroy them once and for all.
The second way Moses confronted the people’s idolatry was with impartiality. He did not play favorites. Moses showed no partiality with those who owned, confessed and repented of their sin by making them all drink the burned and ground up idol. Next, Moses showed no partiality to his brother, Aaron. That brings us to our second point, Absurdity, found in Exodus 32:21-24. This is what God’s Word says, “He said to Aaron, “What did these people do to you, that you led them into such great sin?” “Do not be angry, my lord,” Aaron answered. “You know how prone these people are to evil. They said to me, ‘Make us gods who will go before us. As for this fellow Moses who brought us up out of Egypt, we don’t know what has happened to him.’ So I told them, ‘Whoever has any gold jewelry, take it off.’ Then they gave me the gold, and I threw it into the fire, and out came this calf!”
In our first point, we talked mainly about how to respond positively when confronted with our idolatry and sin. Now we are shown some negative responses. The lesson for us here is how not to respond when we are confronted with our idolatry and sin by the Lord or someone else. When Aaron was confronted by Moses, he responded in the negative. Even though Moses showed no partiality when confronting his brother, it does seem like he was trying to give Aaron the benefit of the doubt. He reasoned that the people must have twisted his arm pretty tightly behind his back to commit such a “great sin” with them. Aaron was the one in charge and so ultimately, he was responsible for the “great sin.” He was responsible for this serious breach of the covenant. We see how great a sin the Lord thought it was in Deuteronomy 9:20 which says, “And the Lord was angry enough with Aaron to destroy him, but at that time I prayed for Aaron too.”
Instead of owning up to his sin, confessing his sin and repenting of his sin, Aaron’s response is defective, meaning it was inadequate, flawed and did not meet the standard set by God. Aaron responded in three negative and sinful ways. First, Aaron’s response was defensive and he blamed everyone else but himself. He even tries to make Moses look bad; like he’s the one out of control and needs to be calmed down. “Do not be angry, my lord” accuses Moses of being unrealistic, overreacting and needlessly upset. “My lord” may have been used in a truly submissive way or in a sarcastic manner. He then puts the blame on Moses. “You know how prone these people are to evil” meaning it was Moses’ fault for being gone so long in the first place. Aaron’s like, “What did you think was going to happen? You’re the one who put me in this position.”
Second, Aaron’s response was deflective. Again, he is blaming everyone but himself. Notice that he does tell the truth to a point. He even hints at being guilty but is still deflecting the majority of guilt from himself to others. He says the people are prone to evil. He said they told him to make a god that would go before them which they did. He said they spoke disrespectfully about Moses, which was true. He said that they said Moses brought them out of Egypt and that they didn’t know what had happened to him, which again was true. And he said that he did ask for the gold jewelry from the woman and children, which was true. Then Aaron puts the blame on “these people” who are evil. He believed he had done the best he could in the situation and culture, but he fell short. His motto was if you can’t beat them, join them, and he did. Aaron had no sense of the depravity of his sin and no conviction to repent. This should give us pause. Have we decided to “join” in with the culture around us as Aaron did? Do we also believe we are doing our best, but falling short, and that’s ok? At least we tried. We do not want to join in with our culture, but we can’t beat our culture unless we have the Holy Spirit’s power living inside of us. The only way we can confront the idolatry and sin of our culture is with the Holy Spirit’s help. We must use scripture as our sword, we must have discernment, we must hold each other accountable to holiness, we must be disgusted with the idolatry and sin of the world, and we must be willing to destroy all idols and own our sin (Big Idea).
Third, Aaron’s response was defenseless. This is where Aaron deviated from the script, was grasping at straws and where his excuse becomes absurd. He is still not blaming himself. But instead of blaming another person, he blames an inanimate object, the fire. It was the fire’s fault; he threw the gold into the fire and this calf just magically popped out. The golden calf was a man-made idol fashioned by Aaron himself and now he wants Moses to believe that it spontaneously appeared. That, of course, doesn’t explain why and how they came to worship it, bowed down and sacrificed to it. His response reminds us of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. Adam blamed Eve, his wife, and in doing so blamed God because He was the one who gave her to him. And then Eve blamed the serpent. Blaming anyone and anything other than ourselves for our sin goes back to the Garden of Eden.
How does this apply to us today? Well, I have some do’s and don’ts. Don’t be defensive when confronted with your sin. Don’t try to blame others for your sin. Don’t make others look bad in order to make yourself look good. Don’t downplay your sin. Don’t fear people more than God. Don’t be absurd when making excuses for your sin. But, do go on the offensive against your sin. Do be humble and truthful about your sin. Do allow the Holy Spirit to convict you to confession and repentance. Do have a reverent “fear of the Lord.” Unless you confess your sins, you cannot be saved. And until you admit the full extent of your sin, you cannot have the kind of spiritual growth that only comes when you see yourself as you really are, so that God can turn you into the person he wants you to become. Whether we admit our sin or not we remain accountable for it. Dunnam states that “Deliverance only comes when we own our sin” and I would add “when we confess it and repent of it.” That brings us to our second next step which is to Own my sins, confess my sins and repent of my sins.
We all can probably identify with Aaron in making absurd excuses for our sin. I will end with a story about a time when I made an absurd excuse to cover up my sin. I was in fourth grade and in my school, we received a “conduct” grade each quarter. One quarter I received a grade of “C.” First of all, I am not even sure how that happened. But this was unacceptable because my father was pretty strict when it came to my conduct in school. It was unacceptable to me because I knew I would be punished for it. So, I used to walk home from school, and I remember there was snow and slush on the ground, and somehow my report card fell in the snow. And when I got home, the conduct grade on my report card had somehow gotten smudged and the grade now resembled an “A.” I pretty much blamed the smudges and the grade change on the snow and of course, that excuse was absurd and it didn’t keep me from being disciplined. The moral of that story is don’t make excuses for your sin, just own it. Let’s be people who destroy and inSINerate our idols once and for all. Let’s be people who own our sins, confess our sins and repent of our sins.
As Gene and Roxey come to lead us in a final song and the usher prepares to collect the tithes and offering, let’s pray: Lord, God, in Jesus’ name, we thank you for your Holy Word. We thank you that you have written it so it is authoritative and sufficient for us to deal with our idols and our sin. Help us, Lord, to purposely destroy our idols once and for all. And give us the conviction to own our sins, confess our sins and repent of our sins. Amen.
Opening: Philip Graham Ryken and R. Kent Hughes, Exodus: Saved for God’s Glory (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books, 2005), 996–1006.