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This week our parasha is Ki Tisa, which translates to “When You Lift Up” and covers Exodus 30:11–34:35. In chapters 30 and 31 are more instructions from the Lord to Moses. The Lord gave him instructions concerning the census tax, the bronze basin, the anointing oil, and the Sabbath. But I would like to draw our attention to chapter 32 which recounts one of the lowest points of our people’s history, the sin of the Golden Calf.
Moses had been gone for almost 40 days and our people decided that it was likely he would not return. They then came to Aaron and told him that since “this Moses”, was gone they wanted new gods to go before them like the Lord had. Aaron, whether out of fear of the people or sharing their fear of Moses never returning, instructed them to bring him gold, and from it he created a golden calf or bull. This idol was given the Lord’s special name and Aaron declared that the next day they would offer it sacrifices and party. The next day they did as Aaron had said and had a great time feasting and drinking.
This incident of idolatry was one of the lowest spiritual points in our people’s history. Our people as a whole in the camp, from Aaron down, turned from the Lord. We created a false god, gave it the Lord’s name and attributed to it the great blessings and miracles of Adonai. It is hard to picture a greater blasphemy. Because of how large this idolatry was we can understand why the Lord was so angry in the rest of this chapter.
After informing Moses of what our “stiff-necked” people had done, the Lord offered to destroy us and make a new people from Moses. Moses interceded before the Lord and in His mercy He relented. Moses went down Mount Sinai with the tablets of the law the Lord had created in hand, and met Joshua who had been waiting for him.
On seeing the idolatry at the camp Moses smashed the tablets showing how thoroughly the covenant with the Lord had been broken. He then took the golden calf and ground it down into a fine powder and forced our people to drink our idol. I get the sense from this parasha they were not sipping this concoction from teacups.
Moses then asked Aaron what on Earth had happened in the camp. Aaron immediately tried to blame Moses, and then our people for what had happened. He also tried to convince Moses that he had thrown the gold into the fire and out popped this idol. Aaron claimed it had been supernatural instead of crafted by him. These excuses of course did nothing to calm Moses down. Seeing how our people were running wild thanks to Aaron, becoming so wild that even our enemies laughed at us, he stood at the gate of the camp and asked for all who were for the Lord to come to him. Only the tribe of Levi answered his call and Moses instructed them to kill many of the people for their sins, including people they knew. After this was done the tribe of Levi was ordained into service for the Lord.
The parasha continues with the Lord bringing a plague on our people. Moses interceded again, our people repented from our sins, and then the covenant was renewed. Forty days later Moses descended from Mount Sinai with new tablets from the Lord and this time he found our people still loyal to Adonai.
It is easy to see the sins of our people in this parasha and assume we would have acted better. Many people today say that if God would simply come down from heaven and show Himself directly to them they would believe. Ki Tisa shows us that simply seeing God work does not eliminate our sinful nature. Our people saw the great wonders of God in the Exodus, but this was not enough to hold back their fear. Even Aaron, the future High Priest of Israel, who stood before Pharaoh with Moses became afraid and sinned and then lied to try and cover it up.
The fact of the matter is while the adversary is very much at work in the world, and even in this parasha, the golden calf was completely dead and useless. It did not jump from the fire, Aaron deliberately crafted it, a pointed repeated several times. We deliberately chose to sin and rebel against God in this parasha just as human beings continue to do today. The idols might change, the lies and reasons might grow more complex, but the same underlying ideas of pride and fear are as powerful motivators now as they were then.
There is another aspect of this parasha worth considering. Even in this great sin the Lord reserved a remnant for Himself. There was one other person who waited for Moses to return, one person who waited alone with a simple trust in the Lord, Joshua. Though overlooked in many commentaries on this parasha, and only mentioned slightly in the narrative, Joshua is the only person who did not sin like all the rest. We read in Hebrews that “faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.” Joshua demonstrates this definition of faith. He had trust in the Lord and waited diligently for Moses’s return.
Joshua waited for Moses’s return and we, Messiah’s community of Jews and Gentiles, wait for the return of the one greater than Moses, Messiah Yeshua. Moses descended from Mount Sinai and the Son of God will descend from the clouds. When Yeshua returns all worthless and dead idols will be broken and those who have placed their trust in them will become like them.
But those who have placed their faith in Adonai, through faith in His Son will experience blessings and rewards beyond Earthly comprehension.
As we go through the wilderness of this world we have to choose who we will put our faith in. Will we be moved by the Fear of the Lord, or the fear of man? Will we succumb to our desires for pleasure, for ease, for a good time, or have the patient faith of Joshua?
May the Lord give us all the faith of Joshua, that we may remain loyal in times of testing during this life, as we look forward, though unseen to us now, to everlasting life with Him.