1

Israel Serving the Golden Calf Idol

2

[Exodus 32 : 7]

Then the Lord said to Moses, “Go down, because your people, whom you brought up out of Egypt, have become corrupt.”

3

Moses, who went up to Mt. Sinai to receive the word of God, received the word of God for 40 days. God gave Moses the Ten Commandments, which He had commanded the people through the Word, on two stone tablets. God gave His people many laws through Moses.

4

When Moses went up the mountain and didn't come down for a long time,

the people began to get nervous. People thought that something must have happened to Moses.

They thought they needed something new, so they rushed to Moses' brother Aaron.

5

They told Aaron:

“Come, 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.” (Exodus 32 : 1)

They told Aaron to create a god to lead them on behalf of God.

6

Upon hearing this, Aaron did what they said so easily.

Then he said: "Take off the gold earrings your wives and children are wearing and

bring them to me."

7

When the people listened to Aaron, they removed the gold earrings they were wearing and

brought them to Aaron.

Aaron melted the gold brought by the people into a calf-shaped figure.

8

When the golden calf image was completed, the people said:

“Israel! This is the god who brought you out of Egypt!”

The Israelites abandoned the God who led them out of Egypt and accepted the golden

calf made by melting gold as the god who led them.

9

When Aaron saw the people accept the golden calf as their god,

he built an altar for them to offer.

And he told the people. “Tomorrow is a feast for Jehovah.”

10

Aaron, who had to instruct the people to serve God correctly, did a ridiculous mistake.

He said that he would offer worship that should be offered only for Jehovah

God in front of the golden calf. Aaron led the Israelites in the wrong way.

11

The Israelites woke up early the next morning.

Following Aaron's words, they offered sacrifices only to God before the golden calf idol.

12

After offering sacrifices to the golden calf idol, the people sat down, ate, and drank.

God has watched all of their evil appearances.

13

God was very angry when he saw the people worshiping the golden calf idol.

God told Moses that He would destroy the Israelites.

“Now leave me alone so that my anger may burn against them and that

I may destroy them. Then I will make you into a great nation.”[Exodus 32:10]

14

Moses spoke earnestly to God. “God forgive these people.

These people are the people God saved from Egypt.

If you destroy them, people from other countries will say that God brought them here to

kill them. Please take away your anger and do not bring disaster on them.”

At Moses' earnest petition, God turned to destroy Israel.

15

Moses came down from the mountain with two stone tablets carved by God himself.

When they came to the place where the people were, the Israelites were dancing in front

of the golden calf. Moses threw the two stone tablets of the Ten Commandments in both

hands toward it.

The two stone tablets on which the Ten Commandments were written were shattered.

16

Moses made the shape of a golden calf into powder.

The powder was put in water for idol worshipers to drink.

On that day, all of the people who did not stand with Jehovah God were killed.

The sin of idolatry is the greatest sin that must be paid by death in Israel, God's people.

The Israelites had to go through a great tragedy.

17

Only Jehovah God is the true God.

That is why God said as the first commandment, “You shall have no other gods before me.

There is no god other than God.

Our faith must start with a firm belief in this fact.

I hope that you will realize that only Jehovah God is the true God, just as God himself taught you, and become friends of right faith who serve the one God throughout your life.

(This is the sample conclusion provided by CTM. Please feel free to change the conclusion to best suit the listeners of your sermon.)