Having to determine fact from fiction is not always a simple task. Take for example the delicate responsibility placed on the shoulders of a jury. This group composed of twelve men and women are required to make an unbiased judgment of a person’s guilt based solely on the facts presented to them in the courtroom. However, what makes this process so complicated is that these “facts” are exhibited to the jury by two opposing angles. Although the facts of the case are the same on paper, each counsel submits these facts in their favor. Therefore, it is up to the jury to conclude who is telling the truth and who is lying. Because this determination will establish the future of the defendant’s life, this must be done so with much caution to try and avoid a horrible calamity. Needless to say that in order for justice to be served, the jurors must find a way to disallow emotion from clouding their judgment. Without a doubt to discover truth can be a tricky thing to do; especially when it involves our own convenience. After their exodus from Egypt, the people of Israel placed themselves in this unfortunate predicament. It is truly astonishing to read how it was that Jehovah God had defeated each Egyptian idol in the presence of Israel to free them from bondage and how quickly this reality escaped their minds. When Moses climbed Mount Sinai to receive from the Lord God what is now known as the Ten Commandments, the children of Israel mused that “this Moses, the man who brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him” (Exodus 32:1). This conclusion was reached due to the fact that Moses had taken a while to return to them. As a result of Moses’ delay, they dictated Aaron to “make us gods that shall go before us.” If we examine this pericope carefully, it becomes precisely evident how they were the authors of their own confusion. Notice that in the first part of this Scripture, the Israelites recognize that indeed Moses was the man who freed them from Egypt’s tyranny. This means that they had not forgotten the awesome display of God’s power in Egypt and that they had accepted Moses as God’s prophet. Yet, when the prophet of God “delayed,” the impatience and insecurity of the Israelites prompted them to create gods that suited them. It is incredible to see that the justification the people of Israel used to return to idolatry was that Moses was taking too long! Observe that this tragic decision was reached out of human convenience; not from truth. They simply jumped to the conclusion that Moses would not return to them and did not examine the logic of their thought. Their “truth” was that since Moses had disappeared, then his God had abandoned them as well. Hence the impulse of forcing Aaron to forge the golden calf that would “lead” them out of the wilderness. Irrefutably, this terrible event could have been avoided if they would have learned to wait on Jehovah God. This action taken by Israel exposed how little their faith in God had grown despite all the wonders they had just witnessed. The true identity of God had been revealed to them in the manner which He liberated them from the merciless grip of Pharaoh. Jehovah God had been true to His proclamation that He would “stretch out My hand and strike Egypt with all My wonders which I will do in its midst; and after that he will let you go. And I will give this people favor in the sight of the Egyptians; and it shall be, when you go, that you shall not go empty-handed” (Exodus 3:20-21). These words spoken to Moses, and later from Moses to the elders of Israel, were accomplished exactly as He had said it would be. These actions were not done by God in secret nor were they done away from the sight of the Israelites. Therefore, it is impossible to find some justifiable logic to their belief that Jehovah had abandoned them in the wilderness. Sadly, this was the argument they presented to Moses every single time they were displeased with the circumstances of the wilderness (Exodus 15:22-24, 16:1-3, 17:1-3, etc…). For this reason, it is very visible that the “truth” the people of Israel reached was nothing more than a convenient truth. In other words, the people of Israel enjoyed idolatry and were unwilling to leave it behind in the Red Sea. They had witnessed God’s power unlike any other nation and had absolutely no doubt that Jehovah is God Yet, they consistently succumbed to idolatry despite knowing the absolute truth. God’s chosen people had become their own obstacle obscuring the truth because “He who is of God hears God’s words; therefore you do not hear, because you are not of God” (John 8:47). Here, the Master revealed to those arguing “we are Abraham’s descendants” as a means of establishing their freedom from sin, that their “truth” was distorted due to their sinful nature. They had yet to understand that what made them children of God was not their biological tie to Abraham, because it is “only those who are of faith are sons of Abraham” (Galatians 3:7). Once more, at Sinai the people of Israel tragically returned to having a god their eyes could see because of their lack of faith that Moses was yet alive. Israel’s definition of truth was based on what their eyes could see. For them, an invisible God was not possible and this can be seen in the fact that for them it was “Moses, the man who brought us up out of the land of Egypt” (Exodus 32:1). This passage from Scripture illuminates that Israel had believed that the wonders their eyes beheld came directly from Moses. Although the prophet of God repeatedly revealed to them that it was Jehovah God who had freed them from Egypt, they still credited Moses with this feat. Paul also reveals that even several centuries after this fabulous event happened, the “Jews[still] request a sign” (1st Corinthians 1:22). The inspired apostle with sorrow acknowledges the weakness of his people’s faith with this passage. He confirms Christ’s response to the scribes and Pharisees that they as “an evil and adulterous generation [sought] after a sign, and no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah” (Matthew 12:38-39). With these words, Jesus declared the same two truths that had always existed in the hearts of Israel. The truth hinging on faith in God (Moses’ tablets) and the truth hinging on faith based on sight (Aaron’s golden calf). As previously stated, in this passage from Exodus we are able to see Israel’s core problem manifest its horrific head. Their negligence in honing their faith in Jehovah God was sadly what led to their self-destruction.
