Moses V.

The Golden Calf

By J. Dean

Who's On God's Side?

Exodus 32: 1
"1 And when the people saw that Moses
delayed to come down out of the mount,
the people gathered themselves Up,
make us gods, which shall go before us;
far as for this Moses, the man that
brought us up out of the land of Egypt,
we do not know what is become of him.
2 And Aaron said to them, break off the
golden earrings, which are in the ears of
your wives, of your sons, and of your
daughters, and bring them to me.
3 And all the people broke off the golden
earrings which were in their ears, and
brought them to Aaron.
4 And he received them at their hand,
 and fashioned it with a graving tool,
after he had made it a molten calf: and
they said, These be our gods, O Israel,
which brought you up out of the land of
Egypt."
Moses, the Deliverer, had just led the people of Yahweh
out of Egyptian bondage and slavery. Through great signs
and terrible power, Yahweh used Moses, a mere mortal
man, to bring the Children of Abraham out of Egypt, and
was about to set their feet on the path to the "promised
land," a "land flowing with milk and honey."
Yet, while he was ascended to the mount, to receive the
commandments by which the people would please their
God, they quickly slipped into idol worship and erected
false gods, creating a "beast/god" to worship!
The significance of Moses on the "basic salvation" cannot
be ignored. Such inattentiveness would only serve to
"quash" the law of Moses, and to completely obliterate his
ministry. Moses was more than just the "Hebrew" deliverer.
The significance this particular Messiah plays now in the
lives of believers is more than a symbolic one, designed
merely to "bring us to Messiah," for his role was not just to
show us how "futile" it is to attempt to obey the law! (For
those who understand Yahshua's ministry know that it is
NOT futile at all)!
The Law of Moses and his great act of deliverance have
NOT been replaced by our belief in Messiah! The Laws of
Yahweh, delivered to us by Moses are actually the VERY
FOUNDATION of Messiah's teachings!
Yahweh, through Moses, delivered into our hands the
"most excellent covenant" or "promise." Through Moses,
mankind was shown the truth, mankind was made aware of
God's DESIRE for us (which is for us to live pleasing in
His sight). Moses taught us what manner of life we must
live in order to be pleasing to Yahweh! Such a ministry can
NEVER be mitigated! Yes, Moses did much more than
deliver the Jews from the hands of Pharoah, he did much
more than set the children of Israel onto the path to the
"promised land." Moses laid the VERY FOUNDATION
for the SALVATION OF MANKIND! He was, in essence,
in partnership with (and a forerunner of) Yahshua Messiah
who was to come!
Moses showed us what we must do to please God, and
Yahshua Messiah showed us HOW TO DO IT!
The Messiah did NOT JUST "fulfill" the law of Moses, and
he CERTAINLY DID NOT "do away with the law of
Moses!"
If we make the mistake of paying minor attention to Moses,
we relegate him to a symbolic figure who's only purpose
was to show us how hopeless it is to attempt to please and
obey God! Thus, the laws of God as delivered to us by
Moses would become an "exercise in futility," and a mere
"object lesson," so that God could PROVE TO US that we
are incapable of pleasing Him! This leads to the way of
salvation being "evil spoken of," and it REPLACES the
PRIZE of our FAITH (righteousness) with a false salvation
based on faith alone (when we know that faith without
works is DEAD according to James 2:14-26). If we
IGNORE the laws of Moses, the TRUE RESULTS of faith
are obliterated, and in their place is found DEAD FAITH
that has no "works." If we make such an error what we do
ultimately is reduce the MESSAGE of the GOSPEL to this:
"Christ came and obeyed the law FOR US, and now, all
you have to do is believe in Grace, and say a vow to
CHRIST, and then you are NO LONGER OBLIGATED
TO OBEY GOD YOURSELF, by observing the law (the
ten commandments) brought to us through the ministry of
Moses!"
Such an ERROR would most certainly be received with
open arms by wicked and perverse generations, by a world
so tormented by the law because of their own sins that they
have NO DESIRE to turn to God and obey. They have their
consciences "seared with a hot iron." The end result being
an eradication of God's law given to us by Moses. What did
Messiah say to those who seek to murder? How can you
"Love" your enemy and "Murder" your neighbor, and still
claim to "believe" in a God of Love? YOU CANNOT!
Yahweh will not be mocked!
The world will make an enemy of all who dare stand up for
the great Law. Yet the LAW was given by Yahweh,
through Moses, and was OBEYED by the MESSIAH,
taught and obeyed by his Apostles, and passed down from
disciple to disciple among the true believers! Even now,
those who seek to follow in the footsteps of Yahshua
Messiah, and seek to demonstrate (as He did) the great
power of God's Moral Law in their daily lives are reviled,
and will continue to be persecuted!
Moses is INDEED a "symbolic representation" or a
"foreshadow" of Messiah. Herein lies a GREAT TRUTH!
Indeed, when you look at Moses as a SYMBOL of
MESSIAH, and as a TYPE, or FORESHADOW, a startling
picture IS HIDDEN THERE IN THE WORDS OF
EXODUS! For, you see, if Moses is a "type" and picture of
Messiah, what then does the great GOLDEN CALF IDOL
signify? The Beast idol that was created by the corrupt
ones, while Moses tarried in the Mount?
As Moses was up in the Mount, many in the midst of the
people became dismayed and impatient that Moses
"tarried" in the Mount. They then convince Aaron, their
"future priest" to make a golden beast idol, then they raised
it up, and worshipped it as God! We see a definate type
here between Moses and Messiah, for, even as Moses
"delayed" his return from the mount, so likewise, Yahshua
Messiah delays His second coming, His return to earth. He
is now in heaven, preparing a place for us, and delivering to
us the POWER which is THE LAW WRITTEN IN OUR
HEARTS OF STONE! While Messiah has tarried, the
world created a BEAST/GOD and bowed down to worship
it. They further would lose themselves in all manner of
fleshly desires, forgetting what manner of deliverance they
had just witnessesed, and forgetting the ONE TRUE God
who delivered them from sin (Pharoah).
After being delivered from the bondage of Egypt, (sin), the
minute Moses (Yahshua) is ABSENT from us for a time,
we fall into idolatry and turn from the ONE TRUE GOD
who delivered us and instead seek to serve a beast/god! We
have lifted up the false idol, and now bow down to worship
it!
Yes, Moses is a type and foreshadow of Messiah, and the
golden beast idol is a picture of the END TIMES a
generation who finds more pleasure in unrighteousness and
sinful revelry, than they do in awaiting the return of the
deliverer with the LAW OF GOD in his HEALING
HANDS!
What will happen when the deliverer returns? The LAW
shall be THRUST DOWN upon the unbelievers, and this
same law will BREAK THEM! I pray that we shall all be
found "on God's side," in that day, and not be found
worshipping the "golden beast."
Shalom for now