Scroll to the bottom for thoughts/discussion questions!
One-sentence summary: While Moses is still up on the mountain getting instructions from God on how to build an altar for the tabernacle, the Israelites rebel and ask Aaron to make them a golden calf to worship, which he does; God plans to wipe out the nation and start over with Moses, but Moses pleads with Him on their behalf, 3,000 of them are killed in a single day; Moses asks God to forgive them, but God says He will visit them and send a plague on the ones who sinned.
God gives Moses detailed instructions on how to build Him an altar that will be placed before the veil that covers the ark and the mercy seat. On the altar, Aaron will burn incense every morning and twilight when he tends the lamps, so that incense will always arise before the Lord. A yearly sin offering of a bull will be offered on it.
The Lord tells Moses to take a census of all the people, and that every man 20 years old and above should give 1/2 shekel as an offering to the Lord to make atonement for their sins, and this will be used to maintain the tabernacle in every generation.
The Lord tells Moses to make a base and lever for washing at the base of the altar for Aaron and his sons to wash their hands and feet. He is also to take spices (a very specific mixture) and olive oil and make a holy anointing oil to anoint the tabernacle and the ark, the table and its utensils, the lamp stand with its utensils, the altar of incense, the altar of burnt offering with its utensils, and the laver with its base so that they are consecrated and holy, along with Aaron and his sons. He should tell Israel that this mixture is holy and can only be used for the purposes of the Lord's tabernacle. He should take sweet spices to make incense and put some before the testimony, and the mixture will be holy and only used for this purpose, and not even be made to smell it, lest that person be cut off from the people.
The Lord tells Moses that He has selected a man to fill with His spirit in wisdom, understanding, knowledge, and "in workmanship for all kinds of artistic work" along and that He will put wisdom in the hearts of gifted artisans so that they may make all that God has described regarding His tabernacle.
He tells Moses to tell Israel to keep the Sabbaths as a sign that they will know that He is the Lord who sanctifies them, for it is holy. Whoever profanes it will be put to death, and whoever does any work will be cut off from the people/put to death (not sure which one it is.)
After speaking to Moses on Mt. Sinai, the Lord gives him two tablets of stone of the testimony, written with the very finger of God. However, when the people see that Moses is taking a long time on the mountain, they gather together and say to Aaron, "Make us gods that will go before us, for as for this Moses who brought us up out of Egypt, we don't know what has become of them." So Aaron tells them to give him their golden earrings, and he fashions them and makes a molded calf, and they say, "This is your god, oh Israel, that brought you out of the land of Egypt." And Aaron builds an altar before it and says, "Tomorrow is a feast to 'the lord!'" So they rise early the next day with burnt offerings and peace offerings and "[sit] down to eat and drink and [rise] up to play."
God tells Moses to go down the mountain because the people have corrupted themselves and "turned aside quickly from the way He commanded them." He tells Moses all they have done and calls them a "stiff necked people." He tells Moses to leave Him alone so that His anger can burn and He can consume them and make of Moses alone a great nation. But Moses pleads with the Lord and says that the Egyptians will say God brought them out to harm them and consume them from the face of the earth. He asks God to turn from His wrath and not destroy them, to remember Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and HIs covenant/promise to them. The Lord relents, and Moses goes down the mountain carrying the tablets. When Joshua hears the noise of the people shouting, he thinks it is war, but Moses says it is the sound of singing. So when Moses comes near the camp, he sees all the dancing, and he casts the tablets out of his hands and breaks them at the foot of the mountain. Then, he throws the calf in the fire and grinds it to powder and scatters it on the water and forces the people to drink it. He says to Aaron "What did this people do to you, that you have brought so great a sin upon them!" Aaron says that Moses knows how the people are, that they are set on evil. He says he cast the gold into the fire and the calf just came out. Moses sees that Aaron failed to restrain the people "to their shame" in front of their enemies. Then, Moses stands at the entrance of the camp and says, "Whoever is on the Lord's side, come to me. " The tribe of Levi come, and Moses tells them to put swords on their sides and go throughout the camp and slay their brothers and neighbors, and 3,000 men die that day. Then Moses tells them to consecrate themselves to the Lord so that He may bless them, for "every man has opposed his son and his brother."
The next day, Moses tells the people they have sinned greatly, and that He will go up to the Lord to see if he can make atonement for them. So Moses goes to the Lord and confesses the sins of the people and asks God to forgive them. If God will not forgive, he asks to himself be blotted out of His book as well. The Lord says whoever has sinned will be blotted out and to go and lead the people. He says His Angel shall go before them, and that when He, the Lord, visits His people in the day of visitation for punishment, he will visit them for their sins, and He plagues the people because of the calf which Aaron made.
Wow!
Thoughts/Discussion Questions:
It is honestly difficult to believe that so many people could have seen God's miracles and works, deliverance, and provision and in less than 40 days denied and totally disowned Him. But lest we think that we could never do the same, the writer of Hebrews exhorts us to take their story as a warning. This is the point, that we are to put no confidence in our human nature and all our confidence in God. We must cling to Him so that we will not be like them and "die in the wilderness," not having entered into all God has promised us.