When the people saw that Moses was so long in coming down from the mountain, they gathered around Aaron and said, “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
Today’s verse tells us that the Israelites were impatient and reluctant to trust that Moses would return to them from Mt. Sinai. The people begged Aaron to make gods for them. Aaron agreed to grant their wish, this act angered God, God wanted to destroy them, meaning all in the camp save Moses because he was with God on the mountain, and Joshua, who was waiting on the mountain for Moses to return. But Moses sought the favor of God, God relented and Moses went down from the mountain and “When Moses approached the camp and saw the calf and the dancing, his anger burned and he threw the tablets out of his hands, breaking them to pieces at the foot of the mountain. And he took the calf the people had made and burned it in the fire; then he ground it to powder, scattered it on the water and made the Israelites drink it.” ~Exodus 32:19-20
Moses knew the “power” of God. Moses spoke on behalf of all the Israelites to spare their lives before God. It is easy for us to read this story and point out the mistakes of the Israelites, but if we honestly look at ourselves “do we have idols that we have made for ourselves?” We live in a world of proof and imagery, we departmentalize God. We try to define God in terms that we can understand, we often try to limit God, and we even try to say what God is. We want something tangible to represent God, in other words “an idol.” Something that has helped me in not limiting God is to be very aware of God’s fluidity. God is not contained in a building, such as a church. That’s not to say God isn’t present in the church, I absolutely believe He is, but He is also outside of the buildings in which we try to contain God. For me, God is everywhere and is available anywhere at anytime. It’s not for me to know how God is everywhere, I just need to trust and have faith in God. Our world is based on “time” but God exists outside of time. I love this sentence from the author of the pamphlet I’m using, “Our job is to open ourselves up to the reality of a God that is beyond our wildest dreams.”
She also writes this, “God cannot be defined by our words, images, or thoughts.”
“I Am Who I Am” ~Exodus 3:14
Do you have a favorite image of God? What is another image that you might pair with it to keep expanding your understanding?”
Here’s mine:
Breath Prayer: God open my eyes. Help me tear down my idols.
~Blessings and Peace~
HOPE SEEKER 
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