Sin of the Golden Calf

While Moses was on Mount Sinai receiving the Ten Commandments, the people grew impatient and demanded that Aaron make them a god. Aaron collected their gold jewelry and fashioned a calf idol, declaring “These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of Egypt.”

The people’s sin was catastrophic—violating the first two commandments before even receiving the tablets. They had witnessed God’s mighty deliverance from Egypt, parting of the Red Sea, and provision in the wilderness, yet turned to worship a created image at the first test of faith. When Moses descended and saw the revelry, he smashed the stone tablets in righteous anger.

Moses interceded powerfully for the people, standing in the gap between God’s justified wrath and Israel’s deserved destruction. The Levites proved their loyalty by executing judgment on the most flagrant offenders—about 3,000 died. God relented from total destruction but sent a plague among the people. Moses ascended Sinai again to receive new tablets, and God renewed the covenant, proclaiming his gracious character: “The LORD, the LORD, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness.”