We take a break from study of the content of the Covenant and examine some historical context, in that the Covenant almost didn’t happen.
The story itself is familiar to most of us. Moses was communing with God on Mount Sinai while the nation below became impatient. For all they could tell, Moses went up in that cloud and died. His brother Aaron was recognized as the spokesman, while Moses himself seldom actually spoke in public. Again, get used to the idea that the narrative gives credit for actions to the people who commanded things, but didn’t literally put their hands to the work. Since Aaron was the recognized vocal agent and High Priest, they demanded that he come up with something they could recognize as a deity so they could get back on the march toward Canaan Land.
We can’t estimate how much gold Aaron received, but the symbolism of taking earrings is that the people agreed before hand to give their “ears” (obedient attention) to this deity. The idol probably wasn’t all that large, perhaps just visible if held aloft, and shiny because it was formed from freshly molten gold. Most likely it was cast by making a model of clay (thus, the engraving tool), and covering it with a thin layer of molten gold, which was then polished.
The idea typical for the Ancient Near East would not be worshiping the calf itself, but that the invisible deity would be riding on the calf, though we might think of it as a young bull as the image of strength. This was quite common among Semitic nations with Mesopotamian roots, and the phrasing of the declaration distinguishes their deity from the ones more common among Egyptians. “Our god defeated the Egyptian gods!” This is better than wallowing in Egyptian slavery, but not by much.
However, Aaron connected this symbol with Jehovah’s name, and defiled it with pagan rituals typically associated with the degrading cults of Canaan. They made offerings on their makeshift altar, then feasted and “got up to play.” This almost certainly refers to drunken nude dancing. This is what the text means by referring to making them a laughingstock before their enemies. Most nomadic Semite tribes would have been more sober in their worship rituals, and this made Israel appear to be no morally better than the folks in the Land of Canaan where they were supposed to root out corrupt religious practices. You can bet scouts from their enemies were around them, spying on all of this.
So God broke off this sweet communion with Moses and ordered him to stand aside while He destroys them. He would start fresh with the family of Moses and make a new tribe. Moses prayed on their behalf, noting that it was a little too late for that. After wiping out Egypt to deliver Israel, how would it look for the name of Jehovah if He made it seem like He lured them into the desert to destroy them? Yes, they were stiff-necked indeed, but that’s exactly the kind of problem revelation was supposed to solve. Moses implored God to keep His promises to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
God relented and Moses went down to clean up the mess. He bore two slabs of slate with detailed fine writing by God’s own finger on both sides. As they approached the camp, Joshua herd a racket that made him think there was a battle. Moses spoke in a prophetic verse that it was neither victory nor defeat that caused such a tumult, but fools partying in the desert. When they came down upon the scene, Moses couldn’t restrain himself. He shattered the two stone tablets to symbolize that they had already broken the covenant they had not yet officially received.
First he fussed with his brother, Aaron. The latter gave a lame excuse. Moses called for anyone who might have not yet caved into temptation. Of course, his own tribe was with him; they had not yet stripped naked and indulged in this orgy. The command they received is not easily translated into English. What it amounts to is sending armed men to execute people acting out the most egregious displays of immorality. Several thousand men were killed that way. They would have all been unarmed, since they were naked, and too drunk to resist.
Please don’t envision long steel swords flashing in afternoon sun. These would have been bronze weapons, not longer than a man’s forearm, a big dagger. That mixture of cooper and tin would have been too brittle for anything larger. The slaughter was a matter of grabbing a man, often by his beard, and stabbing his midriff. It would have been pretty messy.
When the armed Levites returned, Moses ordered everyone to observe sober mourning rituals as previously commanded in the ritual law. Whatever they were doing, it wasn’t Jehovah they had been celebrating. The next day as they fasted and mourned, Moses returned to the clouds on the mountain and begged with God to spare the nation.
The Lord’s answer was quite pointed: Those who defy Him will receive their individual justice. The implication is that He would judge by what’s in their hearts, and the punishment would match the sin. He ordered Moses to take the lead again and expect to see an angelic presence, but that when God came to visit, it would mean wrath. They couldn’t afford to have God leading them in person on a regular basis. For some time after this incident, a portion of the people suffered various kinds of plagues.
Excellent exposition as always brother. It gives me a yay moment to shine my knowledge of metal working. A gold billet is hammered into very thin sheets and then hammered with a smaller hammer into the contours of the wooden form, a solid gold idol would have been cast, probably using the lost wax method that would have certainly been around. I’d say they used the former. As to the bronze sword, they were cast and then the cutting edge would have been work hardened and and heated and quenched. Bronze swords were very capable weapons but would break when struck with a forged steel blade by a Hittite, who got themselves an empire by mastering iron. Forgive my showing off, it’s rare that the subject is one that happens to be a passion for. ” What’s your hobby Mr Iain? ” “metallurgy, yep I’m a metal working nerd” I learned from my father Mr Harold “I know metal” Helton, a man after God’s own heart. You would have liked him and I expect that one day you’ll have the pleasure of meeting the old contrarian.
Thanks, Iain. I suggested clay because wood is pretty scarce out there on the Sinai Peninsula. Not absent, but there were almost no large trees like they would find in Palestine. Also, sand casting was very common in that area.