Exodus Chapters 31-32

INTRODUCTION:

The past two weeks we have been walking through the instructions from God on how to construct the place of worship. Last week was the conclusion of the instructions for the tabernacle, including the altar of incense, the census tax that took place, the bronze basin, and the anointing oil and incense, showing God's detailed commands for worship and covenant relationship. 

We have been in the 40 day period of time that Moses went up on the mountain to meet with God and get instructions. Moses literally has spent 40 days in God’s presence. One of the main ideas I want you guys to walk away with today is that God Is Personal! God didn’t just send Moses instructions from a distance. He called Moses up the mountain- away from the distractions. Up on the mountain, it wasn’t about performance or position, It was personal… It was God and Moses face to face.

Now….this week, what I call the “Golden Calf Incident” …

We are going to continue to see how it is personal between God and man.

Here we go…Exodus Chapter 31 wraps up God’s instructions to Moses on Mount Sinai with a focus on who’s building the Tabernacle, the importance of rest, and the delivery of the tablets.  It is time to get to work on building.

God first picks Bezalel, from the tribe of Judah, to lead the construction of the Tabernacle. He’s gifted with God’s Spirit, giving him top-notch skills in crafting everything from gold to wood to fabric. Oholiab, from the tribe of Dan, is his co-leader, and they’re backed by a team of talented workers. Their mission is to build the Tabernacle and its items—like the ark, lampstand, and priestly garments—following God’s exact design to create a sacred space for worship.

• Exodus 31:1-11 says… The Lord said to Moses, “See, I have called by name Bezalel the son of Uri, son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, and I have filled him with the Spirit of God, with ability and intelligence, with knowledge and all craftsmanship, to devise artistic designs, to work in gold, silver, and bronze, in cutting stones for setting, and in carving wood, to work in every craft. And behold, I have appointed with him Oholiab, the son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan. And I have given to all able men ability, that they may make all that I have commanded you: the tent of meeting, and the ark of the testimony, and the mercy seat that is on it, and all the furnishings of the tent,  the table and its utensils, and the pure lampstand with all its utensils, and the altar of incense, and the altar of burnt offering with all its utensils, and the basin and its stand, and the finely worked garments, the holy garments for Aaron the priest and the garments of his sons, for their service as priests, and the anointing oil and the fragrant incense for the Holy Place. According to all that I have commanded you, they shall do.” 

Next, God stresses the Sabbath, a weekly day of rest for all Israelites. This seventh-day break is a sacred sign of their special relationship with God, tied to His rest after creating the world. Working on the Sabbath is strictly forbidden, with harsh penalties, showing how seriously God takes this time to pause and reconnect.

• Exodus 31:12-17 - And the Lord said to Moses, “You are to speak to the people of Israel and say, ‘Above all you shall keep my Sabbaths, for this is a sign between me and you throughout your generations, that you may know that I, the Lord, sanctify you. You shall keep the Sabbath, because it is holy for you. Everyone who profanes it shall be put to death. Whoever does any work on it, that soul shall be cut off from among his people. Six days shall work be done, but the seventh day is a Sabbath of solemn rest, holy to the Lord. Whoever does any work on the Sabbath day shall be put to death. Therefore the people of Israel shall keep the Sabbath, observing the Sabbath throughout their generations, as a covenant forever. It is a sign forever between me and the people of Israel that in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day he rested and was refreshed.’”

The chapter wraps up with God “handing” over the Ten Commandments.  God gives Moses two stone tablets inscribed with the Ten Commandments, written by God Himself. 

• Exodus 31:18 - And he gave to Moses, when he had finished speaking with him on Mount Sinai, the two tablets of the testimony, tablets of stone, written with the finger of God.

Let’s spend a few minutes here.  We see God’s divine authority and permanence here on the tablets of stone.  God, the creator of all things, wrote on these stone tablets.

Fast forward to Paul’s second letter to the church in Corinth… 2 Corinthians 3:3 says… And you show that you are a letter from Christ delivered by us, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts. 

Takeaway- Exodus 31:18 portrays the old covenant’s external law, while 2 Corinthians 3:3 reveals the new covenant’s internal work, where the Spirit replaces stone with living hearts, fulfilling and surpassing the Mosaic law through Christ’s redemptive work. 

God is now writing on the hearts of his people vs stone.

Ok, onto this “Golden Calf Incident”

Exodus Chapter 32 dives into a major crisis for the Israelites while Moses is up on Mount Sinai getting God’s instructions. The people get restless, lose faith, and take matters into their own hands.

With Moses gone for weeks, the Israelites panic, thinking he’s vanished. They pressure Aaron, Moses’ brother, to make them a god they can see. Aaron caves, collecting their gold jewelry and crafting a golden calf, which the people worship as their deliverer from Egypt. They throw a celebration, breaking their promise to follow God alone.

• Exodus 32:1-10 says… When the people saw that Moses delayed to come down from the mountain, the people gathered themselves together to Aaron and said to him, “Up, make us gods who shall go before us. As for this Moses, the man who brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.” So Aaron said to them, “Take off the rings of gold that are in the ears of your wives, your sons, and your daughters, and bring them to me.” So all the people took off the rings of gold that were in their ears and brought them to Aaron. And he received the gold from their hand and fashioned it with a graving tool and made a golden calf. And they said, “These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt!” When Aaron saw this, he built an altar before it. And Aaron made a proclamation and said, “Tomorrow shall be a feast to the Lord.” And they rose up early the next day and offered burnt offerings and brought peace offerings. And the people sat down to eat and drink and rose up to play. 

God sees this and is furious, telling Moses the people have gone rogue. He threatens to wipe them out and start over with Moses. But Moses steps up, pleading for mercy, reminding God of His promises to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and asking Him to spare Israel.

• Exodus 32:7-10 says… And the Lord said to Moses, “Go down, for your people, whom you brought up out of the land of Egypt, have corrupted themselves. They have turned aside quickly out of the way that I commanded them. They have made for themselves a golden calf and have worshiped it and sacrificed to it and said, ‘These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt!’” And the Lord said to Moses, “I have seen this people, and behold, it is a stiff-necked people. Now therefore let me alone, that my wrath may burn hot against them and I may consume them, in order that I may make a great nation of you.”

The Lord is hot but we are going to see Moses step in here…

• Exodus 32:11-14… But Moses implored the Lord his God and said, “O Lord, why does your wrath burn hot against your people, whom you have brought out of the land of Egypt with great power and with a mighty hand? Why should the Egyptians say, ‘With evil intent did he bring them out, to kill them in the mountains and to consume them from the face of the earth’? Turn from your burning anger and relent from this disaster against your people. Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, your servants, to whom you swore by your own self, and said to them, ‘I will multiply your offspring as the stars of heaven, and all this land that I have promised I will give to your offspring, and they shall inherit it forever.’” And the Lord relented from the disaster that he had spoken of bringing on his people.

That worked!  We see Moses continue his dialog with God and he successfully pleaded the case for the Israelites.  Let’s see what happens next. 

Here we go, Moses heads down the mountain after his time with the Lord, carrying the two stone tablets with the Ten Commandments. When he sees the calf and the chaos, he’s so angry he smashes the tablets. WOW!  All that time with the Lord, all that work!

Moses gets personal with Aaron and confronts Aaron, who dodges blame, saying the people made him do it. Hmmm… Does this sound like Adam in the Garden placing blame on Eve?

• Exodus 32:15-24 says…Then Moses turned and went down from the mountain with the two tablets of the testimony in his hand, tablets that were written on both sides; on the front and on the back they were written.  The tablets were the work of God, and the writing was the writing of God, engraved on the tablets. When Joshua heard the noise of the people as they shouted, he said to Moses, “There is a noise of war in the camp.” But he said, “It is not the sound of shouting for victory, or the sound of the cry of defeat, but the sound of singing that I hear.” And as soon as he came near the camp and saw the calf and the dancing, Moses' anger burned hot, and he threw the tablets out of his hands and broke them at the foot of the mountain. He took the calf that they had made and burned it with fire and ground it to powder and scattered it on the water and made the people of Israel drink it. And Moses said to Aaron, “What did this people do to you that you have brought such a great sin upon them?” And Aaron said, “Let not the anger of my lord burn hot. You know the people, that they are set on evil. For they said to me, ‘Make us gods who shall go before us. As for this Moses, the man who brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.’ So I said to them, ‘Let any who have gold take it off.’ So they gave it to me, and I threw it into the fire, and out came this calf.”

The chapter wraps up very dramatically with Moses calling to those who are on the Lord’s side, the Levites, who are loyal to God, and orders them to punish the worst offenders. About 3,000 people are killed, showing the seriousness of the betrayal.

Moses goes back to God, begging for forgiveness for the people. He even offers to take the punishment himself if God won’t spare them. God relents but says the guilty will still face consequences, sending a plague as punishment. He also tells Moses to keep leading the people toward the Promised Land, but warns that His presence might not go with them directly because of their stubbornness.

Very dramatic!  In short, Chapter 32 is a story of the Israelites’ failure, Moses’ bold leadership, and God’s mix of justice and mercy, setting the stage for their ongoing journey.

How do we apply this to us today?

First, let’s remind ourselves of the first commandment found in Exodus 20:3: "You shall have no other gods before me." Can you see how the golden calf was a problem? 

IT IS PERSONAL TO OUR HOLY GOD

Impatience Can Lead to Poor Choices

The Israelites, anxious and impatient while waiting for Moses to return from Mount Sinai, demand a tangible god (the golden calf) to replace the unseen God who freed them. This quick fix leads to idolatry and chaos.

Takeaway: When faced with uncertainty or delays, it’s easy to seek instant solutions—whether chasing material things, trends, or distractions—instead of staying committed to His purpose for you. Stay focused on Him.

Leadership Demands Courage and Accountability

Aaron fails by giving in to the people’s demands to make the calf and deflects blame, while Moses boldly confronts the sin, intercedes with God, and restores order through the Levites. His leadership balances justice and mercy.

Takeaway for Today: True leadership requires standing firm against pressure, taking responsibility for mistakes, and advocating for what’s right, even when it’s unpopular. It’s about guiding others through crises with integrity and compassion.

Mercy and Consequences Coexist

The Israelites’ idolatry angers God, who threatens to destroy them. Moses’ intercession secures mercy, but consequences remain—a plague and the loss of God’s direct presence—showing that forgiveness doesn’t mean consequences don't show up

Conclusion: 

While God provided precise instructions for worship and covenant relationship through the Tabernacle, Israel’s worship of the golden calf exposed their impatience and disobedience. Yet, through Moses’ intercession and God’s enduring mercy, the covenant was preserved, once again showing God’s faithfulness despite human failure. I believe these chapters remind us of the seriousness of sin, the necessity of repentance, and the hope found in God’s unrelenting commitment to His people. Next week the adventure continues.

Personal Challenge:

The Golden Calf symbolizes anything we prioritize over God—career, relationships, or material things, status on Facebook, etc. The challenge is to identify and dismantle these subtle, and sometimes intentional idols, redirecting focus to what truly matters.  Start today to dismantle what is distracting you from God.