The Golden Calf (Evidence of Desperation)

THE KING’S SECRET

Title: The Golden Calf (Evidence of Desperation)

By: Funmi Akinleye

Date: 18/02/2022

When the people saw, that Moses had delayed coming down from the mountain, where he went to receive from the Lord, they requested another god be made for them (Exodus 32:1). You see, the children of Jacob (Israel) had enjoyed the goodness of God through their father and under his leadership. Apart from Joseph, those children did not fear the Lord and as generations passed, the fear of the Lord became extinct amongst them. So, whether or not they were in Egypt, or in freedom, they would have been wayward children.

However, their hardship in Egypt made them hungry for some respite. When you long for respite, you hold on to something for hope. For them, it was the Egyptian gods, for they did not have an experiential knowledge of the God of their fathers. When we hear the tales and history of our parents and their parents today, we listen excitedly because stories are interesting to hear, especially those that relate to our linage. However, we don’t relate. Our reality is different and the world is not what it used to be. Moreso, God did not appear or speak to this generation of Israelites as He did with their fathers. Therefore, the reverent fear of the Lord was really farfetched.

So when they saw that Moses who led them out of Egypt, had not returned for over a month, their flesh craved something or someone to save them and lead them again. They craved their familiar ways. For some of us, so long as God blesses the works of our hands, prospers us and our families, we declare our loyalty to Him, but if God ‘delays’ we become desperate and begin to seek or revert to old ways- finding succour in women, alcohol, something/someone the Lord has forbidden you from reaching. We begin to enjoy the temporality of fulfilling our needs ourselves and we have no need for The God whom we cannot see in the first place.

For the Israelites, sight was their problem. It wasn’t that they needed a leader to replace Moses since he was ‘AWOL’ it was that they needed a god they can see. The Israelites had idolised Moses so much and he was their god, not The God that Moses himself served. You will see in Exodus 32:1 that the desire to carve out golden images was from the need to have a god that will go before them; ‘Now when the people saw that Moses delayed coming down from the mountain, the people gathered together to Aaron, and said to him, ‘’come, make us gods that shall go before us; for 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.’’ The god was to replace Moses, whom they already idolized in their hearts, for if they needed another leader, Moses had already left a chain of command for them.

An Idol is that which you hold on to for hope and comfort, without which, you cannot be. It is something that easily replaces your time for God, need for God and love for God. This is a good place to pause and search your heart for what that could be, and repent. Ask the Lord to give you an unquenchable hunger for Him.

Desperation starts from what you can see or cannot see, and begins to form a deep pang in your heart, till you get for yourself, what the Lord Himself would have eventually gotten for you. The devil attempted to use this trick on Jesus when he told him he could save him all the stress of gaining the whole world through the looming suffering and bearing of the cross, if only He would bow down to him. Whatever Jesus chose, the whole world was already His inheritance but the devil shows you a way to gain quickly, what the Lord has already given you, so you can bow to him and not the Lord. There is so much reward in self-control. Resist the devil and he shall flee from you. The Devil cannot give you what you already have, remind yourself of this fact. Though you cannot see it yet, the Lord has promised you and He honors His word above His name. Wait on the Lord and do not drive yourself in the proverbial vehicle you cannot afford to sustain, just because you cannot wait for the Lord.

Desperation steals your crown.

YOU CAN NOT GIVE ME WHAT I ALREADY HAVE!

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