Large amounts of metal take a long time to cool, but by this time it was late in the day and the cold of the desert evening was descending to offer its unwanted help.  Unwanted by me that is, but the image couldn’t be finished soon enough for the eager onlookers.  They even brought large quantities of water to help speed the cooling.

In an undesirably short time, the experts assured me that all the gold would have solidified and so the mould was broken off.  I had to do some work with a tool to tidy up the image and make it look a little more like the calf they wanted, but then it was ready.  The crowd had grown enormous – there must have been several thousand people there, cheering and shouting: “Here are your gods, O Israel!”  Others answered them, “They brought us up out of Egypt.”

What could I do?  I had what I thought was a good idea and shouted, “Tomorrow will be a feast to Yahweh.”  It seemed better to allow them to treat this golden calf as a representation of Yahweh than to have them charge off into the worship of other gods.  Some of those who had helped to make the calf looked at me as if they knew it wouldn’t work, and didn’t want it to work, either.  But no-one argued out loud, so it was left that we would start our worship the next morning with burnt offerings and peace offerings to Yahweh.

You may be familiar with the expression “get it over with,” and that was the attitude of many of the people the next morning.  The offerings to Yahweh were treated by many as tedious necessities before the real business of the day could begin.  I had tried to get people to worship Yahweh through the golden calf, but the people didn’t really want that, and, of course, God didn’t want it either.

As soon as possible, the feasting began and the feast rapidly turned into an orgy.  Idol worship often seems to come with feasting – the sort of feasting that leads to drunkenness with singing, dancing and debauchery.

If only I had taken a stand and refused their demands!  I had let them get completely out of control,[1] and what would the Egyptians say when they heard about this?  “One God, Yahweh”, had been Moses’ constant refrain to them, but now, if there was only one god for this nation, it was a golden calf, just like the ones the Egyptians worshipped.

And then, just as all of this was unfolding, Moses came back.  When I first saw him, he was standing on a ridge of rock, only a short distance above the raised platform on which the golden calf stood.  He was taking in the situation: the golden calf, the kneeling worshippers, the frenzied chanting, the dancing and the excitement, and even from that distance I could see the anger that shook him from head to foot.  He was carrying two small tablets of stone, and as I watched, he raised his hands and flung them to the rock, where they shattered, sending a shower of fragments down towards us.  Such was the ferocity with which he flung the tablets to the ground that some of the shards landed amongst the closest of the worshippers, kicking up the dust and causing them to start in bewilderment.  As they looked up, they saw Moses, standing only about thirty metres away and looking down on them like an avenging angel!

Such is the respect and awe that most people have for Moses (when he is there), that many of the worshippers immediately leapt to their feet and ran.  Moses’ anger is a frightening thing, and I could see that it wouldn’t be long before I was its target.  I didn’t like the thought, but I was still thankful beyond words that he was back.  Now everything would be alright.

It was too.  Moses ran the last few metres down from his vantage point and began to seize some of the firewood that sat near the wooden platform with its golden idol.  He saw me standing near and called, “Aaron, I’m glad you’re there.  Come and help me burn down this platform and destroy the image.”  Together we piled the wood under the platform and set fire to it.  By this time, some Levites had come to help, while some of the bystanders had begun to question or argue.  But Moses was in no mood for argument; he was giving instructions for action.  “First we burn it, then we must grind it to powder, mixing the gold with the ash as much as we can.  Then we give it to them to drink,” he said grimly.  He gestured to some of those who had gathered, “Bring more wood,” he demanded.  Some of those he commanded had been members of the complaining committee the day before, but they all obeyed when Moses told them what to do.  Maybe that is how I should have treated them.

Flames hungrily consumed the platform, glowing fingers reaching up, twining and re-entwining around the golden calf as it gradually sank lower, until suddenly one corner of the platform collapsed and a shower of sparks billowed upwards as the calf rolled over and disappeared into the enveloping flames.

As the fire continued its cleansing work, I went through a very unpleasant interview with Moses.  He asked me what had gone wrong, and what they had done to torture me to make me do such a thing.

After that, we went to look around the camp, and found that the destruction of the idol hadn’t stopped the wider rejection of constraint.  It was revolting.  Drunkenness and all other sorts of self-indulgence were on show everywhere.  Revolting and tragic.  Without doubt there were always many who were eager to lead the people in this direction, but the firm hand of leadership in godliness should have kept it in check.  My hands had tried compromise, and evil loves compromise.

We returned to the centre of the camp and Moses asked for volunteers.  He wanted men who were on Yahweh’s side.  The men who answered the call were people who were not involved in the feasting, nor had they joined in the degrading ‘play’ throughout the camp.  It was a great pleasure to see our family members and close relatives coming forward until we had a large group of Levites who were willing to commit themselves to God, whatever the rest of the nation might do.

Moses gave us instructions.  We were each to get a sword.  That sounded grim enough, but no one argued because we already knew how God felt about idolatry and immorality.  Moses told us to go through the camp, killing all those who were doing this evil: our brothers, our companions and our neighbours, even our children if necessary.  So we went out through the camp, finding and executing those who were guiding the people away from God to idols and those who were leading the people into utter immorality.

Once the killing started, many who had been revelling in the opportunity to cast off restraint were suddenly sober and serious, and order was quickly restored.  Even so, about 3,000 men were killed by the Levites that day.  Those killed were not the only ones who were deeply involved in and committed to the breakaway.  However, for the time being, the rest have escaped without punishment, and some may have learned their lesson.  Others will merely wait quietly for another opportunity.

And now the golden calf is just a horrible memory.  The troublemakers are back under control – for the time being.

Overall, it was good to have the opportunity to join other Levites in standing up for God.  It gave me the chance to make it clear that my actions with the golden calf were just ignorance, folly and a lack of courage or wisdom.  I never wanted anyone to worship any other god but Yahweh; I just thought a visible representation would help the people to worship our living, but invisible God.  I was wrong, completely wrong.  God wouldn’t accept their worship of a calf, and allowing that sort of worship had led to other sins too.  As usual, God’s commands really are for the best.

Tomorrow morning, Moses is going up Mount Sinai again.  God told him to make two new tablets of stone like the two that he had broken and to be ready to go up the mountain by morning.[2]  God will write the testimony once more on the new tablets.[3]  Once again, Moses will be gone, and guess who will be in charge again?  Oh dear.

I hope I have learned my lesson and will do the job better.  How long will he be away this time?[4]

[1] Exodus 32:25
[2] Exodus 34:1-2
[3] Deuteronomy 10:2, 4
[4] See Exodus 34:28 for the answer.