The God Who Restores

Israel builds a golden calf while Moses is on the mountain, and God confronts their failure not to reject them but to restore them into relationship with himself.

Opening

What did the sermon say our failure actually costs us?

Ask this before you read, and again after.

Passages to cover

Point the group to the look-for list.

As we read, look for

Why the people grew restless while Moses was gone
How God speaks to Moses about the people
What Moses does with the calf and why

When the people saw that Moses delayed coming down from the mountain, the people gathered themselves together to Aaron, and said to him, “Come, make us gods, which shall go before us; for as for this Moses, the man who brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we don’t know what has become of him.” Aaron said to them, “Take off the golden rings, which are in the ears of your wives, of your sons, and of your daughters, and bring them to me.” All the people took off the golden rings which were in their ears, and brought them to Aaron. He received what they handed him, fashioned it with an engraving tool, and made it a molded calf. Then they said, “These are your gods, Israel, which 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 Yahweh.” They rose up early on the next day, and offered burnt offerings, and brought peace offerings; and the people sat down to eat and to drink, and rose up to play.
Exodus 32:1–6

Yahweh spoke to Moses, “Go, get down; for your people, whom you brought up out of the land of Egypt, have corrupted themselves! They have turned away quickly out of the way which I commanded them. They have made themselves a molded calf, and have worshiped it, and have sacrificed to it, and said, ‘These are your gods, Israel, which brought you up out of the land of Egypt.’” Yahweh said to Moses, “I have seen these people, and behold, they are a stiff-necked people. Now therefore leave me alone, that my wrath may burn hot against them, and that I may consume them; and I will make of you a great nation.” Moses begged Yahweh his God, and said, “Yahweh, why does your wrath burn hot against your people, that you have brought out of the land of Egypt with great power and with a mighty hand? Why should the Egyptians talk, saying, ‘He brought them out for evil, to kill them in the mountains, and to consume them from the surface of the earth’? Turn from your fierce wrath, and turn away from this evil 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 the sky, and all this land that I have spoken of I will give to your offspring, and they shall inherit it forever.’” So Yahweh turned away from the evil which he said he would do to his people.
Exodus 32:7–14

Discussion

Whoever answers, ask them where they see it in the passages.

Why did the Israelites ask Aaron for a calf to go before them while Moses was still on the mountain?

From the sermon Idolatry grows from impatience and fear, not open rebellion.

What the sermon said
The sermon said the people grew impatient waiting for Moses and wanted a god they could see, touch and manage. It said idolatry usually comes from impatience and fear rather than from openly rejecting God.

If the group gets sidetracked
Groups can turn this into a list of obvious sins. Bring it back to how the Israelites wanted something visible and controllable.

If someone asks
Aren't the Ten Commandments the real issue here? The sermon read the first commandment as God knowing we will be prone to turn to other things, and pointed back to it from the calf.

If the group wants more
Romans 1:21–23; 1 John 5:21

Watch this section · 17:13
What does God show about himself when he tells Moses to leave him alone and then relents after Moses pleads?

From the sermon God invites Moses into the conversation and relents.

What the sermon said
The sermon said God's language of distancing himself from the people, and the invitation to leave him alone, was God drawing Moses into the conversation. It said God then relents and gives the people what they do not deserve.

If the group gets sidetracked
Groups can drift into arguing about whether God changes his mind. Keep the focus on what the passage shows about his mercy.

If someone asks
Does God change his mind? The sermon described it as God doing a 180 and relenting, and did not go further into how that works, so this is worth asking the pastor.

If the group wants more
Jonah 3:10; Joel 2:13–14

Watch this section · 35:48
Why did Moses grind the golden calf to powder and make the Israelites drink it after breaking the tablets?

From the sermon Breaking the tablets shows the covenant was broken.

What the sermon said
The sermon said Moses breaking the tablets was not just losing his temper; it was showing Israel that they had broken the covenant. Grinding the calf and making them drink it showed that sin gets inside us and will destroy us.

If the group gets sidetracked
Groups can get stuck on how strange it is to drink the powder. Bring it back to what Moses was saying about sin getting inside them.

If someone asks
Why would God let Moses destroy the tablets he made? The sermon read it as Moses showing the people what they had already done to the covenant, and that God's goal was to restore them into relationship.

If the group wants more
Jeremiah 17:9; Hebrews 8:6–13

Watch this section · 37:40

Closing

What is one thing we have been leaning on for worth that we could bring into God's light this week?

Prayer

For honesty about the things we have been propping up alongside God.
For the confidence that our failure is not final because of Jesus.
For a fresh desire for relationship with God rather than just knowing about him.

Keep going this week

Scan to open this week’s study and ask your own questions.