MOSES AND JOSHUA CHOSE THE SHEKINAH GLORY WHILE AARON AND THE OTHERS CHOSE THE GOLDEN CALF.
While Moses and Joshua were up on the mountain in the glory of God, Aaron and the children of Israel were making a golden calf. Moses went on to lead his nation to the promised land in miracles signs and wonders while Joshua led them into the promised land by the power and supernatural ability of God. Every one who worshipped the calf died in the wilderness and it was their children who crossed over with Joshua.
Moses and Joshua were transformed in the shekinah glory of God while the children of Israel were trying to transform their God into a golden calf. Before his mountain top experience in the glory, Moses had to rely on his brother in law Aaron to be his spokesperson – after his transformation in the glory of God, Moses stepped up as the leader that God intended him to be. Moses was transformed into a different person in the glory - he was given supernatural leadership ability, favor, authority and everything that he needed.
As you press into the Lord’s glory, as you hunger and thirst for more of Him, you too will be transformed from glory to glory in His presence by the Spirit of the Lord – as with Moses and Joshua, you will be supernaturally equipped to do what you have been called to do! Don’t try to change God and bring Him down to your level, let Him change you and bring you up to His level! Don’t build a golden calf, press into the shekinah glory of the Lord and be transformed.
As we look at the details of the story of the golden calf we can learn a lot and apply the lessons learned to much of what is happening in the world today.
Exodus 32:1-4
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 a god 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.” And Aaron said to them, “Break off the golden earrings which are in the ears of your wives, your sons, and your daughters, and bring them to me.” So all the people broke off the golden earrings, which were in their ears, and brought them to Aaron. And he received the gold from their hand, and he fashioned it with an engraving tool, and made a molded calf. Then they said, “This is your god, O Israel, that brought you out of the land of Egypt!”
The Hebrew word for ‘make a god’ is ‘Elôhîym’
When the people told Aaron, “Come, make us ‘a god’ that shall go before us”, it can be Literally translated ‘Aaron, make Elôhîym’ or, ‘produce Elôhîym’ Who shall go before us. Then, at the end, in verse four Aaron says, “This is Elôhîym, O Israel, that brought you out of the land of Egypt!”
Elôhîym is translated as ‘God’ 2,346 times in the King James Old Testament from Genesis 1:1 to Malachi 3:18.
THEY WERE NOT ATTEMPTING TO MAKE AN IDOL, THEY WERE ATTEMPTING TO MAKE, PRODUCE OR TO MANIFEST GOD AS THEY SAW HIM…
In Egypt they were surrounded by false god’s and idols, and so they decided to make an image that Elôhîym [God] would inhabit so that they could worship Him the way that they wanted to worship Him. Aaron fashioned what he believed to be the image of God. They never intended to worship a false idol, they did however attempt to make God conform to their image of Him. People are still genuinely wanting God in their lives – they just do not want the God of the Bible – like the children of Israel they want God to get into their ‘God box’. They want to decide Who God is, what He is like, and how they are going to worship Him.
SECONDLY, THEY DID NOT WANT TO FOLLOW GOD THROUGH A MAN – THEY WANTED TO FOLLOW GOD DIRECTLY…
God spoke to them and led them through Moses – they did not want to submit to a man, but wanted to serve a ‘god’ with their values and their world-views, their way. Not much has changed… many people still want to bypass anointed men and women of God and only answer to a so called god that they have created in their own minds according to the perverted, deceived lusts of their own flesh. God has always led through anointed, appointed men and woman – He even sent His Son had to become a MAN to lead humanity to salvation. Yes, in the New Covenant, God will speak to you directly and lead you by the Spirit, but He will not bypass His anointed leaders. They are the one’s that hold us accountable, that mentor us, and that lead us in our team kingdom assignments.
Without anointed men and woman as leaders, like the children of Israel, we can be deceived. Anointed men and woman of God hold our feet to the fire and keep us on the path of life. Yes, they all have feet of clay, but we all do – in spite of their humanity, God uses them, speaks through them, leads through them and touches through them.
1 Peter 2:13-14 says, ‘Submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord’s sake, whether to the king as supreme, or to governors, as to those who are sent by him for the punishment of evildoers and for the praise of those who do good.’
THIRDLY, THEY DECIDED FOR THEMSELVES WHAT GOD LOOKED LIKE AND WHO HE WAS.
Again, they created who they thought was Elôhîym – however, in spite of their intentions, Elôhîym is not a golden calf and He will not inhabit a golden calf just because we want Him to. He is beyond any image that we can create, He is far more valuable than gold and He will not get into somebody’s ‘God box’. Many people today have taken it upon themselves to decide Who God is and what His ways are… not the God of the Bible - rather the ‘god’ of their own worldview.
They worshipped a ‘god’ that they made…
They sang, danced, got drunk and worshipped the way that they wanted to… the problem was, God was not receiving their worship, instead the devil was receiving it.
Many in today’s society have decided for themselves who God is, what He approves of and what He does not. They have made God a weak, all embracing, anything goes universalist. Every religion has made their own golden calf and they think that God has inhabited it. Every philosophy has made their own golden calf and thinks that God has inhabited it – God cannot be found in any of these man golden calves, but He will reveal Himself to those who seek Him and to those who want to follow Him and worship Him as He is. Do not try to bring God down to your level, let Him bring you up to His level.
REJECT THE GOLDEN CALF AND CHOOSE THE SHEKINAH GLORY
A golden calf is something man made, man measured, man driven and pleasing to the ego of man. It represents compromise, deception and a powerless religious philosophy. This has crept into the church, our society and our households – reject it and follow those who are seeking His true glory on the mountaintop!
God’s glory is manifested to those who worship Him and follow Him regardless of popular opinion, regardless of man’s worldview. Find out Who God really is by studying His Word, by worshipping Him and by listening to anointed men and woman of God teach the Word according to the New Covenant – Seek Him with all of your heart, and you will find Him! As you encounter His shekinah glory, like Moses and Joshua, you will be transformed… as a transformed individual, you will be fully equipped to do what God has called you to do and to be who God has called you to be – Selah!
