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Bow to the Cow!

Sunday, July 24, 2022
Pastor Jojo Ma

 

1 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.” 2 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.” 3 So all the people took off the rings of gold that were in their ears and brought them to Aaron. 4 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!” 5 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.” 6 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.

What Israel did with a golden calf we can easily do with Netflix and vacations and possessions and a million other things. The problem was not so much the golden calf as it was their idolatrous hearts, and we should guard our hearts to make sure we are worshiping truly and not falsely.

1 Cor 10:6 Now these things took place as examples for us, that we might not desire evil as they did.

I.          Sin disobeys the word of God
II.        Sin rejects the character of God
III.       Sin suppresses the truth of God
IV.       Sin celebrates what God forbids

I.         Sin disobeys the word of God
“Like the Israelites, we are living in the wilderness between baptism (the Red Sea!) and the Promised Land. When things get difficult, we often try to return to the Egypt of our sin. So the story of the golden calf tells us more than what happened; it tells us what happens. It exposes the anatomy of our own idolatry.”

II.        Sin rejects the character of God
R.C. Sproul: “The cow gave no law and demanded no obedience. It had no wrath or justice or holiness to be feared. It was deaf, dumb, and impotent. But at least it could not intrude on their fun and call them to judgment. This was a religion designed by men, practiced by men, and ultimately useless for men.”

III.      Sin suppresses the truth of God
2 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.” 3 So all the people took off the rings of gold that were in their ears and brought them to Aaron. 4 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!”

We love our gods. We helped make them. And yet why is it that they always, eventually, let us down? It’s because idols were never made to satisfy our hearts. Only God can do that.

Rom 1:18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth.

1 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.”

Are you suppressing God’s truth in your life? Are there things you know God has said in His word that you refuse to listen to and obey? How are you pushing back against what God has said?

IV.       Sin celebrates what God forbids
5 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.” 6 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.

In our country today, many people are celebrating what God forbids. The “LGBTQIA2S+” agenda celebrates sin. They celebrate what God forbids.

We who know the truth must never celebrate what God forbids. By grace, we should do what God commands. And by grace, we should forsake what God detests. And by grace, we ought never celebrate what God forbids.

Are you living the way God wants you to live, as He has said in His word? Or are you living how you want to live and disregarding His word?

Help me now to live a life
That's dependent on Your grace
Keep my heart and guard my soul
From the evils that I face
You are worthy to be praised
With my every thought and deed
O great God of highest heaven
Glorify Your Name through me
[from “O Great God”, Sovereign Grace Music]