Reading through the Bible, you might find yourself wondering how the Israelites were constantly falling into sin with idolatry. Even from the very beginning of their exodus to the Promised Land, they had trouble with going astray.
The Children of Israel watched Moses go into the mountain to talk with God. They saw the clouds descend and heard the trumpet of a voice. And yet, once Moses had been gone for a small amount of time, they wanted something they could see to worship.
Exodus 32:1- And when the people saw that Moses delayed to come down out of the mount, the people gathered themselves together unto Aaron, and said unto him, Up, make us gods, which shall go before us; for as for this Moses, the man that brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we wot not what is become of him.
How is it that the people who saw the 10 plagues decimate Egypt, watched as the Red Sea parted and then engulfed their enemies, and observed the great I AM overshadow a mountain could so quickly turn and make a new god?
Hebrews 12:18-21- For ye are not come unto the mount that might be touched, and that burned with fire, nor unto blackness, and darkness, and tempest, And the sound of a trumpet, and the voice of words; which voice they that heard intreated that the word should not be spoken to them any more: (For they could not endure that which was commanded, And if so much as a beast touch the mountain, it shall be stoned, or thrust through with a dart: And so terrible was the sight, that Moses said, I exceedingly fear and quake:)
The Lord's glory was still overshadowing the mountain that Moses went up and they were impatient and ready for Aaron to make them an idol. Why?
Perhaps it is because they were following Moses, not God. When the plagues were poured out on Egypt, they saw Moses contending with Pharaoh. They put the blood on the doorpost because Moses told them to, not because they believed what God had said would happen. When the Red Sea opened, they viewed it as something Moses with his staff made possible. The thundering on Mount Sinai didn't hold their awe because they weren't looking to God, but to a man.
I think this is why there are so many Christians out of the will of God. Perhaps they were genuine when they asked the Lord to save them. Maybe they were faithful to church attendance when they were under their parents. They possibly had standards, read their Bibles, and even took time to pray when another believer encouraged them to do so.
But in the end, they fell away because the person they were obeying was no longer in their lives. They hadn't built a relationship with God. They were following a human.
Is it wrong to follow a godly person? No, not at first.
I Corinthians 11:1- Be ye followers of me, even as I also am of Christ.
But eventually you have to be able to stand on your own two feet.
Ephesians 5:1- Be ye therefore followers of God, as dear children;
It's the difference between these two states of being (following a man or following Christ) that determines whether a person will remain faithful years down the road or will fall by the wayside when the going gets tough.
It's hard, as a parent, to know how to encourage a relationship between your child and the Lord. You can give them good books, take them to church, be an example, but ultimately it will be their decision as to whether or not they seek Him.
These Israelites had witnessed the greatest display of God’s power and yet they didn’t become believers in God. Instead, their eyes were on Moses and when he wasn’t around they wandered away from the right path. Witnessing miracles doesn’t guarantee faith.
Deuteronomy 4:9-14- Only take heed to thyself, and keep thy soul diligently, lest thou forget the things which thine eyes have seen, and lest they depart from thy heart all the days of thy life: but teach them thy sons, and thy sons' sons; Specially the day that thou stoodest before the LORD thy God in Horeb, when the LORD said unto me, Gather me the people together, and I will make them hear my words, that they may learn to fear me all the days that they shall live upon the earth, and that they may teach their children. And ye came near and stood under the mountain; and the mountain burned with fire unto the midst of heaven, with darkness, clouds, and thick darkness. And the LORD spake unto you out of the midst of the fire: ye heard the voice of the words, but saw no similitude; only ye heard a voice. And he declared unto you his covenant, which he commanded you to perform, even ten commandments; and he wrote them upon two tables of stone. And the LORD commanded me at that time to teach you statutes and judgments, that ye might do them in the land whither ye go over to possess it.
It’s natural for most people to want a leader to follow. Our public school system has been training children for years to be good obedient followers. True leaders are very few and far between. And godly leaders are even more scarce.
Moses understood how these people were. He asked God to give them another leader before he died.
Numbers 27:15-17- And Moses spake unto the LORD, saying, Let the LORD, the God of the spirits of all flesh, set a man over the congregation, Which may go out before them, and which may go in before them, and which may lead them out, and which may bring them in; that the congregation of the LORD be not as sheep which have no shepherd.
God acknowledged Moses' prayer and put Joshua forth as the new leader to guide them into the Promised Land. But after their brilliant conquest, Joshua failed to pass the torch to another. It wasn't all his fault, the people had failed to become their own spiritual leaders.
Isn’t it interesting that people will willingly follow a flawed man and yet they have trouble obeying a perfect God? I am very thankful for the good leaders, pastors, and teachers that have been in my life, but eventually I had to step out on my own and decide for myself to be a disciple of Christ. I had to learn to study for myself.
II Timothy 2:15- Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.
Those who choose to follow a man will soon stumble when that person falls into sin or apostasy.
The Israelites tell Aaron to make them an idol because the man that led them out of Egypt was nowhere to be seen. They wanted another thing to follow, another person to lead, while the whole time they rejected the God who worked on their behalf. They disregarded God who had done so much for them while they gathered the manna He still provided and enjoyed the freedom His miracles afforded them.
Are we not the same? God has given us life, health, a family, food, jobs, freedoms, safety, and a Savior, still we often find ourselves searching for something else to satisfy our lusts.
Jesus ascended into heaven and told the Christians that He’d be back. Like Moses going up the mountain, He never gave a timeframe. Many have turned to the world because He’s taking longer than they anticipated.
I Thessalonians 6:6-10- And ye became followers of us, and of the Lord, having received the word in much affliction, with joy of the Holy Ghost: So that ye were ensamples to all that believe in Macedonia and Achaia. For from you sounded out the word of the Lord not only in Macedonia and Achaia, but also in every place your faith to God-ward is spread abroad; so that we need not to speak any thing. For they themselves shew of us what manner of entering in we had unto you, and how ye turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God; And to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, even Jesus, which delivered us from the wrath to come.
Oh that God would grant us and our children a heart like those in Thessalonica! That they would become leaders who spread the Word of God to all those around as they wait for His return, and not just wishy washy followers who endure for a moment and then fall by the wayside.
