This week we read one of my favorite Parashats. We are at the story of the Golden Calf. The last thing Moses said to the people was:

“Moses told the elders, “Stay here and wait for us until we come back. Aaron and Hur are here with you. If anyone has a dispute while I am gone, consult with them.””
Exodus 24:14

Nowhere in Exodus do we hear about Hur again. While Moses is on the mountain the Word tells us that the people came to Aaron and demanded he make them an Elohim. This is what the Bible translates to a god. However it has many meanings: one with authority like a magistrate. Angels have also been called Elohim in the Bible as well as judges.

Now there is the Torah that we know as the 1st 5 books of the Bible and there is Oral Torah which is the stories passed down from generation to generation. In some of the writings it is written that Moses was taking longer than the Israelites expected and Satan showed the people a dead Moses. At that point the people get into fear and demand Aaron to make them an Elohim. In the peoples panic and fear when Hur tries to reason with them they kill him. Aaron now tries to appease the people and by Moses more time to return from the mountain.

Notice how Aaron asks for the gold earrings. Of all the things Aaron could have asked for he asked for earrings. These people just heard the audible voice of God and they are now ignoring the laws He just have them. I don’t think that is a coincidence. Aaron is not an artisan, yet he melts the gold and forms a calf. There are 2 tellings of the Golden Calf’s creation. The narrator says Aaron made the Golden Calf and Aaron himself says he melted the gold and the Calf came out. Again Aaron is not an artisan, so I tend to believe something came out of the fire that resembles a Calf. Do you think someone who has no experience could make a Golden calf in a day? Then Aaron sees how excited the people got, he them builds an alter for the Golden Calf. Aaron then announces tomorrow we will have a feast unto the Lord.

God did not get upset that they made a Golden Calf. He didn’t get upset when they made it an alter. However when they got ready to make sacrifices He became angry. God tells Moses to go down the mountain that his people who he brought out of Egypt have defiled themselves. Notice how they are no longer God’s people they are now Moses’s people. God then tells Moses to leave Him alone so he can destroy the Israelites and start over with him. Moses picked up on something. He noticed that God said to leave Him alone so He could destroy the Israelites. Moses now knows that if he doesn’t leave God alone then He won’t destroy His people. Moses stands in the gap and changes God’s mind. Moses has the nerve to ask God, why are you angry? God just told Him why He was angry. What we as English speakers don’t realize is that the word translated to why really means to want end will you be angry. Moses is asking God where will your anger end.

Moses was the 1st King and Priest in history. He was raised in Pharaoh’s house as though he would one day be King. Look at everything Moses has done to this point in the Bible. He has been acting as as a Priest making sacrifices and now he is standing in the gap for the Israelites. The Bible calls all who have accepted Jesus Kings and Priests. Moses is our example. It is our job to take our authority and lead people to righteousness as well as stand in the gap for them as a Priest.