The Pulpit Commentary — Exodus — Volume 2 — Section 305

their voices were dro'l'.'ncd in the general clamour. The " lewd fellows nf the b11ser sort" (Acts xvi i. 6) had, for the mnment, the upper hand in the host, an,I swept all before them. Intimidated by the show of violence, Aaron weakly acceded t,Q the people's request. The whole incident strikingly illustrates the commanding space which must have been filled in the camp of Israel by the personality of Moses, and aITords snme measure of the turbulent and refractory dispositions of the multitude whom ordinarily lie had to deal with. It sheds light, also, on the greatness of Moses' character, set as the.t is in contrast with the weakness a.nd irresolution exhibited by Aaron. Consider- !. TuE PEOPLE'S TRIAL (ver. 1). Every situation in which we can be placed has its elements of trial. These are purposely mingled with our lot (1) that dispositions may be tested, and (2) that life may be to us in fact, what it is needful that it should be for the proper development of character, viz. a succession of probations. The trio.I of the Israelites consisted: 1. In the delay in the return of Moses. Moses had disappeared in the mountain. Weeks had passed without his return. It had not been told the people how long his absence we.s to last. This constituted a trial of faith and patience. It gave colour to the allegation that Moses had perished-that he had gone from theIU for ever. Cf. what is said in Luke xii. 37-49 of the uncertainty left to rest upon the time of the Lord's second advent. Faith has its trial here also. Because Christ's coming is delayed, there a.re th<>se who would fain persuade themselves that he will not return at a.ll (2 Pet. iii. 4). 2. In the scope given by his absence for the mani- f estatiO'll, of character.. On this, again, compare Luke xii. 37-49. It was the first time since the departure from. Egypt that the people had been left much to themselves. Hitherto, Moses had always been with them.. His presence had been a. check on their wayward and licentiot111 tendencies. His firm rule repressed disorders. Whatever inclina- tions some of them m.a.y have felt for a revival of the religious orgies, to which, perhaps, they had been accustomed. in. Egypt, they had not ven\ured, with Moses in the camp, to give their desires publicity. The withd;awal of the la.wgiver's presence, accordingly, so soon after the conclusion of the covenant, was plainly of the nature of a trial. It removed the curo. It left room for the display of character. It tested the 8incerity of recent professions. It showed how the people were disposed to con,l11ct themselves when the tight rein, w:hich ha.d hitherto kept them in, had been a little slackened. It tested, in short, whether there were really a heart in them to keep a.ll God's co=and- ments always (Deut. v. 29). Alas! that in. the hour of their trial, when so splendid an opport11nity was given them of testifying their allegiance, their failure should have been so hum.ilia.ting and complete. II. T.aE PEOl'LE's SIN. Note---1. The sin it.self. They had made for them "a molten ea.If" (ver. 4), which, forthwith, they proceeded to worship with every species of dis- graceful revelry (ver. 6). The steps in the sin a.re noted in the IlllJTlLtive. (1) They approached Aaron with a dem.e.n.d to make them. "a god." The light, irreverent ,vay in which, in connection with this demand, they. speak of their former leader-" -4.s for this Moses, the man that brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we wot not what is become of him" (ver. !)--betrays an extraordinary levity, ingratitude, and callousness of nature. (2) They stripped themselves of their ornaments of gold for the making of the "god" (ver. 3). They did this gladly. People, as a rule, spend fJ:eely on their vices. '!'hey are not so ready to pa.rt with their valuables for the service of Jehovah. (3) They wixed up their calf worship with the serv.ice of the true God. On the supposed con- nection with the ox- and calf-worship of Egypt, see the exposition.. The calf made by Aaron we.s evidently intended e.s a. symbol of Jehovah (ver. 4). The result was an extraordinary piece of syncretism.. An alta.r W3$ built before the calf, and due honours were paid to it as the god which had brought Israel out of Egypt (vers. 4, 5). A feast was procla.imed to Jehovah (ver. 5). When the morrow came, the people "offered burnt offerings, and brought peace offerings," only, however, to engraft on the sacrificial festivities the rites of the filthiest heathen worships (ver. 6; cf. ver. 25). It was their own passions which they sought to gratify; but, in gratifying them, they .still endeavoured to keep up the semblance of service of the revealed God. Strange that the wicked should like, if possible, to get the cloak of religion even for their vices. But light and darkness will not mingle. The first requirement in worship is obedience. "To obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams" (1 Sam. xv. 22). "'l'he sncrilicc of tho wicked i~ an abomination to the Lord" (Prov. xv. S). lt wwi  TIIE BOOK OF EXODUS. [en. xxx11. 1-i,