I was preparing to teach the story of the golden calf to our kids’ Bible Class. Honestly, I didn’t expect this well-known story in Exodus 32, to hit me so hard. I started squirming because I suddenly saw that we are all guilty in 2026 of the same things God’s people were guilty of thousands of years ago.
According to the record, four months earlier, God had brought them out of slavery in Egypt. All of them had seen the plagues God used to humble Pharaoh. Every one of them had crossed the Red Sea on dry land by God’s miracle. They had watched God destroy the Egyptian army. Each morning they gathered the manna God sent. Every day they saw the cloud, the symbol of God’s presence with them. Every night they saw God’s pillar of fire. Even on this very day, they could see the thick cloud of God’s Presence on the top of Mt. Sinai. They had heard the thunder, seen the lightning, heard the ear-splitting trumpet call. How could they now be so bold in their rejection of him?!

“When the people saw that Moses was so long in coming down from the mountain, they gathered around Aaron and said, “Come, make us gods who will go before us. As for this fellow Moses who brought us up out of Egypt, we don’t know what has happened to him.” Exodus 32:1-2

“So long in coming down”. Remember the annoying kid question from the back seat on a long car ride, “Are we there yet?” or the whiny toddler before dinner saying, “Why’s it taking so long?”? Humans aren’t that good at waiting. We get impatient. We want things to happen when we think they should. Hand raised over here. Why hasn’t God answered my heartfelt prayer for _____? How long will it take before I see some glimmer of hope?

And aside from my personal requests, the bigger picture is that earnest Christians have been waiting two thousand years for our Savior to come back. As he disappeared in a cloud, his followers were told he would return. Generations have lived in that hope and died. We can’t see him now. How can we be sure he’s coming back? The same way God’s people knew Moses was coming back. They were told he would. Jesus told us where he was going. But, like Moses, he didn’t tell us exactly when he was coming back from being with God.

“I will remain in the world no longer, but they are still in the world, and I am coming to you, Holy Father.” John 17:11
“They were looking intently up into the sky as he was going, when suddenly two men dressed in white stood beside them.  “Men of Galilee,” they said, “why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven.” Acts 1:10-11
“They will say, “Where is this ‘coming’ he promised? Ever since our ancestors died, everything goes on as it has since the beginning of creation.” But they deliberately forget that long ago by God’s word the heavens came into being and the earth was formed out of water and by water. By these waters also the world of that time was deluged and destroyed. By the same word the present heavens and earth are reserved for fire, being kept for the day of judgment and destruction of the ungodly.
But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day. The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.” 2 Peter 3:4-9

Moses had told them he would return before disappearing into the cloud to meet with God. The meeting had already lasted 40 days. Although it was a long meeting, they could look up and see the thick cloud of God’s presence on the top of the mountain. Why did they claim they didn’t know what had happened to him?

“As for this fellow Moses who brought us up out of Egypt, we don’t know what has happened to him.” Exodus 32:1

Why did they refer to him as that guy Moses?! Surely he deserved more honor than that! He was their leader, deliverer, judge, intercessor, and God’s appointed authority. He wasn’t just some guy.

But we’re also tempted to be disrespectful to our leaders. Whether it’s political leaders we disagree with, church leaders who don’t make decisions we like, a boss who isn’t nice, or our husbands who don’t do chores on our timeline, we can easily get disrespectful and forget they are appointed by God. (Not to say they don’t do wrong things. Just saying we are obligated to show respect and not talk smack about them. We can pray for them to change and use legitimate means to influence them, but we should respect their position even if we can’t respect their personal lives.)

“Submit yourselves for the Lord’s sake to every human authority: whether to the emperor, as the supreme authority, or to governors, who are sent by him to punish those who do wrong and to commend those who do right. For it is God’s will that by doing good you should silence the ignorant talk of foolish people.  Show proper respect to everyone, love the family of believers, fear God, honor the emperor.
Slaves, in reverent fear of God submit yourselves to your masters, not only to those who are good and considerate, but also to those who are harsh. For it is commendable if someone bears up under the pain of unjust suffering because they are conscious of God.” 1 Peter 2:13-15, 17-19 Written by the apostle Peter who would later by martyred by the Roman Emporer

“These are your gods, Israel, who brought you up out of Egypt.”

We self-righteously sigh at the people who so quickly turned away from God and turned to idols who they credited with what only God could do. But do we moderns sometimes give credit to the wrong entity? I immediately thought of the modern idol of Evolution. Why would we credit an unproven theory with what only God could do? A mindless, random force could not create the irreducible complexity of living organisms that only our mighty God could conceive and create.

“Our Lord and God, it is right for you to have praise and honor and power. You made all things. They were made and have life because you wanted them.” Revelation 4:11 (World English New Testament)

How many times have we heard someone say, “I had good luck.”, when actually, what they had was a blessing from God. Or how about, “The Universe sent me this opportunity”? Can’t we just admit that all good comes from our loving God instead of an unnamed, impersonal cosmic force? Then there’s our default response to a good outcome, “I worked hard for this.” Yes, we may have worked hard, but who gave us the strength and drive to work? Who gives us our every breath and a brain? I want to remember to give credit where credit is due… God, first of all. I want to be brave and speak God’s name when I have the opportunity, giving him the honor and recognition he deserves.