Syncing Faith

In Exodus 32:1, the people thought something had happened to Moses because he had been so long in returning from the mountain. Why the impatience? Well, the last time they had experienced Moses on the mountain was in chapter 19, where Moses made three trips up and back in a short period of time. The trip in chapter 32 was taking way longer than usual and some were getting a bit jumpy about it. The mountain is a dangerous place and something might have happened to him.

 

In their hearts, they wanted to honor the Lord so they tried to do so in a way that made sense to them. Every culture around them sought to symbolize their gods by using something in nature that pointed to the attributes of that deity. Bulls symbolized strength, virility and kingship, so the Egyptians used the bull to symbolize the god Apis. Perhaps most interesting is the Egyptian bull cult that existed in the Nile Delta, which incidentally was in the same neighborhood as the Goshen-living Hebrews. This cult was dedicated to the god Horus who was called "the god of heaven" (hmmmm).  Additionally, they were expecting to enter into Canaanite territory where the god Baal was associated with a bull and the chief god of all the Canaanite gods (named El) was called "the heavenly bull" (hmmmmm). They knew that their God was The Great God. Where they had come from and where they were going both had a great god symbolized by a bull. I wonder how this impacted their decision and I wonder how it influenced the choice of activities in the “festival to the LORD” that followed.

 

It seems like the golden calf was Israel's first experimentation with syncretism. As the word suggests, syncretism is the merging of various elements from various faiths to form a new synchronized expression. Though this new expression holds some connection with the original, it has become something new and is no longer a faithful expression of the original. Paul summarized the end result in Romans. “They exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like mortal man and birds and animals and reptiles" (Romans 1:23). Even though this action broke the second commandment (Exodus 20:4-6), I think they thought they were doing a good thing here. Every cultural indicator around them said that God would be pleased with them using a symbol of the bull to proclaim that their God is the chief of all gods. Yet their attempt to honor God in their own way actually undercut and compromised His uniqueness and incomparability. 

 

The temptation to synchronize the faith with surrounding culture (and thus lose the faith) remained strong in the nation of Israel and, as we shall see in future reading, became a primary reason they were dispersed and exiled. This same temptation remains strong for us as well. What holds the greater influence in our lives today? Is it God's revealed word or current cultural practice? Is it God's way or what seems to make the greatest sense to me at this time?

 

The temptation to sync one’s faith with the culture has been strong and persistent, but it should come as no surprise. From the very beginning every generation has heard and will continue to hear that same voice whispering in our ear, "Did God really say...?" I am grateful we have these stories to warn us and help show us the way.

  

There is so much to see and consider along this journey. I am glad to be on it with you as we practice syncing our faith with what God has revealed.

 

 

Rob