The National tribune. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1877-1917, 1888-06-28
SUNDAY MEDITATION.


study the paragraph from the Holy Scriptures as
indicated aboye4
SUBJECT: 1DoLATRY OF THE IsRAELTTEs IN
WoRsHIPING A GOLDEN CALF AT MT.
SINAI.
l. Time.
We find ourselves in the year 1491 B. c., or
25I3 A. M.-3,279 years ago. The Israelites
enCamped about Mt Sinai for IL months and
six days. They had not been long in that
camp when the events of this lesson occurred.
g Place.
The events of the lesson took place on Mt.
Sinai and in the surrounding valleys. The To-
cality is grand and sublime. The mountainous
region covers an area of 40 miles in diameter.
1t is rugged and steep Without entering into
the argument as to the particular peak from
which the law was proclaimed, it may be stated
that the best grounded authority makes it Ras
SufSdfeh. The valleys northwest and north
cast are convenient for camps such as the
Israeltes pitched.
8. Persons.
l. Moses. He had been up in the mountain
for 40 days, having assembled by the direct COM
mand of God for the purpose of receiving the
law. During said days he was shut of from
any communication with his followers. He
returned, bringing the commandments writ
ten on two stone tablets. The first four Com
mandments relate to our duties to God, and
were inscribed on one tablet. The other six
Commandments relating to our duties to each
| other, were written on the second tablet. His
| long absence caused the people much anxiety.
| As they had apparently lost him, they seemed
| also to have lost their God. Biased by their
| former idOlatrOus Egyptian surroundings, they
| thought they needed something visibly to rep
| resent God. Thus their natural hckleness and
! their desire for tangible representations of
| Deity were aggravated by their long period of
residence in Egypt.
2. Joshua. He accompanied Moses in the as
cent up to the point midway between the foot
and the summit, Moses passing on to the
| greater elevation (l9 POI where God met him.
| Joshua awaited his return. At length Moses
came back. Then he and Joshua returned to
| the people.
3. Aaron He was appointed jointly with
Hur by Moses to act in the place of Moses dur
ing his absence Of 10 days "a: IA Aaron
was weak and unstable, not fulfilling the du-
ties of his responsible Office. He had been
highly privileged With all the people he had
| heard the Commandments delivered of God,
aud was a listener when Moses read the book
of the Covenant. But, further, he had been
allowed to witness sundry grand special mani
festations of Gods glory and power. He
was one Of the 20 granted a feast before
the Lord. (24:1, H. Then, he had been
selected to act for Moses when absent. Never
theless, he weakly and wickedly apostatized
| Different explanations have been offered to &C
count for Aaron's want of frmness in dealing
with the demands of the people. l. He may
have feared to oppose their wishes, lest he might
suffer from their wrath. He thought his dan
ger justification of his course. 2. He may
have imagined he could Offset their eagerness
by drawing on their greed, and so have decided
to put to the test their demand by requiring
them to give up their jewels and ornaments
3. Perhaps he adopted the plan an expedien
to take up time and keep the people quiet I'm
til the return of Moses. However we look al
| it, Deu 9 20, seems decisive that there mus
have been guilt in the heart OF Aaron. We SCI
he incurred the displeasure of God.
a. The people. The concern of the Israelte
caused them great fear. They were on peril
| Gus Journey Their leader had disappeared
He may have been deceiver, or he ma!
have persisted in the mountain. They fel
the need of divine help Many Of them hac
witnessed the idol worship of Egypt. The.
were not familiar with the grand conception 0
God as omnipresent though unseen. The,
| carved some material representation Of Deity
Their earnestness and sincerity are shown b!
their willing sacrifice of jewelry and orna
ments of gold, given by them to be CONVERTS
into an object OF worship.
4. The facts.
The people went to Aaron with their request
Seemingly without opposition he yielded t
their demand He required them to bring t
him their articles of gold. He then made a
object of worship. 1t was in the form of cal
The influence of their former Egyptian lif
! shows itself in the peculiar kind Of idol made
The calf was worshiped at HeliOpolis as the SUI
! god. at Memphis it was the tutear deity
Years of bondage in a surrounding of idolatr
had done much to weaken if not to obliterat
the purer faith of the ancestors OF the Israelit
} ish race. So at Mt. Sinai habit or association
got the mastery. 1t is not so surprising. TIL
followers OF Moses were in wilderness, haVin
left a land of plenty. They did not know thei
leader would ever return. In place of the bril-
liant ceremonials of Egypt they had before then
the stern life of duty, requiring plain and stron
faith. The request was Make us gods" Tn
, translation gods is correctly plural. An
} yet we can hardly think the Israelites becam
r polytheists, breaking the First Commandment
: The second was fagrantly violated. The pee
pie had great difficulty in not associating Go
with some material object.
t Idolatry has always been common. Eve
t Greece and Rome had idolatrous forms of wol
I ship. Some people were cute enough to sepI
' rate worship from the material object by IT
gaTding it only as a representation of Coz
But the inevitable tendency of worship throug
( images, pictures, ETC., is toward absolute, sin
;. pie idolatry. Hence the second Command
s ment. IdOatry prevails greatly even tO-da
a in parts of India and Africa. To satisfy th
( demands of a people accustomed to the sight
| Idols, the golden calf was made. IL was prODt
e bly, of wood OVERLAND with plates of gold.
4 craving tool was used. The image was place
9 on PEDESTAL An altar was made. A day VIZ
Q proclaimed for its worship. The account state
= The people sat down to eat and drink
S These acts under the circumstances were GER
e monies of worship Moses and Joshua d.
S scended. finding the people in the very act
r worshiping the calf with song and TevelTy. |
a frenzy of terrible anger and indignation
cast down the tablets on which the 10 Con
mandments had been written. In the fall the
were broken to pieces. He ordered the calf
be taken down, burnt in the fire and reduce
! to powder. Thus pulverized, it was cast in
e the streams from which the Israeites DIRE
@ water for drink They were compelled
!. swallow their god. Such treatment of an o.
O ject could but reduce all veneration for it.
n 5. Suggestions.
T 1. Do not permit anger to wax hot The
g is a righteous indignation becoming even to
s Cody man. No one can justify himself
rage Every exhibition of unrestrained temp
d is harmful, undigniied, reproach to Il
II Church, violation of Gods laws, belttliT
! and weakening of the victim, more injuriol
+ to the subject than to the object. 1t was rigl
of Moses to be exceedingly stirred up and
Q manifest very evident disapproval of Aaron
r weakness and of the peoples idolatrous te
denotes. He did right to manifest such enc
is getic opposition to the whole wicked demo-
G stratiOn.
= 9 Rebuke the evil. Criticism in a rigI