The Excuse That Changed Nothing… But Grace Changed Everything
Then they gave me the gold, and I threw it into the fire, and out came this calf! " Ex 32:24b
Yikes! It would be hard to top a lie like that.
God chose Aaron for a special role in the Israelite community. In an elaborate ceremony Moses anointed and commissioned his brother Aaron to be the high priest. From this point in history Aaron and his descendants would be the only ones authorized to perform the religious rituals for God on behalf of the Israelite people.
When Moses went up Mount Sinai to meet God and receive the ten commandments he left his brother Aaron and his nephew Hur in charge of the Israelite camp. When the Israelites became weary of waiting for Moses to return they decided to create a new god in the form of a golden calf. Hur resisted this effort and was killed for his resistance. Aaron was likely concerned about his own safety so he may have reluctantly participated with the Israelite plan to fashion the golden calf. Even if he did so under duress he is still guilty of disobedience and valuing his own safety over allegiance to God and his calling as high priest.
Upon Moses' return from the mountain Aaron gave this excuse to Moses for what had happened,
"Then they gave me the gold, and I threw it into the fire, and out came this calf! "
This lie was significant enough to strip him of his priestly role except for two things.
When Moses called for the people to declare their allegiance to the Lord, Aaron was among those who repented.
Moses prayed specifically for Aaron and he did not tell him about this prayer until near the end of Aaron's life.
What does this story have to do with discipleship?
In this story we see the amazing level of grace that God extends to sinners. A man who blatantly lied about an event was restored and continued to serve as the spiritual leader of the community. We also see what happens when a godly person prays for another person when the only audience is God.
There is no person who is so far removed from God that they cannot be redeemed. We are now thousands of years in time beyond this incident with Aaron. Jesus has come, He has made provision for every human being to be saved, He has been resurrected, He is preparing to come to earth again.
The message of the Gospel to those who do not yet believe is this - there is a merciful and caring God who loves them so much that he was willing to pay the price for their sin even before they were born. As disciple-makers we get the privilege of carrying this message to anyone who will listen.
