2/8 Exodus 32 - Worshipping A False God

It's common for us to hear people say things like, "Well, MY God isn't like that!" and what they mean is that they don't like the God of the Bible, and have tried to imagine God being more the way they'd like. That's dangerous and today we'll see it's also not new. So, join us in our study of Exodus 32 as we continue to dig into the powerful and relevant truths of God's Word.

DISCUSSION AND STUDY QUESTIONS:

1. If a person hears the Bible’s teaching about God, and says something like, “Oh, my god isn’t like that!” How might that be an indication that that person is worshipping a false god?
2. In the opening verses, Moses is delayed and the people grew impatient. They asked Aaron to make a god for them. Why do you think they wanted this “god” to be made? Why do you think Aaron went along with it? What does this teach us about how they viewed God?
3. In verse 4, Aaron took their gold and made it into the shape of a calf and declared, “This is your God, O Israel, who brought you up from the land of Egypt!” This is stunning for many reasons; one of which is that the Egyptians worshipped a god that was represented by bulls. Do you think any of past experiences in Egypt was part of their present embracing of this idol? What can we learn from this about the dangers of associating the true God with things we know and are familiar with?
4. In verse 19, Moses threw down the two tablets containing the commandments of the covenant. How did this act of breaking the tablets reflect their broken covenant with the Lord?
5. The podcast suggests that Aaron’s excuse in verse 24, that the fire produced the golden calf, was a form of religious charlatanry or perhaps magical thinking. How do people still do things like this today when they talk about the Lord?
6. In verse 26, when Moses said, “Whoever is for the Lord, come to me!” Who came over to him? What did they do? How was this an act of mercy?
7. The podcast mentions a change in how the Lord would abide with the people. According to Exodus 33:7, where was Tabernacle moved to? Why?
8. How does this passage show us the danger of looking to re-making God to be like something that “we” like versus what He has revealed about Himself?
9. How does this passage also show us the principle that we don’t decide how to worship God?
10. How do we see that worship is not about what “we” want but what the Lord wants?
11. How does this passage show us the importance of trusting God’s timeline? What are the dangers of rushing things according to our schedule?

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