“When the people saw that Moses delayed to come down from the mountain, they gathered themselves together to Aaron and said to him, ‘Up, make us gods who shall go before us. As for this Moses, the man who brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.’ So Aaron said to them, ‘Take off the rings of gold that are in the ears of your wives, your sons, and your daughters, and bring them to me.’ So all the people took off the rings of gold that were in their ears and brought them to Aaron. And he received the gold from their hand and fashioned it with a graving tool and made a golden calf. And they said, ‘These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt!’ When Aaron saw this, he built an altar before it… And the people… rose up to play.
“Moses went down from the mountain with the two tablets of the testimony in his hand… As soon as he saw the calf and the dancing, Moses’ anger burned hot, and he threw the tablets out of his hands and broke them… He took the calf that they had made and burned it with fire and ground it to powder.” Exodus 32:1-6,15,19-20
“Moses cut two tablets of stone like the first. And he rose early in the morning and went up on Mount Sinai… The Lord passed before him and proclaimed, ‘The Lord,.. a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin…’ And Moses quickly bowed his head toward the earth and worshiped.
“And he said, ‘ Take care… You shall tear down their altars and break their pillars and cut down their Asherim (for you shall worship no other god, for the Lord, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God)… You shall not make for yourself any gods of cast metal.'” Exodus 34:4,6-8,12-14,17
The Israelites left Egypt in a hurry with great plunder. God provided as He said He would. But goods and supplies and riches can become hindrances when we no longer see them as from God to be used for his purposes. Idleness and mis-channeled energy can distort right thinking and dampen the fear of God. (Exodus 12:33-36)
How we exercise idleness and ideas depends on how we receive and perceive God’s entrusted bounty. When we see in our ornaments an idol, we will, with careless frenzy, make them into what they are not, give them undue affection, and distance ourselves from the Lord. Once we are humbled before God, and see that they are but dust, we will thoughtfully turn over what we treasure to be used for God’s glory.
What ornaments has He given, and how are we utilizing them? Have we squandered resources on personal pleasure, or contributed to kingdom-building enterprise? Have we talents we keep close in comfort, or do we delight in expending ourselves for God’s causes and children? Do we spend our hours in self-care and ease, or in vigorous, generous service to others in Christ’s name? Discovering and implementing God’s intended use for His goods evokes gratitude, enhances worship, and brings fulfillment and joy beyond what we can imagine.
Lord, may I hold Your ornaments loosely, and use them for Your glory.
As the rain and snow 