Tag: golden calf

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Discussions Prophets and Writings Torah

From Sinai to Savior: Good news of God’s Presence among us (Exodus 30–34; 1Kings 18; 2Corinthians 3)

From Sinai to Savior: Good news of God's Presence among us (Exodus 30-34; 1Kings 18; 2Corinthians 3). Artwork shows Mt. Sinai with dark clouds and lightning at the top and the golden calf at the bottom.

The story of Israel’s partying around the golden calf at Mount Sinai may seem ancient and completely out of touch with modern sensibilities. But the golden calf incident didn’t happen in a vacuum, and Israel’s repeated dalliances with golden calf deities throughout its history before the Babylonian exile weren’t coincidental either.

In this study on the Torah reading כי תשא Ki Tisa (“when you take”; Exodus 30:11–34:35), we delve into the construction of the Tabernacle and golden calf calamity, Moses’ plea for forgiveness, and the theme of repentance.

Moses asked to see God’s glory on Mount Sinai, and God revealed His character to Moses in his lovingkindness and steadfastness. Moses spoke with God face to face as one speaks to a friend. This close bond between Moses and God and the Tabernacle home for God’s Presence that traveled prefigure Yeshua the Messiah (Jesus the Christ), Who lived among us as God in the flesh and fully revealed God’s character (John 1:14; Hebrews 1:3).

We also draw upon the accounts of Jonah’s warning to Nineveh, and the Elijah’s stand against the Baal prophets on Mount Carmel. They teach us the importance of faithfulness to God’s commands amid societal pressures to go along with what’s popular or promoted by those in authority. Ultimately, this study underscores the importance of the Tabernacle as teaching spiritual connection and anticipates redemption through the Messiah’s return and the transformation of Jerusalem along with all the world.

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Discussions Life With God Prayer Torah

From shame to new name: Power to achieve God’s high expectations (Exodus 30–34)

From shame to a new name: Power to achieve God's high expectations (Exodus 30-34)

The slide of ancient Israel from redemption by God from slavery in Mitzraim (Egypt) down to apostasy from God at the golden calf is an important and enduring lesson from the Torah reading כי תשא Ki Tisa (“when you take,” Ex. 30:11–34:35).

And the intercessory prayers of Moshe (Moses) and Messiah Yeshua (Christ Jesus) to redeem after great treachery are examples for how we should view those around us.

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Apostolic Writings Discussions Torah

Exodus 30:11–34:35: A tale of 3 intercessors (Noach, Moshe and Yeshua)

There has always been only one way to God. Israel’s Heaven-patterned Tabernacle teaches that: It had one doorway into each of its three compartments of increasing exclusivity. Only one intercessor could enter its Most Holy Place, where the Ark of the Covenant and God’s presence were, and that was allowed only once a year. 

This study of the Torah section כי תשא Ki Tisa (“when you take”; Exodus 30:11–34:35) will focus on the similarities in the missions of three different intercessors at critical moments of corruption: Noakh (Noah), Moshe (Moses) and Yeshua (Jesus). Each righteous intercessor went further than the one before — and at greater cost. 

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Discussions Torah

Exodus 30:11–34:35: You are not ‘just a number’ to God

How are we made holy or “set apart”? Our good deeds or the good deeds of an illustrious ancestor? It isn’t by genealogy — Yokhanan (John the Baptist) made that clear. He counts us among His people when we answer God’s call upon our heart and actions through Mashiakh Yeshua (Christ Jesus). The foundation for that holiness through the Messiah is put down in Torah reading כי תשא Ki Tisa (“when you take,” Exodus 30:11–34:35).

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Discussions Torah

Exodus 30:11–34:35: Learning the Creator’s heart at the golden calf

"The Golden Calf" in the 1890 Holman Bible
"The Golden Calf." The Holy Bible. Illustration. Public domain (U.S.). Philadelphia, Penn.: A.J. Holman & Company, 1890.

Many ask how we can know God. A great picture of the heart of Heaven and the work of Messiah Yeshua is the centerpiece of the Torah reading Ki Tisa (“when you take,” Exodus 30:11-34:35). The reason men count a population is for their own reasons: taxation, war, social engineering, redistribution of wealth, etc. The reason God calls for a count of the people is to build up His tabernacle. Man’s census and man’s laws created bondage and slavery while God’s census and God’s laws give us an outlet for holy service and freedom. This is also why Messiah Yeshua went out of His way to heal people on Shabbat. When Messiah healed people on Shabbat, he gave people freedom. They were now free to fully follow God.

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Discussions Torah

Exodus 34: Moshe gets to know God personally while getting the replacement tablets of the commandments

Richard Agee

Some commentators believe God was angry at Moses for breaking those tablets with the 10 Commandments, but I don’t believe so. When Moses broke the tablets, Moses was simply acknowledging the fact that the people had already broken the covenant that just 40 days earlier they had promised to uphold when they said, “What you say, we will do.” So it was appropriate for Moses to break those tablets. But it was also appropriate that the tablets had to be remade.

Moses had a friendship with God that His contemporaries did not have. Paul says that thanks to Yeshua, we can approach God without a veil.

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Discussions Torah

Exodus 33: How do we find favor in God’s sight?

Richard Agee

The events in Exodus 33 were a direct consequence of the golden calf in Exodus 32. After that incident, God commanded Moshe (Moses) to move his personal tent outside the camp where the people of Israel were camping. God is a gentleman. When He is not wanted, he leaves.

Moshe was a “shadow,” a teaching representation, of God; and Aharon (Aaron), of God’s Messiah, Yeshua (Jesus).