24 So I told them, ‘Whoever has any gold jewelry, take it off.’ Then they gave me the gold, and I threw it into the fire, and out came this calf!”
This is one of the great lies of all times. I doubt it even got out of his mouth before he hung his head in shame. Aaron stayed with the people as Moses when up the mountain to get God’s instructions for how to live as the People of God. Within a few days of Moses’ departure, the people get impatient and Aaron fashions a golden calf to serve as a focal point of worship. And then a frat party atmosphere breaks out. It seems as though nothing was sacred anymore. Moses comes down the mountain to a party scene unlike what he would expect from a people delivered from slavery standing at the base of a mountain whose peak is enveloped with God’s presence. Moses asks about the golden calf, and the best Aaron can do, the most believable story is the one in the text above. He has had weeks to come up with a story. He knows the question has been coming. This is the best excuse he can make up! “DUH, I threw the gold in the fire, and ah, out came this calf. Yeh, that’s what happened.” It sounds like a seven year old story, doesn’t it? The fact is that Aaron knew he was doing wrong. He knew he was guilty of leading the people astray. And now as a leader, he is caught in his lie. Have you ever been caught in a lie as an adult? How stupid did you feel at that moment, how vulnerable, how weak? The truth is, we all have the capacity to be just as dumb as Aaron was. We all try to hide our sin from other’s eyes. We know we can’t hide it from God’s eyes, though we might try. We can make up some pretty dumb excuses too. “I don’t know how those pictures got on the computer?” “I don’t know who got our credit card and bought those things?” “They must by lying. I would never do that.” Our excuses sound just as lame as Aaron’s did. And yet we still offer them!
The Arnold Journey 