The Fallibility of Man Exposed in The Bible Essays -- Religion Biblica

The Fallibility of Man Exposed in The Bible The story of the Golden Calf illustrates the inherent fallibility of man. It starts out when the people ask Aaron to â€Å"make us gods, which shall go before us.† Despite the fact that God had spoken to them just days earlier commanding them not to make themselves any graven images, Aaron doesn’t argue too strongly against this, immediately asking them to turn over any gold jewelry they have so that he may make them a figure of worship. This choice of material symbolizes man’s covetous nature, perhaps also implying that Aaron feared to go against God’s wishes directly, and so he chose gold in the hope that the people would be loathe to part with it. However, they readily hand over their wealth, which Aaron makes into a statue of a golden calf. In this too, Aaron compromises; while the people asked him to make them â€Å"gods,† he chooses to make a single figure, and states that it is the God that brought them out of Egypt. This concession is intended to sooth God’s wrath when he sees what the Israelites have done. The people seem to be remarkably unconcerned with Moses’ whereabouts at this point considering the fact that he just brought them out of Egypt and is leading them to the Promised Land. In this story they seem to treat him with a great deal of suspicion, stating that they â€Å"wot not what is become of him,† which implies that he’s abandoned them, and that they’re ready to move along without his guidance. This seems ironic, given that he is all that saves them from God’s wrath for this very incident. Upon seeing this idolatry, the Lord becomes enraged, and tells Moses to leave so that he may d... ...ll every man who played a part in the creation of this false icon, even friends or kin. This done, Moses returns to face God in hopes of prevailing upon him to forgive his people. In the conclusion of the story, Moses confesses to the Lord, stating that â€Å"this people have sinned a great sin, and have made them gods of gold,† reiterating the prior thought that men were worshipping material values over God himself. Moses asks that God destroy him with the rest of his people if he will not grant them forgiveness, implying that the thought of god’s displeasure so disturbed him that he would rather die in hopes of averting this disaster. While God denies him this, he grants that those guilty of the sin shall only be plagued with misfortune, rather than destruction, as he planned earlier. Thus the people are given mercy, but not forgiveness.