Aaron Led Israel Into Sin

The children of Israel safely escaped Egypt, thanks to the ten plagues, which included the death of the firstborn of all in Egypt.  This mass slaughter caused the Egyptians to beg Israel to leave.  Soon Pharaoh began to think about losing this massive free labor force and changed his mind.  The children of Israel then found themselves trapped between the Red Sea and the advancing Egyptian army.  God opened the sea for Israel to pass through and then closed it on the Egyptian army, which perished when the walls of water came crashing down on them.

From there, Israel headed for Mt. Sinai in the Arabian peninsula so that God could deliver the Law to Moses.  These rules would govern the children of Israel for 1500 years, and would be a perfect moral code for the people to follow.  To receive the Law, Moses and his trusted assistant Joshua would have to climb the mountain and get it directly from God. Moses would be on the mountain "forty days and forty nights", so someone would have to be in charge of the people in his absence.  The task fell to Aaron.  This seemed like the perfect choice.  He was the high priest of God.  He was three years older than Moses, but had been in his shadow.  This would be his opportunity to shine, but Aaron proved grossly inadequate as a leader.  In fact, he caused the death of three thousand fellow Israelites by his poor leadership.

After Moses was gone for several days, some of the people got restless and tired of the true God.  They asked Aaron to make them a god they could see, and Aaron quickly complied by constructing a calf from gold.  The story, recorded in Exodus 32, indicates that the people asked, and Aaron immediately devised a plan to furnish their idol, with no argument.  Why would the high priest of God give in so quickly?  First, he obviously lacked faith.  If his faith had been strong, he would have fought against the idol, even to death.  Second, he was afraid of the people.  As stated in previous articles, anyone who fears other people more than they fear God will never please God.  Third, he pretended to be worshipping God by using the idol.  After the idol was made, Aaron proclaimed, "Tomorrow is a feast to the Lord." (Exodus 31:5)  People through the ages have invented ways to worship God which He never even thought of.  He says concerning the worship of Molech, "I did not command them, nor did it come into my mind." (Jeremiah 32:35)  We are commanded to worship in spirit and truth. (John 4:23,24)  To worship in truth means to worship exactly according to God's Word.  Aaron invented his own method of worship in order to please the people.

God was so angry with Israel that He was ready to destroy them until Moses persuaded them otherwise.  When Moses saw their abominations, he reacted by shattering the plates on which God had written the Law on the rocks of Mt. Sinai.  Moses demanded an explanation for these abominable acts.  Aaron replied with some of the most pitiful excuses ever given.  First, Aaron blamed the people.  He said, "You know the people, that they are set on evil." Exodus 32:22  Aaron tried to pass the buck, but he was the leader, and he built the calf.

His second excuse is the ultimate in ridiculous.  "So they gave [the gold] to me and I cast it into the fire, and this calf came out." (Exodus 32:24)  Wonder of all wonders!  Aaron threw the gold into the fire, out came this calf and so they worshipped it.  I have had students lie to cover their wrongs, but none has been so unbelievable as this.

Aaron was like so many today who refuse to take responsibility for their actions in that he tried to place the blame on others.  As long as he refused to accept his guilt, he could never be forgiven of his sin, because forgiveness requires repentance.