Exodus 32:3

_AND ALL THE PEOPLE BRAKE OFF THE GOLDEN EARRINGS WHICH WERE IN THEIR EARS, AND BROUGHT THEM UNTO AARON._ All the people brake off the golden earrings. The Egyptian rings, as seen on the monuments, were round massy plates of metal; and as it was rings of this sort the Israelites wore, being among the gifts heaped upon them at departure (Exodus 12:35: cf. Exodus 3:22; Exodus 11:2), their size and number must, in the general collection, have produced a large store of the precious material....

1-6 While Moses was in the mount, receiving the law from God, the people made a tumultuous address to Aaron. This giddy multitude were weary of waiting for the return of Moses. Weariness in waiting betrays to many temptations. The Lord must be waited for till he comes, and waited for though he tarry. Let their readiness to part with their ear-rings to make an idol, shame our niggardliness in the service of the true God. They did not draw back on account of the cost of their idolatry; and shall we grudge the expenses of religion? Aaron produced the shape of an ox or calf, giving it some finish with a graving tool. They offered sacrifice to this idol. Having set up an image before them, and so changed the truth of God into a lie, their sacrifices were abomination. Had they not, only a few days before, in this very place, heard the voice of the Lord God speaking to them out of the midst of...

Verse Exodus 32:3. _AND ALL THE PEOPLE BRAKE OFF THE GOLDEN EAR-RINGS_] The human being is naturally _fond of dress_, though this has been improperly attributed to the female sex alone, and those are most fond of it who have the shallowest capacities; but on this occasion the _bent_ of the people to idolatry was greater than even their love of dress, so that they readily stripped themselves of their ornaments in order to get a molten god. They made some compensation for this afterwards; see Exodus 35:22, and Exodus 38:9, Exodus 38:9....

In all probability these three chapters originally formed a distinct composition. The main incidents recorded in them follow in the order of time, and are therefore in their proper place as regards historical sequence. THE GOLDEN CALF - The people had, to a great extent, lost the patriarchal faith, and were but imperfectly instructed in the reality of a personal unseen God. Being disappointed at the long absence of Moses, they seem to have imagined that he had deluded them, and had probably been destroyed amidst the thunders of the mountain Exodus 24:15. Accordingly, they gave way to their superstitious fears and fell back upon that form of idolatry which was most familiar to them (see Exodus 32:4 note). The narrative of the circumstances is m

EXPOSITION THE IDOLATRY OF THE GOLDEN CALF. During the absence of Moses in Mount Sinai, an absence of nearly six weeks, the Israelites grew impatient, and regarding their leader as lost to them, and the Divine Presence which they had hitherto enjoyed as lost with him, insisted on having a symbol of that presence made for them, which should henceforth go in front of the host and so lead them on in their journeyings. It would seem that the pillar of the cloud, which had gone before them from Succoth to Sinai, was now removed from the camp, and resting upon the "mount" where Moses was (Exodus 24:15). Under these circumstances they wanted a visible tangible something, in which they could regard the Divine Presence as resting, and whereto they might offer worship and sacrifice ...

AND ALL THE PEOPLE BRAKE OFF THE GOLDEN EARRINGS, WHICH WERE IN THEIR EARS,.... The men took off their earrings, and persuaded their wives and children, or obliged them to part with theirs; though the Targum of Jonathan says the women refused to give their ornaments to their husbands, therefore all the people immediately broke off all the golden ornaments which were in their ears x, so intent were they upon idolatry. This is to be understood not of every individual, but of the greatest part of the people; so apostle explains it of some of them, 1 Corinthians 10:7. Idolaters spare no cost nor pains to support their worship, and will strip themselves, their wives, and children, of their ornaments, to deck their idols; which may shame the worshippers of the true God, who are oftentimes too backward to contribute towards the maintenance of his worship and service: and

Exodus 32:1. _And when the people saw that Moses delayed to come down out of the mount, the people gathered themselves together unto Aaron, and said unto him, Up, make us gods, which shall go before us; for as for this Moses, the man that brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we wot not what is become of him._ What a terrible speech to be made by the people whom God had chosen to be his own! «Make us gods. Make our Creator.» How could that be? Exodus 32:2. _And Aaron said unto them, Break off the golden earrings, which are in the ears of your wives, of your sons, and of your daughters, and bring them unto me._ Poor Aaron! He never had the backbone of his brother Moses. He was a better speaker; but oh, the poverty of his heart! He yields to the will of these idolatrous peo

4. ISRAEL ‘S SIN AND REBELLION CHAPTER 32 _ 1. The people in rebellion (Exodus 32:1)_ 2. Jehovah threatens his wrath (Exodus 32:7) 3. Moses beseeches Jehovah (Exodus 32:11) 4. Moses descends and in the camp (Exodus 32:15) 5. Moses' offer and failure (Exodus 32:30) This chapter records the breaking of the covenant by Israel ‘s sin, rebellion against Jehovah, and idolatry. Here we find man's heart fully uncovered, that wicked heart of unbelief. What manifestations of God's power they had seen! Their eye

EXODUS 32:1 E, EXODUS 32:7 Rje, EXODUS 32:15 E, EXODUS 32:25 J, EXODUS 32:30 E s, EXODUS 32:35 E. THE GOLDEN CALF. Exodus 32:32 stand between the instructions for the Tent and their fulfilment. Their religious value is high and clear. But their literary growth has been too complex to trace here (_see_ Driver, CB 346ff.). It is po

THE TEXT OF EXODUS TRANSLATION 32 And when the people saw that Mo-ses delayed to come down from the mount, the people gathered themselves together unto Aar-on, and said unto him, Up, make us gods, which shall go before us; for as for this Mo-ses, the man that brought us up out of the land of E-gypt, we know not what is become of him. (2) And Aar-on said unto them, Break off the golden rings, which are in the ears of your wives, of your sons, and of your daughters, and bring them unto me. (3) And all the people brake off the golden rings which were in their ears, and brought them unto Aar-on. (4) And he received it at their hand, and fashioned it with a graving tool, and made it a molten calf: and they said, These are thy gods, O Is-ra-el, which brought thee up out of the land of E-gypt. (5) And when Aar-on saw _this,_ he built an altar before it; and Aar-on made proclamation, and said, T...