Deuteronomy 9:16
“And I saw that you had indeed sinned against the LORD your God. You had made for yourselves a molten calf; you had turned aside quickly from the way which the LORD had commanded you.”
This is referring back to a time when the Israelites were fledging in their faith. They were slaves for 400 years in Egypt. They were delivered in the most miraculous way. They began the trip to their new home through the desert. They stopped at Mount Sinai where Moses received the Ten Commandments. He was gone for 40 days. They got impatient. Some amongst them suggested they make a calf for celebration/worship. They had turned aside from God’s way.
This act was against two of the commandments: “Thou shalt have no gods before me” and “Thou shalt not make any molten images”. Why did they do it? I can think of two reasons. They wanted to be like the other nations, and they were distressed by the long wait and their method of coping was a bad one.
These lessons are for us (1 Corinthians 10:11). We have the same difficulties and are drawn away with the same temptations. The Hebrews spent 400 years enmeshed with the Egyptians. They saw their wealth, culture and religion. It seemed very sophisticated. On the other hand, the Egyptians loathed the the Israelites. Their common trade was shepherding (Genesis 46:34). It was looked down upon. This belittling took place for over 400 years. The Egyptians worshipped in a way forbidden to them. They probably had curiosity and some admiration of the opulence associated with it.
We feel that same pressure. The scripure speaks of the evil influence of the world. Those of Jesus’ time were reluctent to associate with Him for fear of being kicked out of the synagogue. We have acedemic elites who shame those of faith. High school and college is difficult with this type of pressure. Social elites also shame those of faith. They belittle the faith stances and beliefs they see as prudish or claim to be hateful. This becomees difficult to live under.
The Hebrews in today’s passage fell to the pressure of some amongst them who were advocating accepting a new twist on their faith.
Lord, help us to remain faithful to You. Even when the world ridicules, help us to not be ashamed.