Stroll through Scripture for October 6, 2024

Based on Exodus 32:1–14

After the Israelites leave Egypt, they wander. They stop at the mountain of God along the way. Moses goes up the mountain and is gone for a long time. The people get anxious and that’s where the trouble begins. They ask Aaron, the chief priest, “Come, make gods for us, who shall go before us;” And Aaron obliges the people melting down gold that they took from Egypt and forming an idol that looks like a golden calf.

There is so much to say about this story. They knew they were making a false god yet did so anyway. They wanted a comforting lie and when they were given it, they bought it hook, line, and sinker. As crazy as all of this sounds, it’s not as uncommon as you might think. Aaron isn’t just the high priest, he’s the one in charge when Moses leaves. There’s a whole question about what leadership is. Aaron seems to think leadership is just about satisfying the wishes of the people he is in charge of — responding without any discernment at all of the consequences of the desire.

I heard an ad for a candidate for office say that leadership is about being tough, which seems to be the opposite of what Aaron was offering. I don’t think that’s what leadership is either. Leadership is more like paying attention to what’s going on and offering an appropriate response that considers what many can’t see. Often, healthy leadership is unpopular with the people. But the leader has to make unpopular decisions because they are looking at the larger picture of the whole…