After the people of Israel experienced the fearful and awesome appearance of God on Mount Sinai, they begged Moses, "Speak to us yourself and we will listen. But do not have God speak to us or we will die." So while the people remained at a distance at the foot of the mountain, Moses climbed into the thick darkness where God was, and there God revealed to Moses his law.

God gives the details of his law to Moses, as is recorded in chapters 21 through 31. Then suddenly the focus shifts from God's words to Moses on Mount Sinai to the people at the foot of the mountain below. Moses had been gone for some time, and the people began to feel that they'd been abandoned. So they begged Aaron, "Come make us gods who will go before us."

How could the Israelites who just days before had bowed before the living God, now build an altar to an idol in such a brief time? One factor, of course, is that Moses had been away for a long time. There had always been people unhappy with Moses' leadership, and now these people organized the opposition against "this fellow Moses."

Another factor may have been the people's desire to worship a visible god. For their whole lives they had witnessed the worship of the idol gods of Egypt, and now they longed to have some visible representation of a god to lead them forward. Perhaps they simply intended the golden calf to be a visible symbol of the Lord, who brought them out of Egypt. Likely they felt more comfortable bowing down to this impressive visible symbol. Notice, however, that the idol changed the character of their worship. After they offered their sacrifices and ate their fellowship meal they began to "indulge in revelry," mimicking the orgiastic worship they had witnessed in Egypt.

None of this escapes the notice of the Lord. In anger God pronounces the Israelites a "stiff-necked people" and announces that he will destroy them and start all over with Moses. Now we see how Moses has identified himself with the people God called him to deliver. He prays for the Lord to save the people. He throws God's own promises at God: "Remember the covenant promise you made to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob." In the face of Moses' bold prayer, God relents.

In a display of anger, Moses stands before the Israelites, raises high the two tablets of the Law, and smashes them to pieces at the foot of the mountain---an act that symbolizes how the Israelites had already shattered God's law. He orders the calf to be ground into powder and mixed with the drinking water to show people the impotence of their manufactured god. Moses then orders a brief police action led by the Levites.

Finally, after judgment has been meted out, Moses tells the people that he will return to the Lord. "Perhaps I can make atonement for your sins." He confesses to the Lord that the people have committed a great sin in making themselves a god of gold. Remembering how God had offered to start over with Moses after destroying the Israelites, Moses now offers himself to be destroyed in their place.

Again God relents, forgiving them as a group and promising to continue to lead them forward. But God promises to punish those individuals who had sinned against him and not repented.