GOLDEN CALF

The Golden Calf
Student’s Name
Institution
How does the episode of the Golden Calf describe the nature of Israel’s rebellion?
God demonstrated his unceasing love for Israelites when He delivered them from Egypt. Through Moses, the Lord used an array of shocking wonders to free His people from their oppressor. The Lord affirms that He will stretch His hand and strike Egypt with signs and wonders until they release the Israelites (Campbell, Exodus 20:11 the King James Version). True to His word, Jehovah eventually freed the Israelites. However, due to their disobedience and forgetful nature, the Israelites forgot who God was and forced Aaron to make a golden calf to serve as their god when Moses delayed returning to them (Alexander et al., 2003)
Through their rebellion, the Israelites illustrated their ignorance. After molding the golden calf, Aaron tells Israelites that that is the god who drove them out of Egypt (Campbell, Exodus 32:4 the King James Version). According to the Israelites, the golden calf was not only an emblem of Jehovah but also a military emblem which identified God as a military soldier. The Israelites worshiped the golden calf instead of Jehovah. In Exodus 20: 4-6, God told the Israelites “do not make any images of me.” The Israelites proved disobedient and ignorant.
Moreover, Israelites manifested their arrogance through rebellion. As far as they were concerned, God was just part of creation, and He could be equated to any other creature like a calf.

The Bible refers to God as “the Creator of heaven and earth” (Campbell, Genesis 21:22). The Israelites wanted a god who was close to them making it possible for them to take care of their god. From their standpoint, god should be under human control (Alexander et al., 2003).
How does this episode connect to the broader theme of “rebellion” in the Bible?
Rebellion in the Bible has been linked entirely to disobedience. Stephen acknowledged that the present leaders are not able to recognize Christ because of disobedience just like the Israelites at Mount Sinai (Campbell, Acts 7: 39-41). On the same note, in 1 Corinthians 10: 6-7, Paul states that Christians are disobedient and they embrace self-styled religion instead of doing what the Bible requires of them.
Ephesians 4:18 states that “Christians harden their hearts because of ignorance, their understanding of the Lords requirements is limited,” because of this they end up living according to their set standards instead of God`s standards. When Christians live in ignorance, they develop evil desires that lead to rebellion (Campbell, Peter 1:14).

References
Alexander, T. D., & Baker, D. W. (Eds.). (2003). Dictionary of the Old Testament: Pentateuch: A Compendium of Contemporary Biblical Scholarship (Vol. 1). InterVarsity Press.
Campbell, G. (2010). King James Bible: 400th Anniversary Edition. Oxford University Press.