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Exodus 32:25 And when Moses saw that the people were naked; (for Aaron had let them be naked unto their shame among their enemies:) Here Moses has been up on Mount Sinai for 40 days and nights receiving the 10 commandments written by God's finger. God tells Moses, " YOUR people that YOU brought out of Egypt have corrupted themselves. I'm going to destroy them and start over again with you." That kinda reminds me of a parent when their child has misbehaved and tells their spouse it's YOUR kid. But God is telling Moses He's ready to chuck the whole lot of them and offer Moses what He offered Abraham. So what does Moses do? He not only doesn't take God up on the deal, he first tells God that they're HIS people and begins to remind God that if He does that, all the surrounding nations will think God was cruel to bring them out in the desert only to destroy them. He appeals to God's preservation of His reputation. Them he tells God that if He's gonna destroy them to start with him. Wow! What an intercession! I personally don't believe God was planning to destroy the people, He was testing Moses heart and attitude. So, Moses arrives at the camp to find them having a drunken orgy around a golden calf that they'd built. Moses pulls Aaron off to the side and said, "what's with this? " I love Aaron's lame excuse in verse 24 And I said unto them, Whosoever has any gold, let them break it off. So they gave it to me: then I cast it into the fire, and there came out this calf. Oh yes, I threw it in the fire and out popped a calf! Its amazing what kind of lame excuses people come up with when they're busted, isn't it? Then, Moses does a cleansing. He has all the ones that are willing to repent and follow Yahweh kill the ones who won't. That may seem harsh, but if you go to a Dr with cancer, the Dr must perform radical surgery and remove the cancer so it doesn't take over your body. If Moses hadn't done this, the sin would've taken over the whole clan and Isreal would've never become a nation. Papa God, please reveal to me the areas where I have cancerous sin in my life that You need to perform surgery on to remove when it's small BEFORE it has to be a radical amputation of major areas. Never let me get far enough out of Your will that I don't hear Your Small still voice wooing me back to Your potters wheel where You can mold me and make me more like You, in Jesus name, Amen

Aaron was left in charge of the people as a trusted man of God. However, he lacked the leadership qualities to keep the people's faith strong while waiting for Moses to come down from the mountain. He allowed the people to frighten him into worshiping an idol and it eventually led to chaos. This would be an opportune time for any of their enemies to divide and conquer them. There were times in my life where I may have been faced with a decision to worship God but chose to watch television, surf the internet, or even deny the Christ by some of these New Age philosophies with out realizing it. Not worshiping idols is a commandment because God knows our nature and he knows how easily we can be persuaded to stray. I think if you have a strong leader, in your church, for example, you will not be led astray or give the enemy the foothold he needs to divide and conquer your life. You are more and more able to let go and trust God's leadership as you continue to choose to follow Him. Fear is not of God and He asks us to be bold and steadfast in our faith in Him.