When Moses left the people...
Illustration
Object:
When Moses left the people of Israel to receive the Ten Commandments from God, the
people turned from following God, who was daily feeding them with manna and
protecting them from all enemies, to make their own gods, as if to say, "Well, God, you
brought us out here, we are through looking to you for daily provisions, we want more to
eat and drink."
We want a god we can see and touch and we don't know when Moses will return.
So they were willing to bring all of their gold jewelry, to melt down, then to be formed into a golden calf, that they then could pretend had brought them from Egypt.
I am reminded of the Greek god, Narcissus. Narcissus was the son of the river god, Cephisus, in ancient Greek mythology. He was handsome and very proud of his own beauty. Many young women loved him but he had no time for them. The nymph, Echo, was one who loved Narcissus. She was so hurt by his rejection that she lost her voice.
The gods were so angered by this that they decided to teach him a lesson. They planned that he would look into some still water and would see his perfect reflection.
The gods planned carefully. Narcissus not only liked what he saw reflected in the water, he did actually fall in love with himself. He was so completely in love with himself that he could not bear to leave the pool. Finally, when he died he was changed into the flower that to this day is called Narcissus.
We want a god we can see and touch and we don't know when Moses will return.
So they were willing to bring all of their gold jewelry, to melt down, then to be formed into a golden calf, that they then could pretend had brought them from Egypt.
I am reminded of the Greek god, Narcissus. Narcissus was the son of the river god, Cephisus, in ancient Greek mythology. He was handsome and very proud of his own beauty. Many young women loved him but he had no time for them. The nymph, Echo, was one who loved Narcissus. She was so hurt by his rejection that she lost her voice.
The gods were so angered by this that they decided to teach him a lesson. They planned that he would look into some still water and would see his perfect reflection.
The gods planned carefully. Narcissus not only liked what he saw reflected in the water, he did actually fall in love with himself. He was so completely in love with himself that he could not bear to leave the pool. Finally, when he died he was changed into the flower that to this day is called Narcissus.
