Exodus 32:15-20 (ESV)

Then Moses turned and went down from the mountain with the two tablets of the testimony in his hand, tablets that were written on both sides; on the front and on the back they were written. The tablets were the work of God, and the writing was the writing of God, engraved on the tablets. When Joshua heard the noise of the people as they shouted, he said to Moses, “There is a noise of war in the camp.” But he said, “It is not the sound of shouting for victory, or the sound of the cry of defeat, but the sound of singing that I hear.” And as soon as he came near the camp and saw the calf and the dancing, Moses' anger burned hot, and he threw the tablets out of his hands and broke them at the foot of the mountain. He took the calf that they had made and burned it with fire and ground it to powder and scattered it on the water and made the people of Israel drink it.

Now that’s a tantrum! Just imagine how intimidating Moses must have been to get those people to drink the water with the powder in it.

A couple of technical points are worth mentioning here. First off, many people think there were 5 commandments on each tablet. With apologies to Mel Brooks, each tablet actually had all 10 (written on the front and on the back). Like all legal contracts, there were two copies – one for each party. Eventually, we will see both copies placed in the ark, which is unusual and very significant.

Second, gold is three and a half times as heavy as iron. A solid gold calf big enough to be visible to Moses when he came near the camp would be so heavy, you’d need a forklift to move it.

So, unless the calf was small enough to fit in your pocket, it couldn’t have been solid gold. It must have been made of gold covered wood, or some other easily worked material like Styrofoam. Otherwise, Moses couldn’t have burned it with fire and ground it to powder and scattered it on the water and made the people of Israel drink it. The powder was ashes and/or charcoal.

So Moses sees the calf and trashes the place. This is a magnificent precursor of Jesus clearing the temple in Matthew 21:12-13.

Righteous indignation is a thing of beauty.

As beautiful as righteous indignation is, it probably belongs in the “do not try this at home” category. Moses and Jesus have the gravitas to pull it off; we don’t.

So, what should we do when confronted with a situation that needs correction? Just sticking a cork in it can’t be right; that’s hiding our lamp under a bushel. What’s the right thing to do?

Clarity, not volume, is the key. Think strategically. If you just trigger a bunch of pushback, what have you accomplished? There’s usually no rush either. In that case, you have time to think, then say what needs to be said privately. Be winsome. Choose your words carefully, so that you cannot be misunderstood.

“Discretion is the perfection of reason, and a guide to us in all the duties of life.” – Walter Scott

The weekly study guides, which include discussion questions, are available for download here:

https://www.ailbe.org/resources/itemlist/category/91-deep-studies