Do You Have a Golden Calf?

Thoughts on the Golden Calf

Exodus 32:1-4 

1.And when the people saw that Moses ^adelayed to come down out of the mount, the people gathered themselves together unto Aaron, and said unto him, Up, make us ^bgods, which shall ^cgo before us; for as forthis Moses, the man that brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we^dwot not what is become of him.

 2 And Aaron said unto them, Break off the ^agolden earrings, which arein the ears of your wives, of your sons, and of your daughters, and bringthem unto me.

 3 And all the people brake off the golden earrings which were in their ears, and brought them unto Aaron.

 4 And he received them at their hand, and fashioned it with a graving tool, after he had made it a ^amolten calf: and they said, ^bThese be thy^cgods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt.

 5 And when Aaron saw it, he built an altar before it; and Aaron made proclamation, and said, To morrow is a feast to the Lord.

 6 And they rose up early on the morrow, and offered burnt offerings, and brought ^apeace offerings; and the ^bpeople sat down to eat and to drink, and rose up to play.

It appears to me that Aaron thought he was directing them toward the Lord. They did the appropriate sacrifices, he named the day a day of Sacrifice to the Lord. However the words and actions did not match. The Golden Calf was still there.  We need to be careful that we don't have a golden calf in our life. The Old Testament Student Manuel discussion on the 10 Commandments warned of this also in that a worshiped graven image can take many forms. Cars, computers, education, tvs, phones, games ...is there an object in our life that we are putting before the Lord. Beware of the Golden Calf in your life. I know I will in mine.

The 10 Commandments and the 2 Great Commandmentss

The Greatest Commandments

The Lord called Moses up to the top of the mountain and gave him stone tablets with commandments engraved with the Lords finger. These are the what we now call the 10 Commandments,  They are found in the 20th Chapter of Exodus. When Jesus came to walk the Earth he told us that all of the commandments actually rest on two.  In Matthew 22:37 "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind." and Matthew 22:39 "Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself."

When we look at the commandments one by one we can see how each commandment relates to these two greatest commandments. 

Thou shalt have not other gods before me (Exodus 20:3)	Matthew 22:37 Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.
Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is the earth  beneath, or that is in the water under the earth: (Exodus 20:4)	Matthew 22:37 Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.
Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain; for the Lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain (Exodus 20:7)	Matthew 22:37 Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and  with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.
Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy (Exodus 20:8)	Matthew 22:37 Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.
Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee (Exodus 20:12)	Matthew 22:37 Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. Matthew 22:39 Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
Thou shalt not kill (Exodus 20:13)	Matthew 22:39 Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
Thou shalt not commit adultery (Exodus 20:14)	Matthew 22:39 Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
Thou shalt not steal (Exodus 20:15)	Matthew 22:39 Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor (Exodus 20:16)	Matthew 22:39 Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass nor anything that is thy neighbour’s. (Exodus 20:17)	Matthew 22:39 Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.

  

      It is important to remember that the great commandments do not invalidate the 10 commandments, they do give you a great way to evaluate your actions. If you love the Lord with all your heart, soul and mind you will not have any other gods before him, you will not take his name in vain, and you will keep the Sabbath day holy because that is what you do for someone you love. You do what is important to them and you treat them with love and respect. 

     If you love your neighbor, and by neighbor we are are talking about any fellow human, being as much as you love yourself you will not kill them, steal from them, lie about them, commit adultery with or against them. If you love your neighbor you will rejoice in their good fortune instead of wishing it belonged to you.

    When you are following both of these commandments you are able to keep the commandment to Honor thy father and mother. It involves both because your parents are to be a stand in for our Heavenly Father here on the earth. They are to teach you what he would if he was here. In that regard you respect your parents as a stand in for Heavenly Father and love them as you love yourself.

There is allot of neglect of the Commandments happening these days and which ones are the most neglected can be a matter of opinion. In my opinion there are 3 of the 10 that if they were not would improve the world.

Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass nor anything that is thy neighbour’s. (Exodus 20:17)

The tenth commandment is part of all the others. If you don't covet you won't have other gods and bow down to them, you won't take the name of God in vain. If you don't covert you have less chance of stealing or killing or lying about another. Imagine a world where people didn't want things that were not theirs. What if people were not consumed by the need to have what others possessed? Leaving your doors unlocked and nothing missing while you are gone, drop your wallet and its returned to you intact. No need to spend hundreds or thousands of dollars on security systems because no one wants what you have.

Thou shalt have no other gods before me (Exodus 20:3)

         Jesus gave us a reminder of this verse in Matthew 6:33 ‘Seek ye first the kingdom of God,and his righteousness.’ the Lord does not require our adoration, however when we put something else before Him we wander off the path. By keeping our eyes on Him we are focused on His goals for us and eternity. This is the foundation verse, even more that than not coveting, because if we were all focused on Him as the center of our lives with nothing before Him then it would be much harder to break the other laws..

Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy (Exodus 20:8)

This is a commandment that is nearly ignored in today's world. Sunday is not a day of rest to be sacred to the Lord anymore. It is a day of sporting events, shopping, work, and a day to pursue hobbies. It is no longer considered for what it is suppose to be, a day to grow closer to your Lord. A day to rest  from worldly work and focus on the sacred. A day of sacrament.

The ten commandments were the base of our legal system yet in many places people sue to keep them from being displayed. They are the foundation of civilized behavior yet many people not only ignore them but cannot tell you what they are. Is it any wonder the fabric of society is ripping apart when we ignore the basic laws?

Leadership and Responsiblity

Thoughts on Leadership and Responsibility

It is known that the Lord calls who He wants and needs.  We don't always agree with His choices, but He always knows who is best for the job. Often we learn much from what we are called to do. In some cases others learn just as much from watching our journey to live up to our callings. Moses did not see himself as a leader at all, yet he is remembered as a great leader. He argued with the Lord, he insisted that he could not do this and was granted Aaron to help him speak. Moses and Aaron leaned upon the Lord and through His power freed the children of Israel and led them for over 40 years. 

 

How many of us have said "I am not a leader." How many of us have said "I don't want that responsibility" I can't be just me right?  Well, how about we all start with this. Moses's journey started when he stopped an Egyptian from abusing a Hebrew slave.  Let's start by being responsible for ourselves - following the commandments and then lets take the next step being aware of those around us. Doing whatever small actions we can to make life better for those around us. By taking action to help others we are being leaders and obeying the commandment to serve others all at the same time.

Murmuring in the Wilderness

Murmuring in the Wilderness

For my in depth study of this week I chose Exodus 15:23-27, 16-17 on the topic of Murmuring in the Wilderness. I wanted to do this because I really didn’t understand it. I have never understood the constant murmuring of the Children. One thing is for sure the children of Israel did a lot of murmuring. Let’s starting with defining what murmuring is.  Freedictionary.com defines it as “An indistinct, whispered, or confidential complaint; a mutter.” Therefore, this means that the children were complaining and whispering among themselves but none of them were bringing any complaints up to the leadership. Moses, Aaron or from what we can tell praying to the Lord about it either. They were just griping (murmuring) among themselves.

Three days after celebrating the Lord for delivering them from Egypt and crossing the Red Sea, in Exodus 15:24 they are murmuring “What shall we drink?” another miracle was provided and then they came to Elim where there was plenty of water.

After leaving Elim, 2 months and 15 days into the journey we find the whole congregation of the children murmuring against Moses and Aaron (Exodus 16:1-3) accusing that they were brought out of slavery only to be starved to death. The Lord provides another miracle, manna from Heaven with one stipulation every day it will rain the same amount, but on the 6^th day it will rain double for the children are to gather extra that day because nothing will fall on the seventh.  Moses warned them not to try to save any and to trust in the Lord and still they did not listen.

I think my favorite verse is Exodus 16:28 “And the Lord said unto Moses, How long refuse ye to keep my commandments and my laws?”

The Lord is providing bread (manna) from Heaven for the children and again when they arrive in Rephidim the children start murmuring again. In Exodus 17:3 “…Wherefore is this that thou hast brought us up out of Egypt, to kill us and our children and our cattle with thirst?” Moses immediately takes the problem to the Lord “What shall I do unto this people? They be almost ready to stone me.” In addition, there is the problem with murmuring. If the concern had been addressed earlier the emotion would not have built up, but can you imagine what it must have been like in that camp for Moses to say that to the Lord? The Lord saved them and brought forth water from a rock using Moses and his staff.

Nephi suggests in 1 Nephi 16:1-3 that people murmur against leaders when hard truths are spoken and difficult things are asked of them that they are not ready for, when truth cuts them to the core.  This suggests that many of the children of Israel were in a crisis of faith, not having enough faith in the Lord, Moses and Aaron to keep them safe.  If Moses and Aaron are not able to address and stop the murmuring then the children could fall away from the Lord as Lamen and Lemual did. Nephi suggests in 2 Nephi 27:35 that learning the doctrine is an antidote for murmuring. This is a great suggestion as learning and studying doctrine leads to understanding and increases faith. The children of Israel did not have faith in the Lord even after seeing miracles. Lack of faith and lack of gratitude for what had happened to them was a large part of their problem I believe.

Do not cease to give thanks for what you have. Do not forget to ask for what you need. The Lord will supply all our needs.

Who Am I?

Who Am I?

Exodus 3:11-12 And Moses said unto God, Who am I, that I should go unto Pharaoh, and that I should bring forth the children of Israel out of Egypt?

And he said, Certainly I will be with thee; and this shall be a token unto thee, that I have sent thee: When thou hast brought forth the people out of Egypt, ye shall serve God upon this mountain.

The take away, I believe from this is that it doesn’t matter who we are, it matters who God is and that we are doing as He commands

  

A Preacher once told me that to understand the Bible better (and it certainly applies to all the Scriptures) that we need to remember we are reading about the lives of real people and try to put ourselves in their shoes and understand what their lives are like and what is happening.

I think this is the closest I have ever felt to Moses who has always been an imposing figure. Thinking of Moses at this point in his life. He knew he was adopted, he knew his entire life he was different. Moses who committed a murder to defend the Hebrew slaves. He is now commanded to go back and face the Pharaoh and demand the freedom of all the Hebrew slaves. I can certainly understand his question to the Lord “Who am I to do this?” Remembering that when we lean up on the Lord it doesn’t matter who we are as long as we are in His service and obeying Him, it is His power, His words, His greatness not ours.  

Let Go and Let God

Let Go and Let God

The phrase Let Go and Let God used to be a "thing" at least when I was in high school. I have mentioned I am a convert to the church. In high school I was heavily involved in a local Baptist church were I lived.  Let Go and Let God meant you were giving God control of your life. I have got to say that is so much easier to say at 16 than at 42. I don't think Joseph's life turned out how he thought it would (either Joseph - son of Jacob or Joseph Smith Jr. but for now we will stick to Joseph son of Jacob). He was hated by his brothers who were jealous of him and they sold him into slavery then to  protect themselves told their father he was dead. He ended up being the property of the Pharaoh, having to fend of seduction attempts by the Pharaoh's wife and being thrown into jail. It would have been easy to give up. It would have been easy to forget the God of his fathers and worship whoever everyone else was in order to fit in, because you know he did not fit in with the rest of the household.  There was no religious support group there to help him. Joseph did none of these things, he stayed true and in the end was rewarded with a reunited family and the ability to help them when they truly needed help. 

I am not advocating making no decisions and "leaving it all up to God" that is a great way to become homeless. He gave us minds and reasoning abilities for a reason. He expects us to think and reason. However, I think that maybe the step that we might forget sometimes is to ask His opinion on decisions, and not just the big one. I can't imagine a better situation than to eventually be so in tune with the Holy Spirit that I can feel when a decision is wrong and I don't mean an ethical decision, I mean a life decision. I have a mental image of walking down life's path with Jesus guiding us around the turns and corners. He knows the way and what the best route is, we are the ones doing this blind, maybe we should listen to the guy with the map :) 

Patriarchal Blessings

Patriarchal Blessings

In the last two chapters of Genesis we find Jacob (Israel) granting blessings to his grandchildren and children. These blessings are known as Patriarchal Blessings. when Joseph brought forth his two sons Ephraim and Manasseh to be blessed something unusual happened. Jacob blessed the younger (Ephraim) to be greater than the older.  He set Ephraim before Manasseh. Jacob promised Ephraim that his seed would become a multitude of nations. 

Next Jacobs sons come before him. I have tried to summarize most of these.

Reuben: firstborn, beginning of my strength, thou shall not excel

Simeon and Levi:  I will divide them in Jacob, and scatter them in Israel.

Judah, thou art he whom thy brethren shall praise: thy hand shall be in the neck of thine enemies; thy father’s children shall bow down before thee. The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto him shall the gathering of the people be.

Zebulun: shall dwell at the haven of the sea; and he shall be for an haven of ships; and his border shall be unto Zidon.

Issachar: is a strong ass couching down between two burdens: And he saw that rest was good, and the land that it was pleasant; and bowed his shoulder to bear, and became a servant unto tribute.

Dan shall judge his people, as one of the tribes of Israel. Dan shall be a serpent by the way, an adder in the path, that biteth the horse heels,so that his rider shall fall backward.

Gad, a troop shall overcome him: but he shall overcome at the last.  Out of Asher his bread shall be fat, and he shall yield royal dainties.

Naphtali is a hind let loose: he giveth goodly words.

Joseph is a fruitful bough, even a fruitful bough by a well; whose branches run over the wall: The archers have sorely grieved him, and shot at him, and hated him: But his bow abode in strength, and the arms of his hands were made strong by the hands of the mighty God of Jacob; (from thence is the shepherd, the stone of Israel:) Even by the God of thy father, who shall help thee; and by the Almighty, who shall bless thee with blessings of heaven above, blessings of the deep that lieth under,blessings of the breasts, and of the womb: The blessings of thy father have prevailed above the blessings of my progenitors unto the utmost bound of the everlasting hills: they shall be on the head of Joseph, and on the crown of the head of him that was separate from his brethren.

Benjamin shall ravin as a wolf: in the morning he shall devour the prey, and at night he shall divide the spoil.

We see in Genesis 49:1 that these blessings to theses tribes will be fulfilled in the last days.

When we look specifically at Judah and Joseph's blessing and compare them

The blessings of Judah indicate that the other tribes will bow down to his although he will not be the largest. He will be praised he will dominate his enemies and the “The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto him shall the gathering of the people be.” (Genesis 46:10) This seems to indicate that Judah will rule until the return.

Joseph’s blessing is a little different.  Joseph will be fruitful and multiple, the visual we are given here is a branch growing by a well that has all the water it needs. The seed (the tribe) will be strong, but also hated.  Yet they will be blessed and aided by God and will prevail against their enemy. 

Keeping in mind that we are now dealing with Tribes or Nations not individual men anymore we have one nation whom other nations will praise and dominate his enemies. The Tribe or Nation of Judah will be the ruler and lawgiver until Christ returns and this nation shall be the gathering place of the people. In contrast the Tribe or Nation of Joseph will be blessed by God to grow and multiple. It will be strong it will be blessed but it will be hated.  I see many nations attempting to fulfill these roles today but the two most predominant are the US and Israel. Traditionally Israel would be the Tribe of Judah which would make the US the Tribe of Joseph which has become fruitful and multiplied. I can't wait to see how this actually works out.

At the end of Genesis 50 there are further prophecies most specifically in the Joseph Smith Translation Genesis 50:24-36. I am still pondering those and seeking the revelation of understanding.