Exodus 32:4-6 NIV

The hankering after idols, and its consequences. There is a war ever going on in human nature between the flesh and the spirit ( Romans 7:23 ; Romans 8:1-13 ). The two are "contrary the one to the other." From the time of their leaving Egypt, the Israelites had been leading a spiritual life, depending upon an unseen God—following his mandates—reposing under the sense of his protection. But the strain was too much for them. So long as they had Moses with them, to encourage them by his... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Exodus 32:1-6

The Golden Calf. I. THE PEOPLE 'S REQUEST TO AARON . 1 . The cause of the request . There are really two causes to be considered here, first, a cause of which they were conscious, and then, secondly, a deeper cause of which they were not conscious. The delay of Moses to return was the reason they put forward. We must do them the justice of noticing that they seem to have waited till the forty days were well-nigh expired before preferring their request; and an absence of... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Exodus 32:1-7

The sin of the golden calf. Disastrous effects followed in the camp of Israel on the withdrawal of Moses' to the mount. Moved as by a common impulse, the people "gathered themselves together," and demanded of Aaron that he should make them "a god," i.e. an idol, that it might go—be carried in procession—before them (cf. Amos 5:26 ). It was a case of "hand joined in hand" to do iniquity ( Proverbs 11:21 ). Many, doubtless, looked on the movement with dismay and horror (cf. Exodus... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Exodus 32:4

And fashioned it with a graving tool. Rather, "and bound it (the gold) in a bag." Compare 2 Kings 5:23 , where the same two Hebrew words occur in the same sense. It is impossible to extract from the original the sense given in the Authorised Version, since the simple copula van cannot mean "after." When two verbs in the same tense are conjoined by van "and," the two actions must be simultaneous, or the latter follow the former. But the calf cannot have been graven first, and then molten.... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Exodus 32:5

He built an altar before it . Aaron thus proceeded to "follow a multitude to evil" ( Exodus 23:2 ), and encouraged the idolatry which he felt himself powerless to restrain. Still, he did not intend that the people should drift away from the worship of Jehovah, or view the calf as anything but a symbol of him. He therefore made proclamation and said, Tomorrow is a feast to the Lord (literally, "to Jehovah "). read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Exodus 32:6

They rose up early on the morrow . The people were like a child with a new toy. They could scarcely sleep for thinking of it. So, as soon as it was day, they left their beds, and hastened to begin the new worship Burnt offerings and peace offerings . It is evident that both of these were customary forms of sacrifice—neither of them first introduced by the Law, which had not—except so far as the "Book of the Covenant" was concerned—been promulgated. Compare Jethro's offerings ( Exodus... read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Exodus 32:1-6

In all probability these three chapters originally formed a distinct composition. The main incidents recorded in them follow in the order of time, and are therefore in their proper place as regards historical sequence.The golden calf - The people had, to a great extent, lost the patriarchal faith, and were but imperfectly instructed in the reality of a personal unseen God. Being disappointed at the long absence of Moses, they seem to have imagined that he had deluded them, and had probably been... read more

Joseph Benson

Joseph Benson's Commentary of the Old and New Testaments - Exodus 32:4

Exodus 32:4. He made it a molten calf He melted it down, and, having a mould prepared, poured the melted gold into it, and then produced it in the shape of an ox or calf giving it some finishing strokes with a graving tool. “They made a calf,” says David, “in Horeb, and worshipped the molten image: they changed their glory into the similitude of an ox that eateth grass.” It is probable that the origin of this idolatry was from Egypt. The Scriptures inform us that the Israelites in Egypt... read more

Joseph Benson

Joseph Benson's Commentary of the Old and New Testaments - Exodus 32:5

Exodus 32:5. Aaron built an altar Being borne down with the stream; and proclaimed a feast Namely, of dedication; yet he calls it a feast to Jehovah By which it is still more evident that the people did not intend to terminate their adoration in the image, but designed to worship the true God in and by this calf, which they meant to consider as only a visible token of God’s presence with them, and a medium by which to convey their worship to him. And yet this did not excuse them from... read more

The Pulpit Commentary - Exodus 32:1-6

The Pulpit Commentary - Exodus 32:1-6

The Pulpit Commentary - Exodus 32:1-6

The Pulpit Commentary - Exodus 32:1-7

The Pulpit Commentary - Exodus 32:4

The Pulpit Commentary - Exodus 32:5

The Pulpit Commentary - Exodus 32:6

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Exodus 32:1-6

Joseph Benson's Commentary of the Old and New Testaments - Exodus 32:4

Joseph Benson's Commentary of the Old and New Testaments - Exodus 32:5

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