Week 5 - Sunday Jan 27 through Saturday Feb 2

The land of promise has less important to Moses than the presence of God.

We celebrate the destination and learn so much from the journey, but the power is in the presence of God.

Moses reveals to us that It is not in the destination, it's not in the journey although they are important, it is the presence that is most important.

Audio Reading:https://www.biblestudytools.com/audio-bible/nlt/exodus/

We observe in Exodus 24:1 (Now He said to Moses, “Come up to the LORD, you and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel, and worship from afar) that Moses, Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu meet with God on the mountain and the ground became as sapphire. This was a incredible encounter with God but chapter 31 happens. Not only does Aaron builds the golden calf in chapter 31 but he also proclaimed a holy day for celebration and sacrifice to it and called it "Yahweh". Aaron's proclamation was proclaiming that the calf was the Yahweh God who brought them out of Egypt. We find Aaron establishing the practice of following the path of less resistance.

I have to say, I’m surprised at Aaron’s willingness to orchestrate the creation the golden calf for the children of Israel. They all witnessed God‘s might through many miracles, but didn’t Aaron talk with God along with Moses when they lived in Egypt? Didn’t God assign him and his sons to be the priests for the people? And then, after he was caught, did he really think that Moses would believe the gold miraculously came out of the fire in the form of a calf?