They Did it

Scripture: He said to Aaron, “What did these people do to you, that you led them into such great sin?” “Do not be angry, my lord,” Aaron answered. “You know how prone these people are to evil. They said to me, ‘Make us gods who will go before us. As for this fellow Moses who brought us up out of Egypt, we don’t know what has happened to him.’ So I told them, ‘Whoever has any gold jewelry, take it off.’ Then they gave me the gold, and I threw it into the fire, and out came this calf!” Exodus 33:21-24 NIV

Observation: Aaron claims that it was “them…not me” when confronted by Moses about the evil that was going on in the camp.

Application: This is the mother of all “the dog ate my homework” excuses. This one, in my opinion, is second only to the time Adam blamed God for his sin. According to Aaron, they, the Israelites, were evil and they made him do it. “And if that doesn’t work for you Moses, all ‘I’ did was put the gold in the fire, and then it came out like a calf. I guess you could say, God did it!” Seriously, Aaron, Moses’ brother and right-hand man; the man who boldly spoke to Pharoah for Moses, the man who helped lead the nation pf Israel out of Egypt, was reduced to blaming everyone else, even God, for his own sinful nature. His sin lead many Israelites astray. I don’t know why a strong leader like Aaron fails. I do know that we have had many godly men and women fall, spiritual leaders fail, and church organizations and charities prove to be less than they claimed. The consequences have been that many new believers, young or weak-minded Christians, and the church in general has suffered humiliation and ridicule. Our actions affect others. If we are representing Christ, and that’s what we should be doing at all times, our behavior should be above reproach. Let’s not play the blame game any more if we fail. Let’s acknowledge our failures and ask forgiveness of those we have hurt and of God.

Prayer: Father, help me to take responsibility when I sin. Don’t let me try to blame my short-comings on everyone except myself like Aaron did. I know that my failings can affect others negatively. I only want to affect others for Christ. Amen

Doug