Thought from today’s Bible reading from Exodus 30-32.
When Moses confronted Aaron about the sin of the people regarding the golden calf, Aaron acknowledged the sin but tried to excuse himself from any blame.
“Aaron said, ‘Do not let the anger of my lord burn; you know the people yourself, that they are prone to evil. For they said to me, ‘Make a god for us who will go before us; for this Moses, the man who brought us up from the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.’ I said to them, ‘Whoever has any gold, let them tear it off.’ So they gave it to me, and I threw it into the fire, and out came this calf’” (Exodus 32:22-24).
While Aaron’s defense had some truth in it, he was wrong about the formation of the calf. It did not just happen. He “fashioned it with a graving tool and made it into a molten calf” (Exodus 32:4).
Though Aaron was directly involved in the creation of this idol, he tried to shift the blame away from himself. In doing this, he forgot two things:
- He allowed several things to happen that led up to this point. He went along with the people’s belief that Moses was not coming back; he asked for their articles of gold; he collected the articles of gold; and he put them into the fire which would allow them to be forged into something new. Rather than stopping what was going on, he let things escalate at each stage.
- He still did the deed.
The same thing can happen today with sin. People try to shift the blame away from themselves when they do something wrong, as if these things just happen. An out-of-wedlock pregnancy does not just happen. Several things lead up to this (dress, behavior, activities, bad company, etc.). A drunk driver killing an innocent motorist does not just happen. It is directly tied to other choices (associating with drinkers, frequenting a place that serves alcohol, and drinking). Furthermore, even after progressing to such a point when sin becomes likely, sin is never excused and can always be overcome. Notice what Paul writes:
“No temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to man; and God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, so that you will be able to endure it” (1 Corinthians 10:13).
We sin when we choose to sin. Previous bad choices do not excuse us. An out-of-wedlock pregnancy happens because two people choose to engage in fornication. A drunk driver kills an innocent motorist because he chooses to drink and drive. The golden calf was formed because Aaron chose to fashion it. These things do not just happen.
Do not fool yourself into thinking that sin just happens. Recognize what is going on and choose to do what is right.
Tomorrow’s reading: Exodus 33-35
[I’m using the Chronological reading plan on the Bible Gateway website if you’d like to follow along, too.]
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