Moses had been gone too long from the people of Israel. He had stayed on the mountain forty days and nights, after he had given them the terms of the covenant with the Lord, their God. They thought he was dead, that he would never come back, that they would never see him again. It was time to make their future secure, thus they asked Aaron to make gods to replace the God of the Covenant - and he did that. He took up a collection, melted down their gold, and turned it into an idol, a golden calf, for them to worship. One wonders how and where these former slaves got the gold, and why they were so willing to give it up. They must have been desperate, so they did as he commanded them and turned over their gold earrings, enough to make this golden calf, to Aaron without question.

In his carto…