Featured Whom Did the Israelites Worship in the Golden Calf Incident?

They worshipped an idol as if it were the God of Abraham Isaac and Jacob.

The “calf” was a symbol of fertility and or power. I think Baal was depicted as a bull.

peace to you

 

According to Exodus 32:8, it was multiple gods.

 

It has always appeared to me that they were worshipping Yahweh (Exodus 32:5), but in the wrong way (c.f. 1 Chronicles 13:7-10; 15:11-15). It is evident that the Israelites worshipped other gods in the wilderness (Amos 5:25-27), but not necessarily in the Golden Calf episode.

Regardless, I think the lesson for the churches is that we have no right to choose how we worship God, but must follow His instructions as we find them in the Bible.

 

they worshipped the devil!

 

I've been giving a bit more thought to this. When the Israelites say to Aaron, "Make us gods who shall go before us" (Exodus 32:1), the word for 'gods' is elohim (also in v.5), which, although it is plural, may either refer to the one true God or to pagan deities and human judges. Since Aaron only gave them one golden calf, it would be a bit odd if they thought it was more than one god, so I still incline to the belief that they were seeking to worship Yahweh, but in a way that was (and is) totally unacceptable to Him.(Exodus 20:4; Deuteronomy 4:15--23).

God's reaction the the Golden Calf episode should warn us how dangerous it is to attempt to worship Him in any way other than that which He has laid down, especially through crucifixes and icons, but also in dance (Exodus 32:19), drama, anything except the reading of His word, preaching, the singing of godly hymns and psalms. Even pictures of the Lord Jesus in children's books may be unacceptable. We need to consider these things very deeply. We don't have a cross in our church.

 

Rather than "golden calf" the NASB95 has "molten calf" or a calf made from molten metal. See Exodus 32:4, 32:8, Deuteronomy 9:16 and Nehemiah 9:18. The NET footnote concerning whether the plural "gods" refers to more than one god, (Exodus 32:1) says it refers to multiply gods, because the follow phrase has the plural, i.e. they go before us. And in Acts 7:41-42 it appears God says the worship was not of Yahweh.

 

Aaron attempted to create a visible image of the invisible God who cannot be captured by man and made into an image. Aaron tried to turn the "I Am" into a "you is" by making a golden calf.
Later in Israel's history, Jeroboam did something similar by creating the place of worship in Bethel where he expected Israel to worship his image of God rather than go to Jerusalem within Judea. God hated what Jeroboam did.
It is an abomination to God when man tries to make Him in the image of man. As Sovereign King over all things, God will not abide by men who would make Him less than who He is.

 

What if it was a gold plated young bull calf? As far as Exodus 32:24, the claim appears to a bogus claim of Aaron to avoid blame.

 

Right a gold plated young bull is the same as a golden calf.

 

Following is a choice. Why would they have a choice if determinism is true? I agree they were worshiping other gods as well as Jehovah.
MB

 

Because 'Determinism' in the sense you seem to mean it is not true.

 

If it had been a wooden elephant they made, the principle would still be the same. Exodus 20:4 applies.
N.B. For the avoidance of doubt, I'm not suggesting that it was a wooden elephant they made.

 

I think our English translations should reflect the historical/grammatical method. Ask yourself is "golden calf" an accurate translation of a gold plated young bull.

 

No.

peace to you