Nepaug Bible Church - http://www.nepaugchurch.org - Pastor's Prayer Meeting Lesson Notes - http://www.nepaugchurch.org/pm/pm20070221.htm

EXODUS: FUNCTIONING WELL IN A HOPELESS GROUP ASSIGNMENT
Part II: God's Sustainment Of Israel In The Wilderness Amid Humanly Helpless Trials
L. Interlude: Viewing Seriously The Awesome Spiritual Oversight Granted To Us
(Exodus 24:12-18; 32:1-4 with 1 Kings 12:25-30)
  1. Introduction
    1. Every overseer, be it a husband, a parent, a teacher, a leader in the Church or an employer is given a role by God that produces enormous long-term results, and that for better or for worse.
    2. Nowhere else is this matter seen more clearly than in the case of Aaron in Exodus 24:12-18 in view of the long-term context of Scripture, and viewing it provides a great motivation for us to act responsibly:
  2. Interlude: Viewing Seriously The Awesome Spiritual Oversight Granted To Us, Ex. 24:12-18 et al.
    1. After the delivery and ratification of the "Book of the Covenant" that clarified what God intended His people to understand in heeding the Ten Commandments, Moses delegated the human oversight of the nation Israel to Aaron and Hur while he went up to the Mount to converse with God, Exodus 24:12-18.
    2. There was a precedent for this delegation in Exodus 17:12-13, for then these two men had taken the initiative to support Moses' weary arms that held aloft his rod that Israel might continue to defeat Amalek.
    3. Accordingly, that delegation was a short but meaningful call to responsible oversight by Aaron and Hur:
      1. God had wanted Moses to meet privately with Him in the top of Mount Sinai: there He would give Moses the stone tablets containing the Ten Commandments so he could teach them to Israel, Ex. 24:12.
      2. However, since Moses as Israel's national human leader would be gone for forty days and nights (Ex. 24:18), there was a need for his oversight to be delegated to another party to keep order in Israel.
      3. Hence, Moses told the elders who had climbed Mount Sinai with him (Exodus 24:9) that, in his absence, any disputes the people had were to be settled by Aaron and Hur until he returned, 24:13-14.
      4. Accordingly, Aaron and Hur were left in charge of the nation Israel while Moses ascended with his servant, Joshua to meet with the Lord in His great glory on the mount, Exodus 24:13, 15-18.
    4. Now, to Aaron's shame, he functioned very irresponsibly with the nation in his oversight role, Ex. 32:1-6:
      1. After Moses delayed to return from the mount, the people urged Aaron to make other gods to lead them since they did not know what had become of Moses who had led them out of Egypt, Exodus 32:1.
      2. Aaron complied with their wish, urging them to give him their golden earrings, and he made of it a golden calf, and the people declared "these gods", the golden calf and the Lord, had brought them out of Egypt, Ex. 32:2-5, 30-31; Ryrie St. Bible, KJV, 1978 ed., ftn. to Ex. 32:4; Bible Know. Com., O. T., p. 155. Aaron declared a feast day to God, a feast that led to "a drunken sex orgy," Ibid., ftn. to 32:6.
    5. God informed Moses about this rapid apostasy, so Moses returned and corrected it, Exodus 32:7-8, 19-20.
    6. However, this rapid, short-lived apostasy had great, negative long-term impact on Israel (as follows):
      1. Centuries later after Israel under Jeroboam separated from the Southern Kingdom of Judah, Jeroboam worried his subjects would leave him if they returned to Judah to worship God, 1 Kings 12:26-27.
      2. Hence, Jeroboam took counsel from leaders who borrowed from the peoples' ancient claim about Aaron's golden calf, and built two golden calves, declaring they were the gods that had brought Israel out of Egypt; he put one in Dan up north and the other in Bethel near his southern border with Judah that he might keep his people from going south to the temple in Judah, 1 Kings 12:28-29.
      3. This idolatry built upon the people's belief under Aaron: the "gods" who led Israel from Egypt were possibly held to ride on the calves as in Canaanite belief, Ibid., Zon. Pic. Enc. of the Bib. , v. 1, p. 692f.
      4. So close was this belief to paganism, it led Israel into open idolatry, 1 Kings 12:30; 2 Kings 17:16-17.
      5. In fact, after Israel's fall, 2 Kings 17:16, 18 reveals one of the sins that led to this fall was Jeroboam's religion of the two calves! The apostate idea suggested by Aaron in his brief national oversight influenced Israel years later to end up in sin and captivity! (Ibid., Ryrie, p. 90 with ftn. to 2 Kings 17:6)
Lesson: Though Aaron's oversight of Israel was short, his yielding as overseer to the errant will of the people to sin produced a precedent that influenced Israel centuries later to sin and end up in captivity.

Application: (1) Since EVERY act we do in oversight EVENTUALLY yields HUGE dividends, for better or for worse, may we take our oversight seriously! (2) May we NOT YIELD to the errant tendencies in subordinates, but STAND for the right, for what we DO EVENTUALLY produces HUGE RESULTS!