Intention Matters: God, Moses, the Israelites and the Infamous Golden Calf

The golden calf is probably one of the best known examples of idolatry. But what were the Israelites really up to and why was Moses able to convince God to renounce the punishment planned for the Israelites for creating the golden calf? My theory? The Israelites weren't actually trying to replace God.

When Aaron makes the golden calf and takes it out of its mold, the Israelites declare, "This is your god, O Israel, who brought you out of the land of Egypt!" (Exodus 32:4) Rashbam rhetorically asks if the Israelites could have actually been so foolish as to think that the calf that they had just created had actually brought them out of Egypt. He teaches that the Israelites might have thought that God's spirit was able to speak through the calf, which we know wasn't happening. Nahmanides concurs with Rashbam and goes one step further to say that it isn't the Israelites who couldn't be so foolish, but instead, us. If we believe that the gold that had previously been in the Israelites' ears could have possibly brought them out of Egypt.

So, if the Israelites couldn't have possibly believed that the golden calf they had just commissioned had brought them out of Egypt, and if we can't believe that it's possible, either, then why do the Israelites declare that it had and what is their real motive?

At the beginning of the narrative, we see that it wasn't God that the Israelites missed. It was Moses. The text tells us, "When the people saw that Moses was so long in coming down from the mountain, the people gathered against Aaron and said to him, 'Come, make us a god who shall go before us, for that man Moses, who brought us from the land of Egypt--we do not know what has happened to him'" (Exodus 32:1).

The people weren't replacing God; they were replacing Moses. In their relationship with God, Moses serves as an intermediary on behalf of the Israelites. The only logical replacement in this relationship is to replace Moses with the golden calf, not God. They wanted the golden calf to serve as an intermediary on their behalf with God, because Moses, who brought them from the land of Egypt had gone missing.

This, perhaps, justifies why God ultimately renounces the punishment intended for the Israelites. God knows their intention (though it takes some persuading by Moses). It also explains why Moses was so angry when he found out what the Israelites were up to.

So, this infamous story about idolatry in the wilderness actually shows us that intention matters. Even when we make a huge mistake (like creating an idol!), our intention matters and can sway the way that others think of us.