Exodus

The Golden Calf Incident in Exodus

• The Sabbath is holy to the Lord, and anyone who defiles it will be put to death.
• The Sabbath is a perpetual covenant and a sign between God and the children of Israel.
• God gave Moses two tables of stone, written with His finger, after communing with him on Mount Sinai.
• The people, thinking Moses had delayed, asked Aaron to make them gods to go before them, and Aaron made a golden calf from their earrings.
• Aaron built an altar before the golden calf and proclaimed a feast to the Lord, and the people offered burnt offerings and peace offerings.
• God told Moses that the people had corrupted themselves by making a molten calf and worshipping it, and He wanted to consume them in His wrath.
• Moses pleaded with the Lord, reminding Him of His promise to Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, and the Lord repented of the evil He thought to do to His people.
• Moses came down from the mountain with the two tables of testimony, and when he heard the people's noise, he saw the golden calf and became angry, breaking the tables.
• Moses burnt the golden calf, ground it to powder, and made the children of Israel drink it.
• Aaron blamed the people for pressuring him to make the golden calf, and Moses called on the sons of Levi to slay those who had sinned.
• The sons of Levi followed Moses' command and killed about three thousand men that day.
• The text describes the aftermath of the incident with the golden calf, including the consequences for the people and their actions.

Instructions for Atonement, Anointing, and Sabbath

• Aaron is instructed to make atonement once a year on the altar horns with blood from the sin offering of atonements, as it is most holy unto the LORD.
• When the children of Israel are numbered, each man must give a ransom of half a shekel for his soul to the LORD, to prevent plague.
• This offering is to be given by everyone from twenty years old and above, with the rich not giving more and the poor not giving less than half a shekel, to make atonement for their souls.
• The atonement money collected from the children of Israel is to be used for the service of the tabernacle and as a memorial before the LORD.
• A laver and its foot, made of brass, are to be created for Aaron and his sons to wash their hands and feet, to prevent death, when entering the tabernacle or ministering at the altar.
• The laver and its use are to be a statute forever for Aaron and his descendants throughout their generations.
• Moses is instructed to take principal spices and olive oil to make a holy anointing oil, to be used on the tabernacle, the ark, the table, the candlestick, the incense altar, the burnt offering altar, and the laver, to sanctify them.
• Aaron and his sons are to be anointed and consecrated with this oil to minister in the priest’s office.
• The children of Israel are instructed that this anointing oil is to be used throughout their generations and not to be duplicated, as it is holy unto the LORD.
• Moses is also instructed to make a perfume with specific sweet spices and pure frankincense, to be placed before the testimony in the tabernacle, and it is to be most holy and used only for the LORD.
• Bezaleel, from the tribe of Judah, and Aholiab, from the tribe of Dan, are chosen by the LORD and filled with the spirit of God and wisdom to work on the tabernacle and its furnishings.
• The Israelites are commanded to keep the sabbaths as a sign between them and the LORD throughout their generations, to recognize that the LORD sanctifies them.