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By all appearances they were faithful men. They were two of Moses’ most trusted leaders. Aaron was his brother. Hur was his brother-in-law. These were the two who had lifted up Moses’ arms that day on the hill overlooking Rephidim – the day the Amalekites were defeated. These two were probably the closest of Moses’ inner circle. If anyone had seen the hand of God moving on behalf of His people throughout the exodus from Egypt and the journey through the wilderness, it was these men. Aaron had been designated by God Himself to be Moses’ spokesperson to the people. Both men had been near Moses’ side at every critical juncture in the journey thus far.
This was their opportunity to shine. Moses had put them in charge over the people while he ascended the mountain to meet with God, and Joshua had accompanied him for a portion of the way. As Moses was leaving, he told the people that if any questions arose or problems developed while he and Joshua were gone, the people should inquire of these two men.
Few of us can imagine what it was like for them to be suddenly placed in that position of leadership over more than one million people. Though the people had recently pledged to trust God, this was still the same group of grumbling and complaining people who had been ready to stone Moses just a few weeks earlier. So, there is no question, Aaron and Hur had their work cut out for them.
Moses hadn’t given them any indication of how long he would be gone. i doubt that either of them ever thought it would be forty days and nights. After all, it only took God six days to create the world. Surely it wouldn’t take longer than that to explain how to obediently walk in it. i would imagine that when the hours turned into days and days became weeks, they probably started to wonder when, and perhaps if, Moses would return.
Then came the decisive test for Aaron and Hur. The people had grown impatient and anxious. They were now grousing that Moses and Joshua had disappeared and most likely would never return. Perhaps Moses had decided to go on to the promised land and leave the people behind. Or maybe Moses and Joshua had been killed by one of the lightning bolts the people kept seeing up high in the mountain. Whatever had happened, the people decided Moses was not coming back and the God of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and Moses was not reliable – despite everything they had seen to the contrary.
They needed a leader who they could see, and they most definitely needed a god they could see. So they were looking for a leader who could point them to just such a god – a god they could look upon and touch and carry around with them – a god who would appear before them and meet their demands. Any old god would satisfy them, as long as they could see it.
This was the critical moment in Aaron and Hur’s leadership. They had a choice to make. They would either lead the people to trust God and follow Him in faithfulness, as they knew they should – OR – they could cave in to the pressure and lead the people where the crowd wanted to go.
The two men had seen Moses face similar moments. They had seen him call out to God for wisdom at each point. And they had seen God answer. They had seen the Red Sea part. They had seen water pour forth from a rock. And yet, they did not call out to God.
Perhaps they thought God was busy talking to Moses, so He wouldn’t hear them. Or perhaps they thought they couldn’t interrupt Him. Or maybe they thought only Moses could talk to God. Or maybe they feared that Moses had truly been zapped by a lightning bolt and turned into a crispy critter. How could they trust a God who would do something like that?
So instead of trusting the One who had delivered them time and again – instead of calling upon Jehovah – they did the worst possible thing a leader can do. Instead of looking to God and leading the people, Aaron and Hur turned from God and followed the people – all the way to disobedience!
i can’t help but wonder … what if?
What if … instead of caving into the pressure, they had called out to God and faithfully led the people? What if … they had chosen to be faithful over being faithless? Yes, it would have taken courage. They were being confronted by an angry mob. Perhaps they feared for their lives. Perhaps they decided this would only be a small compromise. They could appease the people and then lead them back on the right path when things were calmer.
But the problem with compromising on faithfulness is that it always leads downward on a slippery slope. It is fitting that they shaped the gold offerings into an image of a calf. i don’t know a lot about cows, but everything i do know tells me that they do not rank very high on the animal intelligence scale. i mean, what do cows do all day? They stand around and chew their cud. (No insult intended to the cows!)
Whenever we stop worshipping the God who created us, we start creating a god to worship in our own image. A god who stands around chewing his cud probably fit the image of the people pretty well. And the greatest tragedy was that they offered sacrifices to it and worshipped it. They stopped looking to the God who is and started looking to the god they had created.
The results of Aaron and Hur’s faithless leadership were significant. Their actions to placate the people led to the deaths of thousands – some by the sword, others by a plague. Apparently, Hur was one of those who died (there is no further mention of him after this incident). Whereas God chose to allow Aaron to live – with the knowledge of what his faithlessness had caused others. i’ll let you decide which of the two men suffered the greater consequence.
A day that should have been one of rejoicing – Moses returning with the tablets bearing the words of the ten commandments written in God’s own hand – instead, became a day of sorrow. All because of a decision to be faithless instead of being faithful.
Each of us faces the same choice. The cause may be different. More than likely we’re not being challenged by a million angry people. And the impact from our wrong choice may not be the lives of thousands. But when we are faced with the choice of being faithful or being faithless, there will always be an impact … on our lives … and on the lives of those around us … and close to us.
Faced with the choice, let’s learn from Aaron and Hur. Faithfulness will always prevail over the ways of faithlessness. Call out to God before you make the choice. Trust Him to accomplish whatever He has promised – no matter how things may appear to be around you. He has not abandoned you, nor forsaken you. The God who led you this far in your journey, will be faithful to lead you on and out. So, allow me to suggest there is only one option. What if … we resolve to choose faithfulness!
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Portions of this post are taken from The Journey Begins, chapter 47, entitled “Any Old god Won’t Do” This first book in the Lessons Learned In The Wilderness series is also available through Amazon in print or for your Kindle or Kindle app. Click HERE for more information on this book.
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(1) Exodus 24:14, 18; 32:1-4 (NLT)
Moses told the other leaders, "Stay here and wait for us until we come back. If there are any problems while I am gone, consult with Aaron and Hur, who are here with you." …Then Moses disappeared into the cloud as he climbed higher up the mountain. He stayed on the mountain forty days and forty nights. …When Moses failed to come back down the mountain right away, the people went to Aaron. "Look," they said, "make us some gods who can lead us. This man Moses, who brought us here from Egypt, has disappeared. We don't know what has happened to him." So Aaron said, "Tell your wives and sons and daughters to take off their gold earrings, and then bring them to me." All the people obeyed Aaron and brought him their gold earrings. Then Aaron took the gold, melted it down, and molded and tooled it into the shape of a calf. The people exclaimed, "O Israel, these are the gods who brought you out of Egypt!"
Copyright © 2023 Kenneth A. Winter All rights reserved.
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