It is important for us to see that the worship of the golden calf in Exodus 32 was a mixture. It was an idol that was worshipped, but it was worshipped in the way that God’s people were supposed to worship God. This is a common practice among many Christians today. Christians may worship in the way that is suitable to the worship of God, but actually the object of their worship may be something other than God. If we have a clear, heavenly view, we shall realize that much of the worship among Christians today is a mixture. Something that pretends to be God is worshipped as if it were actually God Himself.
After Aaron made the golden calf, the people said, “This is your God, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt” (Exo. 32:4). The people worshipped the golden calf as if it were the very God who had brought them out of Egypt. Was that not a mixture? Furthermore, 32:5 and 6 say, “And when Aaron saw this, he built an altar before it; and Aaron made a proclamation and said, A feast to Jehovah— tomorrow! And they rose up early the next day and offered burnt offerings and brought peace offerings.” Here we see that an altar was built before the idol, and the people offered burnt offerings and brought peace offerings. This indicates that they worshipped the idol in the way that they were supposed to worship God. That was utterly a mixture. In other words, that worship was not pure. We can compare the worship among Christians today with that of the children of Israel at Mount Sinai. The worship of the golden calf by the children of Israel is a picture of the impure worship among Christians today.
The worship of the golden calf was different from the pagan worship of idols. The golden calf was worshipped by a redeemed people in the name of the Lord their Redeemer. After the golden calf was made, the people declared that it was the Lord who had brought them out of the land of Egypt. This indicates that they worshipped an idol in the name of Jehovah their God.
Furthermore, they worshipped that idol in the way they should have worshipped God, that is, in the way ordained by God. They offered to the idol the kind of offerings that they should have offered to God. This is a shameful mixture.
People would easily condemn the pagan worship of idols. But in its present-day expression it is not easy for anyone to condemn the kind of impure worship we see in Exodus 32, a worship that is full of mixture. Do you have the assurance that the so-called worship services that take place in today’s cathedrals and chapels are a pure worship of God? Is it really God who is being worshipped? If God is not the One who is being worshipped, then who is the object of worship? If the worship is not purely the worship of God, it must be the worship of something other than God. Holy songs may be sung to God and prayers may be offered to God, but actually the worship is to someone or something other than God.
Let us go on to see what is the principle of this kind of worship. The principle of the golden-calf idol is that wealth and treasures—gifts from God, both material and spiritual—are not properly used for God’s purpose. We need to be careful regarding both material things and spiritual gifts received from God, for we may not use these gifts properly for God’s purpose. For example, suppose you have the ability to teach the Bible, and you use this ability to establish a work. Your ability to teach the Bible is a gift from God. But do you use that gift properly for God’s purpose, or do you use it to build up something other than God’s purpose? If you are doing the latter, you are making a golden calf. This is not an extreme statement. I believe that one day, either in this age or in the next, we all shall realize that, in principle, this is the making of a golden calf and is condemned by God. Many golden calves have been made by today’s Aarons.
Those with the gift of gospel preaching may also use this ability to make a golden calf. A certain brother may be an evangelist. God has truly given him the gift of preaching the gospel. But this brother needs to ask himself what is his purpose in exercising this gift. Is his purpose pure? Is it genuine? These questions deserve serious consideration.
We need to examine ourselves and ask what we are doing and what is our purpose for doing it. With Christian workers who are gifted, no temptation is greater than the work itself. The work we are doing is itself the biggest temptation. If you study the history of the church and the biographies of different preachers and evangelists, you will see that many have built idols. Some even fashioned themselves into an idol; that is, they themselves became an idol, a golden calf. This is according to the principle of the golden-calf idol, the principle of not properly using for God’s purpose the gifts received from God.