Introduction: How should the church deal with members who
actively rebel against God? Why do you think they rebel? If
you have fallen away from God in the past, you may be more
sympathetic to those who fall. If you are one whose life has
generally followed God’s rules, then you may have trouble
sympathizing with those who make incomprehensible decisions
to rebel. Our study this week is about what seems to be an
outrageous rebellion against God and Moses. Let’s dive into
our study and see what we can learn as church leaders and
church members about why rebellion exists and how we should
respond to those in serious rebellion against God!
I. A Failure of Leadership
A. Read Exodus 32:1. Who seems to be in charge here?
(The people are commanding Aaron to act.)
1. Is this supposed to be a democracy where the
people rule?
2. Who did the people think was responsible for
the disappearance of Moses? (They knew that
Moses and Joshua had gone up the mountain to
receive from God the tablets of stone that
contained the law. Exodus 24:12-15.)
B. Read Acts 7:39-41. This suggests that the people
were not actually wondering where Moses had gone,
but rather had a different motive. What is it?
1. Do you think manna was still arriving each
morning?
C. Read Exodus 32:2-4 to see Aaron’s leadership style
and then compare it with Exodus 32:25-27 for
Moses’ leadership style. Which do you think is
appropriate for the church today? Delete, of
course, the reference to killing because Moses had
that authority and church leaders do not.
1. Are we discussing leadership styles for
ordinary church governance decisions? Or are
we discussing leadership styles for dealing
with sin? (This is not day-to-day leadership.
This is leadership in the face of open
rebellion against God.)
2. What would have happened if the rebellion
continued?
D. Read Exodus 32:5-6. How do you understand Aaron’s
actions? (Aaron had not decided to abandon God. He
seems to believe that the golden calf is the
physical representation of the God of Heaven.)
1. Do you see this in the church today? People
who want to sanctify evil by attributing it to
God?
E. Read Exodus 32:7. What does God call this?
(Corruption!)
1. Why does God tell Moses to go down to the
people? (Because God trusts Moses as a
faithful leader.)
2. Who does God say brought the people out of
Egypt? (Moses.)
a. Why would God say this? (God was thinking
of disowning the people.)
b. Has Moses shown a failure of leadership?
F. Read Exodus 32:8. In the past when I read this
text I thought “How vile! How could they turn so
quickly from God? Could we be so foolish?” But now
when I understand that Aaron thought he was simply
blending the images of Egypt’s gods with the power
of the true God, it seems to be a more complex
issue. Is that how you see it?
G. Read Exodus 32:9. Does God see this as a complex
issue? (No. He sees it a pure rebellion.)
H. Let’s look at how Aaron reports these events. Read
Exodus 32:21-24. Is that how it happened? (The
golden calf did not magically make itself. This is
blame-shifting and a failure of honesty.)
1. Who does Aaron blame? (Verse 22 tells us that
he blamed the people.)
2. Who does Moses blame? (Verse 21 reveals that
Moses blames Aaron. He was supposed to be in
charge.)
I. Look again at Exodus 32:23. When the people said
they did not know what had become of Moses, what
should Aaron have said? (Read Exodus 24:1. This
was another failure of leadership. Aaron should
have said Moses was on the mountain with God
because Aaron had been there!)
II. Rebellion
A. Look again at Exodus 32:1. What triggered this
rebellion? (Delay. Impatience. Acts 7:39-41 adds
that some of the people had the attitude that they
should return to Egypt.)
B. Read Exodus 32:9. We looked at this verse a few
minutes ago. What does it mean when God calls them
“stiff-necked?” (One commentator explains that
this refers to an ox or a horse who resists when
you throw a rope around its neck. These people
wanted to do their own will, not God’s will.)
C. Read Exodus 32:26-28. Who is not in rebellion?
(The Levites.)
1. Should we call people to make hard decisions
on rebellion? To take sides?
2. Is it love to deal harshly with rebels?
D. Look again at Exodus 32:28. Should Aaron have been
among those who died? (Read Deuteronomy 9:20.)
III. Winning Leadership
A. Read Exodus 32:10-12. What concerns Moses? (God’s
reputation.)
1. Is God’s plan a bad one? (Remember that only
two of this group of adults made it out of the
desert alive.)
B. Read Exodus 32:13. Would God’s plan violate His
promise to Abraham? (No. Moses is a descendant of
Abraham.)
1. Let’s face a hard question here. Moses seeks
to let the wrong-doers survive so that God
will look good. Is that how a church should
handle wrong-doing today? Should it be
primarily concerned about God’s reputation and
not punishment of the guilty?
C. Read Exodus 32:14 and Numbers 23:19. Are these two
texts in conflict? (The context of Numbers 23 is
important. The prophet Balaam is promised a reward
by King Balak of Moab if he will curse Israel. God
tells Balaam to tell King Balak that He is not
that kind of God. He doesn’t lie or change His
mind. Giving money to bribe His agents does not
work. The great news for us is that God will
engage with us and may take a different course of
action based on our interaction with Him. This is
not “changing His mind.”)
D. Read Exodus 32:15-19. Is Moses’ anger out of
control? Did he have the right to destroy the work
of God? Or is there another explanation? (Arguably
Moses broke the tablets to reflect the fact that
the people broke God’s law.)
E. Read Exodus 32:30-32. Why would Moses do this? Why
would he ask to forfeit his eternal life? (Notice
the parallel to Jesus who gave up His life for
us.)
1. Read Matthew 17:1-4. Where do we find Moses?
F. Read Exodus 32:33-34. What is God saying about
Moses’ continued leadership? (God reaffirms his
leadership of the people.)
1. What does God say about Moses’ offer to
sacrifice himself for the people? (God says
that judgment is individual. He will “visit”
the sin on the people who deserve judgment.)
G. Read Exodus 32:35. Does Aaron die in the plague?
Does God think the calf is Aaron’s fault? (The
text says that Aaron made the calf. We know Aaron
did not die then because of the plague. God is the
Judge and He decides as He sees fit.)
H. Friend, this is a remarkable story about rebellion
against God. Rebellion that takes place after the
most powerful evidence of God’s authority and
love. This kind of rebellion requires a strong
response, not an attempt to mix rebellion with
worship of the true God. But the best leader to
stand against such rebellion is a man like Moses,
who was willing to give up his life for the
people. Will you be careful not to rebel against
God? If you are a leader faced with active
rebellion in the church, will you ask God to fill
your heart with love toward the rebellious?
IV. Next week: “Please, Show Me Your Glory.”
Copr. 2025, Bruce N. Cameron, J.D. Scripture quotations are
from the ESV Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard
Version ), copyright 2001 by Crossway, a publishing
ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All
rights reserved. Suggested answers are found within
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but it is lost one week, you can find it by clicking on this
link: http://www.GoBible.org. Pray for the guidance of the
Holy Spirit as you study.
