March 5th, 2026
In the Western world, and especially in the United States, idolatry is not an idea we dwell on even in the church. The blatant practice of idol worship is not part of our culture, but the truth of idolatry goes deeper than that. This week, I’ve been thinking about a somber story in the Bible that has a lot to teach us.
If you are familiar with the story of the Israelites in the wilderness, you know the theme of their journey was grumbling and complaining. When Moses came to Egypt to announce that God would deliver them from their harsh slavery, Pharaoh refused to relent and made their lives harder. They cried out that God had just come to kill them. Finally, Pharaoh sent them away after ten miraculous plagues, grieving the death of his firstborn. The Israelites rejoiced until they arrived at the Red Sea and heard the sound of Egyptian armies. Their response? They mockingly asked if God brought them out to die because there were no graves in Egypt. God miraculously parted the Red Sea, allowed them to walk through on dry ground, and triumphed over the Egyptian army. It still wasn’t enough for them. Sadly, most of the people never trusted Him. They rejoiced at the victories but rebelled at every other point.
When they thirsted, they grumbled and complained (Exodus 15:23, Exodus 17:3).
When they hungered, they cried out that God should have killed them in Egypt rather than bringing them out to starve (Exodus 16:3).
When they got weary of the miraculous bread from heaven, they complained about missing the food in Egypt (Numbers 11:4-6).
However, these are not the stories I want to focus on today. The Israelites’ hearts toward God were not on display any more than when Moses was on Mount Sinai, receiving God’s instruction for His people. Exodus 32:1-6 says,
“When the people saw that Moses delayed coming down from the mountain, the people gathered themselves together to Aaron and said to him, “Up, make us gods who shall go before us. As for this Moses, the man who brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.” So, Aaron said to them, “Take off the rings of gold that are in the ears of your wives, your sons, and your daughters, and bring them to me.” So, all the people took off the rings of gold that were in their ears and brought them to Aaron. And he received the gold from their hand and fashioned it with a graving tool and made a golden calf. And they said, “These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt!” When Aaron saw this, he built an altar before it. And Aaron made a proclamation and said, “Tomorrow shall be a feast to the Lord.” And they rose up early the next day and offered burnt offerings and brought peace offerings. And the people sat down to eat and drink and rose up to play.”
Now, we have to understand Moses was gone for a few weeks. Forty days and nights in the wilderness may have seemed long as they waited for their leader to return, but during that time, God was still providing for them. They had a pillar of fire by night for light and warmth and a pillar of cloud by day for refuge from the desert sun. Their food was still being miraculously provided. Water still flowed. Their shoes and clothing never wore out and grew with them in the wilderness. The mountain was still burning with the glory of God. Even though Moses was delayed in coming down, they were living right in the middle of a nationwide miracle. However, their hearts were too corrupt to see it. The Israelites consistently referred to the familiarity of Egypt, because it was all that they’d known. They talked of their homes, meat, and vegetables. Idolatry was also an Egyptian practice they were familiar with, and in the uncertainty of Moses’ extended time on the mountain, they reverted back to what they knew.
They complained until Aaron, weak and fearful, fashioned an idol for them to worship. Aaron tried to justify it. He said: “these are your gods who brought you up out of Egypt,” as if it was the same God with a different image. They made offerings and worshipped the idol until Moses came down the mountain.
It’s easy to shake our heads at the Israelites. How could they do it, surrounded by the miracles and just having been delivered from slavery? However, the reality is, we can all be guilty of this sin more easily than we realize. Have we not all been delivered from the slavery of sin? In spite of all God has done, have you ever doubted Him in the uncertainty? The sin of idolatry was obvious when they created the calf, but it was alive and well in their hearts before they had the golden image. They had already made an idol out of Moses and when they couldn’t see him, they made a different image to fulfill their view of God. Their hearts were already corrupted. They were corrupted by slavery and the bitterness and brokenness that comes with it. This is not an excuse, but it is an explanation. They had lived in brokenness, being treated as less than human for their entire lives. They were victims. However, their refusal to stop seeing themselves as victims after their rescue ultimately destroyed them. It wasn’t slavery or the wilderness that killed them. It was their refusal to change – and it was a choice.
The sin of idolatry thrives in an atmosphere of grumbling and complaining, because grumbling and complaining cannot coexist with pure worship. We can only enter His presence with thanksgiving and His courts with praise. Gratitude will magnify God and lead us into His presence. Grumbling will make an idol out of you, your situation, and whatever you run to in an attempt to rectify it. A.W. Tozer said,
“Let us beware lest we in our pride accept the erroneous notion that idolatry consists only in kneeling before visible objects of adoration. The essence of idolatry is the entertainment of thoughts about God that are unworthy of Him.”
We will not be dancing around a golden calf in moments of uncertainty, but grumbling and complaining will separate us from the presence of God and open the door for “idols” of comfort, convenience, and familiarity. Kenneth Hagin said, “Anything that takes the place of God in your life is an idol.” God is our Provider, our Healer, our closest confidant, our Savior, our Creator, our Shepherd, and so much more. If we look to anyone or anything else (including ourselves) for provision, comfort, safety, or guidance before God, we’ve created an idol. The first of the ten commandments is, “you shall have no other gods before Me” (Exodus 20:3) and the greatest commandment according to Jesus is to “love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind” (Matthew 22:37). These are interconnected. If we love God with everything we have, there will be nothing before Him in any area!
This week, we encourage you not to dwell on the grumbling of the Israelites but to understand how easily thanksgiving, trust, and relationship with the LORD could have changed their hearts. We are living in a greater miracle now than they were. The glory that shone from Moses’ face when he came down off of the mountain now dwells in you. It’s Christ in you, the hope of glory! We have even greater reason to rejoice now than they did, surrounded by miracles. We encourage you to center your heart on the One who is worthy of our trust and our undivided worship. He is not delayed in returning, just as Moses was not actually delayed in coming back down off the mountain. Jesus will be back for His church and He’s coming back for a bride robed in purity and righteousness, fully devoted to Him!
If you are familiar with the story of the Israelites in the wilderness, you know the theme of their journey was grumbling and complaining. When Moses came to Egypt to announce that God would deliver them from their harsh slavery, Pharaoh refused to relent and made their lives harder. They cried out that God had just come to kill them. Finally, Pharaoh sent them away after ten miraculous plagues, grieving the death of his firstborn. The Israelites rejoiced until they arrived at the Red Sea and heard the sound of Egyptian armies. Their response? They mockingly asked if God brought them out to die because there were no graves in Egypt. God miraculously parted the Red Sea, allowed them to walk through on dry ground, and triumphed over the Egyptian army. It still wasn’t enough for them. Sadly, most of the people never trusted Him. They rejoiced at the victories but rebelled at every other point.
When they thirsted, they grumbled and complained (Exodus 15:23, Exodus 17:3).
When they hungered, they cried out that God should have killed them in Egypt rather than bringing them out to starve (Exodus 16:3).
When they got weary of the miraculous bread from heaven, they complained about missing the food in Egypt (Numbers 11:4-6).
However, these are not the stories I want to focus on today. The Israelites’ hearts toward God were not on display any more than when Moses was on Mount Sinai, receiving God’s instruction for His people. Exodus 32:1-6 says,
“When the people saw that Moses delayed coming down from the mountain, the people gathered themselves together to Aaron and said to him, “Up, make us gods who shall go before us. As for this Moses, the man who brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.” So, Aaron said to them, “Take off the rings of gold that are in the ears of your wives, your sons, and your daughters, and bring them to me.” So, all the people took off the rings of gold that were in their ears and brought them to Aaron. And he received the gold from their hand and fashioned it with a graving tool and made a golden calf. And they said, “These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt!” When Aaron saw this, he built an altar before it. And Aaron made a proclamation and said, “Tomorrow shall be a feast to the Lord.” And they rose up early the next day and offered burnt offerings and brought peace offerings. And the people sat down to eat and drink and rose up to play.”
Now, we have to understand Moses was gone for a few weeks. Forty days and nights in the wilderness may have seemed long as they waited for their leader to return, but during that time, God was still providing for them. They had a pillar of fire by night for light and warmth and a pillar of cloud by day for refuge from the desert sun. Their food was still being miraculously provided. Water still flowed. Their shoes and clothing never wore out and grew with them in the wilderness. The mountain was still burning with the glory of God. Even though Moses was delayed in coming down, they were living right in the middle of a nationwide miracle. However, their hearts were too corrupt to see it. The Israelites consistently referred to the familiarity of Egypt, because it was all that they’d known. They talked of their homes, meat, and vegetables. Idolatry was also an Egyptian practice they were familiar with, and in the uncertainty of Moses’ extended time on the mountain, they reverted back to what they knew.
They complained until Aaron, weak and fearful, fashioned an idol for them to worship. Aaron tried to justify it. He said: “these are your gods who brought you up out of Egypt,” as if it was the same God with a different image. They made offerings and worshipped the idol until Moses came down the mountain.
It’s easy to shake our heads at the Israelites. How could they do it, surrounded by the miracles and just having been delivered from slavery? However, the reality is, we can all be guilty of this sin more easily than we realize. Have we not all been delivered from the slavery of sin? In spite of all God has done, have you ever doubted Him in the uncertainty? The sin of idolatry was obvious when they created the calf, but it was alive and well in their hearts before they had the golden image. They had already made an idol out of Moses and when they couldn’t see him, they made a different image to fulfill their view of God. Their hearts were already corrupted. They were corrupted by slavery and the bitterness and brokenness that comes with it. This is not an excuse, but it is an explanation. They had lived in brokenness, being treated as less than human for their entire lives. They were victims. However, their refusal to stop seeing themselves as victims after their rescue ultimately destroyed them. It wasn’t slavery or the wilderness that killed them. It was their refusal to change – and it was a choice.
The sin of idolatry thrives in an atmosphere of grumbling and complaining, because grumbling and complaining cannot coexist with pure worship. We can only enter His presence with thanksgiving and His courts with praise. Gratitude will magnify God and lead us into His presence. Grumbling will make an idol out of you, your situation, and whatever you run to in an attempt to rectify it. A.W. Tozer said,
“Let us beware lest we in our pride accept the erroneous notion that idolatry consists only in kneeling before visible objects of adoration. The essence of idolatry is the entertainment of thoughts about God that are unworthy of Him.”
We will not be dancing around a golden calf in moments of uncertainty, but grumbling and complaining will separate us from the presence of God and open the door for “idols” of comfort, convenience, and familiarity. Kenneth Hagin said, “Anything that takes the place of God in your life is an idol.” God is our Provider, our Healer, our closest confidant, our Savior, our Creator, our Shepherd, and so much more. If we look to anyone or anything else (including ourselves) for provision, comfort, safety, or guidance before God, we’ve created an idol. The first of the ten commandments is, “you shall have no other gods before Me” (Exodus 20:3) and the greatest commandment according to Jesus is to “love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind” (Matthew 22:37). These are interconnected. If we love God with everything we have, there will be nothing before Him in any area!
This week, we encourage you not to dwell on the grumbling of the Israelites but to understand how easily thanksgiving, trust, and relationship with the LORD could have changed their hearts. We are living in a greater miracle now than they were. The glory that shone from Moses’ face when he came down off of the mountain now dwells in you. It’s Christ in you, the hope of glory! We have even greater reason to rejoice now than they did, surrounded by miracles. We encourage you to center your heart on the One who is worthy of our trust and our undivided worship. He is not delayed in returning, just as Moses was not actually delayed in coming back down off the mountain. Jesus will be back for His church and He’s coming back for a bride robed in purity and righteousness, fully devoted to Him!
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