This is one of the most famous incidents, and the most tragic. Moses had gone to meet with God, to receive the Law. In the meantime the people got fed up waiting and so made an idol. God often seems to take a long time to answer, His concept of time is totally different from ours. Things can happen much more quickly than we ever imagine, at others they happen much more slowly than we would like. If our "faith" is based on God doing things then we are at intense danger during the waiting times, for we will decide "God isn't doing anything therefore I must do something". Too often our approach is "God does things therefore I will believe in Him", rather it should be "I believe in God, therefore He does things". God will act, He will always act, but it will usually not be in the way we imagine, and especially not in our timing. We need to have faith in the person of Jesus Christ, in who He is and what He is like. Then we will be secure.
Aaron does not respond well. He goes along with the people. One thing that immediately strikes us is the stupidity of it all. How on earth did they imagine that this golden calf brought them out of Egypt, this calf which they themselves had fashioned? Yet it is always easier to see the stupidity of others than the stupidity of ourselves. We very easily attribute the cause of something to the wrong thing.
The worse thing is that the people imagined they were still worshipping the Lord, they did not seem to realise what they were doing. Just because we go through some religious rituals (and Charismatics are as good at having rituals as high Anglicans or any other denomination or grouping) does not mean we are actually worshipping God.
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