Golden but Godless

Exodus 32 tells the sobering story of Israel trading the glory of the living God for the glitter of a golden calf. What looked impressive on the outside was empty on the inside: beautiful, shiny, and worthless. In their impatience and fear, God’s people built a substitute god that could never save them. We may not melt down jewelry today, but our hearts are still tempted to chase golden idols of success, security, and self. This passage calls us to recognize the false gods we fashion and return to the only God who is worthy of our worship, the One who cannot be replaced.