Another Jesus

 

2 Corinthians 11:3  But I am afraid that as the serpent deceived Eve by his cunning, your thoughts will be led astray from a sincere and pure devotion to Christ.

2 Corinthians 11:4  For if someone comes and proclaims another Jesus than the one we proclaimed, or if you receive a different spirit from the one you received, or if you accept a different gospel from the one you accepted, you put up with it readily enough.

 

Exodus 32:3  So all the people broke off the golden earrings which were in their ears, and brought them to Aaron.

Exodus 32:4  And he received the gold from their hand, and he fashioned it with an engraving tool, and made a molded calf. Then they said, “This is your god, O Israel, that brought you out of the land of Egypt!”

Exodus 32:5  So when Aaron saw it, he built an altar before it. And Aaron made a proclamation and said, “Tomorrow is a feast to the LORD.”

Exodus 32:6  Then they rose early on the next day, offered burnt offerings, and brought peace offerings; and the people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to play.

 

1 Corinthians 10:7  And do not become idolaters as were some of them. As it is written, “THE PEOPLE SAT DOWN TO EAT AND DRINK, AND ROSE UP TO PLAY.”

1 Corinthians 10:8  Nor let us commit sexual immorality, as some of them did, and in one day twenty-three thousand fell.

 

The most important thing about a person is what comes into their mind when they think about God (A.W. Tozer). This is why studying scripture is vitally important. Generally speaking, a person who never reads their Bible has consciously or unconsciously chosen to “fashion” Jesus according to their own desires. Contrariwise, someone who longs to know Him for who He truly is will be a good student of the Bible. The Bible is, first and foremost, God’s revelation of Himself. 

Fabricating Jehovah (YHWH)

While Moses was on the mountain receiving revelation from Jehovah God (YHWH) in Exodus 32, the people were at the bottom, conjuring up their own way to understand and worship Him. The Israelites wanted to diminish God. They rejected the awesome Creator God, who revealed Himself by fire on the Mountain. They didn’t want a God like that or one they had to reverence and fear. We discover that they wanted a god they could “play around,” which meant they could get drunk and party wildly. 

To accomplish this goal of diminishing God, they summoned Aaron, who was called to lead the people in God’s service. He agreed and told them to take off their golden earrings so he could melt them down. They saw the God of the mountain and rejected that revelation, so they needed a more agreeable substitute.

He ended up fashioning (carving, casting, or molding) an image of what was supposed to be Jehovah God (YHWH), but this image was less than a man— it was a bull calf (albeit molten gold to suggest deity). What madness! What blasphemy! Some people are far more willing to worship a god such as this than to recognize, honor, and worship Him for the omnipotent Creator that He is. Like the Israelites donating their gold for the project, they will spare no expense for a minister willing to do it. 

What Aaron did seems almost diabolical, as if Satan knew that God would someday reveal Himself through His Son Jesus Christ as the Lamb. Aaron’s golden image was in complete contradiction to the spotless lambs that he would offer to God as blood and burnt offerings. But this is the exchange, the lifeless Golden Calf for the living Lamb of God. 

Beliefs Guide Behavior 

Somehow, they knew their perception of God would directly impact their behavior. Then they said, “This is your god, O Israel, that brought you out of the land of Egypt!”(Exodus 32:4b). How will they EVER honor God for who He is after diminishing Him into some vain Egyptian god-like figure? They lie to themselves about God, and Aaron participates in the process. This is the OPPOSITE of exalting God. 

Another clue into their thinking manifests when we realize that the calf symbolizes power and fertility in ancient Egypt. Think of that combination as it relates to the Corinthians. They operated in the power (gifts of the Spirit), but fornication was rife among them. Israel fell into idolatry almost immediately by creating images of calves (Exodus 32:4, Exodus 32:8, Exodus 32:19; Deuteronomy 9:16). Centuries later, two calf images were set up in northern Israel as an expression of their rebellion against the one true God (1 Kings 12:28, 1 Kings 12:32; 2 Kings 10:29). The calf served as an alternative to Jehovah God.

Another Jehovah? 

If you were to ask the people, “Are you serving Jehovah (YHWH)?” They would probably answer, “Yes!” Then what God was Moses worshipping? He worshipped the God He experienced on the Mountain that burned with fire and has rules regarding how He will be approached. The Israelites wanted nothing to do with a God like that. They wanted a harmless god to meet their needs and let them play. 

What happened? Aaron took the golden earrings and such from the people, made this calf, and then added an altar to suggest that this thing was a point of contact for the one true God. With the stroke of a chisel, Aaron redefined God to match what the Israelites wanted. 

Yet God would never think of identifying with an object made with man’s device, such as an idol or graven image. Nevertheless, this did not stop the people from pursuing their plans. In their depraved minds, they believed they could change God. Why were they doing this? Their goal is spelled out: “The people ate, and they drank, and they rose up to play.”

Party Worship?

They wanted to “play” like a wild party rather than participate in the serious style of worship God gave to Moses. Play within this context carries serious, sexual overtones. Many of the rabbis, early church leaders, and scholars today believe that the people were involving themselves in some sexual activity as they would “play around” or “worship“ this golden calf. It is hard to fathom the blasphemy of suggesting that Jehovah could be worshiped in this way. 

In the absence of the fear of God, all kinds of blasphemy and sin are possible, especially sexual sin. God had to strike down thousands of Israelites and then smite Aaron’s sons Nadab and Abihu to instill in the people that He is Jehovah (YHWH) and not the impotent idols of Egypt. He is to be reverenced and honored. Yet the fear of God wasn’t in their theology, and it showed. 

New Testament Application

Paul uses this event to warn the Corinthians not to behave like those in Exodus 32. He reminded them of the 30+ thousand people who were struck down for their fornication. He did it once, enough to reveal forever His estimate of “playing” rather than genuinely worshipping.  

More specifically, Paul intended to express God’s estimate of utilizing the worship service and the gathering of the Saints as an opportunity to pick up sexual partners and engage in unbridled lust, fornication, and adultery. He warned them in the strongest terms. But you would need to read your Bible consistently to know this.

The time would fail to list the multitudes of people over the centuries who went to church solely to find a boyfriend or girlfriend and carry them off. What’s worse is that some are predators like Hophni and Phinehas, who used their position as priests to pick up sexual partners. They were struck down, too, in the end. 

Be Not Conformed to this World

What Aaron and the people had done in mixing the worship of Jehovah God with the pagan practices of the Egyptians, the Corinthians were at risk of receiving “another Jesus” from the hands of some slick preacher who, like Aaron, diminished the reality of who Christ is. Jesus is our Creator. He is the KING OF KINGS and LORD OF LORDS. He is the Lamb of God slain from the foundation of the world. His eyes are like a flaming fire, and His feet are like fine brass. When John saw him in Revelation 1, he fell at Jesus’ feet as dead. He will someday judge all the earth.  

In modern times, many (if not most) cannot relate to Jesus, as found in the book of Revelation. We live in the age of “itching ears” where compromised teachers fashion a mixture of Christ and the world of our day. Theirs is a harmless “Jesus” that loves and never judges. He is a hell-less “Jesus,” although we would know almost nothing about Hell had He not told us.  

Sadly, when someone preaches the Biblical Jesus, the hearers often look as dumbfounded and confused as the Israelites when Moses came down from the mountain with his face shining. As if to say, “We don’t want that Jesus!” When they read Revelation chapter 1, it’s as if they think, “Cover that glory!” Why? Because nobody can “play” around THAT Jesus. So multitudes fabricate for themselves a golden calf (as it were), “another Jesus,” in exchange for the Lamb of God.