THE REFUGE
As we look at this chapter of Aaron’s life, it should drive fear into the heart of every Christian. Aaron saw firsthand the very power of Almighty God. He saw the Lord’s omnipotent power take the lives of the first born of Egypt. He was present when the Lord, with the blast of His nostrils, parted the Red Sea, standing the mighty waters up in a heap, providing dry ground for the deliverance of His people. Not only did Aaron cross through the Red Sea with the people, three days later, while in the wilderness, he also saw the Lord make the bitter waters of Mara sweet by commanding Moses to cast a tree limb into it. Let us also not forget, as recorded in the scriptures that he drank the water that flowed out of the rock of Horeb by the power of God’s word. Aaron saw the demonstration of The Lord’s power unlike anyone else, and yet he still turned back to the pagan worship of Egypt.
Aaron witnessed one of the greatest historical events in all the history of Israel. May Aaron’s life serve as a testimony to the deceitfulness of the human heart. For just a little more than three months later, while Moses was in the presence of The Lord on top of Mount Sinai receiving the law, Aaron conformed to the ways of the people. Impatient at Moses’s delay in returning to them, the people asked Aaron to make an idol for them. Instead of standing boldly for the truth, he replied, “Tear off the gold rings which are in the ears of your wives, your sons and your daughters and bring them to me.” Aaron, blinded by his deceitful heart, formed the golden earrings into a golden calf. This was an act that was expressly forbidden by the Lord. After the calf was formed, the people broke out in revelry worshiping the golden idol. They were eating, dancing, drinking, and indulging themselves in sexual immorality. They professed to be worshiping the Lord, but in all reality, they were worshiping the perversions of their evil hearts. The Lord had blessed His people with the wealth of Egypt when they left, but they took the very gifts the Lord had given them and used them to satisfy the sinfulness of their wicked hearts.
How easy is it for the eyes of the heart to become blinded by the allurements and attractions of this deceitful world? Christians, let not the eyes of your heart become mesmerized by the seductive influences of this world. Shall you allow the mind, which governs the members of your body, to become as filthy as an unclean bird cage? Come now, those who have been redeemed by the blood of the Lamb, consider the members of your body dead to all sinful deeds and wickedness. Enter boldly before the throne of The Lord and ask Him for strength and wisdom to deflect the darts of the evil one. See to it that you do not become lulled to sleep like Sampson in the lap of Delilah, but be steadfast, abounding in the truth of God’s word, resisting the temptations of the devil.