Exodus 32:1-29

Today's passage is about arguably Israel's most famous sin, right at the moment they have received the covenant: worshipping the golden calf. But before we get to that, watch this Bible Project video that describes what the bible means by the word 'sin':

• What did you learn from the video?

• What do you think makes people sin against God?

Read Exodus 32:1-6

• What do you think made the Israelites sin against God like this?

  • How could they do this so quickly after being saved from Egypt, and in the very moment of receiving the Covenant?

• What version of the story of Exodus are they telling themselves in this moment, and why?

• What can we learn about our own human propensity to sin by reading this story?

• What do you imagine God would have been feeling, seeing all this happening with his chosen people?

Read Exodus 32:7-10

• What stands out to you about God's response to Israel's unfaithfulness/sin?

• How do you imagine Moses would have felt about the offer to start over again, with Moses as the new Abraham? (v10)

Read Exodus 32:11-14

• What stands out to you about Moses's response here?

• How do we make sense of the idea that God 'relented' or 'changed his mind' (v14)? Can a human being change the mind of God? If so, how? If not, how do we understand what is happening here?

• What parallels do you see in this whole story with our own experience of our sin, God's judgement and His mercy?

Read Hebrews 12:18-29

• How does the writer of Hebrews link the experience of Israel at Mount Sinai with the Christian experience of God's judgement and mercy? What do these words tell us about our own covenantal relationship with the same God we read about in Exodus 32?

Spend some time in quiet personal prayer and reflection. Take the time to consider your own sin, to repent of the ways we have missed the mark, and to thank God for the intercession of Jesus, the mediator of the new covenant.

Then, join together with one another to praise God for His faithfulness and forgiveness.