Week 12: Golden Calf

Pastor Justin dives into the book of Exodus as a narrative about a marriage covenant between God and Israel, emphasizing the dramatic turn of events in Chapter 32, where the "honeymoon" is disrupted by the sin of the Golden Calf, an act of adultery and deliberate rebellion. He highlights that God's immediate response of righteous anger was justified by His perfect holiness, similar to how C.S. Lewis describes Aslan as not "safe" but definitively "good," instilling a necessary "fear of the Lord." Crucially, Pastor Justin focuses on God's demonstration of mercy over strict justice, despite the death penalty being warranted, revealing His desire for reconciliation through the intercession of a mediator like Moses, who ultimately points toward Jesus as the perfect mediator and substitute whose sacrifice makes the covenant unbreakable.