Reading for Monday, 17th Week in Ordinary Time

From: Exodus 32:15-24, 30-34

The Golden Calf is Destroyed
[15] And Moses turned, and went down from the mountain with the two tables of the testimony in his hands, tables that were written on both sides; on the one side and on the other were they written. [16] And the tables were the work of God, and the writing was the writing of God, graven upon the tables. [17] When Joshua heard the noise of the people as they shouted, he said to Moses, "There is noise of war in the camp." [18] But he said, "It is not the sound of shouting for victory, or the sound of the cry of defeat, but the sound of singing that I hear." [9] And as soon as became near the camp and saw the calf and the dancing, Moses' anger burned hot and he threw the tables out of his hands and broke them at the foot of the mountain. [20] And he took the calf which they had made, and burnt it with fire, and ground it to powder, and scattered it upon the water, and made the people of Israel drink it. [21] And Moses said to Aaron, "What did this people do to you that you have brought a great sin upon them?" [22] And Aaron said, "Let not the anger of my lord burn hot; you know the people, that they are set on evil. [23] For they said to me, 'Make us gods, who shall go before us; as for this Moses, the man who brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.' [24] And I said to them, 'Let any who have gold take it off'; so they gave it to me, and I threw it into the fire, and there came out this calf."

Moses Intercedes Again
[30] On the morrow Moses said to the people, "You have sinned a great sin. And now I will go up to the Lord; perhaps I can make atonement for your sin." [31] So Moses returned to the Lord and said, "Alas, this people have sinned a great sin; they have made for themselves gods of gold. [32] But now, if thou wilt forgive their sin--and if not, blot me, I pray thee, out of thy book which thou hast written." [33] But the Lord said to Moses, "Whoever has sinned against me, him will I blot out of my book. [34] But now go, lead the people to the place of which I have spoken to you; behold, my angel shall go before you. Nevertheless, in the day when I visit, I will visit their sin upon them."
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Commentary:
32:15-24. The punishment described in these verses is full of significance. In the first place, Moses breaks the tables on which God wrote the Law (vv. 16, 9), thereby showing that sin has broken the Covenant, and that the main effect of and punishment for sin is not to have the Law (cf. Amos 8:11-12), that is, what today we would call loss of the sense of sin.

Moses destroys the calf because of itself it has no power. The tables were "the work of God" (v. 16), whereas the calf was something made by men (v. 20). And he gives the people the residue of the calf to drink (v. 20), in a gesture which is reminiscent of trials by ordeal (cf Num 5:23-24), but the main point he is making is that sin is personal: only those who have sinned are to be punished. And his reproach to Aaron, which echoes that which God made to Adam (cf. Gen 3:11), identifies the man who is truly to blame.

The mystery of sin affects even key figures chosen by God, and the Bible does not disguise this fact. Elsewhere Moses is reminded of his own sin (cf. Num 20: 12; Deut 32:51). as is David (cf. 1 Sam 12:7-9); and in the New Testament Peter's denials are also recorded in detail (Mt 26:69-75). It is God who shapes the history of salvation, and he does this despite our infidelities.

32:30-35. This new dialogue between Moses and God sums up the content of the whole chapter. Once again Moses plays intercessor, and the Lord shows himself to be merciful and forgiving. "From this intimacy with the faithful God, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, Moses drew strength and determination for his intercession (cf. Ex 34:6). He does not pray for himself but for the people whom God made his own. Moses already intercedes for them during the battle with the Amalekites (cf. Ex 17:8-13) and prays to obtain healing for Miriam (cf. Num 12:13-14). But it is chiefly after their apostasy that Moses 'stands in the breach' before God in order to save the people (Ps 106:23; cf. Ex 32:1-34:9). The arguments of his prayer--for intercession is also a mysterious battle--will inspire the boldness of the great intercessors among the Jewish people and in the Church: God is love; he is therefore righteous and faithful; he cannot contradict himself; he must remember his marvellous deeds, since his glory is at stake, and he cannot forsake this people that bears his name" ("Catechism of the Catholic Church", 2577).

But the people still has a penalty to pay for its offense (v. 34). Throughout the course of its history Israel continues to be aware that it deserves severe punishment for this and other sins that follow. The prophets say that Israel's debt is paid for by the exile in Babylon.

The reference to the book in which God writes the names of those whom he has chosen (in a kind of census, as it were: cf. Is 4:3; Rev 3:5, 12; 17:8), is a graphic way of showing that God has special love for those who have a mission to fulfill in the work of salvation.
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Source: "The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries". Biblical text taken from the Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries made by members of the Faculty of Theology of the University of Navarre, Spain. Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland. Reprinted with permission from Four Courts Press and Scepter Publishers, the U.S. publisher.