“What’s In Your Drinking Water?”
Text: Exodus 32:15-20
11-9-2025
Grace, mercy, and peace be unto from God our Father, and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen. If you’re like me, you probably remember our Old Testament lesson from your Sunday School days. I can still see that picture of the people dancing around the golden calf, while in the background Moses is coming down the mountain holding the 2 tablets of the 10 Commandments as he stops at the sight of this scene. The lesson we learned was to not worship idols. Now, there’s nothing wrong with that basic understanding of what happened but there’s so much more to this text which can instruct and strengthen our faith. So, let’s start with a brief review of history leading up to this incident.
You’ll recall the Israelites had lived in Egypt for 430 years. And during that time, they certainly took notice of the gods their Egyptian neighbors worshiped. One of the more popular gods was Apis. Can you guess what kind of animal the statues of this god were modeled after? Yep, a bull calf. You see, the Israelites didn’t just dream up a golden calf to worship on their own. They were copying their former slave masters.
God sent Moses to Pharaoh to say, “Let my people go!” When Pharaoh refused, God sent 10 Plagues. By #10 Pharaoh agreed to let them go free. As the Israelites left, God caused the Egyptians to give gold jewelry to their former slaves. And that’s where the people of Israel got the gold to make the golden calf with. As Israel headed toward the Sinai desert where they would meet with God, He rescued them from the pursuing Egyptians and provided them with food and water several times, all in miraculous ways.
Keep in mind, it was only 3 months since they had left Egypt. All these powerful miracles should’ve been very fresh in their minds. When they gathered at the base of Mt. Sinai, God spoke the Ten Commandments to the Israelites. And what’s the first one? You shall have not make or worship false gods. The Israelites publicly agreed to accept God’s Covenant. Then, Moses went up the mountain to get a written copy of the Covenant. Do you understand why I’m making such a big deal about what happened before Moses got the written copy? These people had no excuse for disobeying the 10 Commandments. They had already been told. That was good enough. They were just waiting for a written copy. Moses was up on the mountain for 40 days getting it. But as they waited, they quickly grew impatient. So, they went to Aaron, Moses’ brother, who was left in charge and demanded that he make for them a visual god that they could worship, which he did.
To make matters worse, they were having a wild party as part of their worship of this new god. Our text says they were celebrating by dancing. That’s putting it mildly. The Hebrew word suggests it was actually a drunken orgy. After all, that’s how they had seen the Egyptians worship their gods. Understandably, the true God was angry about this. It was more than just whining or complaining. It was blatant rebellion by the same people who had promised to obey God’s commandments. Moses was filled with righteous anger when he saw this terrible thing. He was so angry that he threw down the 2 tablets with the Ten Commandments written on them.. That action is very significant. God had made a covenant with these people and they freely agreed to obey it. Now, they had broken that covenant. So, Moses broke the written copy to symbolize the terrible thing they had done.
Next, Moses did something odd that we may not understand. As you heard in the text, he took the golden calf, burned it, ground it into powder, then sprinkled it onto the water and forced the people to drink it. This also was done to symbolize something important. If seeing the 2 tablets of the Covenant broken didn’t stick in their minds, then this business with the water definitely ought to leave an unforgettable impression. And here’s why: Their so-called “god” was decimated to powder. This worthless “god” they had worshiped was now going to pass through their digestive system and be treated with disgust like all the rest of the waste from their bodies. And also, by having everyone drink this tainted water, they each were forced to take responsibility for their own sin. I have no idea what that powder made the water taste like. But even if it was a neutral flavor, I’m sure it tasted bitter in their souls. Thankfully the Bible tells us that most of the Israelites did repent of their sin and God forgave them.
Okay, so that’s the sordid story of Israel’s terrible sin of rebellion and idolatry. But now we need to ask the question: “What does this say to me?” Well, obviously I haven’t seen anybody crafting a golden calf lately in order to worship it. But that doesn’t mean people aren’t still breaking God’s clear command about not worshiping any other god except Him. So, what gods do modern people make for themselves? Martin Luther said that “A god is that to which we look for the highest good in our lives.” In other words, our false god could end up being anything or anybody. It can be money, possessions, your reputation, your job, your intelligence, fame, another person, and yes, your “god” can even be yourself. If you’re trusting in anything above and beyond the true God of heaven, then you’re worshiping a false god.
You know, it’s awful easy to nod your head indicating you understand. But has the reality of this really sunk in for you? Perhaps we would grasp the truth if we had to go through what the Israelites did? If God had us grind up our false gods into powder and sprinkle them in our drinking water, maybe then the message would sink in. If that happened, what would be in your drinking water? Would it taste like a ground up tractor? I’ve got news for you, it doesn’t matter if you worship the green ones or the red ones, the taste would leave a lasting impression. Or what would it taste like to have our car or pick-up ground into powder and sprinkled in our water? Or what about your home, your TV, your smartphone, or laptop? How about something more palatable? Like your college diploma or stock portfolio? Just like with the Israelites, even if the taste were neutral, that drink would be bitter to our souls if we recognized the magnitude of our sin against God.
Sadly, it won’t have any effect on some people. They’ll continue pouring out money at the altar of the casinos and the lottery. They’ll continue worshiping their online pornography. Others will leave their spouse or children in order to worship their lust for different lovers. Some will still bow down to worship their bottle of booze or baggie of drugs. Sadly, the bitter drink of their sin will have no effect.
Thankfully, God’s intention for His people hasn’t changed. It was the same for the Israelites as it is for us. God is patient. He loves us and provides for us. But He is also very jealous for our love. He won’t share it with any false gods we may create to worship. In His own way and in His own time He causes those false gods to crumble. The Lord wants us to see the worthlessness of trusting in anyone or anything but Him. Sometimes, when we stubbornly refuse to let go of our idols, He allows us to drink from the bitter cup of our pulverized false gods. He isn’t trying to poison or kill us. No. Just like the Israelites He still cherishes us as His beloved children. He simply wants us to repent and to be purified by Him. He does that by leading us to confess our sins. He then graciously announces our absolution where we hear that He has forgiven us. He wants to wash away the bitterness of that cup tainted by the sprinkling of our sin. He wants to replace that bitter drink with the sweet, cleansing blood of Jesus Christ. Even though we may have broken God’s Covenant, His love for us remains unbroken. He assures us of that forgiveness and love as He invites us to the Lord’s Supper. Here, we taste and receive the sweet cup of His cleansing blood along with His body. That cup is sweet for us because Christ drank the bitter cup of God’s wrath against our sin. On the cross, He took the punishment we deserved. As a Baptized child of God, all of those blessings are yours. And now, with the power of Christ working in our hearts, we can resist the temptations of sin and thereby avoid having to swallow the bitterness of that sin later. So, ask God to open your eyes every day to the golden calves you’ve erected in your life. Ask Him to destroy them. Ask Him to forgive you. Believe in His promise that He will. And then ask Him to redirect your trust from any false gods of this world, back to Him, our only true God. Amen.
Soli Deo Gloria