Know Your Bible Devotions for MenSample

Why Would the Israelites Rebel against God?

God had miraculously brought the Israelites — His beloved, chosen people — out of slavery in Egypt and then performed countless miracles to meet their needs on the way to the promised land. But then the people grew impatient — and they sinned terribly against their God. As Moses spent weeks on Mount Sinai receiving God’s laws, the people grew tired of waiting for their leader to return. So in a flagrant disregard for the first three commandments, they asked Aaron, Moses’ brother, to build them a golden idol — just like those they’d seen in Egypt. Aaron made the idol and an altar to place in front of it, and the Israelites made sacrifices (Exodus 32:1–6). When Moses saw what was happening, he was furious with the people and his own brother. He prayed for the Israelites, but God still sent a deadly plague on them. The Bible instructs God’s people many times to “wait upon the Lord.” The Israelites failed to do that, and it cost them dearly. May we never be like the Israelites at the foot of Mount Sinai.