The Old Testament Book of Exodus describes the construction of a calf made of solid gold. It all occurred while Moses was up on Mount Sinai, receiving the 10 Commandments from God. Moses received a lot more than just the 10 Commandments. God gave him many rules and regulations for the people of Israel to live by. The Bible tells us that Moses was up on the mountain 40 days and 40 nights before he returned to the people. Unfortunately, the people became impatient. Let's pick up the story in Exodus:
When the people saw how long it was taking Moses to come back down the mountain, they gathered around Aaron. “Come on,” they said, “make us some gods who can lead us. We don’t know what happened to this fellow Moses, who brought us here from the land of Egypt.” So Aaron said, “Take the gold rings from the ears of your wives and sons and daughters, and bring them to me.” All the people took the gold rings from their ears and brought them to Aaron. Then Aaron took the gold, melted it down, and molded it into the shape of a calf. When the people saw it, they exclaimed, “O Israel, these are the gods who brought you out of the land of Egypt!” (Exodus 32:1-4 NLT)
God knew exactly what they were doing, making a false idol to worship, and He became very angry.
The Lord told Moses, “Quick! Go down the mountain! Your people whom you brought from the land of Egypt have corrupted themselves. How quickly they have turned away from the way I commanded them to live! They have melted down gold and made a calf, and they have bowed down and sacrificed to it. They are saying, ‘These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you out of the land of Egypt.’” (Exodus 32:1-4 NLT)
As a matter of fact, God became so angry He wanted to wipe out the entire nation of Israel. Fortunately, Moses convinced Him to change His mind. Here's what happens next:
When they (Moses and Joshua) came near the camp, Moses saw the calf and the dancing, and he burned with anger. He threw the stone tablets to the ground, smashing them at the foot of the mountain. (Exodus 32:19 NLT)
The next verse solves the mystery of what happened to the golden calf and reveals its final destination.
He took the calf they had made and burned it. Then he ground it into powder, threw it into the water, and forced the people to drink it. (Exodus 32:19 NLT)
Now we all know what happens when you ingest something. Since gold is not poisonous, it will pass through the intestines and eventually come out as you know what. In other words, God had the golden calf end up in the dung pile!
The morale of the story: When you worship a false idol and not the true God, everything turns to crap.
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