Verses 22–23: “Aaron replied, ‘Do not be angry sir, the people were deeply troubled; that you well know. And they said to me, ‘Make us gods to go ahead of us, as for this fellow Moses, who brought us up from Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.’’”
How often our impatience and unknowing cause our difficulties! Like the Israelites in this Scripture, we get antsy not knowing something, so we set about making what we know into gods. We cling to ideas, beliefs, values, or perceptions we are comfortable with, instead of seeking the felt presence of the Divine.
We forget that life starts from the Mystery of the Limitless Light, “the world without form and void.” We do not like the void or the darkness, so we create ways of living that thwart our libido/life force. We may even lose sight of our heart’s desires (which flow from the Self/God Within) as our libido/life force is captured in something stagnant.
Wherever we are attached to form, we eventually become stuck, lifeless, or empty. The form may be a relationship, a job situation, a habit, a belief, a thought pattern, etc. Forms are a necessary part of the human experience as we are called to embody—to manifest. Forms are problematic only when they become more important than the Spirit. When we hold to forms that thwart the flow of the Self/God Within, we make those forms into gods.
The Israelites had practice living in relationship to a fixed, tangible god of the golden calf. When troubled, they were unwilling to stay in the fluid, ever-evolving relationship with the Divine Spirit. Like the wandering Israelites, when we are troubled, we tend to reach for and return to what we know. Our allegiance goes to the relationships (to people, places, structures, teachings, beliefs, feelings, desires, and thoughts) that have been in place, instead of opening to the Spirit in the unknown or changing.
Inner Reflection
Consider where you are loyal to the manmade gods. What are the beliefs, relationships, feeling states, habit patterns, etc. that you know thwart your relationship to the Self/God Within? Where do you feel lifeless, stuck, or as if you are dying? Where are you afraid of change?
Open to feel what, where, and towards whom God Within is moving you (in the inner and outer worlds). Be courageous and stay with the discomfort until you sense in your body and mind the presence of the Divine flow. Set sacred intention to follow the energy of the Self/God Within.