Episode 2510 - Lesson 11 - Sunday September 07 - Failed Leadership

Failed LeadershipGod called Moses to spend time with Him. Forty days and forty nights might have been a short period for Moses, but it seemed long, too long, for the Israelites. Their visible leader was absent. They became disoriented, impatient, fearful, and insecure. They wanted to have a visible god who would lead them, the "gods" whom they had seen all their lives in idolatrous Egypt.Read Exodus 32:1-6. How was it possible for Aaron’s leadership to fail so spectacularly?Aaron did not rise to the occasion. He failed to seize the moment and do what was right. Instead of trusting the Lord, he wilted before the majority. The people demanded the unthinkable: "Come, make us a god who will go before us" (Exod. 32:1, NASB), and he consented.People willingly gave gold to make the idol, and Aaron not only did not stop them, but in fact, he invited them to donate. He then participated in the molding of this false god. Afterward, the people declared: "This is your god, Israel, who brought you up from the land of Egypt" (Exod. 32:4, NASB). So sinful, wicked, and shortsighted. They had just fabricated this idol and then stated that it, the idol, had delivered them. Isn’t it amazing how sinful desires can pervert our thinking and actions? People celebrate their own creations, and their humanity and morality become debased in the process."Such a crisis demanded a man of firmness, decision, and unflinching courage; one who held the honor of God above popular favor, personal safety, or life itself. But the present leader of Israel was not of this character. Aaron feebly remonstrated with the people, but his wavering and timidity at the critical moment only rendered them the more determined. The tumult increased. A blind, unreasoning frenzy seemed to take possession of the multitude. There were some who remained true to their covenant with God, but the greater part of the people joined in the apostasy. Aaron feared for his own safety; and instead of nobly standing up for the honor of God, he yielded to the demands of the multitude."—Ellen G. White, Patriarchs and Prophets, pp. 316, 317.How could Aaron, a leader, have been so weak? In what ways might Aaron have sought to justify in his own heart his terrible actions?