Unlike Exodus 19:8 and 24:3, where all the people promise to obey the Lord’s commands, this story emphasizes their unfaithfulness to the Covenant. They try to justify their actions, often called apostasy, by citing the absence of Moses and their lack of knowledge about his location (1). In fact, 24:18 tells us Moses went up the mountain and stayed there for forty days and nights. What happens here occurs in Moses’s absence, but with Aaron present and giving his approval. Many interpretations have been offered about this passage, but a single, widely accepted understanding has not been reached. For now, it is most helpful to see this story as full of symbolism that shows, from the start, Israel as a people has demonstrated unfaithfulness and rejection of the God who gave them life. Still, God does not destroy his people because he depends on Moses, the mediator. Moses fulfills his role so well that he persuades God to reconsider his decision, leading to forgiveness and loving acceptance of the offenders (14).
This pattern recurs throughout Israel’s entire history and helps us understand the message of the prophets. It is also the key to grasping the impact of this passage, which has been reread and updated during the most difficult moments in the people’s history. Let us remember the time of exile (587-534 B.C.), when everything was lost, including nearly the very faith in the Lord. Certainly, rereading this passage led to a revival of faith and hope—faith that the God who had been committed to the people since the time of slavery, who did not wipe them out during other hardships, would not destroy or abandon them now, as long as the people acknowledged their faults. Therefore, it is clear that God commits to Israel not because it is the best of all, but precisely because it is sinful and also the theological center of the same “divine hope”—God also has hope—in the change of the people through His justice.