God’s Story Research Paper

Signature Assignment Part 3: Final Paper
Name
Institution
Introduction
Many people believe Christianity is about having a personal relationship with God. They view this relationship as a basic need in their lives, which begs the question of how to reach and maintain the relationship established between human beings and the lord. The answer lies in worship. Nowadays, many people find reverence either true or false. Nonetheless, there is relevant evidence from the Bible on the basis of true or false worship. Based on the Golden Calf’s story, God cannot be symbolized in any form that people imagine. Specifically, The Golden Calf is linked to the theory of redemption in the predominant narrative in the Bible.
Resources
The Dictionary of the Old Testament: Pentateuch.
Philip Yancey: The Bible Jesus Read.
Miriam’s well: Narratives around the Bible by Ilene Cooper (APU Library)
Outline
The Topic of the Golden Calf and its connection to the greater subjects of creation, fall, and absolution in the central narrative in the Bible.
Understanding the initial meaning of the idea or importance of this person within Exodus or Deuteronomy.
Why it is imperative to comprehend the history, philosophy or significance of this person in the book of Exodus or Deuteronomy.
The insights gained from this story that could prove worthy in the context of today.
The Golden Calf
The Golden Calf was an idol that symbolized a god that Aaron had made for the Israelites to glorify. This occurred when Moses was still at Mount Sinai, where he had spent a significant number of days.

When the Israelites observed that Moses was taking too long to come back, they came to Aron and told him “Come and make us gods, and a homemade idol was cast taking the form of a calf.”(Exodus 32:1-4). The Israelites gave Aaron their gold ornaments that he melted and used to cast the calf, which he later presented to them (Alexander & Baker, 2003). They were very happy, and they began to worship the cast calf as their god. In this research paper, a comprehensive scrutiny of the connotation of the Golden Calf is carried out, its sensitivity to the biblical story, the significance of appreciating the theories touching on the idol, its primary gist and insights that people can gain, which have a meaning in the context of Christianity today.
The Importance of understanding the History, Culture or Significance of the Golden Calf in a Theological Perspective
A great appreciation is attached to understanding the theory behind the Golden Calf. The god, in this perspective, the Calf, is a pointer that throughout the period of Moses, idols were being worshipped. It was standard practice among many individuals. Furthermore, it clearly indicates that the Israelites might have come across the practice of idol worshipping when they were still in captivity, and during their exodus from Egypt (Yancey, 2001). From the theological perspective, according to the Canaanite writings, there was a chief god, who was also referred to as a bull. This narrative is considered as the ultimate scandal that occurred in the lives of the Israelites while in the desert (Deuteronomy 9:9-21).
The Connotation of the Golden Calf Idol to the Bible Narrative
According to the Bible narrative, The Golden Calf played a substantial part. Molding the idol indicates the level of exasperation that the people of Israel developed due to the absenteeism of Moses amongst them. Moreover, it shows that the real God was present among the Israelites, even when they were making their idol. This was even after Moses, who according to the Israelites was the representative of God among them, had gone missing for some time. It shows that there is a danger of sentiment when the sign of God is absent from somebody’s life.
The True meaning of the Golden Calf within Exodus/ Deuteronomy
When Aaron decided to make the Golden Calf, he never had any intention for it to be worshipped as an idol by the Israelites. This is seen in his declaration that a festival will be held in honor of the Lord, just after he had completed creating the Golden Calf. (Exodus 32:5). He declared to the Israelites that the calf was their god, who brought them out of their captivity from the land of Egypt,” (Exodus 32:4). Based on this declaration, the Israelites saw the Golden Calf as a representation of God. Possibly this was the motive behind people of Israel’s decision to ask for a god, who may well guide them as they had no clue what had transpired with Moses in Mount Sinai. In the same context, in ancient Egypt, where the Israelites were in captivity, there was a depiction of a king who sat on top of a calf, a way that symbolized divinity. It is argued that Aaron’s decision to cast the idol was informed by the necessity to create a platform where the Almighty God, who is invisible, would sit.
What insights gained could be meaningful for our context today
The Golden calf story has so scorched the situation into our awareness that it has turned into one among the prime deeds of apostasy in the story of Jews. The Israelites, very recently freed from slavery, were fearful when their leader Moses, climbed up Mount Sinai then didn’t return beforehand their endurance ran out. Fearing the most horrible, they donated the gold in their possession and asked Aaron to create a calf, a picture they could worship to assure them of their terror. From this Golden Calf story, there are insights gained that could be meaningful for our context today. We identify their inspiration from our individual yearning to carry a lucky piece into a scary situation, whether it’s an exam or a job interview. We think transiently how kissing the Torah or keeping a mezuzah on the entrance differs or resembles what was being sought by the Israelites. When do sacred objects serve as idols and when do they function simply as means to think of God? The injunction in contradiction of idolatry is perhaps the most regularly violated regulation in our religious conviction. That isn’t because we light candles before images or create statues, but for we perceive something that’s less than eventual as though it were a concern that is ultimate. We could create an idol from our own wealth or status.
The Almighty God we worship can’t be seen physically. However, our God shapes how we perceive everything we see. Therefore, God can’t be an image to our subjectivity. Thus, we cannot detect God through our senses. Moses wanted some hallucination that can provide reassurance. On the other hand, Israelites not seeing exactly what they needed, decided to make an idol (Tigay, 2009). Moses patiently waited for God’s help to understand how and where to seek his presence. This shows us that we should learn to be patient enough and always wait for what is real. Eventually, Israelites and Moses came to comprehend that to notice God, one should observe the efficiency of holiness in this world. We cannot experience Almighty God by a mere vision of a labeled object, but then an experience of kind-heartedness could make us remember the presence of God. All acts of goodness is also a primary sense of godliness and therefore can make use “see God.”
Conclusion
In this natural life, where, as per the Torah, no person can live and see God, waiting to see Almighty God leads us nowhere. However, while we accept and recognize that we won’t get to God via our sanities of sight, we could imagine. Imagination is in what way we could enter actuality and let it pass in us. Imagination isn’t wrong; it could fill in every empty space in our world. Jeremiah would envisage a period that, to this time still energize our optimism for the yet to come. Imagination isn’t a domain limited to prophets. We all want to visualize the modifications we desire to aid bring about. Our thoughts can empower and provide us with vision and hope to bring about the alterations we wish in this world. The techniques we view realism vary from an individual to another. The Torah provides us stories that give us a warranty for a hopeful vision of the globe and an utmost encouraging valuation of our capability to labor for its curative. We do not always recognize that every one of us forming an individual worldview aids figure the Judaism worldview at large. Therefore, it’s most significant that we take accountability for our personal worldview. The occurrence of the Golden Calf is really “golden” and treasured because it has fashioned us as a society that looks much deeper and seeks God through and in the morals, we ordain in this world.
References
Alexander T.D & Baker D.W (2003), Dictionary of the Old Testament: Pentateuch
Tigay, J. (2009). The Golden Calf. Retrieved February 26, 2018, from https://refohrmjudaism.org/what-was-golden-about-golden-calf
Yancey, P. (2001). The Bible Jesus Read. Zondervan.