I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on Exodus 30-32.

    This passage describes the census tax which later became the Temple tax which Jesus had Peter pay for both of them by taking money from the mouth of a fish. I also find it interesting that when God gives Moses the recipe for the Tabernacle incense and the priestly anointing oil, He gives strict instructions that no one shall make incense or oil similar to those for any other usage or purpose. The importance of this comes from the subliminal impact which scents have on our thoughts and emotions. Things we smell can have a subtle effect on how we think and feel. God knew that if people experienced the scents of the anointing oil or the incense in other settings it would have one of two results. The first would be to cause people to feel worshipful towards whatever was the focus of activity in that other setting, which would be idolatry. The second would be to cause people to associate those scents with something other than worshiping God so that when they smelled them during worship they would be reminded of that other thing and be distracted from worshiping God.

    Initially, when Moses went up on to the mountain the people felt that it was a good thing to stop where they were and begin getting their lives organized (reading between the lines on this). However, after a while they began to feel like it was time to begin moving forward again but Moses had not yet returned. So, they went to Aaron for guidance. Aaron had no idea what they should do next, nor did he believe that he had the ability to keep the people unified. So, Aaron did what many leaders throughout history have done, he created a visual representation of God. I find it interesting that this visual representation was a calf. What is interesting is that later, when Jeroboam led the Northern Tribes to separate from the Southern Tribes, he built two golden calves at the place of worship he intended to replace Jerusalem. The other interesting thing is that it was a calf, not a bull. Many ancient peoples worshiped a bull god and/or a cow god, but when the Israelites made an idol it was a calf. I am unsure of the significance of this, but I am sure that it tells us something about their understanding of God.