Why in Exodus 33 did God tell the children of Israel to take off the jewelry after they had made the golden calf?
Exodus 33:1 - 23
ESV - 1 The Lord said to Moses, "Depart; go up from here, you and the people whom you have brought up out of the land of Egypt, to the land of which I swore to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, saying, 'To your offspring I will give it. 2 I will send an angel before you, and I will drive out the Canaanites, the Amorites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites.
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Asked September 25 2020
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Donlla Harris
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Tim Maas
According to Exodus 32:2, the gold from which Aaron fashioned the golden calf was obtained only from the ear ornaments that the Israelites wore, apparently leaving them still in possession of other jewelry (including gold items). I would say that God told the Israelites to take the action indicated in Exodus 33:5 as signs of humility, sacrifice, and also repentance for that previous action, and additionally to preclude the people from ever repeating their prior idolatry through the fashioning of another such icon.
Grant Abbott
Ornaments and fine clothes were a symbol of pride and independence, of attachment to the things of this world (their former life in Egypt). To humble them God used all sorts of discipline, like plagues, but he also made them lay aside their ornaments so they would stop remembering what they had left behind and start trusting God. They were so stiff-necked (filled with pride and independence) that God ultimately made them wander 40 years in the wilderness, so that generation all died, and he took their children into the promised land. We too can become so enamoured with the attractions of this world that we want to adorn ourselves with the symbols of our culture. Then our minds and hearts are drawn away from a pure and sincere devotion to Christ, and God has to discipline us too, so we will come back to him.
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