Coming Home
Exodus 32
By Bruce Venable

Moses had been on a mission. He was spending time with God and then reporting to the people as God instructed. From Ex. 24:18, we know that it was 40 days and if you add the previous trips “up the mountain” it was a little longer. During this period Moses received the 10 Commandments, various laws for governing the people, property rights, personal injury, and more. From the very lips of God, Moses received guidelines for living a life pleasing to God, a plan for developing a community committed to God, and a blueprint for the place to worship God. Obviously, this was big-stuff! Moses had been in God’s presence.

Make a list of the emotions you think Moses may have experienced as he descended from the mountain:

For more than 40 days, you have been on assignment with God. The time has come for you to descend the mountain and report to your people all you have seen, experienced and heard.

Identify the emotions you have experienced upon your return:

Which of these emotions are the same with how you think Moses felt?

As is the case with many summer missionaries, Moses did not come home to what he had hoped and expected.

Read Exodus 32: 1 – 7.

In verse 1 we see that the people:
A. Lost sight of how God had used Moses. “…as for this Moses, the man who brought us up out of the land of Egypt…(NASB)” One can almost hear contempt in their voices. Perhaps they were saying, “Hey that Moses guy got us into this mess!”

B. Determined that whatever God was doing with him, was not going to effect them. “…make a god who will go before us…we don’t know what has become of Moses…”(NASB) It is unbelievable that the very people who had walked with Moses, seen God’s work in his life, and witnessed the miracles God provided would so quickly turn to business as usual. But in the reality of life, it is not too uncommon for us to quickly forget God’s work and develop a “what have you done for me lately” attitude.

You may have faced similar attitudes from close friends and family upon your return home. There may be a struggle to understand their lack of interest. Sometimes it is difficult to find people willing to just listen to your story. If this is the case, consider this:

1. Your friends and family may not have become corrupted, but they have not been to the mountaintop with you.

While you have been out of your normal routines, they have continued in theirs. While you were stretched beyond imagination, they may have been plain bored. While you witnessed God at work, they may have just gone to work. While God has molded and changed you, they may be the same as they were when you left. Let’s face it, coming back to the same environment as a different person can have some challenges.

Take a moment to summarize in a few sentences how you believe God has changed you while you’ve been serving. How would you describe the “different” you?

2. They can never fully understand what you have experienced.

Have you ever seen a great movie and begin to try to describe it to someone? Something is usually lost in the interpretation. Really unless they see it, or experience it, they just don’t get it. This is not necessarily a bad thing. It is just how it is. This was your journey with God, not theirs. Don’t get too frustrated by getting hung up on the fact that no one fully understands. Some people will understand more than others. But God knows full well. Celebrate your experiences with Him as well as others.

Write some one-sentence descriptions of your experiences. You can probably write a notebook full, but think about them for a while and write some simple, concrete statements that highlight the summer.

3. Some may not even be concerned.
Honestly, there will be some who are so focused on “their own thing” that they are not concerned about anyone else. You are not the problem, they may not be mature enough to handle anything outside of their own life.

So what do you do? How do you cope with these issues so that you can correctly process all that is inside of you? Here are 4 practical suggestions that come from Exodus that we can see from Moses’ experience.

1. Moses intervened for those he cared about. – Read Exodus 32:7 – 14. Moses didn’t develop a “sick’em God” attitude. He didn’t become spiritually aloof and think he was better for his experience. He simply pleaded with God to spare them. You see, coming down from the mountain didn’t change the ministry to which God had called him. The geographical location changed, he was no longer going to be on the mountain. But his call to lead the people to know God was the same. So it is with you.

2. Moses re-connected with another leader that God had chosen. See Exodus 32: 19 – 22. Moses anger was certainly apparent. But his concern was to find out what had happened and then do what was necessary make a difference. He went to Aaron to begin the process. You should reconnect with a spiritual leader. This may be your Pastor, BCM Director, Church Collegiate Minister, etc. Obviously they are not responsible for other people’s actions. But they are ones you can count on to help you find direction and understanding while on this part of your spiritual journey.

3. Moses re-defined relationships. Look Exodus 32:23 – 28. He calls for the followers of the Lord to gather with them. What happens next is incredibly drastic. But remember this, it was his responsibility to keep God’s people pure. In order to do so, 3000 were slain.

Now, don’t go purchase your sword. But ask yourself this question. What do I need to do in order to walk through this portion of my life. Simply put, there may be those with whom you have relationships with that pull you down. You may need to back away from those people in order to continue on the new path God has led you on. You’ve changed. Perhaps new close relationships are in order so that you may acquire solid footing on your new path. Don’t withdraw from everyone. Find others of similar values and desires.

4. Moses stayed connected to God. Don’t run from the One who has been faithful. Often times, spiritual highs can lead to lows. Moses continued to be faithful to God and lead the people. Living a life of faithful obedience isn’t always easy, but it is always worth it. Remain faithful to God no matter what. I Corinthians 15:58 reminds us, “Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your work in the Lord is never wasted.” (NCV)

A story is told about a boy who lives in the Mountains with his family. He heard that a circus was coming to town in the coming weekend. He had always wanted to see a circus. He could only dream of what that would be like. So, he asked his father if he could attend. His father agreed that if he finished his chores early on Saturday, he could go.

Saturday came and he awoke extra early and did his chores with extreme diligence and speed! After he finished, his father gave him the money that he would need in order to pay the admission to attend. The boy began his journey into town trying to imagine the sights and sounds he would experience.

As he entered the town he was awed! Coming down the street was the most incredible sight he could ever imagine. It defied words. It was more than he imagined. He pushed his way to the front of the crowd to get a view of the incredible sights. There were beautiful floats made of tissue with colorfully dressed people waving and throwing candy into the crown. There were jugglers, animals of all kinds and so many incredible people doing amazing things. And the clowns… some were so tall, others small, and all of them looked so happy.

As one of the clowns made his way toward the little boy he extended his hand. The boy thought that this must be the time that he was to pay his money for admission. So, he quickly dug into his pocket, grabbed the money his dad had given him and placed it into the clowns hand.

When the parade had passed and the crowd begin to move away. The boy went started home. His mind was full of the wonderful things he had experienced. It wasn’t until the next week while at school that he realized his mistake. He only attended a parade, the beginning of the circus, and had missed the main event.

God forbid, that you would walk away from a summer of memorable experiences and place your hopes and dreams into the “hand of a clown” and miss the main event. God is not finished with your summer. God is not finished with you. Perhaps it was only the parade and the main event is still ahead. Jesus said, “I came to give you abundant life.” Move forward.

Pray and ask God what needs to happen next in your life. Write a plan for the next week. What steps do you need to take?

Bruce W. Venable serves as the Associate State Director for the Louisiana Baptist Convention Division of Collegiate Ministry