The Mystery of the Golden Calf

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Blog Post for today…

The Mystery of the Golden Calf
The Mystery of the Golden Calf has bothered me for a long time. For me as a Canadian that was born and raised in the western part of Canada and connected to all things rural – Cows and Bulls were part of my life. They were not something that a person “worshiped”.

Yet in the midst of the initial days of the escape from Israel the People of God stop for 40 days and 40 nights at the base of a mountain and then build a bovine made of gold… to worship. They do this because their leader has left them unattended for too long.

One of these kinds of mysteries will pop up in your life time every once in a while. This is a fascinating one that surfaced again when the latest National Geographic Magazine arrived.

The Nat Geo article explains at length the finding of the hundreds of thousands of Mummified Pets (animals) in Egypt. The Links below will provide the article for you to read on line.

One of the creatures that was revered was the Bull… an Apis Bull. The people lived near Memphis, Egypt which is now Mit Rahina…. South of the present day Cario.

From the Nat Geo article – Quote…
“And some animals were mummified because they were the living representatives of a god. The venerable city of Memphis, the capital for much of Egypt's ancient history, covered 20 square miles at its largest in about 300 B.C., with a population of some 250,000. Today most of its crumbled glory lies under the village of Mit Rahina and the surrounding fields. But along a dusty lane, the ruins of a temple stand half hidden amid tufts of grass. This was the embalming house of the Apis bull, one of the most revered animals in all of ancient Egypt.

A symbol of strength and virility, the Apis was closely linked to the all-powerful king. He was part animal, part god and was chosen for veneration because of his unusual set of markings: a white triangle on his forehead, white winged patterns on his shoulders and rump, a scarab silhouette on his tongue, and double hairs at the end of his tail. During his lifetime he was kept in a special sanctuary, pampered by priests, adorned with gold and jewels, and worshipped by the multitudes. When he died, his divine essence was believed to move on to another bull, and so a search for the new one began. Meanwhile, the body of the deceased was transported to the temple and laid on a bed of finely carved travertine. Mummification took at least 70 days—40 to dry the enormous repository of flesh, and 30 to wrap it.” end quote.

Isn’t that interesting? The people that Moses leads away from the slavery situation that they are in… do not easily give up what they knew best… worshipping a Bull.

There is much to think about here. It is possible then that a portion of the People Moses is leading were from the area of Memphis and knew much about the practice and processes used then. They knew about the Bull and worshiped this Bull.

However this was not God’s plan for them. He was not pleased and showed it.

I do not intend to conduct a lengthy Bible Study with these words. You can do that yourself with the Links below and use it around the Coffee Shop for your conversations.

I simply point to the way that these Chosen People carried over the habits into their next life – to their detriment. So much of what they had lived like was completely woven into the fabric of their lives. They could not stop being who they had become.

Who they had become was not necessarily who God had wanted them to be. They had lived in relative safety in Egypt for a long time. And in doing so they had not known any other way.

This is so much like we have become in the Church today. We have been so long in the culture of what we accepted as a Norm for Christians – that this is all that we can present to a world that is hurting and looking for an answer.

Yes I am still mulling over the message from “The Shack”. In the book it so strongly points to RELATIONSHIPS over INSTITUTIONS. At least that is what I caught. In building the Mega Million Dollar Debt – MMDD places to worship God – I seriously fear that we have lost who he is or what it is all about.

Willie’s story about Mack has deeply stirred me again(in “The Shack”). I have had these thoughts for a long time as I watched corrupted men lead. They bothered me. Now out of the Blue at the right time The Shack has opened a door to much more thought!

Thanks again Brenda! Whoah!

Taking a serious look at the Apis Bull… the Children of Israel did something really stupid… they carried a “whole lot of Bull” along with them!

The church today has carried “a whole lot of Bull” with it as well – into most of what it does. The Bull the church has isn’t the Apis Bull either… it is the power trip Bull, the MMDD Bull, the lack of relationships/look at the back of someone else’s head Bull and think that is Christian.

Not long ago a very mean man died. He thought of himself as a Christian. In fact he shoved and pushed his kind of “christianity” on other people(small c intended). I experienced the wrath that came with my not doing what he stated I should do. I suffered his “meanness” and had to live with it.

This man’s meanness was felt by many. I saw a young person vow that he would never attend church again – or subscribe to that kind of “christianity”. The man was so full of the Bull of Power and Control that it killed others.

It is so sad to see the total affects of all of this Bull. The children of this fellow do not attend church. Why would they?!?

I think God has a problem with THAT kind of BULL in Heaven. And if the person doesn’t get rid of it before they leave… well what are the alternatives…. ??????

Okay, Okay… I am ranting now. The book, “The Shack” and the stories of the Apis Bull, mummification of a Bull, and all the rest has started me thinking again….

Thanks Brenda… sheesh!

~ Murray Lincoln ~
www.murraylincoln.com

Source:
Crossing of the Red Sea
http://www.arkdiscovery.com/red_sea_crossing.htm
Nat Geo Article – Animals Everlasting
http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2009/11/animal-mummies/williams-text
Golden Calf
http://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/246635/jewish/The-Golden-Calf.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_calf
The Apis Bull
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apis_%28Egyptian_mythology%29