Golden Calves and Feast Keeping
Which God is being served?
Yesterday, during a Sabbath bible study, a brother asked a question regarding using the actual name of God. We discussed that, although one might be able to go down this road and find some joy and fellowship with God in using His Hebrew name, one must be very careful that a doctrine is not made which, puts a yoke or snare upon others. The KJV Bible provides us with a definition for His name, in English, for those who desire to use it but don’t know anything about Hebrew (“Jehovah” – Psalm 83:18 or short form “Jah” – Psalm 68:4).
Additionally, we discussed how pretty much every time you find a church that has the “restored” Hebrew name of God being used, it is almost certain that you will find feast keeping being required along with it. Feast keeping, of course, is a part of the sacrificial system that Christ fully fulfilled, and was nailed to the cross.1 The feasts centered around sacrifices, of which Jesus was the last.
Here is where one must be very careful. The feasts coming back, remind me in a way of how the Catholic eucharist misrepresents the communion that the church is instructed to do in remembrance of Jesus. Jesus’ literal body and blood were sacrificed once and that was the end of it. The eucharist claims to be using the literal body of Jesus again and again, thus reviving something of the sacrifice that was done once and is now over.
The rise of modern feast keeping seems to be doing something similar. The feasts and their sacrificial requirements were done away with on the cross, but now feast keeping is being brought back. There are no actual sacrifices of course, but over and over they are reviving a system that was done away with once and for all by Jesus on the cross. He fulfilled them completely, and the celebration of them negates that which He fulfilled.
The anti-type is erased by the continual exaltation of the type.
We also discussed 3 different scriptures while on this topic (Exo 20:1-2, Exo 32:4-8, 1Ki 12:28-33).
In the first case of Exodus 20:1-2, God Himself says: “I am the LORD (Hebrew YHWH) thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt”
In the second case of Exodus 32:4-8, Aaron makes a single golden calf, and the people said: “these be thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt”
In the third case of 1 Kings 12:28-33, Jeroboam made two calves of gold and told the people: “behold thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt”
A couple of points:
Note that what is translated as “thy God” in Exodus 20:2, is the exact same Hebrew word that is translated as “thy gods” in both Exodus 32:4 and 1 Kings 12:28. So, if we were reading the original Hebrew texts, we would be reading the exact same word / claim in each of these passages for who it is that brought them out of Egypt.
When God spoke the words Himself, the focus of the following passages immediately moves into the 10 Commandments.
In both cases involving the golden calves, the declaration of “thy gods” which brought them out of Egypt is immediately followed by some sort of feast keeping.
This morning, as I reflected on this, I considered if perhaps God has put these parallels in scripture in this way to warn against a false rise of feast keeping that would come in the last days. The two cases of the golden calves are the only places in scripture where a claim is made for a false god as being the one which brought the people out of Egypt. In each of those cases, this error of idolatry is tethered with a feast.
Though the golden calves were proclaimed to be that which brought them out of Egypt, this was only a deceptive move by Satan, claiming the position of God in order to lead people into error and worship of himself.
In the same way, we see movements today where the Hebrew name of God (YHWH) is being “restored”. Yes, it may be true that they are properly using His name as it may have been spoken in Hebrew. However, we also have numerous churches lifting up the name of Jesus every week, yet it is a different Jesus that they are worshipping.2
In Scripture, the focus of the real God that brought them out of Egypt points people to the importance of the 10 Commandments. The focus of the false gods, claiming to be the ones that brought them out of Egypt, points people to feast keeping (in the case of this writing’s context).
Just saying a name properly is not anything by itself. Whether YHWH (or Jehovah), or Jesus (or some variation of what His name may have been in Hebrew), we must be certain that the one we are speaking to behind these names is the real Father and His real Son.
The doctrines that follow any movement will clarify the deity that is behind the worship. Either the real God who made heaven, earth, and all that is in them, or the golden calf simply claiming the name of God as an imposter. Satan’s thirst to be like the most High3 is never quenched, and he will employ every deceptive means possible to obtain worship from the unsuspecting masses.
The movements that focus on feast keeping are in error. People are often brought into these movements by following some truth, that perhaps God has indeed revealed to them, thus they are following after what they think is the God “which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt,” only to be ensnared by a trap that Satan has deceptively laid with feast keeping.
The 10 Commandments of God, His moral law, are to be held closely to our hearts and obeyed as a result of our love for God. Feast keeping is a snare that is gaining more and more acceptance as a relief from all of the compromising protestant churches that are becoming more like the world.
Praise God for His word that serves as a lamp unto our feet and a light unto our path,4 to keep us from falling into the errors of false doctrine. If we will only have eyes to see, He has left us with clues in Scripture that point us to the link between the exaltation of feast keeping and the worship of the golden calves.
God Bless,
Charles
Well written, brother Charles. Very edifying.
Excellent correlation!