Golden Calf ver. 2

In the reading of Numbers 13-14 today, we read another version of the Golden Calf story. This time, even before the "golden calf" was made, God's wrath was kindled against this stiff-necked people.

It seemed that they had already reached the border of the Promised Land. It was in the wilderness of Paran (Numbers 13:3). God gave Moses the following instruction.
Send men to spy out the land of Canaan, which I give to the people of Israel; from each tribe of their fathers shall you send a man, every one a leader among them (Numbers 13:2).
Then, we read of a list of 12 spies. The tribe of Levi did not send one. The two sons of Joseph had given rise to two tribes. The following is a partial list. I highlight the tribes of Judah and Ephraim to illustrate their importance in the future.
from the tribe of Judah, Caleb the son of Jephunneh (Numbers 13:6);
from the tribe of Ephraim, Hoshea the son of Nun (Numbers 13:8);
from the tribe of Joseph (that is from the tribe of Manasseh), Gaddi the son of Susi (Numbers 13:11) etc;
These were the names of the men whom Moses sent to spy out the land. And Moses called Hoshea the son of Nun Joshua (Numbers 13:16).

Moses gave them detailed instructions to inspect the resources and the people.
and see what the land is, and whether the people who dwell in it are strong or weak, whether they are few or many,
and whether the land that they dwell in is good or bad, and whether the cities that they dwell in are camps or strongholds,
and whether the land is rich or poor, and whether there is wood in it or not. Be of good courage, and bring some of the fruit of the land (Numbers 13:18-20a).
No doubt, they were going to occupy the land. How? Would they drive away the indigenous people? Would they settle down and assimilate into the local culture? Since they were the Chosen People of God, they were not allowed to worship other gods. Therefore, driving away the local people seemed to be the only option. Which means it was going to be a war of invasion. Well then, how would you accept this?

After 40 days, the spies returned and brought back a mixed report.
And they told him, "We came to the land to which you sent us; it flows with milk and honey, and this is its fruit.
Yet the people who dwell in the land are strong, and the cities are fortified and very large; and besides, we saw the descendants of Anak there.
The Amalekites dwell in the land of the Negeb; the Hittites, the Jebusites, and the Amorites dwell in the hill country; and the Canaanites dwell by the sea, and along the Jordan." (Numbers 13:27-29)
The good news was that the land flowed with milk and honey. The bad news was that it was difficult to conquer the land. The descendants of Anak were those mythical giants mentioned in Genesis 6.
Numbers 13-14 is most likely composed of different strains of traditions. We have another set of reports which were as bad.
So they brought to the people of Israel an evil report of the land which they had spied out, saying, "The land, through which we have gone, to spy it out, is a land that devours its inhabitants; and all the people that we saw in it are men of great stature.
And there we saw the Nephilim (the sons of Anak, who come from the Nephilim); and we seemed to ourselves like grasshoppers, and so we seemed to them." (Numbers 13:32-33)
Here the land was described to be devouring its inhabitants and they compared themselves to grasshoppers. The language was poetic rather than factual. That was why earlier on I suggested that different traditions were edited into the story.

After having the background set, the second version of Gold Calf story unfolds as followed.
And all the people of Israel murmured against Moses and Aaron; the whole congregation said to them, "Would that we had died in the land of Egypt! Or would that we had died in this wilderness!
Why does the LORD bring us into this land, to fall by the sword? Our wives and our little ones will become a prey; would it not be better for us to go back to Egypt?"
And they said to one another, "Let us choose a captain, and go back to Egypt." (Numbers 14:2-4)
Moses and Aaron fell on their faces before the congregation. Only Joshua and Caleb came to their defence. Yet, the people intended to stone the four of them. God intervened.

Last time, Moses went up Mount Sinai to get the 10 Commandments and spent 40 days. This time, Moses sent 12 spies to explore the land and 40 days were spent. Last time, they demanded Aaron to make them gods to lead them on (Exodus 32:1). This time, they had learned their lesson and did not demand a golden calf. Yet, they still did not have faith in God as before. Those Nephilim would easily crash them like grasshoppers. Their wives and children would become a prey etc. Last time, God wanted to annihilate the Israelites and made a nation out of Moses (Exodus 32:9-10). This time God wanted to do the same (Numbers 14:11-12). Last time, Moses interceded and God repented (Exodus 32:11-14). This time, Moses applied the same logic to dissuade God and God changed His mind (Numbers 14:13-20). These are the similarities that make me call this story Golden Calf version 2.

God's judgment came in two traditions (Numbers 14:20-25, 26-35) and they have been stitched together here.
Tradition #1: The Israelites had tested God 10 times since leaving Egypt. None of them would enter the Promised Land except Caleb. God instructed them to set out for the wilderness by way of the Red Sea.
Tradition #2: All those 20 or older would not enter the Promised Land except Caleb and Joshua. The people would wonder in the wilderness for 40 years for these people to die out.
According to the number of the days in which you spied out the land, forty days, for every day a year, you shall bear your iniquity, forty years, and you shall know my displeasure (Numbers 14:34).
After announcing this to Moses (and Aaron), God killed the 10 spies who brought evil reports with plague.
Moses conveyed God's message to the people. The next morning, they did not listen to Moses and went up to the heights of the hill country. They met the Amalekites and Canaanites who defeated and pursued them. Their premature attack failed and had to spend the next 40 years wondering in the wilderness before they would ever conquer the Promised Land again.
The Golden Calf story must have occupied a very important position in the Israelite history and psychology. It appears in two different disguises.

「地勢坤，君子以厚德載物。」
I would like to quote a line as my prayer tonight. It repeats itself several times in the Old Testament.
The LORD, the LORD, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness,
keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, but who will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children and the children's children, to the third and the fourth generation (Exodus 34:6-7, Numbers 14:18, Nehemiah 9:17, Psalm 86:15, 103:8, 145:8, Joel 2:13, Jonah 4:2)