The wedding imagery seems to be tracking along nicely — the groom has come to sweep the bride away, the bride has consecrated herself and set herself apart for this moment, the shofar has sounded — when everything takes a turn for the worst.
We've spoken of the Ten “Commandments” (which really aren't commandments in the Text; they are called “the ten words”) as God's ketubah — His marriage covenant between Himself and His bride. This covenant would be presented as one of the main components of the marriage ceremony. And if Sinai is a marriage ceremony, it doesn't take long for a reader to realize what the sin of the golden calf is.
As the groom reaches back to grasp the ketubah and present His new bride with a piece of His heart, He turns and finds her committing adultery at the wedding altar — during the ceremony!
They aren't worthy of this marriage.
They don't deserve God's love.
And Moses throws the ketubah to the ground in disgust. His next actions speak volumes into this tragedy:
When Moses approached the camp and saw the calf and the dancing, his anger burned and he threw the tablets out of his hands, breaking them to pieces at the foot of the mountain. And he took the calf the people had made and burned it in the fire; then he ground it to powder, scattered it on the water and made the Israelites drink it.
(Exodus 32:19–20)
Why does Moses do this? Because that's what you do to a bride who has just committed adultery.
Compare that passage to this one from the book of Numbers, chapter 5:
“The priest shall bring her and have her stand before the Lord. Then he shall take some holy water in a clay jar and put some dust from the tabernacle floor into the water. ... He shall make the woman drink the bitter water that brings a curse, and this water that brings a curse and causes bitter suffering will enter her. The priest is to take from her hands the grain offering for jealousy, wave it before the Lord and bring it to the altar. The priest is then to take a handful of the grain offering as a memorial offering and burn it on the altar; after that, he is to have the woman drink the water. If she has made herself impure and been unfaithful to her husband, this will be the result: When she is made to drink the water that brings a curse and causes bitter suffering, it will enter her, her abdomen will swell and her womb will miscarry, and she will become a curse. If, however, the woman has not made herself impure, but is clean, she will be cleared of guilt and will be able to have children. This, then, is the law of jealousy when a woman goes astray and makes herself impure while married to her husband.”
And after the people drink the water made with the dust of the golden calf, a plague comes among them and many perish.
It's a picture of the bride — guilty of adultery. They've ruined this incredibly beautiful picture of God and His people.
But after Moses convinces God to stay His hand (which seems to be begging for a blog post to be written on that idea alone), the story picks up right where it left off. God has Moses chisel out new tablets and come to the top of the mountain where He writes a fresh, new ketubah.
Wait a minute… WHAT!
God just picks up where He left off? Are you kidding me? Did we already forget about the picture?
This is craziness. This God, this Groom, has just showed up to His wonderfully planned wedding with His beautiful bride. He has had His hopes and dreams and romance dashed to pieces as she commits adultery at the wedding ceremony. And He just dusts Himself off, settles down the wedding guests and says, “Now, where were we?”
You've got to be kidding.
But that's the kind of God we have been reading about. The God who will remember His covenant, the God who will walk through the bloodbath on our behalf, the God who will take the blow that we deserve.
Bride, meet your new Groom.
The Jews have often noted that as you read through the book of Exodus, the entire rest of the book will be devoted to the menial details of building the Tabernacle. Every inch, every detail, and every piece is recorded. It is painstakingly boring to read. Not only this, but after God lays out the instructions — detail by detail — the story goes on to record that Moses builds the Tabernacle to every specification. But it doesn't simply say that he does it; it records every detail — piece by piece.
All of those pointless details are recorded TWICE.
But the Tabernacle is the honeymoon suite.
It's as if God is wanting to go over every little detail of their new life together. Imagine a newlywed couple going over the blueprints for their new home they are building. Have you ever listened to the wife talk about every detail of their new home? They love it! They can tell you exactly what kind of faucet they are putting in the bathroom and how it goes with the light fixtures. They will talk at great length about the curtains and the neat ideas they have in the hallway.
And it's as if God says, “I can't wait to start our new life together. Let's go over all of those details of our new home again.”
Right after she has spit in His face with another god.
God is reckless in His love; He loves with complete abandon.
To borrow a phrase I heard the other day, God loves wastefully.
This is the God you worship.
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