The Leader’s Responsibility

Exodus 32:1-6 – And when the people saw that Moses delayed to come down out of the mount, the people gathered themselves together unto Aaron, and said unto him, Up, make us gods, which shall go before us; for as for this Moses, the man that brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we wot not what is become of him. And Aaron said unto them, Break off the golden earrings, which are in the ears of your wives, of your sons, and of your daughters, and bring them unto me. And all the people brake off the golden earrings which were in their ears, and brought them unto Aaron. And he received them at their hand, and fashioned it with a graving tool, after he had made it a molten calf: and they said, These be thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt. And when Aaron saw it, he built an altar before it; and Aaron made proclamation, and said, To morrow is a feast to the Lord. And they rose up early on the morrow, and offered burnt offerings, and brought peace offerings; and the people sat down to eat and to drink, and rose up to play.

Leaders are responsible for the conduct of those under their responsibility. They are to enforce and emulate established standards and conduct. When followers violate such standards (or even desire to), leaders must be willing to quickly correct, discipline, and re-enforce the standards to ensure those under their care continue to comply. Doing this will silence any widespread violations of standards and ensure everyone conducts themselves properly.

1. Followers will test your boundaries. Followers will test the establish standard out of their own desire to live by their own rules. Some will rebel for no reason other than not wanting to follow standards. Others will do what they want when the leader is not watching.

When leaders don’t enforce or maintain established standards, disobedience and sin take root. As Aaron was left in charge over the Israelites, they came to him wanting gods of their own. Moses was delayed on the mount with God, so they wanted gods for themselves. The people were testing Aaron’s boundaries.

This was a perfect opportunity for Aaron to reassure them of Moses’ return, correct them for wanting to go against God’s command (Exodus 20:4), and encourage them to remain faithful to God. However, he gave into their request and made a molten calf from their contributions of gold…contributions he requested the people to make.

2. Compromise leads to a loss of integrity and sin. Once you give into the desires of followers, they will only want more ‘allowances’ that move you further from the established standard. A little is never enough.

After Aaron gave into the Israelites’ request, he claimed the molten calf to be their gods which brought them out of Egypt, which was not true. He also built an altar and made a proclamation of a feast to take place to the Lord. He allowed the Israelites to make sacrifices to the molten calf and eat, drink, and play…while naked.

After leading the people into further idolatry and sin, Moses returned from the mount and asked Aaron what did the people do for him to bring such a great sin unto them. Instead of taking responsibility for his own actions, he placed most of them blame upon the Israelites. According to Aaron, his only role was collecting gold, throwing it into the fire, seeing a calf coming out of it.

3. Sin comes with a price. For the Israelites’ actions and sin, 3,000 men lost their lives and the Lord plagued the people (Exodus 32:28, 35). The wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23). For the Israelites, it was a physical death…and for others it may be spiritual.

4. The leader’s responsibility. The leader’s responsibility is to teach, encourage, and lead his or her followers to God…and keep them there. The leader takes responsibility for the actions of the people and prays for their deliverance, forgiveness, and safety. After Moses learned of the Israelites’ sin, God wanted to destroy the people and start over with a new nation (Exodus 32:9-11). Moses spoke on their behalf on the mount, asking God to turn from His fierce wrath and repent of this evil against the people. He reminded God of the promise He swore to Abraham, Isaac, and Israel. God then repented of the evil He thought to do unto the people (Exodus 32:14).

After Moses returned from the mount and destroyed the calf, he ground it into powder, strawed it upon the water, and made the Israelites drink it. He gathered the children of Levi (who was on the Lord’s side) who would take swords and kill 3,000 men. Moses called for the people to consecrate themselves to the Lord, and every man to his son and his brother. Lastly, Moses strove to make atonement for the sins of the people by going to the Lord himself to sacrifice his place in God’s book if He was unwilling to forgive their sin (Exodus 32:31-32). He was accountable as the Israelites’ leader and took responsibility for their sin, even though he was not among them when they committed their acts.

May the example of both Aaron and Moses help us grow into thoughtful and accountable leaders to the Lord and responsible for those placed in our care.

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