Christians, what do you make of Exodus 32: 27?

Question

I'm a Christian myself and we went over this chapter in bible study, and I'm still struggling with this one:

"And he said unto them, Thus saith the Lord God of Israel, Put every man his sword by his side, and go in and out from gate to gate throughout the camp, and slay every man his brother, and every man his companion, and every man his neighbor."

I'd like answers from CHRISTIANS please, because i already heard the anti-christian side to this.

So what do you think? Why would God say these things?

Question Everything: What did I say above? Please read the rest my post.

Oh and by the way, I've read the whole book and i know the context, but i'm still unsure about it, even IN context.

Don't Panic: You're answer is fine, I was mainly talking towards those that would use this question as a way to blast their point "There ISN'T a God". Thanks.

Answer 1

Did it ever occur to you that some Jewish thinking might be the most helpful here?

The story of the molten calf occurs in the middle of detailed instruction on the building of the Tabernacle and observance of Shabbat. People think of Judaism as inventing monotheism, at least as important is the move away from idol-based practice to an abstract 'image-less' god. So Moses and G-d are up on the mountain talking this over and the people are reverting to old practices.

There are several ways to read the verse you cite. A wee bit of fiction to serve as a graphic and memorable warning? A memory of a brutal battle that actually occurred, maybe over this issue, more likely something else but useful here? Or a metaphor for the severity of the offense?

What we know for certain is that the prophets were always struggling to keep the people within the new ways of doing things and that military outcomes were seen as being closely related to their observance of the convenant. Read this passage in that light.

And remember that there's every chance someone was putting words in G-d's mouth.

Answer 2

Tip: when you are reading anything in the Bible, do not read only one verse. Read the entire chapter for context. You may also want to use a concordance to find other passages that talk about the same topic, so that you can get a more rounded idea of the Bible's view on the matter.

That being said, the passage you cite has to do with the worshipping of the golden calf. Moses went on the mountain to get the 10 commandments from God. While he was gone, the people inviegled Aaron to make a golden calf for them to worship. God told Moses to hurry back because the people are rebelling against Him (God, not Moses). God then executed judgement against the people, by instructing the more righteous people to kill the others.

You will find, in reading the Old Testament, that God's judgements were much more swift than they are now. That's because much less was left up to faith than it is now. God interacted with the people. Everyone was sure of his existence and knew precisely what was expected of them. So, all they had to do was obey.

In short, it was merely one of the many Old Testament judgements of God.

Answer 3

It seems pretty straightforward to me. The main instigators of the worship of the golden calf were to be killed. This wasn't merely a capricious act, but served two functions:
1) as warning for future generations not to participate in the worship of idols; and,
2) Israel, which was on the verge of entering Canaan, was going to literally be in for the fight for its survival and the golden calf worshipers represented a potential split in the ranks.

Also, one of the Egyptian gods, Anubis, was depicted as a bull and if the golden calf was chosen for this reason, it could be an indication that many of the Israelites (perhaps the same ones that had murmured that it would have been better for them to have remained in Egypt as slaves rather than die of hunger in the desert, as YWYH had not as yet provided manna for them) still obstinately refused to give up the idea of the comforts of "home", such as it was, for the freedom and challenge of Canaan... and likely never would.

Answer 4

I asked a question about this same exact verse. I also received a couple answers from people who assumed I didn't read the whole chapter, like you did as well. It turns out, he was punishing them for not following the Ten Commandments and worshiping the golden calf Aaron created for them. It's a little funny, huh? God punished the people for doing what the man whom he chose to lead them out of Egypt, their "leader," told them to do, and they get punished, but nothing whatsoever happens to Aaron.
Well, anyway, that was God's way to punish them for breaking one of his Ten Commandments, and I, like many other Atheists, think this doesn't sound like an all-loving and forgiving God.

Answer 5

You need to read the whole chapter in order to understand these verses.
The Lord said this because, when Moses came down from the mountain he saw people worshiping a calf that Aron made of gold.
One on the ten commandments states: Thou shall not worship idols.
Aron made the calf because he thought Moses was not coming back, they had lost their faith.

Answer 6

God was fed up with the way the people made an idol, that he caused them to wonder in the wilderness for 40 yrs. Until that generation was gone, & the new generation would see the promise land,

Answer 7

when Moses came down from the mountain with the tablets of stone he witnessed the people dancing around the golden calf, he then said all that are with him stand by him, the rest continued to worship the calf. it was the ones who did not turn away from God that destroyed the ones who did. about three thousand men fell that day. you have to remember this are the same people that had seen first hand the mighty hand of God and still they turned away

Answer 8

The world was corrupted. God made the Jews stay in the wilderness for 40 years to try to regain rightousness. If those people were never going to worship God and were going to go to hell, then God had no reason to keep them around. In those days the Jews were the chosen people. There was no salvation for anyone else. They were the only ones with the covenant with God.

Answer 9

. Exodus 32:27 And he stated unto them, hence saith our lord god of Israel, positioned each and every guy his sword by his part, and pass out and in from gate to gate in the process the camp, and slay each and every guy his brother, and each guy his companion, and each guy his neighbour. The tribe of Levi, Moses’ own tribe, now sought after itself by in the present day returning to its allegiance and obeying the call to combat on the fringe of Yahweh. we desire no longer doubt that the three,000 who have been slain have been people who persevered in resisting Moses. The spirit of the narrative forbids us to conceive that the act of the Levites replaced into something like an indiscriminate bloodbath. An amnesty had first been presented to all by the words: “who's on the Lord’s part?” people who have been forward to entice the sword have been directed to no longer spare their closest family or buddies; yet this ought to evidently have been with an understood qualification as regards the habit of people who have been to be slain. Had it no longer been so, they who have been on the Lord’s part could have had to wreck one yet another. we desire no longer come across the formidable, elementary way wherein the assertion is made. .

Answer 10

God was using the livites ( priests) to punish isreal for their sin. you need to read the whole chapter if not the whole book to understand the context.