Humans can live without food much longer than without water, but to survive 40 days without water is inconceivable apart from a miracle. When Moses failed to return from Mt. Sinai the nation naturally assumed he had died, either from thirst or possibly he’d been burned to death by the fire which still could be seen on the mountain’s peak (24:17,18). Considering themselves leaderless they turned to Aaron who had been left in charge and demanded he make an idol. They were unnerved by this invisible God. They wanted something they could see. It’s hard to explain why they would so flagrantly overturn a covenant they had made only weeks earlier. And for Aaron to enable their rebellion by carving the image of an Egyptian god is a level of cowardice on his part that is simply shocking. Without a doubt he feared for his life as he faced the mob. To have refused may have meant he would have been beaten or executed, but his cooperation made it sadly evident he had no intention of dying for his faith.

In today’s lesson we’ll discover the similarities between Israel waiting for Moses to return and believers today waiting for Jesus to return. Surprisingly we can face some of the same temptations they did. So we’ll listen to biblical advice that will help us wait without losing hope.