Focus: Abuse of God's blessings 

Text: Ex.32:3.

"And all the people brake off the GOLDEN EARRINGS which were in their ears, and brought them unto Aaron."

In Gen.15:14, God told Abraham in advance of Israel one day leaving Egypt with great substance.

In Ex.11:2-3, we read of God telling Israel to make demands of the Egyptians for whatever they wanted, and by divine favor they got all they wanted. They got so much from the Egyptians that Moses described it as a "spoil" - "And they spoiled the Egyptians" - Ex.12:35-36.

They were so blessed that they didn't know what to do with it. Miles Monroe once said that abuse is inevitable where purpose is not known, and that's absolutely correct. Israel just didn't realize that divine blessing is always for a divine purpose.

Moses wrote in Ex.32:3 that in the wilderness "all the people brake off the GOLDEN EARRINGS which were in their ears, and brought them unto Aaron."

The very silver and gold God gave them in Egypt they turned into something to be worshipped (Ex.32:8). They abused God's blessing. It served a wrong purpose.

Do you ever or constantly ask why God has blessed you and to what purpose? Do you let God guide you in the use of what he gives you? Not every blessing of God is meant for personal consumption and it's not certainly for self-indulgence. What God has put in your hands could be for someone else or for God's cause.

It finally occurred to the people of Israel what the blessings were meant for. In Ex.35:22 Moses reports:

"And they came, both men and women, as many as were willing hearted, and brought bracelets, and earrings, and rings, and tablets, all jewels of gold: and every man that offered offered an offering of gold unto the LORD."

Let's be sensitive to the Holy Spirit. Let's not turn God's blessing into an idol. Let's not be greedy and tight-fisted. Let's follow and yield to the Spirit's leading and promptings. Obedience is still better than sacrifice. Amen.

by Bishop Moses E. Peter