"And I said unto them, Whosoever hath any gold, let them break it off. So they gave it me: then I cast it into the fire, and there came out this calf" (Exodus 32:24).

How often do we, when finding ourselves in embarrassing situations, tell "little white lies" to avoid the consequences of compromising behavior. We can relate to this effort on the part of Aaron to avoid Moses' displeasure.

There was a time, apparently, when gullible people actually believed in spontaneous generation. Leave meat outside to rot, and miraculously maggots appear -- seemingly from nowhere. Did the maggots spontaneously generate from rotting meat? Aaron knew that his golden calf did not just come out of the fire fully formed. He left out some missing pieces in the story.

Evolutionists today, out of one side of their mouths, deny the possibility of spontaneous generation, but implicitly affirm it from the other side. Spontaneous generation cannot happen today, but it did happen -- at least once, long ago.

The presumption underlying much evolutionary musing is naturalism, which assumes God had nothing to do with creation. Is it any wonder that such people leave Him out of their present too? As Aaron found, however, there is a time for giving an account. Golden calves do not spring from a fire, and life cannot come from non-life. The Lord Jesus, Life personified, created every living system and maintains them even today.

Later in the passage, Moses contemplated the possibility of atoning for the sin of making a golden calf, but his sacrifice would not do. Creator Christ Himself would have to do that job. Jesus' blood, moreover, was retroactive to the benefit of all Old Testament saints who trusted in Him, and it also covers lies of believers today. May we all trust Him and His Word. PGH