While God was rejoicing with Moses on the mountain, down below the mountain
When the people became aware of Moses’ delay in coming down from the mountain, they gathered around Aaron and said to him, “Come, make us a god who will be our leader; as for the man Moses who brought us out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has happened to him.” Exo 32:1
Aaron, … made a molten calf. Then they cried out, “This is your God, O Israel, who brought you out of the land of Egypt.” … Aaron built an altar before the calf … the people offered holocausts … With that, the LORD said to Moses, “Go down at once to your people, whom you brought out of the land of Egypt, for they have become depraved. They have soon turned aside from the way I pointed out to them, Exo 32:4-8
I see how stiff-necked this people is,” … “Let me alone, then, that my wrath may blaze up against them to consume them. Then I will make of you a great nation.”
But Moses implored the LORD, his God, saying, … Why should the Egyptians say, ‘… he brought [the Israelites] out, … that he might kill them in the mountains … So the LORD relented … Exo 32:9-14
Now, why did God care what the Egyptians thought? God had just wiped them out with the 10 plagues. God had killed their first born sons. But God loves all God’s children.
God did NOT send the 10 plagues on the Egyptians to be mean. God did what God had to do to announce His existence to the world. God had told Moses,
“In every nation anyone who fears him and does what is right is acceptable” to God. #761
… I will lay my hand on Egypt and by great acts of judgment I will bring … the Israelites, out of the land of Egypt, so that the Egyptians may learn that I am the LORD, … Exo 7:4-5
see also Romans 9:17
And, God did what he had to do to create a people who believed in him.
… the LORD, … God, …[took the Israelites] out of … Egypt, [so] that [the Israelites] might be his very own people… Deut 1:19-20 see also Exo 14:4 Numbers 15:41
Only once God had a people who believed in Him, could God give us the gift of the Ten Commandments. Are there any of the Ten Commandments that you think are bad guidance for living happily? They are all good guidance, because …
… the Law is a fatherly instruction by God … # 1975
see also Deut 4:6
Even with all that God did, our ancestors in the faith had a hard time taking Him seriously enough to follow the guidance God gave us in the Law.