Part 2: First Draft

Submit a first draft, to include the following:

 Introduction with thesis statement. See the APU Writing Center resources Thesis Statements and Introductions and Conclusions for help.

 Body paragraphs that address the following three (out of four) assignment questions:

1. How does the topic (Moses, Miriam, Covenant, the Decalogue, or the Golden

Calf) connect to the larger themes of creation, fall, and redemption within the

overarching story of the Bible?

2. What is important to know about the history, culture, and/or theology surrounding

this person or concept?

3. What was the original meaning of this concept or significance of this person

within Exodus/Deuteronomy?

 Body paragraphs embed research and analysis from scholarly sources and contain in- text citations.

 References page, formatted in APA style, minimally includes:

o The Drama of Scripture.

o The accompanying topic article found in the course from Dictionary of the Old

Testament: Pentateuch.

o Two additional sources from the APU Library.

o NOTE: In APA style, classical works – including the Bible – are not listed in the

References page. Embed biblical citations within the text as follows: “Then Moses turned and went down the mountain, carrying the two tablets of the covenant in his hands” (Exod 32:15, NRSV). Only indicate the Bible version in the first citation; it is not necessary to identify each citation as NRSV.

Assignment Expectations

 Written in Times New Roman 12-point font and double spaced.

 Approx. 1,000 to 1,200 words in length, plus a References page.

 Paper includes an introduction and thesis statement, addresses the first three (of four)

assignment questions, and engages with the required scholarly sources.

 Lists references in APA format.

 Contains minimal grammar, spelling, and punctuation errors.

Body paragraphs that address the following three (out of four) assignment questions:

Golden Calf

Israel people force Aaron Moses’ brother made them a new God ”golden calf praise because they lost their faith and patience because Moses spend 40 days and 40 nights in the mountain. God had already warned the people about this rule that God says “Don’t put no other god before him” I believe Israel people to panic, when Moses didn’t come back from the mountain so assuming that Moses left them not using logic  know this before the 10 commandments since they didn’t want to take it seriously.

Question 1. 

Israel people grew tried and start to have doubt about God and Moses wondering if he will come back from the mountain. The people pressured him to make a God that they can see and touch. I believe Aaron was scared and afraid of what the people will do to him keeping in mind if it could have been thousands of people putting pressure on him if he does not create them a god what make sense to me they probably would cause harm Aaron created the Golden calf. The fall made God angry because he broke his law in the 10 commandments (Hamilton, 2005). The redemption God punished them many people pass a way or some survive were punish as well walking around in the desert. Miriam in the book of Exodus does not only frame that chapter’s narrative of Moses but the whole entire narrative of Exodus. The golden calves enacted in Exodus was as a form of celebrations of victory of the battle. Miriam began the dance to show and celebrate the victory of God.

Question 2. 

The most important about this history you can’t lost faith because Gods didn’t answer our prayer faster or learned to have patience it can save anyone from making huge mistake. The story of golden calf is one of the greatest scandals in the wilderness for the Israelites. The golden calf was important to Israelites because they believed that it was a symbol of strength and power. The storm of god too was represented by the golden calf whereby the calf was worshipped at the altar. The golden calf has been found in many of the Canaanian sites representing deity indirectly. Aaron made the golden calf for the people to worship and believe that it intended to depict YHVH. Prophet Aaron made the gods and made the people believe the gods were the reason for delivering them from the enemies.

Question 3. 

Exodus 32 story was about the golden calf which Aaron explained to Israelites that the gods were the reason behind them moving from Egypt. The people started the celebration because of deliverance and victory during Reed Sea.  The dance which was started by Miriam was an Israelites tradition to show victory of God which later was enacted in worshiping shrines during wanderings. Liturgical tradition was started too by Miriam in order to act as a reminder to future generations to come of God’s victory and how a warrior should act with strength and power because god is powerful (Mason, & Lupieri, 2018). The Golden calves in exodus and Deuteronomy shows how God delivered them from the enemies but later Moses collected them and set them into fire. At this period of time, there was contrast witnessed between the Quranic and biblical teachings from the prophet Aaron portrayed through his actions. The golden calf was a replacement for God, and caused the Israelites to be punished whereby Moses burned the golden calves, sprinkled water and ensured that the Israelites have drunk it.

Question 4. 

There are many lesson in this story, be patience you’ll bless the things you ask God for its going to take time. I believe is test people who ask for things to see if we are ready to receive the blessing. Peer pressure people who force anyone to do anything, is scare most of the time someone can really hurt for example think about how many people pressure to take drugs for the first -time then lead to an addiction (Hamilton, 2005). God loves us He grants us to have free will however, regardless if you break the 10 commandments God will forgive us if the person repent. The insights gained also help us to understand that there are false prophets who mislead God’s people. We need to be aware of the false prophets and be able to choose God’s will.  Despite the hardships we are encountering right now, we need to be strong and not choose another god to worship. Our God s powerful and full of strength, we need to rely on Him. World challenges are only tests that God puts us to test our Faith. There are consequences when we break God’s commandments as evidenced from what Moses did after burning the golden calf and let the people drink it.

References

Hamilton, V. P. (2005). Handbook on the Pentateuch: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy. Ada, MI: Baker Academic. 

. Golden Calf Traditions in Early Jud Mason, E. F., & Lupieri, E. F. (2018)aism, Christianity, and Islam. Leiden, Netherlands: BRILL.