When the people heard these distressing words, they began to mourn and no one put on any ornaments. The response to the threat of divine withdrawal is mourning and the removal of ornaments. The same ornaments given for the golden calf (Exodus 32:2–3) are now stripped off in grief. The jewelry that was offered to the idol becomes the jewelry removed in mourning over the consequence of that offering. The community that was celebrating with dancing and singing in Exodus 32:6 is now silent with grief. The contrast communicates the depth of what has been lost: the noise of revelry at the calf and the silence of mourning at the threatened withdrawal of presence are opposite expressions of the same community's spiritual state.

COMMUNITY REFLECTIONS

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