Joseph Prince - Don't Give Up On Hearing God's Word

This is an excerpt from: Hear Your Way Out Of Every Weakness

How did the golden calf come about? That's the thing that I wanna bring across very strongly, okay? How did the golden calf come about? You all know what happened, right? Let's read Exodus 32. "When the people saw that Moses delayed coming down from the mountain", what was he up the mountain for? To bring down the Ten Commandments. Am I right? Right? On the two tablets of stone, right? Moses went up and said, "God, the people are sick". God says, "Take these two tablets," okay? So, "The people gathered together to Aaron, and said to Aaron, 'Come, make us gods that shall go before us; for as for this Moses, the man who brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.'"

Another thing is that I see a prophetic truth because every time you study the Old Testament, always remember Old Testament are written as "tupos" in the Greek, which means types. You can learn a lot from the details. The doctrine is very straightforward in the New Testament, but in the Old Testament the details are hidden. It's hidden there for us to study, to bring out. So it's not literal. Many of it is shadows, types. The anti-type or the substance is in the New Testament, okay? Are you all with me so far? All right, so another thing is this. "When the people saw that Moses delayed coming down".

So again, it's a picture of the end times. The church becomes immoral, go into sin, because they say the Lord delays His coming. But for those who are always ready for the Lord's coming, the opposite happens, okay? So what happened? Next verse, "And Aaron said to them, 'Break off the golden earrings which are in the ears of your wives, your sons, and your daughters, and bring them to me.' So all the people broke off the golden earrings which were in their ears, and brought them to Aaron".

Now, in those days they wear golden earrings, okay? Remember Rebecca, the story of Rebecca I shared? All right, the moment after she watered all the camels of Abraham's servant, Abraham's servant brought out a golden earring. Now, your Bible in the New King James, we all use the New King James here in our church, and it says golden nose ring. So it can either be a nose ring or it can be an earring, all right? It can be both, all right? So, but I tend to incline more towards earring. And for sure, this one is earring in the ear, why? Because it says, "Break off the golden earring which are in the ears," all right? So it cannot be a nose ring. So, and anyway, in Genesis, and the next one, it says, "So all the people broke off the golden earrings which were in their ears," emphasis, right?

Okay, now look in Genesis account of Rebecca's story. "It came to pass, as the camels had done drinking, that a man took a golden earring". This is the King James version. Just remember, you read your New King James, you are wondering why it says nose ring. Okay, it's an opinion, all right? I tend to believe, because the same word is used, "nezem," earring, gold, "zahav". Nezem zahav, earring gold. In Hebrew, that's how it is. So it's the same word as the one we saw just now, but notice this. "Of half a shekel weight". Half a shekel weight. Keep that in your mind, okay? Half a shekel weight. Got it?

Okay, let's go back to the story. We are asking the mysteries of how the golden calf came about, because if you know this, listen, if you know this, you will find the answer to your health, to your healing, to whatever you want to receive from God. I'm serious. "Break off the golden earring". So the next verse says, verse 4, drop down, "And he received the gold from their hand, and he fashioned it with an engraving tool, and made a molded calf. They said, 'This is your god, O Israel, that brought you out of the land of Egypt!'"

So the golden calf, we think about, oh, it's an idol. It's an idol, okay? It's a golden idol. It's more than that. What does it mean today? What is a golden calf today? What is a golden calf? Does that mean you cannot be creative with art and all that? No, now observe, they made a golden, "He received from their hand". In Stephen, the martyr's accounts, Stephen the martyr, when he preached his famous sermon, look at it, he says this, "Saying to Aaron, 'Make us god...'"

Okay, referring to the same incident, "And they made a calf in those days, offered sacrifices to the idol, and rejoiced in," what? "In the works of their own hands". They rejoiced in the works of their own hands. That is the problem. Today, that's the same problem. Men rejoice in their effort, their strength, their smarts, their qualification. I'm a self-made millionaire, all right? Instead of trusting God, giving God the glory, looking at God as the strength, you know, of their life, they're looking at their own self as the strength. If it's your strength, it has an expiry date. You will fall flat on your face. Even a young man, that's why they compare, "The young man shall fall. Young men shall run and they will fall. Those that wait upon the Lord, they shall run and not be weary".

So God is saying don't trust your own strength. So the law is all about what is natural and what is naturally strong for man. You shall not, you shall not. Use your own strength. And the very strength leads you to sin. Nothing wrong with the law, but combined with your flesh, it brings you to sin. Read all about it in Romans 7, all right? Paul had this experience.

So let's go back to it again. So if that is so, if that is so, we're talking about the key to receiving even healing and health. If that is so, what is this golden earring the devil wants them to be free from? Take away the golden earring. Remove the golden earring. "Earring" sounds like what? Very good. This church is so smart, amen? "Earring" sounds like, children, "hearing". Golden star. Golden earring. The word "gold" is divine, so something divine there. Are you listening, people? So they sacrificed their golden earring for the works of their hands.