Exodus 32 – They are without Moses for a few days and they get impatient. 2017

This chapter records a tragedy for the Israelites. It is here that they turn against Elohim very soon after their deliverance from Egypt. They are without Moses for a few days and they get impatient with Elohim.

Exo 32:1
Now when the people saw that Moses delayed to come down from the mountain, the people assembled about Aaron, and said to him, "Come, make us a god who will go before us; as for this Moses, the man who brought us up from the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him."

This didn't take a long time at all. After just a few days of waiting, the people grew impatient. They gave Moses up for dead and decided that Elohim doesn't care anymore. They wanted to make their own gods and go back to Egypt. They speak of Moses very disrespectfully "as for this Moses..." They spoke of him as someone who was a passerby.

Exo 32:2
And Aaron said to them, "Tear off the gold rings which are in the ears of your wives, your sons, and your daughters, and bring them to me."

In that time, earrings at times had cultic significance (Gen. 35:4). However, it should be kept in mind that Israel was never told not to wear earrings. They were sometimes used for evil purposes, but earrings themselves are not condemned in Scripture.