From the moment that B’nai Yisrael arrived in the wilderness, God
protected them as we see in Shmot 13:21-22:
And God went before them by day in a pillar of a cloud, to lead them the
way; and by night in a pillar of fire, to give them light; that they may go by
day and by night: He did not take away the pillar of the cloud by day nor the pillar
of fire by night, from before the people.
In Nechemia 9:17-21 we see that despite their mistakes, God continued to
protect B’nai Yisrael for 40 years in the wilderness and beyond:
…But You, being a forgiving God, gracious and compassionate,
long-suffering and abounding in faithfulness, did not abandon them. Even though
they made themselves a molten calf and said, ‘This is your God who brought you
out of Egypt,’ thus committing great blasphemies; You, in Your abundant
compassion, did not abandon them in the wilderness. The pillar of cloud did not
depart from them to lead them on the way by day, nor the pillar of fire by
night to give them light in the way they were to go. You endowed them with Your
good spirit to instruct them. You did not withhold Your manna from their mouth;
You gave them water when they were thirsty. Forty years You sustained them in
the wilderness so that they lacked nothing; their clothes did not wear out, and
their feet did not swell…
God
forgave them for the sin of the Golden calf, continued to dwell within them and
lit the way.
Yehuda HaLevi in Sefer HaKuzari puts the sin of the Golden Calf in
perspective:
The worshippers of the Golden Calf were punished and put to death, 3,000
persons in all out of 600,000; but the manna did not stop, the pillar of fire
continued to lead them and the prophetic spirit persisted in their midst. The
only thing that they were deprived of was the two tablets which Moshe broke and
interceded with God to restore. These were restored and that iniquity was
expiated.
Ramban comments that as soon as the people caught sight of Moshe, they
left the calf, rejected it and let him burn it and sprinkle its dust over the
water. No one took issue with him, Moshe did not have to reprimand them or say
anything to them. When he reached the camp and saw the calf and the dancing
they immediately packed up and fled. He took the calf, burnt it and gave them
to drink of it, which they did without a murmur. Had they acknowledged it as a
god- no one would allow his king and god to be burnt.
As a nation that had been living in Egypt for generations, steeped in
idol worship, it is not surprising that when some members of B’nai Yisrael
didn’t see Moshe for 40 days while he was on Mt. Sinai they tried to replace
him. However, as soon as he returned, they let him lead them back on the path
to God.
We learn from this incident how loving and forgiving God was to B’nai
Yisrael in the wilderness and beyond, even when they may not have been worthy.
