Beginning of the End - Ellen G. White

determined to not wait any longer for Moses.
The "mixed multitude" had been the first to indulge in
complaining and impatience, and they were the leaders in apostasy.
Among the objects the Egyptians regarded as symbols of deity was
the ox or calf. At the suggestion of those who had practiced idolatry
in Egypt, a calf was now made and worshiped. The people wanted
some image to represent God and to go ahead of them in the place of
Moses. The mighty miracles in Egypt and at the Red Sea were
intended to establish faith in God as the invisible, all-powerful
Helper of Israel. The people's desire for some visible display of His
presence had been granted in the pillar of cloud and of fire, and in
the revealing of His glory on Mount Sinai. But with the cloud of the
Presence still in front of them, in their hearts they turned back to the
idolatry of Egypt.
In Moses' absence, the judicial authority had been delegated to
Aaron, and a vast crowd gathered about his tent. The cloud, they
said, now rested permanently on the mountain; it would no longer
direct their travels. They must have an image in its place. And if, as
some had suggested, they should return to Egypt, they would find
favor with the Egyptians by carrying this image ahead of them as
their god. (See Appendix, Note 3.)
Instead of Leading, Aaron Follows
Aaron feebly protested with the people, but his indecision and
his timid response at the critical moment only made them the more
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