Beginning of the End - Ellen G. White

supernatural power. But his excuses made no difference. He was
properly dealt with as the chief offender.
It was Aaron, "the saint of the Lord" (Psalm 106:16), who had
made the idol and announced the feast. He had failed to stop the
idolaters in their heaven-defying plan. He was not stirred to action
by the proclamation before the molten image, "This is your god, O
Israel, that brought you out of the land of Egypt." He had been with
Moses on the mountain and had seen the glory of the Lord there. He
was the one who had changed that glory into the image of an ox.
God had committed to him the government of the people in Moses'
absence, but he had permitted rebellion. "The Lord was very angry
with Aaron and would have destroyed him" (Deuteronomy 9:20).
But in answer to Moses' intercession, his life was spared; he
repented for his great sin and was restored to the favor of God.
How Aaron Encouraged Rebellion
If Aaron had had courage to stand for the right, he could have
prevented the apostasy. If he had firmly maintained his own loyalty
to God and had reminded the people of their solemn covenant with
God, the evil would have been stopped. But his willingness to
cooperate with them emboldened the people to go to greater lengths
in sin than they had ever thought of before.
To justify himself, Aaron tried to make the people responsible
for his weakness in yielding to their demand; but despite this, they
were filled with admiration of his gentleness and patience. But
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