Humankind has always had difficulty coming to terms with God. After all He had done for His people, they turned to worshipping the golden calf. God threatened them with punishment for this turning away from Him. The psalm reinforces this message. John's gospel shows us Jesus' disappointment that people do not accept His word. They are looking in the wrong direction. They are still studying the scriptures in order to find God when in fact they should be listening to Him. He is the Son of God.

We are often so preoccupied with chasing after material wealth and comforts that we don't remember who provided us with all these things in the first place. In a very real way we are in danger of worshipping our own golden calf of material possessions. The Jews who worshipped the golden calf may be said to have been disloyal to God. They were unable to wait for His message to reach them. He in turn whilst threatening punishment was finally moved to forgive them. They were looking in the wrong direction.

We are not exempt from such failings. After all Jesus has done for us, we still experience great difficulty accepting that He is truly God and that His teachings really show us the way we should strive to lead our lives.