In Exodus 32, Moses destroys by fire the golden calf that his brother Aaron had built for the Israelites to worship in place of God Almighty. Moses took the remaining power and spread it upon the waters and had the sons on Israel drink it. Then Moses stood at the camp’s gate and beckoned any of the Israelites who were on the Lord’s side to come to him. Only the Levites responded positively. Then Moses commanded these loyal Levites to slaughter 3,000 Israelites because of their disobedience.

Christian baptism seems to mirror somewhat this melting down of the Israelites’ golden idol. The disobeying Israelites were killed for worshiping a golden idol. But they apparently were given a chance to repent before their slaughter.

Likewise, in Christian conversion, our repentance from our sins is a prerequisite to baptism. Our old self with all its temptations (lust of the flesh, eyes, and the pride of life) are put to death (meltdown) in the watery grave of baptism. Fire melted the golden calf into powder and water is used as the medium to wash away our present, past, and future sins by aligning ourselves with Christ, His beloved Son.

And just like the Israelites, who were given an opportunity to repent before their destruction, so too are the lost givern that same option many, many times before our physical deaths.