Moses has been on Mount Sinai...
Moses has been on Mount Sinai receiving from God the two tablets of the covenant law: "the tablets of stone inscribed by the finger of God" (Exodus 31:18b NIV). His absence lasted so long that the Israelites became frustrated and impatient with Moses... and his God. Complaining to Aaron, they wanted a new god since they didn't get what they wanted from Moses -- the result a golden calf made by their own hands. What a substitute! They were so happy that they shouted and danced the night away so loudly that it reached the heaven of God and the cliffs of Moses' mountain.