Exodus 32:2 And Aaron said unto them, Break off the golden earrings, which are in the ears of your wives, of your sons, and of your daughters, and bring them unto me.
Being the ordained high priest, it was fitting for him to be gentle, but firmness, gentleness and courtesy can and must always come wrapped up in a bundle in the Christian, so that the one would support the other, or otherwise offset the other when due. For instance, if the devil were to come to you using flattery through some human agent, you should say no, in a courteous manner. No need to shout, or to make a brawl, for no should be a firm no, regardless of one’s demeanor.
As Christians, we can stand our ground in a Christlike manner, without becoming all riled up. But if flattery and praise do not work, devils will try another tactic, by trying to heckle the Christian into submission. Some persons are quite good at dealing courteously with flattery, but when the fiery darts of heckling, gossip, and character assassination are to hurled at us, some Christians blow a fuse.
Such was the case with Peter, who could not stand the thought of being linked with an unpopular Jesus and as satan got wind of it, he turned up the heat of the furnace several notches until in a fit of anger, he blew a fuse. Multiple rounds were fired by satan for he a careful observer, and saw that Peter courted a penchant for popularity.
Exodus 32:3 And all the people brake off the golden earrings which were in their ears, and brought them unto Aaron. 4 And he received them at their hand, and fashioned it with a graving tool, after he had made it a molten calf: and they said, These be thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt.
May The Lord add His blessing to the study of His word. God bless!