7 And the Lord said to Moses, “Go down, for your people, whom you brought up out of the land of Egypt, have corrupted themselves. 8 They have turned aside quickly out of the way that I commanded them. They have made for themselves a golden calf and have worshiped it and sacrificed to it and said, ‘These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt!’ ” 9 And the Lord said to Moses, “I have seen this people, and behold, it is a stiff-necked people. 10 Now therefore let me alone, that my wrath may burn hot against them and I may consume them, in order that I may make a great nation of you.”
11 But Moses implored the Lord his God and said, “O Lord, why does your wrath burn hot against your people, whom you have brought out of the land of Egypt with great power and with a mighty hand? 12 Why should the Egyptians say, ‘With evil intent did he bring them out, to kill them in the mountains and to consume them from the face of the earth’? Turn from your burning anger and relent from this disaster against your people. 13 Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, your servants, to whom you swore by your own self, and said to them, ‘I will multiply your offspring as the stars of heaven, and all this land that I have promised I will give to your offspring, and they shall inherit it forever.’ ” 14 And the Lord relented from the disaster that he had spoken of bringing on his people.
The Lord does not desire to look upon evil. He desires to look upon people that are Holy. God delivered his people out of slavery in the land of Egypt. These people betrayed him by calling golden calves him. The people replace the LORD with idols. Aaron abandons the LORD and tells the people a statue brought them out of the Land of Egypt.
God becomes angry with these people and regrets making them (Wait that was Genesis 6). Here he becomes angry and desires to start over once again. Moses does not offer God a sacrifice to turn him away from his Anger. Moses points God to his promises. Moses points God to his reputation.
Is this how we should manipulate God? Convince him to give us what we desire or else people will think he is weak. God needs to heals his people or else other people will not call upon his name nor fear him. It is God who makes promises and those promises will come to fulfillment no matter what we say.
God delivered these people from the Land of Egypt. He did this to deliver them into the promise land. God relented of causing the devastation upon the people for their sins. He remains faithful to his plan. He remains faithful to sacrificing the passover Lamb for the forgiveness of sins. God remains faithful even to his promises even when they are made to corrupt and horrible people who turn their backs on him.
No comments:
Post a Comment