Exodus 32:7-14 (NRSV)
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Verse 7The Lord said to Moses, "Go down at once! Your people, whom you brought up out of the land of Egypt, have acted perversely; Verse 8they have been quick to turn aside from the way that I commanded them; they have cast for themselves an image of a 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!'" Verse 9The Lord said to Moses, "I have seen this people, how stiff-necked they are. Verse 10Now let me alone, so that my wrath may burn hot against them and I may consume them; and of you I will make a great nation." Verse 11But Moses implored the Lord his God, and said, "O Lord, why does your wrath burn hot against your people, whom you brought out of the land of Egypt with great power and with a mighty hand? Verse 12Why should the Egyptians say, 'It was with evil intent that he brought them out to kill them in the mountains, and to consume them from the face of the earth'? Turn from your fierce wrath; change your mind and do not bring disaster on your people. Verse 13Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, your servants, how you swore to them by your own self, saying to them, 'I will multiply your descendants like the stars of heaven, and all this land that I have promised I will give to your descendants, and they shall inherit it forever.'" Verse 14And the Lord changed his mind about the disaster that he planned to bring on his people.
Devotion
The stakes are high in this lesson. God’s plan to bring salvation to the world is at risk. God has decided, in response to humanity’s constant rejection of his good and gracious will, to choose one people to be his own. Through them he will reveal to the world that he is unique, the one God who loves and seeks to redeem creation. He has rescued this people from slavery, only to have them give the credit to other gods, to idols of their own making. How will God respond?
Not by ignoring the sin, but by remembering the promise. At the heart of this lesson is a reminder that God made a promise to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, to be their God. The Lord chooses not to destroy the people not because he is tolerant of idolatry, but because he will never go back on his promise. And we, who rely on God’s promises to forgive us, to give us eternal life, and be with us until the end of the age, can take comfort in this lesson. No sin, no matter how great, will keep the Lord from keeping his promises to us.
Prayer
Most gracious God, we thank you for all your promises, especially your promise to be our God. Forgive us when we turn from you, and help us through our lives to reveal your goodness to the world. In Jesus’ name, Amen.