Exodus 32:7-14 (NRSV)
Read Exodus 32:7-14 on biblegateway.com
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
What are we to make of this colorful, somewhat perplexing account of a conversation between a reasoning Moses and an infuriated God? At its heart, this is a story about God’s faithfulness. Despite the intensity of a white-hot anger, God’s faithfulness prevailed. The river of God’s faithfulness flowed more deeply and powerfully than the fire of anger. In the moments in which the real or perceived anger and/or rejection by God, by others or even by ourselves, we are reminded of a faithfulness that will not let us go. While God may not have led us through a literal wilderness, God’s commitment to us is revealed in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. In the face of our fears, we are encouraged to claim and trust God’s unfailing faithfulness and grace.
Prayer
Dear God, in those times in which we fear your wrath, try to cope with the real or perceived anger and rejection by others and/or live under the burden of self-condemnation, set us free by the power of your abiding and ever-present Spirit that we might live in the assurance of your faithfulness and grace. Amen.
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