February 9, 2010
Moses is on the mountain ... totally unaware of what the people are doing. But God knows, and He tells Moses to go down because the people "have ruined themselves" and quickly turned away from God. (Exodus 32:7) They were doing exactly what they had just promised God they would not do. God was angry and ready to destroy them and to make Moses and his descendants a great nation instead. But Moses begged and pleaded with the LORD not to destroy them. He could have seized the opportunity to have HIS descendants become a great nation. Moses' heart proved pure and humble. Instead he had mercy and begged the LORD not to destroy them.
When Moses came down and saw what God already knew, he was angry and threw down and broke the tablets. Moses took the calf, melted it down, ground it into powder, threw it in the water and made them drink it. There will be consequences for the sins we commit; we don't get to choose what those consequences are. But, throughout scripture there is a recurring theme: the evil you do and the evil you try to do to others is the very thing that ends up happening to you. The Israelites were forced to drink the water with the powder from the calf in it. Psalm 140:9–11 - "Let the heads of those who surround me be covered with the trouble their lips have caused. Let burning coals fall on them; may they be thrown into the fire, into the miry pits never to rise. Let the slanderers not be established in the land and may disaster hunt down men of violence."
Moses asked Aaron, "What did these people do to you? Why did you cause them to do such a terrible sin?" (Exodus 32:21) What happened to you? Why? Why?
That is our question as well. Why? What happened to you? When did it become okay to lie, steal, and cheat? When did it become okay to falsely accuse? When did the need for power and the pursuit of money take over your lives? Why did you decide to go against God's word and bring "the storm"? Why? What happened to you???
Next Entry: Exodus 32:1 – 34:35 (Continued)
Moses is on the mountain ... totally unaware of what the people are doing. But God knows, and He tells Moses to go down because the people "have ruined themselves" and quickly turned away from God. (Exodus 32:7) They were doing exactly what they had just promised God they would not do. God was angry and ready to destroy them and to make Moses and his descendants a great nation instead. But Moses begged and pleaded with the LORD not to destroy them. He could have seized the opportunity to have HIS descendants become a great nation. Moses' heart proved pure and humble. Instead he had mercy and begged the LORD not to destroy them.
When Moses came down and saw what God already knew, he was angry and threw down and broke the tablets. Moses took the calf, melted it down, ground it into powder, threw it in the water and made them drink it. There will be consequences for the sins we commit; we don't get to choose what those consequences are. But, throughout scripture there is a recurring theme: the evil you do and the evil you try to do to others is the very thing that ends up happening to you. The Israelites were forced to drink the water with the powder from the calf in it. Psalm 140:9–11 - "Let the heads of those who surround me be covered with the trouble their lips have caused. Let burning coals fall on them; may they be thrown into the fire, into the miry pits never to rise. Let the slanderers not be established in the land and may disaster hunt down men of violence."
Moses asked Aaron, "What did these people do to you? Why did you cause them to do such a terrible sin?" (Exodus 32:21) What happened to you? Why? Why?
That is our question as well. Why? What happened to you? When did it become okay to lie, steal, and cheat? When did it become okay to falsely accuse? When did the need for power and the pursuit of money take over your lives? Why did you decide to go against God's word and bring "the storm"? Why? What happened to you???
Next Entry: Exodus 32:1 – 34:35 (Continued)
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