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
"I've changed my mind." I wonder how often, when someone makes this announcement, people inwardly cringe, expecting the worst. Often, though, when someone has a change of mind, the news is good. It's just that our cringe reflexes fire more quickly than our ability to relax and acknowledge that we are on the receiving end of great goodness.
Did the Hebrew people realize what disaster they had avoided when God relented under the repeated begging of Moses that they receive mercy? Do we realize how much we depend on God's astonishing disposition to side with grace in dealing with us?
Jesus Christ, who regarded as friends the same disciples who deserted him, is our Moses. It is Christ who, upon the cross, made the case for us before God. Will we do the same for those who disappoint us?
Prayer
Lord heavenly Father, we give you thanks for the legacy of grace into which you invite us. Guide our hearts and minds and make us thankful witnesses to your love for us in Christ. Amen.