Exodus 32
9-10 God said to Moses, "I look at this people—oh! what a stubborn, hard-headed people! Let me alone now, give my anger free reign to burst into flames and incinerate them. But I'll make a great nation out of you."
11-13 Moses tried to calm his God down. He said, "Why, God, would you lose your temper with your people? Why, you brought them out of Egypt in a tremendous demonstration of power and strength. Why let the Egyptians say, 'He had it in for them—he brought them out so he could kill them in the mountains, wipe them right off the face of the Earth.' Stop your anger. Think twice about bringing evil against your people! Think of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, your servants to whom you gave your word, telling them 'I will give you many children, as many as the stars in the sky, and I'll give this land to your children as their land forever.'"
14 And God did think twice. He decided not to do the evil he had threatened against his people.
15-16 Moses turned around and came down from the mountain, carrying the two tablets of The Testimony. The tablets were written on both sides, front and back. God made the tablets and God wrote the tablets— engraved them.
17 When Joshua heard the sound of the people shouting noisily, he said to Moses, "That's the sound of war in the camp!"
18 But Moses said, Those aren't songs of victory, And those aren't songs of defeat, I hear songs of people throwing a party.
19-20 And that's what it was. When Moses came near to the camp and saw the calf and the people dancing, his anger flared. He threw down the tablets and smashed them to pieces at the foot of the mountain. He took the calf that they had made, melted it down with fire, pulverized it to powder, then scattered it on the water and made the Israelites drink it.
21 Moses said to Aaron, "What on Earth did these people ever do to you that you involved them in this huge sin?"
22-23 Aaron said, "Master, don't be angry. You know this people and how set on evil they are. They said to me, 'Make us gods who will lead us. This Moses, the man who brought us out of Egypt, we don't know what's happened to him.'
11-13 Moses tried to calm his God down. He said, "Why, God, would you lose your temper with your people? Why, you brought them out of Egypt in a tremendous demonstration of power and strength. Why let the Egyptians say, 'He had it in for them—he brought them out so he could kill them in the mountains, wipe them right off the face of the Earth.' Stop your anger. Think twice about bringing evil against your people! Think of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, your servants to whom you gave your word, telling them 'I will give you many children, as many as the stars in the sky, and I'll give this land to your children as their land forever.'"
14 And God did think twice. He decided not to do the evil he had threatened against his people.
15-16 Moses turned around and came down from the mountain, carrying the two tablets of The Testimony. The tablets were written on both sides, front and back. God made the tablets and God wrote the tablets— engraved them.
17 When Joshua heard the sound of the people shouting noisily, he said to Moses, "That's the sound of war in the camp!"
18 But Moses said, Those aren't songs of victory, And those aren't songs of defeat, I hear songs of people throwing a party.
19-20 And that's what it was. When Moses came near to the camp and saw the calf and the people dancing, his anger flared. He threw down the tablets and smashed them to pieces at the foot of the mountain. He took the calf that they had made, melted it down with fire, pulverized it to powder, then scattered it on the water and made the Israelites drink it.
21 Moses said to Aaron, "What on Earth did these people ever do to you that you involved them in this huge sin?"
22-23 Aaron said, "Master, don't be angry. You know this people and how set on evil they are. They said to me, 'Make us gods who will lead us. This Moses, the man who brought us out of Egypt, we don't know what's happened to him.'
Okay, so I haven't been posting, but I have been reading. (Okay skimming in some areas!) I really needed a blogging brak the last three days. I was off and I just felt the need to veg out and not spend to much computer time. I actually got to see the movie "Fireproof" with Kirk Cameron. It is a really powerful movie and I highly reccomend it!
Back to Moses and the Israelites... So a number of things hit me reading this passage. First, Moses actually was brave enough to try and soothe God's anger. I think I would have peed my pants if God was angry in front of me. Just the visualizations given to us in the bible are so powerful. Second, Moses ended up being the one to lose his temper...lol! Wow, I can only imagine his fustration. When I find my people goofing off when we have 20 VIPS it really makes me mad too. I have never broken the Ten Commandments in front of them, but it is something to think about. Third, the man was gone for not that long and they forgot about him? Seriously???? I can totally see myself in the Israelites though. Constantly doing the same sins and forgetting about God. I am thankful we have these accounts available to us to learn from. It helps bring me back to where I need to be with God.
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