Word of Encouragement (08/30/2022)
But Moses implored the LORD his God and said, “O LORD, why does your wrath burn hot against your people, whom you have brought out of the land of Egypt with great power and with a mighty hand? Why should the Egyptians say, ‘With evil intent did he bring them out, to kill them in the mountains and to consume them from the face of the earth’? Turn from your burning anger and relent from this disaster against your people. Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, your servants, to whom you swore by your own self, and said to them, ‘I will multiply your offspring as the stars of heaven, and all this land that I have promised I will give to your offspring, and they shall inherit it forever.’” (Ex. 32:11-13)
After asking two rhetorical why-questions, Moses followed up with two petitions: “Turn from your burning anger and relent from this disaster against your people”; “Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, your servants, to whom you swore by your own self....” These two petitions are closely connected: the second provides the reason for the first petition. Why should a holy and just God relent His righteous wrath against these sinners? Because He made a covenant with the Patriarchs to make their offspring multiply and give them the promised land.
How did God respond? “And the LORD relented from the disaster that he had spoken of bringing on his people” (Ex. 32:14). To some, this may seem perfectly natural. Moses presented a good argument and the Lord agreed that he was right. But is it that simple? Many translations say, “So the LORD changed His mind...” (NASB). We change our minds all the time. So, this may not seem like a big deal to us. In fact, the possibility of being able to change God’s mind is what motivates a lot of people to pray with such fervency and persistence, isn’t it? Many ask why we should bother to pray if God never changes His mind!
But what does it say about God if He changed His mind? If God is perfect, can He change His mind and still be perfect? If He changed His mind because He was wrong, He wasn’t perfect. If He mistakenly changed His mind (for the worse), He would no longer be perfect. So, what the Bible says God did in response to Moses’ intercession presents a huge theological problem.
But can we honestly say that Moses was able to convince God that what He said He would do to Israel was a bad idea? When God relented, was God saying, “Moses, thank you for your perspective. I never thought of that! Now I see how stupid my decision was. I would have made a huge mistake if you didn’t intercede for Israel!” There are times we may think we want to change God’s mind (thinking that what is going on in our lives at the moment is what God planned [which is not wrong] and all that God planned [and not just a part of the process by which God will bring His good purpose to fruition in His time]). But if God makes mistakes and we have to help Him to correct them, can we trust Him when we feel confused and lost?
What if God was testing Moses to see his understanding of God’s (true) purpose and his love for the people of Israel, whom God entrusted to his care? And what if His threat to destroy Israel was not just an outburst of anger because He lost all self-control but a true statement about what Israel deserved for their sin of idolatry? (Sadly, this was not just an empty threat. Even though God relented here, this generation of the Israelites would eventually perish in the wilderness for their sins.) This interaction also showed that God would relent His wrath if a worthy intercessor pleaded His people’s cause, pointing to Jesus Christ, our true and eternal Intercessor, who appeased God’s wrath forever and brought us eternal salvation.
Are you praying because you don’t like what is happening and you want to change God’s mind? If God is perfect, His plan for you is perfect (even though it may not seem that way at the moment). If a perfect God should ever change His mind, it would be for the worse. Are you sure what you want is what is best for you? Do you think your idea is better than God’s? Shouldn’t we trust in God’s goodness and wisdom, which He demonstrated through the death and resurrection of Christ, and pray with our Lord, “Not my will but your will be done”? (Tomorrow, we will see whether this mindset makes our prayer unnecessary.)