Day 14: 31 Days of Prayer

Day 14: 31 Days of Prayer

Verse:

The next day Moses said to the people: "You have committed a great sin, but now I will go up to the LORD; perhaps I can make atonement for your sin." Then Moses returned to the LORD and said: "Oh, these people have committed a great sin, for they have made gods of gold for themselves. But now, please forgive their sin -- and if not, then blot out my name from the book You have written." But the LORD said to Moses: "Whoever has sinned against Me, that person's name I will blot out of My book. But go now, lead the people to the place of which I have spoken to you; My angel shall go before you, but on the day of My punishment I will punish them for their sin." So the LORD struck the people, because they had had Aaron make the calf. (Ex 32:30-35 - TB)

Reflection:

This passage follows a narrative in which Aaron coordinated the making of the golden calf for the people of Israel. Moses had gone to the top of Mount Sinai to meet with God, and the Israelites became impatient waiting for him to return. Because their demand was not answered, they "gathered around" Aaron and asked him to make them a god. Aaron collected all the gold and jewelry from the people and built a golden calf. In just one paragraph in Exodus, Israel had forgotten the Lord and began offering sacrifices to the golden calf, their new god created by human hands. After that, God told Moses about this and burned with anger, because the Israelites were stubborn. God would destroy them completely. Then Moses tried to soften the heart of the LORD his God, saying: "Why, O LORD, does Your wrath burn against Your people, whom You have brought out of the land of Egypt with great power and a mighty hand? Why should the Egyptians say, He brought them out with evil intent, to kill them in the mountains and wipe them off the face of the earth? Turn from Your fierce wrath and relent from this disaster You plan to bring on Your people. Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, Your servants, to whom You swore by Your own self, saying to them: I will make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky, and all this land that I have promised I will give to your descendants, and they shall possess it forever." And the LORD relented from the disaster He had planned to bring on His people. (Ex 32:11-14) The Lord then told Moses to go down to them, and when Moses arrived, there was the sound of war in the camp. Holding the two tablets of stone on which God had written the law, Moses became truly angry. His anger was such that he threw down the tablets and shattered them. Then he took the calf they had made, burned it in the fire and ground it to powder, scattered it on the water, and made the Israelites drink it - Ex 32:20. Read all of Exodus 32 and look at the scene I have described here if you wish. Moses interceded with God and even convinced God that being angry was not a good thing for this people. Then within only a few minutes, Moses became truly angry, against his own logic, and destroyed everything, then commanded the Levites to kill their own relatives, about 3,000 people. This story shows that the grace of God goes far beyond our understanding, and much more; even this short reflection cannot fully express it. Yet my main focus here is to see Moses' response to the people's sin. He went back up the mountain and prayed for them, as we read at the beginning.

Challenge:

Focus especially on the opening verse where Moses says: "But now, please forgive their sin -- and if not, then blot out my name from the book You have written." Today, have this kind of heart for the people in your life. Be so earnest and faithful for those close to you that you feel a personal responsibility to help them become right. Of course, do not make yourself feel guilty, because every human being is responsible for their own sin. But pray earnestly for those who are weak, and ask God to use you to give them strength.

Translated from the article “31 Days of Prayer: Day 14” by Daniel Berk