Before the Lord

One thing about the saints of the Old Testament, they were not afraid to challenge God. Yesterday, Habakkuk. Today, Moses.

The story: Moses went up Mt. Sinai to receive the Ten Commandments. He tarried many days. The people below began to believe that he wouldn’t be coming down. They appealed to Aaron to make them some new gods; Moses and his god appeared to have abandoned them. Aaron gathered all their gold, melted it, fashioned it into a calf and declared, “Here are your gods!”

Back atop the mountain God watched. God’s anger burned. God decided to utterly destroy those people and make a new nation from Moses’ seed. But Moses challenged God. These are your people, the ones you rescued from Egypt. What will the nations think of you if you destroy them? Besides, remember your promises to Abraham, to Isaac, to Jacob. God forbid that you do this.

The outcome: God repented. Yes, that’s right, repented (the Hebrew word), and spared the people of Israel.

Two things we learn from this: Don’t be afraid to stand before God upon the firm foundation of God’s Word. Second, God is always faithful to God’s word.

God of faithfulness, thank you that you never go back on your word. Amen. — DAB

Contributed by Before the Lord

One thing about the saints of the Old Testament, they were not afraid to challenge God. Yesterday, Habakkuk. Today, Moses. The story: Moses went up Mt. Sinai to receive the Ten Commandments. He tarried many days. The people below began to believe that he wouldn't be coming down. They appealed to Aaron to make them some new gods; Moses and his god appeared to have abandoned them. Aaron gathered all their gold, melted it, fashioned it into a calf and declared, "Here are your gods!" Back atop the mountain God watched. God's anger burned. God decided to utterly destroy those people and make a new nation from Moses' seed. But Moses challenged God. These are your people, the ones you rescued from Egypt. What will the nations think of you if you destroy them? Besides, remember your promises to Abraham, to Isaac, to Jacob. God forbid that you do this. The outcome: God repented. Yes, that's right, repented (the Hebrew word), and spared the people of Israel. Two things we learn from this: Don't be afraid to stand before God upon the firm foundation of God's Word. Second, God is always faithful to God's word.
Eternity for Today