“I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. You shall have no other gods before me."
Exodus 20:2-3 (NIV)
How did the children of Israel find themselves in flagrant sin and under God’s weighty wrath in the second half of Exodus 32? No doubt by way of a long slippery slope! Their propensity for idolatry is revealed in numerous passages, including the simple things mentioned in Exodus 16:3 (meat, bread, Egypt). By the time we get to the story of the golden calf, their hope was no longer in God. They forgot the Faithful One who delivered them from Pharaoh and parted the Red Sea so they could pass through safely on dry ground. Instead they asked for new gods (the former gods of Egypt) to lead them. The idols they decided to worship would only lead them to death!
Even after His righteous judgement for their sin, God went on to show them mercy. He gave Moses a fresh promise that His Presence would go with them. And in chapter 34 He gives a revelation of His character and holiness that is regarded as sacred to this day by Jewish people around the world (“The Thirteen Attributes” of God in Exodus 34:6-8). We too are susceptible to idolatry, placing our hope in that which is false instead of in Him who is true. Yet the Lord in His faithfulness continues to reveal Himself to us as worthy of our praise, worship and hope. He will never fail.
Where in the Word: Exodus 32:1–8; 31–35; 33:14; 34:6–8
Finding hope:
Something more to talk over with God: Colossians 1:12–20
For the past nine weeks, as the coronavirus upended the world with fear, stay-at-home mandates, financial loss and isolation, we’ve turned to Scripture for the hope we each need to endure rough times.
Ancient Israel had a hope: to return to the Land God had promised to give her. Yet, she had been in exile in Babylon for so long that I’m sure the hope of many began to wane, if not completely disappear.
Our God is the Master Composer. The intricacies He has purposefully arranged on His grand scale of time are often indistinguishable to the human ear, unless we strain to hear. As we journey through the story of Ezra-Nehemiah in the days ahead, listen in for a pattern, a 3-part harmony, as God composes another movement in His song through the mouths of His prophets. See if you can make out the sounds.
The words God gave to His prophets often told about events in the current time, near future and a time even further in the future. They are always pointing us forward, but what were they pointing us forward to?
