A Troubling Situation
As promised, we go directly into the troubling situation facing Moses. As was mentioned earlier, more often than not, the things which cause our worry and anxiety are mostly related to human beings and to carnal issues. Nevertheless, it is not so in this case, with Moses.
This leader of God’s people is carrying some heavy anxiety, because God has told him of His burning wrath against His people. Consider it again! Think of the man Moses. As leader, he must be carrying some deep, scary anxiety, for this is all of God, all of Sovereignty, all of Deity. Don’t you think this will cause great anxiety in Moses, God’s vexed and angry state against His beloved people?
Indeed so! The troubling, worrisome situation which Moses, as liberator and leader of God’s people is facing right now, is Sovereign, Creator God’s anger. God is angry with His people, the Hebrew people, and God stoops Himself down, humbles Himself as it were, to tell it all to Moses, a mere human. Who is a humbling God like our God!
God then makes this clearly understood declaration to His servant Moses, about the Israelites. And the LORD said to Moses, I have seen this people, and indeed it is a stiff-necked people! Now therefore, let Me alone, that My wrath may burn hot against them and I may consume them. And I will make of you a great nation. Exodus 32: 9 - 10.
God is mad! God is angry! God’s people have so vexed Him with their open, blatant idolatry and adultery, He is ready to consume the whole lot of them.
However, God also knows that Moses will become all anxious, afraid, worried and agitated, so He speaks words of calm and peace to His servant. Remember, it was God who chose and called Moses to be His leader of His people. If there are no people, how can Moses fulfill God’s Word of him being a leader? If God now removes all the people, then His Word to Moses would be fraudulent, short-lived and most foreign to who God is. Therefore, God reassures Moses, and lets him know that he will still be a leader, because God will make him a great nation.
Nevertheless, Moses is not at all calmed and at peace in his heart and mind. This servant of God is extremely worried and anxious about such a terribly grave situation. Who can stand against God and His declarations? But Moses is a man of prayer and knowing his God as he does, he turns to unadulterated supplication.
Moses, as leader of the people, though they are truly deserving of God’s burning-hot wrath against them, prays and supplicates for them. Moses knows all that is in God’s mind to do to the Hebrew people, God’s own people, for God Himself has told it to Moses. Nonetheless, Moses, still supplicates earnestly and fervently for the people whom God has used him to bring out of Egypt, with a mighty hand.
In yesterday’s offering, three points were lifted out from this text. Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God: and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. Philippians 4: 6 – 7.
They were introduced to us as Paul’s declaration notice on prayer. Let’s be reminded of them.
You are not to be anxious about anything.
You are to tell God your every request by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving.
You are to know the peace of God that will guard your hearts and minds, through Christ Jesus. It is peace that surpasses all understanding.
On our next offering, these will be applied to Moses, in his crucial time, for the people of God, who have made their God terribly angry.
Exercising sure faith, we will be looking and learning, as we receive living newness concerning this well-known passage of Scripture.
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