Moses, a Real Leader
When the people saw that Moses was so long from the mountains, they gathered around Aaron and said, “Come make us gods who will go before us.”
Then the Lord said to Moses, “Go down, because your people, whom you brought up out of Egypt, have become corrupt. They have been quick to turn away from what I commanded them and have made themselves an idol cast in the shape of a calf. They have bowed down to it and sacrificed to it and have said, These are your gods Israel who brought you up out of Egypt.
“I have seen these people,” the Lord said to Moses, “and they are a stiff-necked people. Now leave me alone so that my anger may burn against them and that I may destroy them. Then I will bake you into a great nation.”
Exodus 32: 1, 7-14 (NIV)
We have a wonderful story from the Bible—the Old Testament story about Moses getting the 10 Commandments from God on Mount Sinai.
Having gone to law school, I can tell you that Moses was one great defense attorney. Here is the scene: Moses has gone up the mountain to receive the laws that God has for His people. The people get restless because Moses has not returned, so they press Aaron, Moses' brother, into service and have him make a god (a golden calf) to worship—and they blame Moses for bringing them out of Egypt into the wilderness to die. God sees all that is happening and gets angry. He tells Moses, "Go down, for your people, who you brought up out of Egypt, have gotten into trouble."
Now, as I recall, it was God who instructed Moses to lead God's people out of bondage into the Promised Land, but now God is blaming Moses for their failure. God goes on to say He will consume them with fire, but He will do good things for Moses because He has remained faithful.
That is when Moses, the defense attorney, goes to work. He reminds God of what the Egyptians will say: "Their God brought them out of a fine land to slay them in the mountains, to consume them from the face of the earth."
Moses says, "Turn from thy fierce wrath and repent of this evil against thy people and, by the way, remember the promise you made to them about a safe passage to a new home." In other words, these folks are lost and need to be forgiven and guided.
The Lord repented of the evil that He thought to do to His people. Moses won his case, and I rest mine. The Hebrew people were lost, but God forgave them and continued to guide them to Canaan with Moses' leadership.
There are times when all of us feel lost in the wilderness when faced with illness, loss of a job, death of a love one, divorce or loss of faith. God loves us and sent His son, Jesus, to guide and lead us through such times. St. Martin's Episcopal Church can be the place to find healing, faith and fellowship for your journey with our Lord, through the rest of your life.
Hymn No. 469:
"There's a wideness in God's mercy like the wideness of the sea; there's a kindness in his justice, which is more than liberty, There is welcome for the sinner, and more graces for the good; there is mercy with the Savior; there is healing in his blood."
