Moses Responds
Good morning,
When faced with a difficult situation the Christian leader’s first response would wisely be prayer – seeking the direction of God for our response. Only God knows the heart of the person with whom we are dealing, and that could be a two-year-old, a twenty-year-old, or a spouse.
Notice the response of Moses to Israel when they got way off. In the book of Deuteronomy, Moses tells of the events of the past, while reminding Israel of things their parents did and the way God acted. In this passage, Moses told about his actions when he came down from Mount Sinai and found the people worshiping golden calves.
Deuteronomy 9:17-21
vs. 17 “And I took the two tables, and cast them out of my two hands, and brake them before your eyes.”
First we see shock and anger. The tablets written by God might not have been something you would usually smash to the ground. Moses was the most meek man that ever lived according to God, but Moses had been with God for forty days and was not prepared for a calm response to this breach of contract.
vs. 18 “And I fell down before the LORD, as at the first, forty days and forty nights: I did neither eat bread, nor drink water, because of all your sins which ye sinned, in doing wickedly in the sight of the LORD, to provoke him to anger.”
Next, Moses fasted, mourned, and was broken before God.
vs. 19 “For I was afraid of the anger and hot displeasure, wherewith the LORD was wroth against you to destroy you. But the LORD hearkened unto me at that time also.”
The third thing the leader did in this story was fear, and that was probably his emotion all through the situation. He knew something of the holiness of God; Moses had been with God, heard the law, and understood how dreadful it was to violate Divine laws. Moses feared for those he loved. We certainly should fear for our nation and pray for mercy.
vs. 20 "And the LORD was very angry with Aaron to have destroyed him: and I prayed for Aaron also the same time.”
All of these actions were followed by continued prayer, now specifically for the one who was in charge.
vs. 21 “And I took your sin, the calf which ye had made, and burnt it with fire, and stamped it, and ground it very small, even until it was as small as dust: and I cast the dust thereof into the brook that descended out of the mount.”
The next action Moses took was to destroy the object of the sin.
Steps to a good response:
Broken
Fast
Fear
Pray
Remove the evil.
Whatever we face, this might be a good start on our response to the wrong around us.
In a world that rushes to anger, yelling, and unkind treatment of those we are probably supposed to care for, I hope these suggestions will add a spiritual tone to whatever needs to follow.
Pastor