Exodus 32:10 Now leave me alone so that my anger may burn against them and that I may destroy them. Then I will make you into a great nation.”
I listened to commentary the other day that posited that perhaps these verses are a test for Moses. Will he speak up for the Israelites, God’s chosen people? (He does.) And when I think about Moses’ reaction when he finally comes down the mountain and sees what they are up to, I wonder if it was God’s way, in His infinite wisdom and mercy, of reminding Moses of the godly potential in the Israelites before he descends and sees their terrible behavior.
Exodus 32:12 Why should the Egyptians say, ‘It was with evil intent that he brought them out, to kill them in the mountains and to wipe them off the face of the earth’? Turn from your fierce anger; relent and do not bring disaster on your people.
I also listened recently to a sermon by Nadia Bolz-Weber on Luke 13:6-9, the parable of the fig tree, and today’s scripture brought it to mind. The Israelites, like the fig tree, have potential, but they haven’t lived into that potential…YET. If Moses destroyed them in his anger, that potential will never be fulfilled. But if he “digs around it and put manure on it,” tending and nurturing the Israelites, there is still hope that they will fulfill their potential.
Exodus 32:13 Remember your servants Abraham, Isaac and Israel, to whom you swore by your own self: ‘I will make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and I will give your descendants all this land I promised them, and it will be their inheritance forever.’ ”
Lord, Just like the Israelites, You see such potential in us. Just like the Israelites, we sometimes disappoint greatly. Thank You for allowing time for growth and maturity. Thank You for not ripping us out by the roots when we disappoint. Help us to be patient and diligent as we grow and mature in our faith. Help us to be rooted and nurtured in You so that we can reach our full potential. Amen.
Exodus 32:14 Then the Lord relented and did not bring on his people the disaster he had threatened.
Have a blessed day.