THE GREAT INTERCESSOR

Can I pray for you in any way? Send any prayer requests to faithhopegodlove@aol.com In Christ, Mark

"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, O 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 make you into a great nation." But Moses sought the favor of the Lord his God. "O Lord," he said, "why should your anger burn against your people, whom you brought out of Egypt with great power and a mighty hand? 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. 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.' " Then the Lord relented and did not bring on his people the disaster he had threatened." Exodus 32:7-14

While the people of Israel were having a good time disobeying God and worshiping their golden calf, God Himself was not sharing their good cheer. In fact, He was seething in anger as we look at today's passage. After seeing the antics of His people who swore a promise to obey all He commanded, the Lord told Moses, "I have seen these people 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 make you into a great nation." At this very juncture, the people of Israel were on the brink of annihilation. God was ready to hit the reset button and start fresh with Moses, promising to now make him into a great nation, just as He did Abraham. The people of Israel needed a miracle to survive what was about to happen. And a miracle is what they got.

For who could have ever imagined that God might be convinced by a mere man to change His mind? And yet, this is exactly what happened. For Moses asks God, "O Lord why should your anger burn against your people, whom you brought out of Egypt with great power and a mighty hand?" Moses' question is one of great courage but also great loyalty toward the people he was given to lead. If Moses only cared about himself, he could have just said, "You're right God. Go ahead and destroy all of the people. They deserve it. You can count on me to make sure it doesn't happen again when you make me and my offspring into a great nation." But Moses genuinely cared for his people. As we will see later, it wasn't that he didn't believe in justice being served because there were consequences coming. He was just seeking to thwart the complete destruction of the Israelites.

Moses uses two items to try and convince God to change His mind and not destroy Israel.

First, he refers God back to Egypt saying, "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'? before he asks God to "Turn from your fierce anger; relent and do not bring disaster on your people." Moses had a point. If God destroyed all the Israelites, Egypt would be able to use it against God, painting His actions in rescuing the Israelites as having evil motives. They would say God took the people from Israel with the intent of killing them all at Mount Sinai. In other words, killing all the people of Israel would present a huge image problem for God.

Second, Moses goes back to God's prior covenant promises. He asks God to remember His servants "Abraham, Isaac and Israel", to whom He promised to "make (their) descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky…and give (their) descendants all this land (He) promised them" a land that would be "their inheritance forever." In other words, God destroying Israel would break the covenant He made prior with Abraham, Isaac and Israel because it would remove their present descendants and remove the possibility for any future ones.

So in sum, Moses tells God that destroying all of Israel would create an image problem…an appearance that He took Israel from Egypt with the desire only to destroy them now. He also told God that destroying all of Israel would essentially break the covenant agreements he made with Abraham, Isaac and Israel before. God's response to Moses' intercession? Scripture tells us, "He relented and did not bring on his people the disaster he had threatened." God listened to Moses and changed His mind. It didn't mean He was not going to punish in some way because we will see that this does happen, but surely the entire population of Israel was spared because of Moses and his appeal to God who then showed His amazing mercy by not doing what He had threatened.
So what is our takeaway from today's lesson? I want to share these three points:

1. We should stand up for what's right. Moses felt deep down inside that killing all of Israel was not the right thing to do. Punish them…yes. Destroy them…no. He was willing to stand before God and share his feelings. His intercession spared all of Israel because he wasn't afraid to stand up for what he though was right. We should do likewise.

2. Never underestimate the power of intercession. Moses was all that stood between God and the destruction of the Israelites. He pleaded a case for saving Israel and was able to convince God to change His mind. Through his actions, we should clearly see the awesome power and possibility of intercession. Our scripture shows that God does listen to our pleas and is willing to just as easily show mercy, grace and restraint as He is wrath. Do you know anyone who needs intercession today? If so, go before God and pray for that person. Be that loving, caring intercessor who is willing to put themselves second to plead for another. And this leads to my final point.

3. Jesus was the Great Intercessor! Where would we be today had it not been for the precious, redeeming, powerful blood shed by our Savior? I must say, I don't think I would be writing this nor you reading it because we would have been wiped out a long time ago. Thank goodness that the scriptures assure us that there will be no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. He intercedes for us and pleads our case before God. Here's what scripture tells us from the Epistle to the Hebrews:

"Now there have been many of those priests, since death prevented them from continuing in office; but because Jesus lives forever, he has a permanent priesthood. Therefore he is able to save completely those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them. Such a high priest meets our need—one who is holy, blameless, pure, set apart from sinners, exalted above the heavens. Unlike the other high priests, he does not need to offer sacrifices day after day, first for his own sins, and then for the sins of the people. He sacrificed for their sins once for all when he offered himself. For the law appoints as high priests men who are weak; but the oath, which came after the law, appointed the Son, who has been made perfect forever." Hebrews 7:23-28

Indeed, Jesus interceded for us on the cross, has done so ever since even up to this moment, and will do so forever until He returns. He freely offered Himself as a sacrifice and God surrendered Him to be sacrificed…the sinless, unblemished Lamb of God…crucified while bearing all of our sins.

Friends, is this not the good news that sets us free to live, love and serve as God and His Son commanded? Is this not the good news that we are to be telling others about? As we draw ever nearer to Easter and continue this Lenten season, let's remember and give thanks for our Great Intercessor, Jesus Christ…who died for us to save us from destruction.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.

http://www.faithhopeandlove.info/

Send any prayer requests to faithhopegodlove@aol.com