Our Mediator – Part 9
November 4, 2001
Dear Friends,
One of the strongest arguments for the “pleading” view of Christ’s role now is in the type in Exodus 32. While Moses is up on the mount, the children of Israel made a golden calf. God, in his anger, tells Moses “I have seen this people, and, behold, it is a stiffnecked people: now therefore let me alone, that my wrath may wax hot against them, and that I may consume them: and I will make of thee a great nation.” Faced with the destruction of the nation of Israel at the hands of God, Moses pleads with God and eventually convinces God not to destroy them. At least this is what appears to happen. Let’s look a little closer.
Moses presents two arguments to God. Moses’ first argument is as follows: “Wherefore should the Egyptians speak, and say, For mischief did he bring them out, to slay them in the mountains, and to consume them from the face of the earth? Turn from thy fierce wrath, and repent of this evil against thy people.”
Moses’ second argument is as follows: “Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, thy servants, to whom thou swarest by thine own self, and saidst unto them, I will multiply your seed as the stars of heaven, and all this land that I have spoken of will I give unto your seed, and they shall inherit it for ever.” After this second argument, we are told that God repented of the evil he planned to do to Israel.
If we impose this “pleading with an angry God” construct on this passage, we have God saying something like this: “Wow, Moses! I hadn’t really thought of it that way. I was so mad I guess I forgot about what people might say or those promises I made to Abraham. Lucky I had you around Moses or I would have made a big mistake.” The passage reads like God is really, really mad and seems a little out of control in His anger. It also appears that Moses soothes Him and calms Him down with his impeccable logic. But even as I write that (and really don’t mean what I write), I am uncomfortable because this interpretation strikes me as blasphemous. Is Moses reminding God of stuff that slipped His mind? Is Moses calmer than Yahweh?
Perhaps there is another alternative that the “obvious” interpretation. I would suggest that God is testing Moses. Notice how God phrases His offer – “Now therefore let me alone, that my wrath may wax hot against them, and that I may consume them: and I will make of thee a great nation.” At one point in Moses’ life, its seems from the Acts 7 account, that Moses had an ego problem. “And Moses was learned in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, and was mighty in words and in deeds. And when he was full forty years old, it came into his heart to visit his brethren the children of Israel. And seeing one of them suffer wrong, he defended him, and avenged him that was oppressed, and smote the Egyptian: for he supposed his brethren would have understood how that God by his hand would deliver them: but they understood not.” Moses was ready and more than willing at age 40 to be the Messiah. He was sure that Israel would recognize a man might in words and deeds and fall in line behind him.
Forty years later, Moses was so humble that God could finally use him (after a little pleading on God’s part). Perhaps in Exodus 32 Moses getting a little prideful again. Numbers 20 indicates that this indeed was the case. “And Moses lifted up his hand, and with his rod he smote the rock twice: and the water came out abundantly, and the congregation drank, and their beasts also. And the LORD spake unto Moses and Aaron, Because ye believed me not, to sanctify me in the eyes of the children of Israel, therefore ye shall not bring this congregation into the land which I have given them.” It makes sense that Moses had a problem that he needed some help with from God. In testing Moses by offering him to become the “new Abraham”, God was trying to help him with a problem. This seems more logical and in keeping with what we are taught in Scripture concerning God than the former interpretation of Moses trying to help God with a problem.
In the end, how you see Exodus 32 is really a matter of interpretation. Make no mistake about it, though, whichever interpretation you chose has tremendous implications for your concept of God, Creator of heaven and earth.
Have a great week!
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