He Hears my Voice
Exodus 32:1-14
"But I call to God, and the Lord saves me. Evening, morning and noon I cry out in distress, and he hears my voice."
(Psalm 55:16-17)
My heart melts when my grandchildren speak to me. Their tiny voices might be asking a question or, more than likely, requesting a snack, but no matter what the reason, I want to stop and listen. Because they are so precious to me, I can't imagine hurting them by ignoring their voice.
All through Scripture we read of people crying out to God. The intimate interchange between Moses and God in Exodus 32 is a great example. Just as God was ready to destroy the Israelites because of their sin, Moses "sought the favor of the Lord his God" (v.10) and "the Lord relented and didn't bring on his people the disaster he had threatened" (v.14).
God's love for us is as full and as great as that! He listens when we speak and when we cry out. Imagine! As deeply as I love my grandchildren and drop everything to listen to them, God's love for us is so much greater. He does hear our voice; He does compassionately and wisely answer our prayers; and He does know our needs, meeting them perfectly in His providential ways.
INSIGHT
In ancient societies, gods were neither personal nor relational. Not so with the one true God who sent His Son to die for our sins.
READ THROUGH THE BIBLE IN A YEAR
Deuteronomy 11-12
Psalm 85
Acts 8
Exodus 32:1-14
X
Exodus 32:1-14
New Living Translation (NLT)
The Gold Calf
32 When the people saw how long it was taking Moses to come back down the mountain, they gathered around Aaron. "Come on," they said, "make us some gods who can lead us. We don’t know what happened to this fellow Moses, who brought us here from the land of Egypt."
2 So Aaron said, "Take the gold rings from the ears of your wives and sons and daughters, and bring them to me."
3 All the people took the gold rings from their ears and brought them to Aaron. 4 Then Aaron took the gold, melted it down, and molded it into the shape of a calf. When the people saw it, they exclaimed, "O Israel, these are the gods who brought you out of the land of Egypt!"
5 Aaron saw how excited the people were, so he built an altar in front of the calf. Then he announced, "Tomorrow will be a festival to the Lord!"
6 The people got up early the next morning to sacrifice burnt offerings and peace offerings. After this, they celebrated with feasting and drinking, and they indulged in pagan revelry.
7 The Lord told Moses, "Quick! Go down the mountain! Your people whom you brought from the land of Egypt have corrupted themselves. 8 How quickly they have turned away from the way I commanded them to live! They have melted down gold and made a calf, and they have bowed down and sacrificed to it. They are saying, ‘These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you out of the land of Egypt.’"
9 Then the Lord said, "I have seen how stubborn and rebellious these people are. 10 Now leave me alone so my fierce anger can blaze against them, and I will destroy them. Then I will make you, Moses, into a great nation."
11 But Moses tried to pacify the Lord his God. "O Lord!" he said. "Why are you so angry with your own people whom you brought from the land of Egypt with such great power and such a strong hand? 12 Why let the Egyptians say, ‘Their God rescued them with the evil intention of slaughtering them in the mountains and wiping them from the face of the earth’? Turn away from your fierce anger. Change your mind about this terrible disaster you have threatened against your people! 13 Remember your servants Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.[a] You bound yourself with an oath to them, saying, ‘I will make your descendants as numerous as the stars of heaven. And I will give them all of this land that I have promised to your descendants, and they will possess it forever.’"
14 So the Lord changed his mind about the terrible disaster he had threatened to bring on his people.
Footnotes:
a. Exodus 32:13 Hebrew Israel. The names "Jacob" and "Israel" are often interchanged throughout the Old Testament, referring sometimes to the individual patriarch and sometimes to the nation.
BLESSINGS IN DISGUISE [PART 1]
with Laura Story
God's blessings are often unrecognized. Many people miss out on life's greatest blessings and never realize it. Why? Because God often sends blessings in disguise and only eyes of faith can see them.
No comments:
Post a Comment