The objective of this lesson: to focus students on God's nature.
With incredible power, God delivered Abraham's descendants through Isaac from Egyptian slavery. God fashioned His deliverance in a manner that should have imprinted those Israelites' minds for the rest of their lives. When those Israelite slaves heard Moses' first report concerning God's intentions, they were thrilled (Exodus 4:29-31)! They believed Moses' report. They were impressed with Moses' miracles. The fact that God was concerned about their struggles touched them. [People are always elated if they think God will take care of my "right now" problems immediately!]
Israel's deliverance from slavery depended on God. They were to be made aware that their deliverance originated with God, was sustained by God, and was accomplished by God. When people live in what they regard as "unchangeable, impossible circumstances," they are convinced the circumstances are permanent. Israel had no idea of what God could do! They were thrilled for God "to fix" what they were powerless to change. Like humans in every age, their human expectations were confident God's "fix" would be "a quick fix" with no unanticipated complications."
When Pharaoh received Moses' first request for him to release the Israelites so they could travel to the wilderness and worship God, he reacted with hostility (Exodus 5:1-9). Since he considered himself a god with enormous power, he was offended. The God of the Hebrews speaking to Moses did not impress him! Giving these slaves time off was out of the question! The "real" explanation motivating the request was this: the slaves did not have enough to do! Thus Pharaoh made their work extremely demanding and quite difficult.
When Israel became aware that there were real, demanding, even harsh consequences to be endured as a result of God "fixing" their slavery injustices, they were quickly disillusioned. The news that was at first thrilling suddenly became distasteful.
The Israelite foremen of the slaves pleaded with Pharaoh to be reasonable in his work demands (Exodus 5:15-19). Pharaoh's response: "You are lazy! That is the reason you asked to go sacrifice to your God!" The Israelite foremen left Pharaoh's court knowing the slaves were in serious trouble.
If Israel could have stopped the process, at this moment they would have stopped it. If the immediate price they paid was increased suffering, the cost was too much! Perhaps God could not work through Moses to end their slavery! If a failure to end their slavery was the result, their conditions were worse! Better to make no attempt than to experience failure's consequences!
As the Israelite foremen left Pharaoh's court, they met Moses and Aaron (Exodus 5:20,21). The foremen were extremely unhappy with the turn of events. They anticipated freedom and they received impossible work conditions! Paraphrased, they said to Moses and Aaron, "You made us stink in Pharaoh's sight! What you did will result in our deaths! May God judge you for our suffering!"
Stress the foremen's bad attitude as they expressed resentment and contempt for Moses and Aaron.
A discouraged Moses talked to God (Exodus 5:22, 23). "Why did you bring harm to these Israelites? Why did you send me? Since my arrival and request to Pharaoh, the situation is worse! And You did not deliver these slaves!" Both Moses and Israel expected Moses would make a request and Israel would leave--simple, easy, uncomplicated! After all, they thought it was about them and their desires instead of being about God.
Pharaoh's [Pharaoh is a title that means "king," not a name] response had a devastating effect on Moses' expectations. Since God did not immediately solve the problem in the way Moses' expected, Moses concluded God failed and in failure deceived him. At this point the basic problem was deeply rooted in the fact that Israel perceived the situation to be about them rather than being about God.
God wanted Israel to understand through unforgettable events His incredible power (Exodus 6:1). Israel would not be released because it was a simple, easy matter! Nor would it be because Pharaoh was understanding and agreeable! Nor would it be because Israel was powerful! Nor would it be because Moses was persuasive and convincing! Israel would be released for one reason: God willed their release, and He is incredibly powerful!
Israel with their shallow, self-serving faith, had a lot to learn about God, the Self-Existent One. God would use the entire incident to introduce these people (1) to Who He was and (2) to reveal His incredible power.
God appeared to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob as El Shaddai (the Mighty God). They now would know Him as YHWH [Yahweh or Jehovah or The Self-Existent One] (Exodus 6:3). No human, not even Pharaoh, is Self Existent. Deliverance from Egyptian slavery should prove God could sustain them in any circumstance. Never would there be reason to doubt His ability to sustain!
Through this experience Israel would take their awareness of God's nature to a higher level than Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob's. They would have even greater awareness of the Self-Existent One's ability to sustain humans.
With mighty acts God released Israel from Egyptian slavery; protected them from the Egyptian army; separated them from Egypt permanently; preserved them in the wilderness; and spoke His law to them at Mount Sinai.
Every aspect of the entire incident revealed God's ability is superior to the most powerful forms of human opposition. God's will could not be negated by powerful, controlling human opposition. The superior, victorious power belonged to God!
After the Sinai experience, Moses went up to receive instructions from God. Moses was on the mount for days. The Israelites grew restless. Finally, they approached Aaron, Moses' brother and spokesman. "We do not know what happened to Moses. Make us a god who will lead us (Exodus 32:1).
How quickly people forget! While to us it seems incomprehensible that people could think God delivered them only to abandon them, too often we come to the same conclusion. They wanted leadership! They wanted something "to follow" they understood! Incredibly, they preferred to follow something they made!
Aaron fashioned an idol of gold [a calf] and presented it to the Israelites. "They" declared, "This is your god, O Israel, who brought you up from the land of Egypt" (Exodus 32:4). What a cruel insult to God! After all God did to demonstrate that He, the Self-Existent One, could sustain them, they credited a human-made object fashioned from their possessions with their salvation!
They insisted that Moses' brother make them an idol to lead them. He did! He made something they quickly recognized as a god. They attributed God's mighty acts that produced their deliverance to something made from their own possessions! They deeply insulted God!
Their actions and motives angered God beyond our comprehension! He was deeply offended! God said to Moses, "Go down at once, for your people, whom you brought up from the land of Egypt, have corrupted themselves. They have quickly turned aside from the way which I commanded them. They have made for themselves a molten calf, and have worshipped it and have sacrificed to it and said, 'This is your god, O Israel, who brought you up from the land of Egypt!' I have seen this people, and behold, they are an obstinate people. Now then let Me alone, that My anger may burn against them and that I may destroy them; and I will make of you a great nation" (Exodus 32:7-10).
A justly infuriated God wanted to separate Himself from a people that could so easily, quickly forget Him. Note they did not ask, "Where is God?" They said, "We do not know what happened to Moses." They focused on the man, not on God (Exodus 32:1)
Moses appealed to God not to destroy the Israelites, but he did not appeal to Israel's virtues. He appealed to God's nature: "O Lord, why does Your anger burn against Your people whom You have brought out from the land of Egypt with great power and with a mighty hand? Why should the Egyptians speak, saying, 'With evil intent He brought them out to kill them in the mountains and to destroy them from the face of the earth'? Turn from Your burning anger and change Your mind about doing harm to Your people. Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, Your servants to whom You swore by Yourself, and said to them, 'I will multiply your descendants as the stars of the heavens, and all this land of which I have spoken I will give to your descendants, and they shall inherit it forever' " (Exodus 32:11-13).
This is an insightful example of intercession. Moses' did not appeal to Israel's virtues--they had none! He appealed to God's nature. He specifically appealed to covenant and the reaction of Egypt. Note a similar example of intercession by reading Nehemiah 1:5-11.
Would it have been just for God to destroy Israel? Yes! A deserved punishment for an incredible insult? Yes! A "right thing" to do? Yes! Would destroying Israel destroy God's holiness? No!
There was nothing unjust about God being angry with shallow, unappreciative, rebellious Israel. Israel's insult was truly deserving of God's wrath.
God's final response was based on an appeal to God's nature, not Israel's virtue. Not even God's enemies should have reason to misunderstand God! While Israel's destruction was just and deserved, it could confuse God's enemy. In seeing God's rightful wrath, God's enemy might not see God as a covenant keeper filled with compassion and mercy.
Note carefully that Moses' plea was based on God's nature, not on Israel's deservedness.
Consider two realizations. (1) Israel insulted God because they were ungrateful for all God did for them. They thought deliverance was about them instead of about God. (2) To plead with God to abandon a rightful anger, Moses cited God's nature, not Israel's worthiness.
Note two things: (1) the significance of Israel's ingratitude and (2) Israel received mercy because of God's nature.
Thought Questions:
A genuine appreciation of the many ways in which God used His power to deliver them would produce praise in difficult moments rather than rebellion and insult (recall Exodus 20:2-6)
The reconciliation of people to God is primarily about restoring God to the position of the "all in all" (see 1 Corinthians 15:20-28). God's work through history to produce reconciliation between humans and God is primarily about the restoration of God's position as sovereign over a rebellious creation. Human salvation is secondary as a benefit of God's restoration as the "all in all."
Link to Student Guide
Lesson 3