29. DON'T BE A SLAVE TO YOUR PASSIONSWhere do thoughts of wrongdoing come from?
|
|
A terrorist bomb explodes and kills 37 people. A country is exploiting a smaller country for its oil reserves. There is drought in a certain country and no one can get aid to the starving people because of fighting tribes. Someone is caught embezzling thousands of dollars at the bank. Someone is offering bribes to a government official so that he can get electricity for his illegally built home. The mafia extorts a local business for money. A man cheats on his wife. One child makes fun of another because he is short and overweight. A small child grabs his little sister's toy and makes her cry. Everyone should agree that all these things are not good and yet they happen every day all over the world. Why is the world bad if we know how to be good?
Some people think that all the babies born into the world are completely neutral on the subject of sin. They say that children do not know the difference between good and evil so they do whatever they have been taught to do. Other people look thoughtfully at their little children and understand that even little children sometimes do bad things. Sometimes when we tell them to put the toy down and that it is time for bed, they refuse to do what we say. Where did that defiance come from? Did we teach that little child to rebel? No we didn't. Then where did that attitude come from? Where did they learn to disrespect the wishes of their mother or father?
All of us at some time or another have felt a temptation in our minds and bodies to do something that is not good. Where do those thoughts of wrongdoing come from? Why don't human beings always just naturally think good thoughts and do good things? If we know the difference between right and wrong why is it that sometimes we do wrong? Could it be that there are forces at work within us that are contrary to what is right?
Most people have confidence that in any given situation, given the choice between right and wrong, they will do the right thing. Then why do so many people do wrong? Why is it that even when we want to do the right thing that sometimes we just do the wrong thing? Maybe we shouldn't have so much confidence that we will always do the right thing. Maybe we are weaker in moral power than we really think. Perhaps that is the reason that we continually fail. Consider this story of over-confidence and how it affected the lives of those involved.
Muharrem Bey had just finished spending thousands of Lira repairing the apartment to rent out again. Do you remember him from the last lesson? He is the one who had unwisely rented his apartment out without a contract. The family that lived there finally had abandoned the place and left a horrible mess of garbage and broken doors, cabinets and windows. It took several months to clean, fix, and get the smell out. But Muharrem Bey had learned a lesson. He would never rent his apartment out without a contract.
He thought that was the end of his problems but it wasn’t. A new renter came and wanted to install a very large air-conditioner. The renter, Serdar, wanted to install the air-conditioner himself and change the wiring to adjust for the high wattage on the circuit.
“Serdar Bey. According to the rental contract all appliances must be installed according to the building and usage codes. You are not a qualified electrician. You can’t do this properly. You don’t know the codes well enough to keep them.” Muharrem said.
"Looking at his landlord coldly, Serdar raised his eyebrows and clicked his tongue, 'Never! We don't need to pay an electrician for this. I know what I am doing. I can do it.”
So Serdar installed the air-conditioner as he thought best and also put a higher-wattage circuit breaker in the fuse box.
One hot summer day Muharrem drove by the apartment building and couldn't believe what he saw. Smoke was pouring out the window and a fire engine was pouring water into Serdar’s apartment. Muharrem jumped out of his car and ran to the side of the firemen.
“Is everyone O.K.? Is everyone safe?” he said.
“Everyone is O.K.,” the fireman said. "There is no one left in the building. We got them all out.”
Muharrem was very relieved to know that no one was injured or died in the fire. But as the smoke turned from black to grey to white and the firemen began to clean their hoses and pack up their equipment and suits, Muharrem began to think what caused the fire. He went to the fire chief and asked what he knew about the fire.
“It’s simple,” he said. “You can’t have a big air-conditioner like that and a microwave on the same circuit with this tiny wire. If that wasn’t enough, the circuit breaker wasn’t hooked up right. That’s what caused the fire. This whole electric circuit doesn’t meet the building code. You didn't have a professional do this did you?”
Muharrem was livid.
“I told Serdar he couldn’t do it, I told him. But would he listen? No! He burned my house down. What shall I do with such a jerk! What?” he shouted.
What would you do if you were Muharrem Bey? Would you take Serdar to court? Would you want to take personal revenge? Serdar had confidence that he could do the work. Only through great loss did he learn that he was not as good as he thought he was.
If the situation involved God's people, what do you think God would do? Well, it just so happens that we don't need to guess because there is such a story in the Bible. Let's see what God did when the Israelites were overly confident of their own goodness. We can start by reading Exodus chapter 32 verse 1:
1 Now when the people saw that Moses delayed coming down from the mountain, the people gathered together to Aaron, and said to him, "Come, make us gods that shall go before us; for as for this Moses, the man who brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him."
Isn't it amazing that the people forgot God so quickly? Did they really think that Moses had parted the Red Sea instead of God? Did they really forget who was feeding them day-by-day with manna from heaven? Did they really think that Moses was supplying water for them in the desert? After all they had witnessed, you would think that they would be more patient and trusting. Don't forget, they had just made a covenant with God to trust Him and keep His commandments. And now, within days, they are already abandoning God for idols. Let's read what happened next in verses 2-6:
2 And Aaron said to them, "Break off the golden earrings which are in the ears of your wives, your sons, and your daughters, and bring them to me." 3 "So all the people broke off the golden earrings which were in their ears, and brought them to Aaron. 4 And he received the gold from their hand, and he fashioned it with an engraving tool, and made a molded calf. Then they said, "This is your god, O Israel, that brought you out of the land of Egypt!" 5 So when Aaron saw it, he built an altar before it. And Aaron made a proclamation and said, "Tomorrow is a feast to the LORD." 6 Then they rose early on the next day, offered burnt offerings, and brought peace offerings; and the people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to play.
Up until this point, this could possibly be the most bizarre thing we have ever read. The Israelites, God's own people who were to be a holy nation of priests, began to worship something that they made with their own hands. How could they do that? Could they really forget the God who spoke the ten commandments to them from the pillars of fire on the mountain? Did they really think that this gold object made from their earrings really performed all those miracles? What was the point in covenanting with God if they were going to turn right around and break the agreement? It doesn't really make any sense, does it? Let's continue with verses 7-14:
7 And the LORD said to Moses, "Go, get down! For your people whom you brought out of the land of Egypt have corrupted themselves. 8 "They have turned aside quickly out of the way which I commanded them. They have made themselves a molded calf, and worshiped it and sacrificed to it, and said, 'This is your god, O Israel, that brought you out of the land of Egypt!' " 9 And the LORD said to Moses, "I have seen this people, and indeed it is a stiff-necked people! 10 "Now therefore, let Me alone, that My wrath may burn hot against them and I may consume them. And I will make of you a great nation." 11 Then Moses pleaded with the LORD his God, and said: "LORD, why does Your wrath burn hot against Your people whom You have brought out of the land of Egypt with great power and with a mighty hand? 12 "Why should the Egyptians speak, and say, 'He brought them out to harm them, to kill them in the mountains, and to consume them from the face of the earth'? Turn from Your fierce wrath, and relent from this harm to Your people. 13 "Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, Your servants, to whom You swore by Your own self, and said to them, 'I will multiply your descendants as the stars of heaven; and all this land that I have spoken of I give to your descendants, and they shall inherit it forever.' " 14 So the LORD relented from the harm which He said He would do to His people.
There are a few things worth noting from these verses. First, God called the Israelites stiff-necked people. They were stubborn, pompous, and arrogant. We better not forget foolish. Second, it is interesting to see what Moses did when he interceded for the nation of Israel. While God referred to the people as “them” Moses referred to them as “your people”. Then Moses reminded God of His covenant and what a shame it would be to the cause of truth if God would destroy them. It reminds us of Abraham interceding for the people of Sodom. Third, God listened to Moses and relented. Let's read verses 15-19:
15 And Moses turned and went down from the mountain, and the two tablets of the Testimony were in his hand. The tablets were written on both sides; on the one side and on the other they were written. 16 Now the tablets were the work of God, and the writing was the writing of God engraved on the tablets. 17 And when Joshua heard the noise of the people as they shouted, he said to Moses, "There is a noise of war in the camp." 18 But he said: "It is not the noise of the shout of victory, Nor the noise of the cry of defeat, But the sound of singing I hear." 19 So it was, as soon as he came near the camp, that he saw the calf and the dancing. So Moses' anger became hot, and he cast the tablets out of his hands and broke them at the foot of the mountain.
The breaking of the stones of the ten commandments was an excellent symbol of the people breaking God’s law. They had shattered their relationship with God. They were guilty of sin and no longer had any rights to the covenant blessings. Let's see what Moses did next in verse 20:
20 Then he took the calf which they had made, burned it in the fire, and ground it to powder; and he scattered it on the water and made the children of Israel drink it.
As the gold of their “god” passed through their digestive system it should have been clear that their “god” did not bring them out of Egypt. Their god was only fit for the septic system. But Moses wasn't finished. He needed to confront his brother Aaron. We can read what happened in verses 21-24:
21 And Moses said to Aaron, "What did this people do to you that you have brought so great a sin upon them?" 22 So Aaron said, "Do not let the anger of my lord become hot. You know the people, that they are set on evil. 23 "For they said to me, 'Make us gods that shall go before us; as for this Moses, the man who brought us out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.' 24 "And I said to them, 'Whoever has any gold, let them break it off.' So they gave it to me, and I cast it into the fire, and this calf came out."
Aaron, along with Moses, was the spiritual leader of the Israelites. He should have been leading the people while Moses was with God. But instead of standing firm and pointing out their sin, he became a pushover. Even worse, he lied to cover up his error. What do you think God did next? Do you think He just forgave everyone? Let's find out by reading verses 25-35:
25 Now when Moses saw that the people were unrestrained (for Aaron had not restrained them, to their shame among their enemies), 26 then Moses stood in the entrance of the camp, and said, "Whoever is on the LORD's side -- come to me." And all the sons of Levi gathered themselves together to him. 27 And he said to them, "Thus says the LORD God of Israel: 'Let every man put his sword on his side, and go in and out from entrance to entrance throughout the camp, and let every man kill his brother, every man his companion, and every man his neighbor.' " 28 So the sons of Levi did according to the word of Moses. And about three thousand men of the people fell that day. 29 Then Moses said, "Consecrate yourselves today to the LORD, that He may bestow on you a blessing this day, for every man has opposed his son and his brother." 20 Now it came to pass on the next day that Moses said to the people, "You have committed a great sin. So now I will go up to the LORD; perhaps I can make atonement for your sin." 31 Then Moses returned to the LORD and said, "Oh, these people have committed a great sin, and have made for themselves a god of gold! 32 "Yet now, if You will forgive their sin -- but if not, I pray, blot me out of Your book which You have written." 33 And the LORD said to Moses, "Whoever has sinned against Me, I will blot him out of My book. 34 "Now therefore, go, lead the people to the place of which I have spoken to you. Behold, My Angel shall go before you. Nevertheless, in the day when I visit for punishment, I will visit punishment upon them for their sin." 35 So the LORD plagued the people because of what they did with the calf which Aaron made.
For some people these verses are hard to swallow.
"How could God just kill these people?" They ask.
But the answer is very simple in the context of what we have studied so far. As a people the Israelites did not keep their end of the agreement. Yes a portion of the group, that is those who were killed, were probably the instigators of the sin. But collectively, the Israelites had allowed the transgression. They promised to live according to God's commandments and represent Him, but they fell extremely short of the mark. And they didn't just break some rules, they completely abandoned God. It would be impossible for the Israelites to continue as God's people if they allowed open rebellion and disregard for God's law. Thus, they were punished.
Those who focus on and struggle with God's reaction in these verses often overlook one of the greatest demonstrations of love and commitment in the whole Bible. Moses, in spite of being the leader of a rebellious and unthankful people, really loved the Israelites. In fact he loved them so much that he was willing to die with them even though he was innocent. He pleaded with God as an intercessor to save them. And while God did punish them, He accepted Moses' pleas, spared the people, and gave them another chance.
We want to ask an important question here. What was the cause of this problem? Why did the people directly transgress the law of God? They saw the signs and miracles of judgment that God did in Egypt. They also had the visible presence of God right in front of them. Not many people are so bold as to run a red light in front of a police officer. Why would they break God's law when He was right there? The people had seen the cloud with them in the daytime and the pillar of fire at night. They heard God's voice speaking to them from the mountain when they received the ten commandments. They had water and food delivered to them every day in the desert. How could any person forget God under those circumstances? Maybe the problem of human rebellion is deeper than simply human forgetfulness.
Perhaps the people were confident that they could keep God’s law. Do you remember reading this when God gave the Israelites the 10 commandments, the contract of the covenant? Let's quickly read Exodus chapter 24 verse 7:
7 Then he took the Book of the Covenant and read in the hearing of the people. And they said, "All that the LORD has said we will do, and be obedient."
That is the right response isn’t it? Isn’t that what everyone should agree to when we enter into a covenant with God? But sometimes it isn’t as easy as that, is it? Is it possible that there is a power at work inside of us pulling us to do wrong.
There once was a man who made a firm commitment to quit smoking. He knew it was bad for his health. He knew that his wife didn’t like it. He knew that it was bad for his kids. He knew that it cost a lot of money. He certainly didn’t want to see his hard-earned money going to American tobacco companies. So he made a decision to quit. He tore his package of cigarettes into pieces and threw them in the garbage.
“That is my last pack of cigarettes,” he said to his work associate.
He went home and confidently declared that he had smoked his last cigarette. His wife said,
“I am so proud of you. I know you can do it.”
But it wasn’t that easy. The next few days seemed like hell to him. He was nervous and shouted at customers. He felt sick and dizzy. He yelled at his wife and kids. At last he bought a pack of cigarettes and began to smoke again.
What happened to his decision? He was not as strong as he thought. He needed help to quit smoking. But he didn’t know that.
Serdar needed help to do the electric work on the house. But he was too proud to get help. The Israelites said that they could keep God’s law. But they couldn’t. It just wasn’t that easy.
Some people have strong will power and can quit cigarettes fairly easily. Others cannot. But for all of us there is something about ourselves that we cannot master. For some it is pride. For others it is appetite. Still others are lazy and selfish and don’t help others. Some people tell lies. Others have impure thoughts. Although we are different one thing is the same. Sooner or later, without God’s help in our individual lives we will sin against God. The sooner we recognize that there is a power toward evil in our very being pulling us to do wrong the sooner we can find the answer for it in God. Yes only God can give us the strength necessary to overcome the pull of the flesh to do wrong.
Questions for Discussion:
1. Have you ever felt the desire inside you to do something that intellectually you knew was wrong? Where do you think those
feelings come from?
2. Did you ever do something selfish before you really thought about it? That is you did it and then you realized it was selfish
later? Why don't we naturally do things unselfishly without thinking about it?
3. If you made up your mind to never sin again do you think you could do it? If not, why?
Some people think that all the babies born into the world are completely neutral on the subject of sin. They say that children do not know the difference between good and evil so they do whatever they have been taught to do. Other people look thoughtfully at their little children and understand that even little children sometimes do bad things. Sometimes when we tell them to put the toy down and that it is time for bed, they refuse to do what we say. Where did that defiance come from? Did we teach that little child to rebel? No we didn't. Then where did that attitude come from? Where did they learn to disrespect the wishes of their mother or father?
All of us at some time or another have felt a temptation in our minds and bodies to do something that is not good. Where do those thoughts of wrongdoing come from? Why don't human beings always just naturally think good thoughts and do good things? If we know the difference between right and wrong why is it that sometimes we do wrong? Could it be that there are forces at work within us that are contrary to what is right?
Most people have confidence that in any given situation, given the choice between right and wrong, they will do the right thing. Then why do so many people do wrong? Why is it that even when we want to do the right thing that sometimes we just do the wrong thing? Maybe we shouldn't have so much confidence that we will always do the right thing. Maybe we are weaker in moral power than we really think. Perhaps that is the reason that we continually fail. Consider this story of over-confidence and how it affected the lives of those involved.
Muharrem Bey had just finished spending thousands of Lira repairing the apartment to rent out again. Do you remember him from the last lesson? He is the one who had unwisely rented his apartment out without a contract. The family that lived there finally had abandoned the place and left a horrible mess of garbage and broken doors, cabinets and windows. It took several months to clean, fix, and get the smell out. But Muharrem Bey had learned a lesson. He would never rent his apartment out without a contract.
He thought that was the end of his problems but it wasn’t. A new renter came and wanted to install a very large air-conditioner. The renter, Serdar, wanted to install the air-conditioner himself and change the wiring to adjust for the high wattage on the circuit.
“Serdar Bey. According to the rental contract all appliances must be installed according to the building and usage codes. You are not a qualified electrician. You can’t do this properly. You don’t know the codes well enough to keep them.” Muharrem said.
"Looking at his landlord coldly, Serdar raised his eyebrows and clicked his tongue, 'Never! We don't need to pay an electrician for this. I know what I am doing. I can do it.”
So Serdar installed the air-conditioner as he thought best and also put a higher-wattage circuit breaker in the fuse box.
One hot summer day Muharrem drove by the apartment building and couldn't believe what he saw. Smoke was pouring out the window and a fire engine was pouring water into Serdar’s apartment. Muharrem jumped out of his car and ran to the side of the firemen.
“Is everyone O.K.? Is everyone safe?” he said.
“Everyone is O.K.,” the fireman said. "There is no one left in the building. We got them all out.”
Muharrem was very relieved to know that no one was injured or died in the fire. But as the smoke turned from black to grey to white and the firemen began to clean their hoses and pack up their equipment and suits, Muharrem began to think what caused the fire. He went to the fire chief and asked what he knew about the fire.
“It’s simple,” he said. “You can’t have a big air-conditioner like that and a microwave on the same circuit with this tiny wire. If that wasn’t enough, the circuit breaker wasn’t hooked up right. That’s what caused the fire. This whole electric circuit doesn’t meet the building code. You didn't have a professional do this did you?”
Muharrem was livid.
“I told Serdar he couldn’t do it, I told him. But would he listen? No! He burned my house down. What shall I do with such a jerk! What?” he shouted.
What would you do if you were Muharrem Bey? Would you take Serdar to court? Would you want to take personal revenge? Serdar had confidence that he could do the work. Only through great loss did he learn that he was not as good as he thought he was.
If the situation involved God's people, what do you think God would do? Well, it just so happens that we don't need to guess because there is such a story in the Bible. Let's see what God did when the Israelites were overly confident of their own goodness. We can start by reading Exodus chapter 32 verse 1:
1 Now when the people saw that Moses delayed coming down from the mountain, the people gathered together to Aaron, and said to him, "Come, make us gods that shall go before us; for as for this Moses, the man who brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him."
Isn't it amazing that the people forgot God so quickly? Did they really think that Moses had parted the Red Sea instead of God? Did they really forget who was feeding them day-by-day with manna from heaven? Did they really think that Moses was supplying water for them in the desert? After all they had witnessed, you would think that they would be more patient and trusting. Don't forget, they had just made a covenant with God to trust Him and keep His commandments. And now, within days, they are already abandoning God for idols. Let's read what happened next in verses 2-6:
2 And Aaron said to them, "Break off the golden earrings which are in the ears of your wives, your sons, and your daughters, and bring them to me." 3 "So all the people broke off the golden earrings which were in their ears, and brought them to Aaron. 4 And he received the gold from their hand, and he fashioned it with an engraving tool, and made a molded calf. Then they said, "This is your god, O Israel, that brought you out of the land of Egypt!" 5 So when Aaron saw it, he built an altar before it. And Aaron made a proclamation and said, "Tomorrow is a feast to the LORD." 6 Then they rose early on the next day, offered burnt offerings, and brought peace offerings; and the people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to play.
Up until this point, this could possibly be the most bizarre thing we have ever read. The Israelites, God's own people who were to be a holy nation of priests, began to worship something that they made with their own hands. How could they do that? Could they really forget the God who spoke the ten commandments to them from the pillars of fire on the mountain? Did they really think that this gold object made from their earrings really performed all those miracles? What was the point in covenanting with God if they were going to turn right around and break the agreement? It doesn't really make any sense, does it? Let's continue with verses 7-14:
7 And the LORD said to Moses, "Go, get down! For your people whom you brought out of the land of Egypt have corrupted themselves. 8 "They have turned aside quickly out of the way which I commanded them. They have made themselves a molded calf, and worshiped it and sacrificed to it, and said, 'This is your god, O Israel, that brought you out of the land of Egypt!' " 9 And the LORD said to Moses, "I have seen this people, and indeed it is a stiff-necked people! 10 "Now therefore, let Me alone, that My wrath may burn hot against them and I may consume them. And I will make of you a great nation." 11 Then Moses pleaded with the LORD his God, and said: "LORD, why does Your wrath burn hot against Your people whom You have brought out of the land of Egypt with great power and with a mighty hand? 12 "Why should the Egyptians speak, and say, 'He brought them out to harm them, to kill them in the mountains, and to consume them from the face of the earth'? Turn from Your fierce wrath, and relent from this harm to Your people. 13 "Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, Your servants, to whom You swore by Your own self, and said to them, 'I will multiply your descendants as the stars of heaven; and all this land that I have spoken of I give to your descendants, and they shall inherit it forever.' " 14 So the LORD relented from the harm which He said He would do to His people.
There are a few things worth noting from these verses. First, God called the Israelites stiff-necked people. They were stubborn, pompous, and arrogant. We better not forget foolish. Second, it is interesting to see what Moses did when he interceded for the nation of Israel. While God referred to the people as “them” Moses referred to them as “your people”. Then Moses reminded God of His covenant and what a shame it would be to the cause of truth if God would destroy them. It reminds us of Abraham interceding for the people of Sodom. Third, God listened to Moses and relented. Let's read verses 15-19:
15 And Moses turned and went down from the mountain, and the two tablets of the Testimony were in his hand. The tablets were written on both sides; on the one side and on the other they were written. 16 Now the tablets were the work of God, and the writing was the writing of God engraved on the tablets. 17 And when Joshua heard the noise of the people as they shouted, he said to Moses, "There is a noise of war in the camp." 18 But he said: "It is not the noise of the shout of victory, Nor the noise of the cry of defeat, But the sound of singing I hear." 19 So it was, as soon as he came near the camp, that he saw the calf and the dancing. So Moses' anger became hot, and he cast the tablets out of his hands and broke them at the foot of the mountain.
The breaking of the stones of the ten commandments was an excellent symbol of the people breaking God’s law. They had shattered their relationship with God. They were guilty of sin and no longer had any rights to the covenant blessings. Let's see what Moses did next in verse 20:
20 Then he took the calf which they had made, burned it in the fire, and ground it to powder; and he scattered it on the water and made the children of Israel drink it.
As the gold of their “god” passed through their digestive system it should have been clear that their “god” did not bring them out of Egypt. Their god was only fit for the septic system. But Moses wasn't finished. He needed to confront his brother Aaron. We can read what happened in verses 21-24:
21 And Moses said to Aaron, "What did this people do to you that you have brought so great a sin upon them?" 22 So Aaron said, "Do not let the anger of my lord become hot. You know the people, that they are set on evil. 23 "For they said to me, 'Make us gods that shall go before us; as for this Moses, the man who brought us out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.' 24 "And I said to them, 'Whoever has any gold, let them break it off.' So they gave it to me, and I cast it into the fire, and this calf came out."
Aaron, along with Moses, was the spiritual leader of the Israelites. He should have been leading the people while Moses was with God. But instead of standing firm and pointing out their sin, he became a pushover. Even worse, he lied to cover up his error. What do you think God did next? Do you think He just forgave everyone? Let's find out by reading verses 25-35:
25 Now when Moses saw that the people were unrestrained (for Aaron had not restrained them, to their shame among their enemies), 26 then Moses stood in the entrance of the camp, and said, "Whoever is on the LORD's side -- come to me." And all the sons of Levi gathered themselves together to him. 27 And he said to them, "Thus says the LORD God of Israel: 'Let every man put his sword on his side, and go in and out from entrance to entrance throughout the camp, and let every man kill his brother, every man his companion, and every man his neighbor.' " 28 So the sons of Levi did according to the word of Moses. And about three thousand men of the people fell that day. 29 Then Moses said, "Consecrate yourselves today to the LORD, that He may bestow on you a blessing this day, for every man has opposed his son and his brother." 20 Now it came to pass on the next day that Moses said to the people, "You have committed a great sin. So now I will go up to the LORD; perhaps I can make atonement for your sin." 31 Then Moses returned to the LORD and said, "Oh, these people have committed a great sin, and have made for themselves a god of gold! 32 "Yet now, if You will forgive their sin -- but if not, I pray, blot me out of Your book which You have written." 33 And the LORD said to Moses, "Whoever has sinned against Me, I will blot him out of My book. 34 "Now therefore, go, lead the people to the place of which I have spoken to you. Behold, My Angel shall go before you. Nevertheless, in the day when I visit for punishment, I will visit punishment upon them for their sin." 35 So the LORD plagued the people because of what they did with the calf which Aaron made.
For some people these verses are hard to swallow.
"How could God just kill these people?" They ask.
But the answer is very simple in the context of what we have studied so far. As a people the Israelites did not keep their end of the agreement. Yes a portion of the group, that is those who were killed, were probably the instigators of the sin. But collectively, the Israelites had allowed the transgression. They promised to live according to God's commandments and represent Him, but they fell extremely short of the mark. And they didn't just break some rules, they completely abandoned God. It would be impossible for the Israelites to continue as God's people if they allowed open rebellion and disregard for God's law. Thus, they were punished.
Those who focus on and struggle with God's reaction in these verses often overlook one of the greatest demonstrations of love and commitment in the whole Bible. Moses, in spite of being the leader of a rebellious and unthankful people, really loved the Israelites. In fact he loved them so much that he was willing to die with them even though he was innocent. He pleaded with God as an intercessor to save them. And while God did punish them, He accepted Moses' pleas, spared the people, and gave them another chance.
We want to ask an important question here. What was the cause of this problem? Why did the people directly transgress the law of God? They saw the signs and miracles of judgment that God did in Egypt. They also had the visible presence of God right in front of them. Not many people are so bold as to run a red light in front of a police officer. Why would they break God's law when He was right there? The people had seen the cloud with them in the daytime and the pillar of fire at night. They heard God's voice speaking to them from the mountain when they received the ten commandments. They had water and food delivered to them every day in the desert. How could any person forget God under those circumstances? Maybe the problem of human rebellion is deeper than simply human forgetfulness.
Perhaps the people were confident that they could keep God’s law. Do you remember reading this when God gave the Israelites the 10 commandments, the contract of the covenant? Let's quickly read Exodus chapter 24 verse 7:
7 Then he took the Book of the Covenant and read in the hearing of the people. And they said, "All that the LORD has said we will do, and be obedient."
That is the right response isn’t it? Isn’t that what everyone should agree to when we enter into a covenant with God? But sometimes it isn’t as easy as that, is it? Is it possible that there is a power at work inside of us pulling us to do wrong.
There once was a man who made a firm commitment to quit smoking. He knew it was bad for his health. He knew that his wife didn’t like it. He knew that it was bad for his kids. He knew that it cost a lot of money. He certainly didn’t want to see his hard-earned money going to American tobacco companies. So he made a decision to quit. He tore his package of cigarettes into pieces and threw them in the garbage.
“That is my last pack of cigarettes,” he said to his work associate.
He went home and confidently declared that he had smoked his last cigarette. His wife said,
“I am so proud of you. I know you can do it.”
But it wasn’t that easy. The next few days seemed like hell to him. He was nervous and shouted at customers. He felt sick and dizzy. He yelled at his wife and kids. At last he bought a pack of cigarettes and began to smoke again.
What happened to his decision? He was not as strong as he thought. He needed help to quit smoking. But he didn’t know that.
Serdar needed help to do the electric work on the house. But he was too proud to get help. The Israelites said that they could keep God’s law. But they couldn’t. It just wasn’t that easy.
Some people have strong will power and can quit cigarettes fairly easily. Others cannot. But for all of us there is something about ourselves that we cannot master. For some it is pride. For others it is appetite. Still others are lazy and selfish and don’t help others. Some people tell lies. Others have impure thoughts. Although we are different one thing is the same. Sooner or later, without God’s help in our individual lives we will sin against God. The sooner we recognize that there is a power toward evil in our very being pulling us to do wrong the sooner we can find the answer for it in God. Yes only God can give us the strength necessary to overcome the pull of the flesh to do wrong.
Questions for Discussion:
1. Have you ever felt the desire inside you to do something that intellectually you knew was wrong? Where do you think those
feelings come from?
2. Did you ever do something selfish before you really thought about it? That is you did it and then you realized it was selfish
later? Why don't we naturally do things unselfishly without thinking about it?
3. If you made up your mind to never sin again do you think you could do it? If not, why?