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Lessons from Exodus & Numbers
In Exodus, while God is giving the law to Moses, the people are down the hill worshipping a golden calf through idolatry and sexual immorality. God is ready to pour out his wrath, Moses intercedes, and God relents.
11 But Moses implored the Lord his God and said, “O 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 say, ‘With evil intent did he bring them out, to kill them in the mountains and to consume them from the face of the earth’? Turn from your burning anger and relent from this disaster against 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 offspring as the stars of heaven, and all this land that I have promised I will give to your offspring, and they shall inherit it forever.’” 14 And the Lord relented from the disaster that he had spoken of bringing on his people. (Exodus 32:11-14)
Sometimes God relents because of intercession
In Numbers, the people of Israel have begun worshipping other gods again. In fact, they’ve even gone so far as to participate in sexual immorality in a tent near the tabernacle. Phineas takes a spear and pierces the two committing the sin, killing them, as if to say “enough is enough.” God turns back His wrath on the people because of Phinehas’ action.
6 And behold, one of the people of Israel came and brought a Midianite woman to his family, in the sight of Moses and in the sight of the whole congregation of the people of Israel, while they were weeping in the entrance of the tent of meeting. 7 When Phinehas the son of Eleazar, son of Aaron the priest, saw it, he rose and left the congregation and took a spear in his hand 8 and went after the man of Israel into the chamber and pierced both of them, the man of Israel and the woman through her belly. Thus the plague on the people of Israel was stopped. 9 Nevertheless, those who died by the plague were twenty-four thousand. 10 And the Lord said to Moses, 11 “Phinehas the son of Eleazar, son of Aaron the priest, has turned back my wrath from the people of Israel, in that he was jealous with my jealousy among them, so that I did not consume the people of Israel in my jealousy. 12 Therefore say, ‘Behold, I give to him my covenant of peace, 13 and it shall be to him and to his descendants after him the covenant of a perpetual priesthood, because he was jealous for his God and made atonement for the people of Israel.’” (Numbers 25:6-13)
Sometimes God relents because of action
Lessons learned . . .
- Pray and move when called to action.
- Don’t be afraid to go against culture to proclaim the HOLINESS of God.
- God cares about the sexual morality of His people. Big time.
- We should both PRAY and ACT with ZEAL.
Zeal: Fervor for a person, cause, or object; Eager desire or endeavor; Enthusiastic diligence
The Christian should be a person of both zealous prayer AND zealous action on behalf of God and His holiness.
- Like Moses, do you pray with zeal?
- Like Phinehas, when God calls you to action, do you act with zeal?
- Are you willing to look different from the culture to stand for the Holiness of God?
- Are you willing to pray and act with zeal for God and His people?
Let’s become a people ZEALOUS for the things of God.