Fri.’s Devo - God’s Presence

Read: Exodus 32:1-33:23; Matthew 26:69-27:14; Psalm 33:1-11; Proverbs 8:33-36 Aaron fell to the pier pressure of the people when Moses didn’t come back in the time they thought he should. Aaron told them to take off the gold earrings they wore and he melted them down and fashioned a calf. He declared that this calf brought them out of Egypt. The people bowed down and sacrificed to it and had a huge orgy to celebrate. This was the way the Egyptians worshipped their gods. The Lord told Moses what they were doing and told him he wanted to destroy them all. He would make a new nation out of Moses’ descendants. Moses pled with the Lord not to destroy them. All the nations that had seen what he did to Egypt would think he brought them out just to kill them. He told God to remember the promises he gave to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob that he would make their descendants as numerous as the sands on the shore and the stars in the sky. God listened to Moses reasoning and changed his mind about the disaster he had threatened to bring to the people. This shows me how important our prayers are to change things. We think the God has everything in control but he expects us to take an active part in the decisions. We remember his promises and repeat them back to Him. God wants our input. He wants to work with us and he wants us to work with him. When Moses came down and saw just how idolatrous they had become, he threw the tablets down in anger and broke them. He ground the golden calf into powder and made the people drink it in water. When Moses asked Aaron for an account of why he did this he gave him the most flimsy excuse ever. I think that it is was noteworthy to see that all their enemies were watching and amused. Moses told the Levites to kill everyone who had who had participated and didn’t repent. They killed 3,000 people of their own flesh and blood. God honored them for being so faithful to him. Moses told the people he would go back up the mountain and atone for their sin and beg God for forgiveness for them. God sent a plague to those who had worshipped the calf but he told them that he would send his angel to lead the survivors. The children of Israel had left Egypt wearing the fine clothes and jewelry of the Egyptians. They no longer wore this from this time forward. Moses met with God every day in the Tent of Meeting. One day Moses asked God if he was personally going with them. God told Moses that he would go with him but an angel would lead the people. Moses was not okay with that. He told God that he didn’t want to go another step unless God promised to go with all of them. It was his presence that set them apart from all the other people on the earth. God agreed to go with them because he so favored Moses. Moses asked to see his glorious presence and God let him see him from behind. He knew that the glory of his face would be more than even Moses could bear in his natural body. In Matthew, Peter denied Jesus three times while Jesus was being tried by the Sanhedrin. Judas realized that the Jews planned to crucify Jesus and tried to give the money back. They could care less about his conscience. He ended up throwing the money on the floor of the Temple and hanging himself. The priests used the money to buy the potter’s field for a cemetery for foreigners. Next, Jesus was taken before the Roman governor, Pilate and tried. He asked him if he was the king of the Jews and Jesus replied, “You have said it.” When Jesus didn’t defend all the accusations against him Pilate was surprised. Jesus was the spotless lamb that had to be inspected to see if there was any spot on him. All they could find was truth. Lord, may we pray for others like Moses prayed for the people. May we turn your heart to mercy instead of judgment and may we live a life like Jesus that was blameless before you. Thank you for your Holy Spirit and the blood of Jesus that makes us righteous before you. It is your presence that makes us different than any other religion so please walk with us.