Exodus 32:7-8

Exodus 32:7-8

 

Then the Lord said to Moses, “Go down, because your people, whom you brought up out of Egypt, have become corrupt. They have been quick to turn away from what I commanded them and have made themselves an idol cast in the shape of a calf.

 

So God was speaking with Moses atop the mountain, apart from the Israelites that were waiting on the bottom. God regularly spoke to the Israelite people through Moses. In one particular instance, Moses was gone for quite a long while…much longer than the Israelite people were comfortable with. They began to grow restless, anxious, and grasped for some form of identity and comfort. So they turned to creating a false god that would somehow “lead” them and be something that they could worship. Perhaps they thought Moses was no longer coming back. Maybe they thought God had decided to abandon them after leading them out into the desert. Whatever the reason, they had chosen to walk a terrible path. They did not receive God’s message quick enough so they turned to other fictional gods. They didn’t get what they wanted in the time that they wanted so they turned to destructive sinful behaviors. Today we very much live in an “instant” society. We expect to get answers quickly, get what we want when we want it, and if delayed, we foolishly feel justified in busting some heads to get things “back on track”. But God doesn’t operate on our timeline…God doesn’t do things according to when we think they should be done. God does things according to his timing. He hears our prayers and requests, and he responds at a time that he deems most appropriate. Much like the Israelite people, if we fail to accept God’s timing, we often find ourselves straying from the righteous path and digging into various sinful means to satisfy our need. But when we patiently and faithfully wait for his response, in the end we see that his timing is perfect. God doesn’t make mistakes…he’s never tardy and he never comes with the wrong answer. He always gets it right…always delivers the right response at the right time. There will definitely be times where we have to be uncomfortable for a bit longer than we would like. And that’s ok. There will absolutely be times where we have to be patient for a bit and really trust that God’s working things out as they should be. So while we are waiting, may we make the most of the time and pray to God for strength, endurance, and confidence…for even when God is working on the eventual outcome, he is also walking right by our side, calling us to trust him, to lean on him, and to never doubt or stray. To God alone be the glory!