If you are anything like me, do you sometimes read-through your bible and think how could they have gotten themselves into that situation? Didn’t they know what Gods response was going to be? That’s the beauty of hindsight isn’t it? When we understanding the nature of an event after it has happened all of a sudden, everything seems so obvious and we suddenly become experts in the matter.
Israel and God
Take Israel’s relationship with God.
Let’s face it; under Egyptian rule, the Israelites had it tough. The Egyptians fearing Israel’s potential enslaved and oppressed them to maintain sovereignty over them.
God’s response to the plight of his people can be found in Exodus 3:
7 The LORD said, "I have indeed seen the misery of my people in Egypt. I have heard them crying out because of their slave drivers, and I am concerned about their suffering. 8 So I have come down to rescue them from the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land into a good and spacious land, a land flowing with milk and honey—the home of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites. 9 And now the cry of the Israelites has reached me, and I have seen the way the Egyptians are oppressing them. 10 So now, go. I am sending you to Pharaoh to bring my people the Israelites out of Egypt."
With hindsight, Gods response should be of no surprise to us. We know that he will never abandon us.
Let My People Go
In order to secure the release of his people God takes on the might of Egypt and her so-called Gods. God wants to demonstrate his supreme authority to Pharaoh and he does this by bringing judgement against Pharaoh in the form of the ten plagues: water turning to blood, frogs, gnats, flies, livestock, boils, hail, locust, darkness and the death of the firstborn children. In the face of such an awesome display of power Pharaoh admits in Exodus 9:27 "This time I have sinned," he said to them. "The LORD is in the right, and I and my people are in the wrong.
With hindsight, we know that Pharaoh never stood a chance. We know that when God sets his mind to a task there is no force that can oppose him because he is unrivalled in majesty and power.
In the events leading up to Exodus 32 we are given further examples of Gods relationship with Israel and demonstrations of his power.
God guided the Israelites on their journey by going before them in a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire at night.
Pharaoh changes his mind about letting the Israelites go and sets off in pursuit of them with his army. God shows his power in parting the Red Sea for the Israelites by enabling Moses to part the water, taking his people from harms way and bringing water crashing down on Pharaoh and his army.
God provides for his people in the form of manna and quail and water so that the will not go hungry or thirsty on their journey, despite of their grumblings.
God establishes his covenant with the Israelites who responded by proclaiming in Exodus 24:3 When Moses went and told the people all the LORD's words and laws, they responded with one voice, "Everything the LORD has said we will do."
Exodus 32
The assigned piece of scripture for this lesson is Exodus 32: The Golden Calf.
This is an account of Israel’s rebellion against God and Gods response to it.
33:1 When the people saw that Moses was so long in coming down from the mountain, they gathered around Aaron and said, "Come, make us gods who will go before us. As for this fellow Moses who brought us up out of Egypt, we don't know what has happened to him."
It seems to me that they forgot the pillar of cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night that signified Gods presence on their journey quickly.
They also seem to have forgotten how God had dealt with the so-called Egyptian Gods when he pronounced judgement on Pharaoh in order for Pharaoh to release the Israelites from their slavery.
And just what were they grumbling about anyway. Had God broken any of his promises to them? Were they still being perused by the Egyptians with the threat of being enslaved again hanging over them. Was God not looking after them and providing for them? Had he broken the covenant, which bound them together? The answer to these questions is no. God’s position or feelings towards his people had not changed. It’s almost as if the Israelites were saying to God we know what you have done for us yesterday but what have you done for us lately. It’s amazing to see how quickly they turned from God. A God who had delivered everything that he said he would and who had promised them so much more.
But that’s a problem that we share with the Israelites, at times we find it almost second nature to rebel against Gods wishes or commands rather than carry them through. At times in the face of rebellion we don’t think about the price we may have to pay or if we do it can seem like a price worth paying. This is how God dealt with Israel’s sin.
32:27 "This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: 'Each man strap a sword to his side. Go back and forth through the camp from one end to the other, each killing his brother and friend and neighbour.' " 28 The Levites did as Moses commanded, and that day about three thousand of the people died. 29 Then Moses said, "You have been set apart to the LORD today, for you were against your own sons and brothers, and he has blessed you this day."
Three thousand deaths, does that seem like a price worth paying to you. Surly Gods reaction to their rebellion should have come as no surprise to the Israelites. It was only a short while ago that they witnessed Gods reaction to Pharaohs rebellion when he caused the Red Sea to consume Pharaoh and his army. What made them think that God would treat them any differently?
We can suffer from the same mentality at times when dealing with our own forms of rebellion against God. We know what Gods reaction will be. We have all read accounts of how God deals with rebellion through the Garden, the events leading to the Flood, the Exodus, A rebellious nation accounted in Isaiah, A rebellious nation accounted in Jeremiah, the list goes on and on. Yet at times the lure and so-called promises of rebellion can seem to outweigh our relationship with God, its almost as if at times we can find it easier to rebel against God that to turn to him. At times our rebellion can cause conflict with family and friends, set a poor example to others and ultimately put a tremendous strain on our relationship with God, a strain so great that it breaks. Does that seem like a price worth paying to you?
Conclusion
I began this short lesson by talking about the beauty of hindsight, when we will use it to our advantage and learn from the lessons that God has laid before us.