In Exodus, we see that the stage is set, and the instruments are in place for a symphony of blessing to the world.
God has rescued the Israelites out of bondage in Egypt (Ex. 6-13), delivered them safely through the waters of the sea (Ex. 14-15), and brought them to Mount Sinai where He called them to become a Kingdom of Priests (Ex. 19-23).
If Israel would just listen to the voice of God from the Mountain, they would become a blessing to the entire world and fulfill Gods’ promises to Abraham (Gen. 12).
God also provides detailed instructions for the Israelites to build a tabernacle (Ex. 25-31), a structure that would contain God’s very own covenant presence, something that was lost at the fall of mankind in Eden (Gen. 3).
But as the band begins to play, so to speak, we read that these players are not going to put on the show we’ve come to see. Exodus 32-34 is one of the most disappointing texts in Israel’s early history, and we’ll discover that it’s one of the most revealing texts about the human condition.
The storyteller is brilliant here, illuminating just how foolish the Israelites are in the midst of the grace they’ve received from God. They are fickle and inconsistent. One moment they have hearts full of devotion (24:7-8) and the next moment they’re violating the first terms of the covenant! (32:1-6)
However, at some point, a sickening realization dawns on any good reader of this text. “Oh, I’m like that. That’s my heart. Fickle. Loyal one moment. Inconsistent the next.”
God is grieved and angered by this (32:10). The people have rejected God’s faithfulness. God’s provision. God’s promise. And God is deeply hurt! He’s had enough! For one brief but horrifying moment, God almost gives them what they deserve, were it not for what Moses does next.
The dialogue of Exodus 32:11-14 invites us into God’s own heart. From one perspective, it would be just and fair for God to destroy these people and walk away.
But Moses points out, from another perspective, that it would not be fair. God has made a promise, and He must act to fulfill it.
God invites Moses, a human, to interact with him and actually influence His decision making.
Cristopher Wright says,
“God makes his divine will vulnerable to Moses’ challenge. But Moses’ challenge is, ‘Do what you said you were going to do’…God is not only allowing human intercession, He invites it and builds it into the decision-making process in a way that is hard to fathom. Moses is not depicted as arguing against God, but rather as participating in an argument within God.”
A whole lot more could be said here, but the point is that God really could be done with Israel, but He chooses faithfulness to His own promises even though He knows it’s going to cost Him.
Somehow God will make His redemptive story with Abraham come true.
But how?
Well, remember that there is an ultimate character behind every story and event in the Bible, like Aslan in the Narnia series by C.S. Lewis.
The whole story of Narnia is really about Aslan. And even though Aslan isn’t on every page explicitly, the entire story is all about him.
This is exactly how the Bible works. The whole story of the Bible is really about Jesus. Jesus is how God is going to fulfill His covenant relationship with Israel.
And since Jesus is no mere human (God-man), He can truly be that covenant partner that we’re all made to be but have failed to be.
Through His death and resurrection, Jesus has made a way for anyone to be in a renewed relationship with God. And despite our failures, Jesus is committed to making us into partners with God who are becoming a more and more faithful kingdom of priests.
In this way, God fulfills the covenant partnership of Israel for the world. Through the work of Jesus and His people, God brings the blessings He promised long ago to our father Abraham.
God is faithful.