The crisis produced by Israel’s idolatry produced a model of intercessory prayer that has been used in every generation since.
God declared His wrath against the Israelites because of the golden calf incident. Moses interceded with these words.
But Moses implored the Lord his God and said, “O Lord, why does your wrath burn hot against your people, whom you brought out of the land of Egypt with great power and with a mighty hand?
Why should the Egyptians say, ‘It was with evil intent that he brought them out to kill them in the mountains and to consume them from the face of the earth’? Turn from your fierce wrath; change your mind and do not bring disaster on your people.
Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, your servants, how you swore to them by your own self, saying to them, ‘I will multiply your descendants like the stars of heaven, and all this land that I have promised I will give to your descendants, and they shall inherit it forever'” (Exodus 32:11-13).
There are three elements to Moses’ prayer that we can use as we intercede for what is taking place in the world today.
(1) Special Relationship: In his appeal, Moses reminds the Lord of His special relationship with His people, which He manifested in the Exodus.
While the Israelites had a covenant relationship with God, as we intercede we can claim the truth of God’s love for all humans.
For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life (John 3:16).
(2) God’s Reputation: Moses appealed to God to keep His name, which refers to His reputation, holy and trustworthy.
Jesus taught us to pray: “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name” (Matthew 6:9). Every time we pray for God’s name to be hallowed, we are asking God to make sure His reputation is equal to the reality of His character.
Like the Israelites at the golden calf, humans most often harm God’s reputation. As we intercede, we can ask God to act in such a way that His magnificent character is revealed.
(3) God’s Promise: As Moses interceded for the wayward Israelites, referred God to the great promises He made to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
There are books available that collect God’s promises into one volume. It is not a good idea to pick a promise at random and claim it before God.
On the other hand, if the Holy Spirit impresses us with a particular promise, we do well to incorporate that into our prayers.
When the Goforths were returning to China as missionaries, a woman slipped Mrs. Goforth a note that had this promise: “No weapon forged against you will prevail” (Isaiah 54:17).
The Holy Spirit inspired this promise. As the Goforths arrived in China during a time of rebellion, they encountered life-threatening conflict, but they escaped. No doubt, the woman who gave Mrs. Goforth the Bible verse interceded for the family’s safety.
This is a proper and necessary way to use God’s promises to His children.
God Changed His Mind
After Moses interceded, we read that God changed His mind. And the Lord changed his mind about the disaster that he planned to bring on his people (Exodus 32:14).
The Old Testament uses the verb repent, relent, or change one’s mind 34 times with God as the subject.
God can and does change His actions and emotions toward human beings when given the proper grounds for doing so. This fact does not change God’s basic integrity or character. The Bible reveals three reasons why He changes His mind.
- Intercession
- Repentance by the people
- God’s abundant compassion
Victory Hamilton has an excellent treatment of what it means for God to change His mind. Below is an extensive quote from Hamilton’s book, Handbook on the Pentateuch.
Exodus 32 should not be used to suggest that in intercessory prayer, God can be won over to our side by a good argument and be persuaded to do what we would do if we were God. Exodus 32 must be placed in the context of the message and argument of the whole book of Exodus.
For example, a God who is open to changing his mind and who is looking for a willing, enthusiastic, obedient individual to lead his people out of Egypt certainly would have changed his mind about Moses of chapters 3-6.
In chapters 7-14, God’s will is to liberate the Israelites with or without the cooperation of Pharaoh. In chapters 15-18, God will continue to lead the people towards Canaan and graciously meet their needs, their sin of grumbling notwithstanding.
In chapter 32, God’s word to Moses about Israel’s future is couched more in the form of a threatened judgment than a decree, and as such, they invite and stimulate a prophetic intercessory response from Moses.
Thus, what God does in Exodus 32 is best characterized by mercy rather than by change of mind.
Reflections
When we consider intercession, there are two extremes to be avoided. Hamilton points to one of them when he speaks of God being won over to our side through human reasoning and arguments.
God doesn’t change His mind, because we present Him with a persuasive argument.
The other extreme to avoid is to think that God isn’t responsive to our intercession. Prayer and repentance are encouraged by God when calamity occurs.
“When I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or command locusts to devour the land or send a plague among my people,
If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land” (2 Chronicles 7:13-14).
We would fail in our responsibilities to assume that prayer was not called for in times of crisis and need.
YouTube Discussion
Rudy Ross, Bruce Kirby, and I discussed this passage on YouTube today.
Real Voices 