Moses Descends

Ex 32:11-20

God is not offended by Moses.

Moses comes through this clean either way – so why does he defend the children of Israel?

He has a father’s heart for his children.

The thing so maddening about moral failure is that it wrecks potential. What could have been so good, has become a failed opportunity and a source of guilt and shame. After all they had been through in escaping Egypt; after so many obstacles had been overcome; the Israelites wasted their glory and jeopardized their future. The children of Israel had exchanged their relationship and the promises of God for a worthless idol and an afternoon of merriment.

The freedom to live in the present is based on the recognition of how valuable this moment is. Potential isn’t converted into something actual over time – potential is converted to actual when you meet this moment with the appropriate response to value. You don’t get a second chance at this moment.

A father’s righteous anger at the failure of his children is born from the frustration he feels watching them needlessly suffer.

In remorse we have the opportunity to reflect on what might have been if we hadn’t failed. In forgiveness we receive a new moment with which to try again.