ESOCS Devotional 21 June 2024 – Connect With God
MEMORY VERSE: ““When the people saw that Moses delayed to come down from the mountain, [they] gathered together to Aaron, and said to him, Up, make us gods to go before us; as for this Moses, the man who brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.” Exodus 32:1 AMP
TEXT: EXODUS 32:1-14
Now when the people saw that Moses delayed coming down from the mountain, the people gathered together to Aaron, and said to him, “Come, make us gods that shall go before us; for as for this Moses, the man who brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.”
2 And Aaron said to them, “Break off the golden earrings which are in the ears of your wives, your sons, and your daughters, and bring them to me.” 3 So all the people broke off the golden earrings which were in their ears, and brought them to Aaron. 4 And he received the gold from their hand, and he fashioned it with an engraving tool, and made a molded calf.
Then they said, “This is your god, O Israel, that brought you out of the land of Egypt!”
5 So when Aaron saw it, he built an altar before it. And Aaron made a proclamation and said, “Tomorrow is a feast to the Lord.” 6 Then they rose early on the next day, offered burnt offerings, and brought peace offerings; and the people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to play.
7 And the Lord said to Moses, “Go, get down! For your people whom you brought out of the land of Egypt have corrupted themselves. 8 They have turned aside quickly out of the way which I commanded them. They have made themselves a molded calf, and worshiped it and sacrificed to it, and said, ‘This is your god, O Israel, that brought you out of the land of Egypt!’ ” 9 And the Lord said to Moses, “I have seen this people, and indeed it is a stiff-necked people! 10 Now therefore, let Me alone, that My wrath may burn hot against them and I may consume them. And I will make of you a great nation.”
11 Then Moses pleaded with the Lord his God, and said: “Lord, why does Your wrath burn hot against Your people whom You have brought out of the land of Egypt with great power and with a mighty hand? 12 Why should the Egyptians speak, and say, ‘He brought them out to harm them, to kill them in the mountains, and to consume them from the face of the earth’? Turn from Your fierce wrath, and relent from this harm to Your people. 13 Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, Your servants, to whom You swore by Your own self, and said to them, ‘I will multiply your descendants as the stars of heaven; and all this land that I have spoken of I give to your descendants, and they shall inherit it forever.’ ” 14 So the Lord relented from the harm which He said He would do to His people.
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The children of Israel had had dealings with God in several things and ways, and yet they had no individual relationship with Him. In all their dealings with God, they had it through Moses. So, Moses became the God and the representation of the God they should have known for themselves. Whenever and wherever Moses was, God was there. If Moses moved, God had moved. If Moses spoke, God had spoken; and if Moses was absent, God was absent. This was a very dangerous situation where a people do not know the God that had been good to them for themselves but only knew Him with or through an individual. This was the situation of the children of Israel in their journey to the promised land.
It is very difficult to follow, worship and serve a God you do not know for yourself. It is an open cheque and script for all kind of manipulation, deceit and evil by the devil against the people of God. Israel, as a people, did not know God and therefore, they were not connected to Him. All they knew about God was connected with Moses. God would cease to exist for them if Moses was taken out of the picture. They did not see God as the one that brought them out of Egypt but Moses. That was why they told Aaron and said, “… as for this Moses, the man who brought us up out of the land of Egypt”.
When he was up on the Mountain with God and delayed in coming down, they concluded that there was no more God. They decided to make a god for themselves. In previous chapters, God had tried to make Himself tangible to the people but they shied away from Him and asked that Moses mediate for them.
Now, God has revealed Himself through His Son Jesus Christ and made it possible for us to relate with Him directly through the blood of His sacrifice on the cross. It is good to be taught the knowledge of God by another but you are expected to know God for yourself. You should have a personal relationship with Him. This will build your faith and you will be confident that in all situations God is with you and for you. You will put trust in no one else (1 Cor. 2:5).
Beloved, Jesus Christ is the perfect revelation of God. He is the connecting Link between you and God. Come to Him and know Him that you may be connected to God.
- What do you personally know about God? Do you know Him for yourself? What is the state of your relationship with God?
- Father, I want to know you please help me to know you and be connected to you directly in Christ Jesus. Amen.
Further Reading: 2 Kings 24:18-25; Mark 10:13-22; Romans 14:13-end
ESOCS Devotional 21 June 2024
