The Wednesday Word 3.29.2023

 

Exodus 32:1-6

New Living Translation

 

1 When the people saw how long it was taking Moses to come back down the mountain, they gathered around Aaron. “Come on,” they said, “make us some gods who can lead us. We don’t know what happened to this fellow Moses, who brought us here from the land of Egypt.”2 So Aaron said, “Take the gold rings from the ears of your wives and sons and daughters, and bring them to me.”3 All the people took the gold rings from their ears and brought them to Aaron. 4 Then Aaron took the gold, melted it down, and molded it into the shape of a calf. When the people saw it, they exclaimed, “O Israel, these are the gods who brought you out of the land of Egypt!”5 Aaron saw how excited the people were, so he built an altar in front of the calf. Then he announced, “Tomorrow will be a festival to the Lord.” 6 The people got up early the next morning to sacrifice burnt offerings and peace offerings. After this, they celebrated with feasting and drinking, and they indulged in pagan revelry.

 

That’s the thing about people. You can always count on them to mess up. People you would expect to do the right thing in every instance can let you down. Even Moses’ own brother, who had been with him since the days of Pharaoh’s palace, orchestrated the means of pagan worship for the faithless. We see it in each other every day. No matter how much we hate to admit it, we could see it in ourselves if we have the courage to look. The difference is in what we do about it. 

 

Owning up to our weaknesses and bad attitudes and undesirable behavior is step one.  God wants to know that we know. That is repentance. He is not interested in excuses. That kind of self-examination is what this season is all about. Step two is contemplating the Savior that makes our redemption possible in spite of our mistakes. That is what “amazing grace” is all about…something to pray about.

 

Don’t forget to look for the Lord today. Vicki H.



                                                                                    photo by Rod Long


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