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Today's Little Lift
by Jim Bullington
"And Moses turned and went down from the mountain, and the two tablets of the Testimony were in his hand. The tablets were written on both sides; on the one side and on the other they were written. Now the tablets were the work of God, and the writing was the writing of God engraved on the tablets. And when Joshua heard the noise of the people as they shouted, he said to Moses, ‘There is a noise of war in the camp.’ But he said: ‘It is not the noise of the shout of victory, Nor the noise of the cry of defeat, But the sound of singing I hear.’ So it was, as soon as he came near the camp, that he saw the calf and the dancing. So Moses’ anger became hot, and he cast the tablets out of his hands and broke them at the foot of the mountain." (Exodus 32.15-19).
Moses was a man who loved God and, by implication, hated every action which detracted from God and His word. In sharp contrast, however, "the ink was not even dry on the paper" before some of his own loved ones were rebelling against the law which God had given on Sinai. When Moses saw how quickly Israel could turn on God, it was more than he could bear; he was overcome with emotion; his "...anger became hot, and he cast the tablets out of his hands and broke them at the foot of the mountain." His love for God’s law was so great that what he witnessed in Israel’s apostasy took his breath away; momentarily the ability to think things through was sapped from his body! The emphasis here is upon the emotional connection between Moses and the job which he had to do.
The job assigned to Moses was multi-faceted; he was to lead Israel OUT of Egyptian bondage, AND he was to lead them INTO a spiritual relationship with God. The first job was entirely physical; it was accomplished when the armies of Pharaoh were destroyed in the Red Sea. The second job was entirely spiritual; it could only be accomplished as individual hearts were persuaded to love God and His law. Moses also had his priorities straight concerning his God-given tasks; he knew that the most important of all tasks was wrapped up in the spiritual quest for the hearts and minds of his fellow Israelites. From that connection came his heart-wrenching reaction to Israel’s willingness to turn so quickly to other gods! Yes, to Moses his assignment was not just another job; how could it be when at the heart of his actions lay two great principles: First, to love God with all his heart, mind, body, and soul, and secondly, to love his neighbor as himself. His love for Israel and for every soul that comprised her numbers was a love that could not be quieted in a moment such as the one Moses experienced when he saw his own flesh and blood wholly given over to licentious idolatry!
What I want to emphasize head-on is the emotional side of the prophets and their work. Sometimes we look at the prophets as though they were detached from the hearts and souls of the men and women whom they sought to save; however, this view is largely incorrect. When others rejected their word, they also rejected God and any ability to save themselves from eternal doom. This connection – this spiritual heart connection – is one we must ever keep before us when we think about the prophets! However, there is little difference in the emotional side of the prophets of yesteryear and the emotional side of those who attempt to win the souls of men and women today. In both cases, whether ancient or modern, the dedicated soul-winner puts his/her heart and soul into the most rewarding work on this side of eternity!
Questions:
1. What did the tables of stone which Moses had in his hands say about making carved images
2. List the factors that were involved in Moses’ anger when he saw his own flesh and blood engaged in such ungodly forbidden practices.
3. Discuss the love which Moses had for God. For his fellow Israelites. How do you know he loved God? His fellow Israelites?
4. What principles and emotions compel a true soul-winner to go about the task of telling others of the salvation that is in Jesus Christ?
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