Joel M Bradshaw

13“Furthermore, the LORD said to me, ‘I have seen this people, and behold, it is a stubborn people. 14Let me alone, that I may destroy them and blot out their name from under heaven. And I will make of you a nation mightier and greater than they.’…

25“So I lay prostrate before the LORD for these forty days and forty nights, because the LORD had said he would destroy you. 26And I prayed to the LORD, ‘O Lord GOD, do not destroy your people and your heritage, whom you have redeemed through your greatness, whom you have brought out of Egypt with a mighty hand. 27Remember your servants, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Do not regard the stubbornness of this people, or their wickedness or their sin, 28lest the land from which you brought us say, “Because the LORD was not able to bring them into the land that he promised them, and because he hated them, he has brought them out to put them to death in the wilderness.” 29For they are your people and your heritage, whom you brought out by your great power and by your outstretched arm.’–Deuteronomy 9

Moses had been recalling the time around the spiritually and morally disastrous Golden Calf incident. It was a low point for Israel and for Aaron, but a high point for Moses as a pastor. Numbers 12:3 proclaimed Moses as a very humble man. Those words came to mind as I read today’s chapter. Let’s unpack this together.

ATTITUDE. Look at God’s words to Moses. If we take them at face value, God would have been replacing Genesis 12. Essentially, Moses could have been the new Abraham. Yes, he would have his legacy wiped away, but a brand new nation would move forward. And yes, Moses was old, but Abraham had also been old. If Moses had been ambitious instead of humble, the entire nation would have changed.

ACTIONS. Moses responded by laying prostrate on the ground before God for over a month. He did this in response to God saying he would destroy the people. Moses actions resembled his attitude and set up the mighty prayer to come. I can’t even imagine the lengths Moses went to physically here. I wouldn’t want to lay on my face for 4 days let alone 40! And he was by himself here, so it wasn’t an attention grabber amongst the crowds. He was just communicating something to God by his submissive and pleading actions.

WORDS. I love how Moses’ prayer was all about God. Far too often we make our worship and our prayers all about ourselves. Not so with Moses here. It was all about God. Moses first presented the people as YOUR people and YOUR heritage whom YOU redeemed by YOUR greatness. Moses therefore brought up the majestic exodus from Egypt and what God had already accomplished. Second, Moses called God to remember his word. God is the faithful one who keeps his promises. Making Moses the new Abraham would break his promise to Abraham. Finally, Moses invoked God’s reputation. ‘These are the things the nations will say about you, God. They will say that you were IMPOTENT or EMOTION DRIVEN.’ The unspoken irony is that these are qualities of the very deities of the Ancient Near East. ‘God, you’ll never proclaim your greatness over these lifeless idols if they perceive you that way!’

Moses responded to national tragedy with humility and sacrificial leadership. This humility was shown in his attitude, his actions, and in his words. His very approach to God was humble. Moses’ example ironically humbles me and reveals that I have work to do in this area. I need this reminder for my days. Do you?–JMB