Exodus 32. 7-14
Faith isn’t we-regretting-our-sin, but god-regretting-god’s-wrath.
“Hoisted on your own petard!” Growing up, that was one of the phrases my mom used … a lot! Well, that and a few in German that are, probably, best not repeated. Here. Now. “Hoisted on your own petard!” At the time, I didn’t know it was something from Shakespeare. Hamlet. Act three. Scene four. Of course, I had no idea what a petard was! Let alone what being hoisted on one looked like! But I knew what she meant. By when she said it. By the way she said it. It’s when the best laid plans backfire. When all the plotting and planning blows back. Poetic justice we might call it. Just desserts. That’s when you’re hoisted on your own petard. And that’s, exactly, what happens, this morning, to god!
Egypt is behind them. They’ve crossed the sea. Made their way into the wilderness. Now, they’re camped at the foot of mountSinai. And according to the story, Moses leaves them and goes up the mountain alone to meet god. He’s up there – on top of Sinai – for a long, long time. Forty nights and forty days. And Israel is worried. Worried that something’s happened to him. Worried that he’s not coming back. Worried that they’re on their own.
So, they go to Aaron. Moses’ right hand. His older brother. And they ask him to make a god for them. He does. Casts the image of a calf. Builds an altar. And they worship. Aaron and the people. And god sees it all. The sacrifices. The burnt offerings. And god is furious. Livid. You could almost smell the sulfur. Feel the heat. God tells Moses to leave. “So that my wrath may burn hot against them,” god says, “and I may consume them! What I promised Abraham … what I promised Isaac … Jacob … I will do for you, instead!”
Well, in the next paragraph, it’s as if god says to Moses, “Give me a reason – just one reason – why I shouldn’t squish them like a bug.” Moses calmly … quietly … says, “Because, Lord, you love them! Because you love them! You heard them groaning in the mud pits! You heard their cries! And you remembered your promises! To Abraham! To Isaac! To Jacob! Even to this people Israel!” And at that moment, god was hoisted on god’s own petard! God changed god’s mind! Repented! The wrath cooled! The rage receded! God forgave! Forgot! And it was never mentioned, again!
Funny thing, though. I don’t know if you noticed. The only person in the story that repents? Is god! The only person who repents is god! Not Aaron! Not the people! No one feels bad about the idol! About the altar! About worshiping the calf! No one said, “I’m sorry! I’ll never to do it, again!” God alone repented! Repented of the wrath against Israel! Repented of the passion to destroy them! Repented of forgetting how much god loved! Forgetting how much god cared! Then and there, god became god, again! God became THEIR god, once more!
And the LORD changed “his” mind about the disaster that “he” planned to bring on “his” people!” Word of God, word of life! Thanks be to God!
God didn’t tell Israel to try harder! God didn’t tell them to do better! There was no second chance! God! Simply! Repents! God remembers who god is! And god remains god! Merciful and gracious! Slow to anger! Abounding in steadfast, unwavering, unfaltering love! God’s hoisted on god’s own petard! Hoisted on god’s love! Just as he was hoisted on the cross!
It’s an amazing story, this handful of verses. Unfortunately, we, naturally, instinctively believe more in a god who remains full of wrath and rage. More in that kind of god than in one who remembers and repents.
Out of curiosity, I went to youTube and looked up this scene as it was portrayed by Cecil B. in the TenCommandments. There was Charlton Heston. Edward G Robinson. John Carridine. The cast of thousands. And there, in living color, was fire and brimstone. Hell and damnation. Warnings and threats. In computer generated images, long before there were computers. Lightning! Thunder! Earthquakes that ripped the ground out from under the people! There was screaming! Shouting! Shrieking! God holds nothing back! Nothing! God doesn’t repent of anything! And sixty years of audiences sit back watching. Fascinated! Spellbound! A box of popcorn in one hand. A half empty coke in the other. And at the end of it all, we say, “Amen! Amen!” But what we saw is anything but true …
That’s not the story! At least, not the one from scripture. Not the one we read a few moments, ago. No matter how many times it’s shown. No matter how many people have seen it. No matter how much money the movie grosses. That’s not the bible. That’s not our god! It may be what people assume. It may be what they look for. What they expect. But that image on the wall is just an echo, a reflection, of the god we WANT to believe in. Of the god we’ve ALREADY staked our life on. But listen to the words. Listen, again, to those last dozen-and-a-half words … “And the LORD changed his mind about the disaster that he planned to bring on his people.”
God’s a god of promise, not punishment! God’s a god of compassion, not command! God’s not a god of wrath, but of faith and hope and love! And anyone who tells you differently … anyone who tells you differently has never heard the story!
We begin just about every worship service the same way. We confess – we say together – that we are captive – in bondage – to sin and cannot free ourselves. Not by our strength. Not by our understanding. We have not loved. Loved god. Loved each other. Not in thought or word or deed. Not by what we’ve done. Not by what we haven’t. Truth is, we’ve cast images of calves for ourselves, as well. And week after week, Sunday after Sunday, god asks us for one good reason god shouldn’t squish us like a bug. For one good reason – just one – not to treat us as he would a spider dangling over a pit of fire. God asks and the pastor replies … Because, Lord, you love them! Because you love us! And each time, every time, god repents! Repents of the wrath! Repents of the rage! Repents of the righteous indignation! God forgives! Forgives AND forgets. And together, god and we … we and god … move on! To those never-ending ventures! Along those untrodden paths! Facing those unknown, unimagined perils! Sure of two things. Of only two things. That god is leading! And that god is loving! That god is leading! And that god is loving!
“And the LORD changed his mind about the disaster that he planned to bring on his people.” And all the people could do was say, “Amen! Amen! This is most certainly true!”