When the people saw that Moses delayed to come down from the mountain, the people gathered around Aaron and said to him, ‘Come, make gods for us, who shall 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 – 20, NRSV)
Take a Moment to Ponder
Exodus regales us with stories of the people of Israel continuously complaining and quarrelling against God in the wilderness. They had seen and experienced enough signs and wonders from God, through Moses to have been able to trust and wait on God. However, time and again, the people of Israel had no patience or tenacity to allow the will of God to be done or to see the purpose of God worked out. They always wanted instant results and gratification. This is what led them to abandon God and the leadership of Moses at Mount Sinai. Moses had apparently been up the mountain too long for the liking of the people. They thus decided to take matters into their own hands, by demanding Aaron to make god’s for them. The difficulty is that after all they had seen and experienced from Yahweh God, through Moses, they still did not have patience to wait on God. They decided that they knew best and would deal with things themselves.
It seems to be a human affliction to delude ourselves into thinking that we know what is best. Thus, we are bad at waiting on God, and good at taking matters into our own hands, because we lack the patience to trust God. When we wait on God, things are dealt with in the right time and the right way no matter how it might seem at first. When we lean to our own wisdom we have to bear devastating consequences of our actions. Wait on God!
Practical Action
- Identify two things in your life that cause you to be impatient in waiting on the will of God and commit those things to prayer asking God to grant you patience and perseverance to wait on Him.
- Recall and write down two instances when you waited on God and how things worked out and compare that to two instances when you decided to take matters into your own hands
A Moment in Prayer
God of eternity, give us grace and strength to trust in your providence and so discern your will for us. Help us to rest ourselves in your providential care. Lead us to a place, where we are able to wait on you, as you reveal to us your eternal will, through Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit now and forever, Amen.
Contributed by Rev. Garfield Campbell
