The Lord “stood with” Moses and proclaimed on His Name. He had revealed Himself as I AM and then I am
the one who delivered you from Egypt.
Now He would reveal that what has just happened in forgiving the people
the sin of the golden calf was not an aberration, a one time thing, it was His
nature and character to be gracious, merciful and forgiving. They could depend on that from Him and it was
a good thing, they would need Him to be just that kind of God. The covenant the Lord made with the people
was to be an exclusive covenant, they were not to enter any covenant
relationships with any other countries. This was a break from the normal custom
of having covenant relationships with surrounding countries for their mutual
defense. Israel would need no such
covenants which become entanglements.
They have all the protection they need in Yahweh and this was to be a
sign and a witness to those other nations.
We are to be like God, not harboring anger but instead
forgiving and quick to deal with our own interpersonal sin. Our covenant relationship with Him is based
on our character and His being like one another. We bear His image and we are to be also His
ambassadors, when people see our character it should tell them something about
our values and it should tell them something about the One who has redeemed
us. I was always told that what I did
reflected on my parents when I was a teenager.
I didn’t always reflect well on my upbringing but my parents were right,
it said something about the kind of people I came from, whether they expected
much or little of me. When we have
unresolved anger with others we reduce them to a caricature of a person, they
are identified with the grievance and are dehumanized. We have murdered them figuratively and God
says that is the same as doing so in the flesh.
His standards for righteousness are higher than any man can conceive.
Paul’s message to the Gentiles always seemed to be
accompanied by those who opposed him.
Paul recognizes their opposition because he was once part of that
group. He knew that they are acting from
the same hatred he once shared, the rejection of Jesus. Jesus had promised that His disciples would
be persecuted and hated just like He was and yet we are shocked when we meet
the slightest resistance and are quick to claim persecution. We should be careful with the word
persecution, reserving it for actual violence against Christians. The resistance Paul and Jesus met with was
often driven by a desire to restrict the franchise of the covenant to those in
the nation. We are given a commission
and command to go to all nations and invite them into the covenant. Those who were once Paul’s enemies he now
says are his glory and his joy. That is
a man changed by Jesus!
Glorious things of thee are spoken,
Zion, city of our God;
he whose word cannot be broken
formed thee for his own abode;
on the Rock of Ages founded,
what can shake thy sure repose?
With salvation's walls surrounded,
thou may'st smile at all thy foes.
Zion, city of our God;
he whose word cannot be broken
formed thee for his own abode;
on the Rock of Ages founded,
what can shake thy sure repose?
With salvation's walls surrounded,
thou may'st smile at all thy foes.
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