“Remember Your servants Abraham, Isaac and Israel, to whom You swore by Your Own Self, I will make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and I will give your descendants all this land I promised them and it will be their inheritance forever.” Exodus 32:13
The verse above is the prayer that Moses gave to the Lord on behalf of the Israelites after they had fallen into the sin of idolatry by worshiping the golden calf. God was righteously angered and threatened retribution. But Moses interceded and called to mind the covenant the Lord had given to His people. Because Moses did so, God relented from His anger and did not bring upon them the disaster He had threatened.
What a powerful prayer! Moses does not excuse the sin of the people; He simply calls on God to remember His promises. God’s promises are always sure because He promises them first to Himself regardless of the failings of His Children. This is a wonderful reminder to us of the goodness and faithfulness of God. While He could rightly bring disaster upon us for our waywardness, He relents and remembers the covenant He has made to us by Himself.
When we fall into sin, we should remember that because of Jesus, God keeps His promises. Instead of punishing us for our sin, He punished Jesus, the perfect Lamb of God Who atoned for the sin of all the world. When we come to God with repentant hearts and remind Him of the forgiveness that Jesus won for us, He not only relents, but He forgives our sin and cleanses us from all unrighteousness. There is no place for lame excuses before God, only sincere sorrow over sin that leads to confession and with confession there is forgiveness. Thanks be to God that Jesus Christ has interceded for us and granted us hope for our future!
Remember that you are loved!
Peace and Joy,
Pastor Kilian