So I was going through a bit of a crisis the other day. I'd read something in the Bible that I couldn't figure out, and not understanding it was driving me absolutely INSANE! Not just that, but it was sorta shaking the belief system that I hold too. Thankfully I was able to talk to a leader at my church about the situation, and he was able to clear some things up for me. So, I decided to share both my concerns that I first had, and also how those concerns were put to rest.
It all began while sitting in this awesome college/young adult group at my church called "Next". The teacher for the evening led us to Exodus 32 during part of his teachings, and while we were there, I began to read ahead. When I got to verse 14, my mind did a double take. "So the LORD changed His mind about the harm which He said He would do to His people." (EXODUS 32:14 NAS) -
I believe that God knows all. I believe that although we have free will, and have to make choices on our own, God already knows what my choices will be. Yet, if God knows everything, and is always good and always right, how can he "change His mind", and whats more, how could "man", who is sinful and (for lack of a better word) stupid, change the mind of the LORD GOD!?! I don't know if this would be troublesome to anyone else, but this greatly disturbed me.
However, the person I talked to helped me find God's constant, helped me realize that God works in wonderful and mysterious ways, which may not always be understandable to me, but are still wonderful. Another thing I realized is that, I am human. I cannot and will not understand the God of all the universe completely. And thank God for that. As the author of "The Shack", William P. Young puts it, "Who wants to serve a God that you can fully understand?" I don't know about you, but I am glad that the God I serve is a whole lot wiser than I am, or than any human.
So, other than the realization that I cannot understand God all the time, how was I able to feel convinced that the God I love doesn't "change His mind" on the wishes of a man? It is quite simple really. Just because God allowed Moses to believe that he had intervened and "saved" his people, does not mean that it was exactly the case. He was working in this man, Moses. A work that had begun years earlier. In order for this work to be completed, Moses had to go through certain situations in order to develop specifics attributes that would enable him to lead his people to their promised land. He also knew that wrong had been done. God knew that He had to make Moses know that their actions were not acceptable, and would not be tolerated. So the God that is always just, let Moses know that He could destroy them all, which is what they deserved. Moses then pleaded to save His people. God knew He wasn't going to destroy His chosen people, He remembered the promise He made to Abraham many many years ago, but He also knew that this had to be done so that Moses would go down from that mountain, and upon seeing the Israelites in their idolatry, would become outraged at their sin. He would become the leader that these people needed, and God would complete His work in Him.
Sometimes, in order for us to find the light, God must first show us the darkness.
I hope that I was able to write this out in a way that makes sense haha. Things are a lot clearer in my head before I try to explain it.
God Bless! (and come to NEXT! Fridays at 8pm at Calvary Community Church)
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I don't want to make light of any lessons learned through this, or de-emphasize the theology of your last paragraph, but I think much of your "crisis" of faith could have been averted by looking at other Bible translations. Of all of the ones I have looked at, only the NAS uses the phrase, "changed His mind." The rest phrase it entirely differently, and such that it puts it clearly in perspective.
ReplyDeleteThe KJV: "And the LORD repented of the evil which He thought to do unto his people."
The NKJV: "So the LORD relented from the harm which He said He would do to His people."
The ESV: "And the Lord relented from the disaster that he had spoken of bringing on his people."
The NIV: "Then the Lord relented and did not bring on his people the disaster he had threatened."
Young's: "Then the Lord relented and did not bring on his people the disaster he had threatened."
Then, even more so by going back and looking at verse 10 again:
KJV: "Now therefore let me alone, that my wrath may wax hot against them, and that I may consume them: and I will make of thee a great nation."
NASB: "Now then let Me alone, that My anger may burn against them and that I may destroy them; and I will make of you a great nation."
NIV: "Now leave me alone so that my anger may burn against them and that I may destroy them. Then I will make you into a great nation.”
ESV: “Now therefore let me alone, that my wrath may burn hot against them and I may consume them, in order that I may make a great nation of you.”
Young's: "and now, let Me alone, and My anger doth burn against them, and I consume them, and I make thee become a great nation."
I think it is fairly clear that the Lord was taunting Moses into praying... as a means of giving us an example of both how to pray -- Moses talks of God's glory and then reminds Him of His promises, and asks Him to consider sparing full judgment -- and of the importance of prayer. Now we can't say what God would have done had Moses not prayed in that situation, but it was clear that God desired Him to pray. I can almost picture God waving His hand in a brushback motion "now leave me be so I can destroy these heathens, [i]and don't try to stop me... WINK, WINK, HINT, HINT.[/i]
So, my take is that God had it all worked out ahead of time, including Moses' prayer for intercession, and that His threats of full judgment were just that, threats to spur prayer and bring Moses closer, all while bringing glory to Him.
Note, also, that while God spared them of their full judgment due, He did not spare them of judgment altogether. Just of full judgment in that day. He delayed His judgment so that He might be glorified and He spared some so that He might be glorified, and He condemned some so that He might be glorified.
Well, I actually first read it in an NIV translation, but even though it was worded differently, I still got, "and God changed His mind" out of that text. And I did look at other translations, but they didn't really "fix" my crisis. Especially the KJV lol - that just opened up a whole other can of worms! I mean, God repenting of evil????? What's that about!! haha - But I think we are on the same page, just worded a little differently.
ReplyDeleteYou are correct though. What you're saying is basically what the guy I talked to mentioned. It was God's way of getting Moses to do what needed to be done.