Changing God's Mind

Changing God’s Mind
Exodus 32: 1-14 (October 12, 2008)

1) The Text

32When 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.” 2Aaron said to them, “Take off the gold rings that are on the ears of your wives, your sons, and your daughters, and bring them to me.” 3So all the people took off the gold rings from their ears, and brought them to Aaron. 4He took the gold from them, formed it in a mold, and cast an image of a calf; and they said, “These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt!” 5When Aaron saw this, he built an altar before it; and Aaron made proclamation and said, “Tomorrow shall be a festival to the Lord.” 6They rose early the next day, and offered burnt offerings and brought sacrifices of well-being; and the people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to revel.

7The Lord said to Moses, “Go down at once! Your people, whom you brought up out of the land of Egypt, have acted perversely; 8they have been quick to turn aside from the way that I commanded them; they have cast for themselves an image of a calf, and have worshiped it and sacrificed to it, and said, ‘These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt!< 9The Lord said to Moses, “I have seen this people, how stiff-necked they are. 10Now let me alone, so that my wrath may burn hot against them and I may consume them; and of you I will make a great nation.” 11But Moses implored the Lord his God, and said, “O Lord, why does your wrath burn hot against your people, whom you brought out of the land of Egypt with great power and with a mighty hand? 12Why should the Egyptians say, ‘It was with evil intent that he brought them out to kill them in the mountains, and to consume them from the face of the earth’? Turn from your fierce wrath; change your mind and do not bring disaster on your people. 13Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, your servants, how you swore to them by your own self, saying to them, ‘I will multiply your descendants like the stars of heaven, and all this land that I have promised I will give to your descendants, and they shall inherit it forever.’“ 14And the Lord changed his mind about the disaster that he planned to bring on his people.

2) The Context

Exodus 32:1-6 sets the scene for the following story in which the people seek Aaron and he agrees to build a golden calf. Exodus 32:7-10 is the words of the Lord to Moses and Exodus 32:11-14 is the response of Moses to God. Moses absence is the reason given for the people's request to Aaron and not the continued grumbling which occurred earlier. This is set up as a new action. The people command Aaron with two imperatives - "up" and "make" us gods. The implication here is that the golden calf is a god. Aaron responds to the people's demand with two imperatives of his own - "snatch off" and "bring" any gold worn by your family members. After Aaron has made the golden calf he presents it to the people and they say, "These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you out of the land of Egypt". This is quite blasphemous as they know who their saviour was. The grammar is quite peculiar in their response - 'they' (the people) are addressing Israel, really themselves. When Aaron makes the announcement that there will be a feast to 'Yahweh' before this golden calf, one has to ask about the use of the term - Yahweh. Does it mean that Aaron thinks it is alright to worship Yahweh through the means of a golden calf? After Moses refuses to leave God alone, he appeals to God's reasonableness, God's reputation and God's promises.

3) Interpretation

This passage explores three themes: (1) the contrast between the mountain and the valley; (2) the debate between Moses and God; and (3) God's change of heart.

(1) Of Mountains and Valleys: Moses is on the mountain with God; the people are in the valley with Aaron. The language of vv. 7-10 captures this contrast nicely, with most emphasis on the life "in the valley." Notice the urgency and pointedness of the divine word. God gives Moses a command, "Go down at once!" It is the most urgent language in Hebrew, as if nothing could take precedence over this command. Then, God frames his command in language that distances the divine from the chosen people. God recounts word for word the nature of their sin. And, so God reaches a conclusion about the people. They are a people who really are not worthy of the love God has showered up on them. And so God has decided to destroy them. Verse 10 is interesting because it tells us that God wants Moses to go down to the people for two reasons--to see for himself exactly what has happened but also to leave God alone. God wants to be alone when the terrible judgment is executed. This seemingly is a repeat of Genesis 6, but now with the chosen people acting like the generation of Noah. The solemnity of the occasion requires the divine solitude. Yet, even in the resolve to destroy is a sense that mercy can triumph. In this case God makes a promise to Moses that God will not destroy him with the people. Moses will be the foundational person for God's next "great work." In giving these last words God has left the divine open for negotiation and intercession. It is not as if God is giving Moses an invitation to talk back, but there are ideas now floating "out there" that are more than just anger, stubbornness and destruction. God will "save" Moses. Moses will take this as an opening to respond to God.

(2) The Debate between Moses and God: Foundational to the Jewish religion is that people argue with God. Judaism emphasizes the essential role of debate and argument with God. This, then, is the tone of vv. 11-14. God has told Moses what God plans to do. It is a devastating judgment. But Moses protests. Moses doesn't want to be separated from the people. He feels so connected to the people, so much a part of them, that he doesn't want to be removed from them. The argument Moses gives to convince God to change the divine mind is that by destroying the people, God will be destroying the divine credibility. Any future divine promises, choices, gifts and blessings will now be shrouded in a cloud.

(3) Changing God's Mind: The passage ends with what to us is a paradox. God, the one who is unchangeable changes the divine mind. We have a God who decisively will act, but we also have a God who will change the divine mind as a result of human argument. We have a God who will be "slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love" (34:7), a God who is "merciful and gracious," but who "by no means clears the guilty" (34:7). One of the most freeing realizations we can have is to realize that God is one who can be argued with. We often hear that we can express our anger to God or our feelings, but the point this passage makes is slightly different. It is that we ought, like Moses, to "make our case" to God. And, God may not simply listen to all our words but may actually change the divine mind.

4) Thought Exercise

Is it OK to argue with God?

How would you like to change God’s mind?