The LORD "changed His mind..."
Today in our Trinity class we talked about the Triune God and the implications this doctrine has upon prayer, missions, and creation. During our time talking about prayer, the professor (I'll cite his name later, otherwise everyone will know the outcome of this post from the beginning) brought up a commonly referenced (and rightly so) text concerning prayer: Exodus 32:7-14.
This text states:
7 Then the LORD spoke to Moses, "Go down at once, for your people, whom you brought up from the land of Egypt, have corrupted themselves. 8 "They have quickly turned aside from the way which I commanded them. They have made for themselves a molten calf, and have worshiped it and have sacrificed to it and said, 'This is your god, O Israel, who brought you up from the land of Egypt!' " 9 The LORD said to Moses, "I have seen this people, and behold, they are an obstinate people. 10 "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."
Moses' Entreaty
11 Then Moses entreated the LORD his God, and said, "O LORD, why does Your anger burn against Your people whom You have brought out from the land of Egypt with great power and with a mighty hand? 12 "Why should the Egyptians speak, saying, 'With evil intent He brought them out to kill them in the mountains and to destroy them from the face of the earth'? Turn from Your burning anger and change Your mind about doing harm to Your people. 13 "Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, Your servants to whom You swore by Yourself, and said to them, 'I will multiply your descendants as the stars of the heavens, and all this land of which I have spoken I will give to your descendants , and they shall inherit it forever.' " 14 So the LORD changed His mind about the harm which He said He would do to His people.
Ex 32:7-14 (NASB)
In the translation of this text it clearly says, "the LORD changed His mind." Does this not teach, as many today conjecture, that God's will can be thwarted? God desired to destroy the people, and it seems that His will was to do so, does it not? Does Moses's prayer not change God's plans? If Moses does not intercede, will God not destroy the people? When Moses prays and changes God's mind, isn't it safe to say that God did NOT know the future? Has Moses thrown a monkey wrench into the plans of the master chess player, causing God to have to change?
As one student so aptly pointed out, the point of this text is not that God's changed His mind, but rather His covenant faithfulness. That is what is to be highlighted. When Moses brings up the Covenant made with the forefathers, God again acts in mercy. Yes, without Moses God would have destroyed the people. However, God is a God of means, and so His plan throughout was to use Moses as a mediator (a shadow of Christ--for without Christ's mediation, God would destroy His people!). God's will has not been thwarted. God has not really "changed His mind." As Dr. Ware (B.A. Ware) pointed out, a better translation is that "the LORD 'relented'", not 'repented.' (The rest that follows is my own thought. Dr. Ware's views are not being presented).
Let me show you why.
Moses, in vv. 13ff makes an appeal to the Covenant ratified to Abraham, Isaac, and Israel (Jacob). Why does he do so? Because he knows that God is faithful to His word (and, as we shall see, His Word). Here is the skinny.
Moses appeals to God's covenant to bless the seed of Abraham (Genesis 12ff). The Covenant is not merely to bless Israel the governmental nation. His Covenant is to bless, through the 'Seed' of Abraham, all the peoples of the world--including Abraham himself. As Genesis 49:8-12 prophesies, the promised blessing of the Covenant is to come through Judah.
God gives Moses an option--it is a test: "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." (Ex. 32:10). Moses, in his pride, could have agreed--however, to his credit, he does not, but rather acts as the people's mediator--his role from the time he went back into Egypt and confronted Pharaoh. God knew that Moses would do this, and here is why.
Moses is from the tribe of...that's right, Levi. However, as Hebrews makes clear, a prophet must come in the line of Melchizedek--not Levi. Second, and much clearer from Biblical revelation, the promised 'Seed' is not from Levi, but Judah. Since Moses is not from Judah, the promised Heir cannot come through him.
Thus, if God destroys Israel (the nation), leaving only Moses (a Levite), then Christ cannot come in the flesh. Thus, salvation is impossible. Thus, God's Covenant to Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and most importantly, Christ (cf. Galatians 3) has been broken and all of mankind is doomed to hell. Worse than this--if God breaks the Covenant, He has lied. If God has lied, He is not God. If God is not God...
Did God truly change His mind and have His will altered? That's the same question as, Can God sin?
posted by Lenny @ 5:33 PM
3 comments
3 Comments:
I am convinced that the issue is not if God could raise up the tribe of Levi from Moses. He could. Just like God honored His promise to David to preserve the Kingly line through the daughters of the king of Judah which Jeremiah took and reconnected to the line of Zarah, God could reach into the dna of Moses and go back as far as He wanted. He could have him mate with a woman of the line of Levi, or any number of things to produce His desired end. With God there is literally nothing impossible.
In that context, I believe that God never intended to actually destroy Israel. I believe that there are many cases where He manipulates people to put them in a place where they were forced to make a decision in which their entire lives would be changed. Yes, He tests them. He tested Abraham in just such a way. Therefore, I believe that God used this circumstance to cause Moses to take a personal interest in the people. He did not change His mind. He changed the mind of Moses.
Up to this time, Moses continually refered to the people as belonging to God. He is often angry at them, and seemingly resentful of the job he has to lead these people who belong to The Almighty. Finally, God brought Moses to the point where he now becomes invested in the people. When faced with the destruction of these people, Moses pleaded for them. In my mind, at this point, he learned that he really cared for them, and argued for their protection.
To anonymous, I'm not absolutely certain what you are saying in your first paragraph in light of this passage. Moses was a Levite, and so the issue is not about the Levites. The issue is that Moses is not from Judah--and thus the Messiah cannot come through Moses. If God destroyed Israel except for Moses, then there could not be a Messiah.
Second thing, while your reading may be true that at this point Moses started caring for the people, I don't think that this is the focus of the text. God declared that He was going to destroy the people and Moses pleads on the basis of God's covenant faithfulness that He would relent--and so God, being faithful to His promise (which is ultimately the promise both of and to the Seed--which is Christ), relents--He does not carry through with what He said. Yes Moses shows himself to be the mediator who shadows the coming Mediator who pleas with His own blood on behalf of His people, and this is an important lesson from this text, yet God's faithfulness should outshine Moses'.
Also, I think that speaking of God 'manipulating' people is dangerous language. Perhaps rather than saying this, we should rather say that God is 'orchestrating'...
And Allie, good question to bring up. God really would have destroyed Israel had Moses not interceded for them. However, He did know that Moses was going to mediate on their behalf. He's God, and so being God He both knows and has planned the future. This does not take away from Moses' role. However, the testing of Moses certainly does not mean that we should give him full attention--the test of Moses is to make evident God's great faithfulness. This passage shows us clearly that we need to hold the tension taught in Scripture of God's two wills, as complex as this is. John Piper has a great article on this: http://www.desiringgod.org/library/topics/doctrines_grace/2wills.html
We talked about this exact thing in my Systematics class but no one brought up this point about Moses being tested...very interesting thought process!
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