Scripture to Read: Exodus 32:16–20
God had given Moses the two tablets on which God had written all of His commandments. Though we know we have God’s Holy Word in written form today through the Bible, it’s hard to imagine having something that God's own hand wrote on. As Moses and Joshua approached the camp, they heard singing. When Moses saw the golden calf and the people singing and dancing around this idol, Moses burned with anger. We know Moses had an anger issue because it is recorded for us in God’s Word. Moses killed the Egyptian (Exodus 2:11–12) out of anger. We read in Exodus 32:19 that Moses threw the tablets God had just given him, which were broken due to his anger. Later, in Numbers 20:8–13, after God had told Moses to “speak to the rock” and water would come forth from the rock, Moses struck the rock out of anger. Moses’ last display of anger kept Moses out of the Promised Land, but not forever. God allowed Moses to return to the Promised Land, as recorded in Matthew 17:1–4, Mark 9:2–8, and Luke 9:28–36. There is such a thing as righteous anger; that is why God tells us this in Ephesians 4:26–27: “Be angry, and yet do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, 27 and do not give the devil an opportunity.” But Moses’ anger this time was righteous because the people had broken God’s Law. Moses destroyed the idol, mixed it in water, and made the people drink it to show them how worthless their false god was.
Challenge & Application
· Why was Moses’ anger in Exodus 32:16–20 righteous anger, and why was it not righteous in Numbers 20:8–13?
· How do you put a guard on your heart so that you do not respond in unrighteous anger (James 1:19–20)?
Don’t forget to pray using the A.C.T.S. (Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving, Supplication) method!