Read Exodus 32:1-6, Isaiah 10:20-24
It really hurts when someone promises to do something for us and then doesn’t come through. We rightly feel a sense of injustice and anger. Deep down we have an inner knowledge that a person should do as he or she said. Deep down we agree with the Lord’s words, ‘Let your yes be yes and your no be no’.
Israel was called by the Lord and brought to the Lord and was given the task of being the “star” in the biblical saga of salvation. But soon after that calling Israel let God down. Israel fell backwards into sin very quickly. At Mt Sinai, after God revealed His plan to the nation, Moses ascended the mountain to talk with God. Down below, Israel became impatient and after some time decided to build a golden calf to which they prayed and danced. They indulged in revelry and immorality, praising the statue of gold that led them out of Egypt into freedom. Can you imagine how hurt and disappointed God must have been? Our sin, our denial of God and refusal to do as God has asked us to do, always grieves our God.
But for Israel, the problem only grew worse. Her continual refusal to live God’s way meant that she was disciplined and had to spend 40 years wandering in the wilderness instead of entering the Promised Land immediately. Their GPS was not broken. God was punishing them for their sin! After entering the Promised Land the people continued to worship statues and images. They continued to reject the one true and living God. They continued to let God down.
By the 8th century BC when Isaiah prophesied it became clear that God would punish His people yet again. This time He would exile them to a foreign land (Babylon) and cause them to forcibly bow down to the foreign gods they so adored. The kings, the priests and the elders had all led the people astray and continued to push God away. God would punish them but out of His mercy and grace. He would rescue a small remnant. He would bring back a small remnant of people and out of that small group would again build a people for Himself. This building up of the remnant is the story of Romans and, indeed, is the story of the New Testament church as the new Israel is defined.
Prayer:
Given today’s reading jot down your own prayer points:
Adoration:
Confession:
Thanks
Supplication:
¥ Pray that the MOPS ministry will minister to the many mums that meet tomorrow in the church building. Ask God to use this time to bring many into the faith through His grace and mercy. Pray that the ministry will have the number of helpers needed so that the maximum number of people can be reached with the gospel.
¥ Pray that God would bring a Spirit of holiness into the Christian churches so that our ‘yes’ is yes and our ‘no’ is no. Pray that our tolerance for sin will be zero but that we would be able to still love and support each other as we call one another to repentance and ever increasing holiness.
Walk Moment:
It’s very hard to deliberately sin against God when you realise that for you to be a part of His remnant meant Jesus dying accursed on the cross in your place. When you are tempted to sin, meditate upon this truth!
1. Try to describe how God felt when Israel rejected God by building a golden calf and praying to it? Why do you think God felt like this?
2. How do you think God feels when we sin against Him?
3. A Christian brother/sister says to you, “It doesn’t matter what I do in private because it hurts no one else.” What is a biblical response to this rubbish?
Discipleship Moment For Girls
Intro: Sometimes we go through tough times, especially in our relationships. At these times we can think that God has abandoned us or left us.
Discuss a tough time you have been through.
Read James 1:2-4 together.
Why does God put us through tough times?
What is the outcome of these tough times?
What gives us joy in these tough times?
Share how the tough time you went through turned out.
Pray together that God would strengthen you through tough times.
Discipleship Moment For Boys
Intro: Guys go to the gym to work their muscles and to build them up. The pain of lifting weights actually does good. God uses the painful times of life to grow our faith.
Discuss a painful time you have been through.
Read James 1:2-4 together.
Why does God put us through tough times?
What is the outcome of these tough times?
What gives us joy in these tough times?
Share how the tough time you went through turned out.
Pray together that God would strengthen you through tough times.
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