A Lesson on God’s Righteous Anger

Exodus 32

God is a righteous judge, and a God who has indignation every day. – Psalm 7:11
Indignation here means God is angry and furious, to the point of being enraged and ready to punish offenders with the full brunt of what is deserved.

What makes God’s anger different from ours? Is He a little too touchy and petulant? Or is His anger warranted?

Provoking God

Moses was up on Mt. Sinai with God for 40 days (Deuteronomy 9:9-11). The people grew impatient and gathered around Aaron. Not in support, but as in ‘circling the wagons’. They thought it was time to take action. “Come, make for us a god”. This is a call to rise up.

“As for this Moses”, was meant to be disrespectful. The sentiment was, ‘What kind of a guy leaves us here for this long. Let’s do something now’. Aaron felt the pressure and tells them to tear off their gold. Literally rip it off, cut it, strip it away. It is said in frustration over their impatience. And then he fashions the gold into a molten calf and presents it to them: ‘This is your god’.

Calf might be a weak word here. It is actually an ‘almost fully grown bull’. The golden bull was likely a representation of Apis, which was the bull god of the Egyptians. Creating this image was as if they were longing for the days of Egyptian idolatry.

The response of the people to the new idol is reprehensible. Exodus 32:6 says they sat down to eat, drink and play. It was a sex party. Play means to fondle. See Gen 26:8, where Isaac was caressing (sporting with) Rebekah.

God saw all that was going on and the fire of his fury was quickly stoked. God’s anger in Exodus 32:10 is a word that actually means ‘heavy breathing from the nostrils’. It is a burning, seething type of anger that provoked Him to the point of wanting to destroy them. Destroy is strong language. They were done. Finished. He was going to consume them in his indignation. And He had every right to. Holy God was infinitely offended by a people that He had just delivered from bondage. He had just provided food and water. And yet, in their stubborn rebellion, they look to a calf made of gold?

Moses Intercedes

Moses prays to God and asks what seems to be a ridiculous question: “Why does Your anger burn against Your people?” Really? Why would Moses ask this question?

It seems he is laying the groundwork for his intercession for the people he’s been leading. He makes a couple arguments in his entreaty to the Lord.
1). God, You brought them out of Egypt with Your Mighty hand.
2). If you destroy them, God, then the Egyptians will besmirch Your great name, saying you took them into the wilderness with evil intent.
3). And what about Your promises to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, God?

Moses appeals to God through prayer. And God responds.

God Responds with Mercy

God changed his mind about destroying the people because of Moses’s prayer (Exodus 32:14).

What is this about God changing His mind? What does that even mean? If God is all-knowing, all-powerful and unchanging, were His initial thoughts about destroying the obstinate people wrong? How can this be that God would change His mind?

The terminology is important here. ‘Changed His mind’, ‘Relented’, ‘Repented’. These are anthropomorphic terms. The wording is such that mankind can understand what happened. God said He was going to do something, and then He did something else. God doesn’t change, but the only way WE understand what happened is by using a term that man can understand, and that is the phrase, ‘changed His mind’.

Matthew Henry states:
God graciously abated the rigour of the sentence, and repented of the evil he thought to do (v. 14); though he designed to punish them, yet he would not ruin them. See here, 1. The power of prayer; God suffers himself to be prevailed with by the humble believing importunity of intercessors. 2. The compassion of God towards poor sinners, and how ready he is to forgive. Thus he has given other proofs besides his own oath that he has no pleasure in the death of those that die; for he not only pardons upon the repentance of sinners, but spares and reprieves upon the intercession of others for them.

Of course, God did not just ignore their sin. There was punishment, but it wasn’t destruction. It was a different sort of punishment, possibly a plague (v.34).

This is powerful. If Moses intercedes on behalf of his people, what kind of example is this for us? How might we go to God for the people we love and care about? What arguments should we bring? How might God respond when we bring arguments to Him that are consistent with who He is and in line with His promises?

The Anger of Moses

Moses shattered the tablets (v.19) after he saw with his own eyes what was happening. The flavor of the passage here is that it was a violent act, breaking the stone tablets into bits.

This was a highly symbolic gesture. The Israelites were unfaithful. They had broken God’s laws and Moses showed the people a vivid picture of what they were doing to God with their behavior and attitudes.

Moses also destroyed the golden calf (v.20), burning it with fire and grinding it into dust. Again, another vigorous act of crushing, as one grinds grains into meal powder.

The Love of Moses Toward His People

In Exodus 32:30, Moses tells the sons of Israel that he is going back to talk to the Lord on their behalf. It is amazing that he would volunteer himself if it meant that His people would be forgiven instead. He basically tells the Lord, ‘if you don’t forgive them, blot me out of Your book’. He was willing to be a substitute, willing to bear any punishment for them. Isn’t this familiar when we think of Jesus?!

Application

What are we to learn from God’s display of anger? Do we have the right to be angry? Should we be angry? What things anger us? What things SHOULD anger us? How do we manifest that anger?

Be slow to anger; for the anger of man does not achieve the righteousness of God – James 1:19-20

Be angry and sin not? Do not let the sun go down on your anger? – Ephesians 4:26

Sources:

Henry, M. (1994). Matthew Henry’s commentary on the whole Bible: complete and unabridged in one volume (p. 140). Peabody: Hendrickson.