"And Moses returned unto the Lord, and said, Oh, this
people have sinned a great sin, and have made them gods of gold. Yet now,
if Thou wilt forgive their sin-; and if not, blot me, I pray Thee, out
of Thy book which Thou hast written." - Ex. xxxii. 31, 32.
NEARLY the whole of Church history furnishes us with some remarkable examples
of the power of prevailing prayer - examples which should encourage us to
lay hold of God's strength in the exercise of this important duty. Moreover,
the Bible teems with promises which are backed up with testimonies of God's
faithfulness in answer to the earnest pleadings of His people. Therefore
it is possible, by these, and by the help we may derive from the following
examples, to prove the omnipotence of prayer in a manner we have never yet
dreamed, and should cause us thereby to let go all our doubts with regard
to its reality and power.
It will be remembered, when Moses was on Mount Sinai, that the children
of Israel quickly turned aside from the commandments of the Lord, and committed
a great sin in that they made themselves gods of gold. Because of this,
God purposed to cut them off as a nation. As it is written, "And the
Lord said unto Moses, Go, get thee down; for thy people, which thou broughtest
out of the land of Egypt, have corrupted themselves. They have turned aside
quickly out of the way which I commanded them: they have made them a molten
calf, and have worshipped it, and have sacrificed thereunto, and said, These
be thy gods, O Israel, which have brought thee up out of the land of Egypt.
And the Lord said unto Moses, I have seen this people, and behold, it is
a stiff necked people" (Ex. xxxii. 7-9).
It is believed that from the moment Moses received the tidings from the
Lord that Israel had sinned in making them a golden calf to worship, he
became so overwhelmed with grief that straightway he began to pour out his
soul to God in prayer and supplication. And so fervently and continuously
did he plead and make intercession in order to avert the doom of the nation,
that the purpose of God with regard to the rebellious Israelites was prevented,
and the Almighty was compelled to exclaim: "Now therefore let Me alone,
that My wrath may wax hot against them, and that I may consume them: and
I will make of thee a great nation. And Moses besought the Lord his God,
and said, Lord, why doth Thy wrath wax hot against Thy people, which Thou
hast brought forth out of the land of Egypt with great power, and with a
mighty hand? Wherefore should the Egyptians speak, and say, For mischief
did He bring them out, to slay them in the mountains, and to consume them
from the face of the earth? Turn from Thy fierce wrath, and repent of this
evil against Thy people. Remember Abraham Isaac, and Israel, Thy servants,
to whom Thou swarest by Thine own self, and saidst unto them, I will multiply
your seed as the stars of heaven, and all this land that I have spoken of
will I give unto your seed, and they shall inherit it for ever" (Ex.
xxxii. 10-13).
The prayers and intercessions of Moses had so mightily prevailed before
his leaving the Mount that the execution of divine wrath was withheld until
he had gone down and become fully acquainted with the facts of the case,
and knew for himself the extent of the sin: "And Moses turned, and
went down from the mount, and the two tables of the testimony were in his
hand: the tables were written on both their sides; on the one side and on
the other were they written. And the tables were the work of God, and the
writing was the writing of God, graven upon the tables. And it came to pass
as soon as he came nigh unto the camp, that he saw the calf, and the dancing:
and Moses' anger waxed hot, and he cast the tables out of his hands, and
brake them beneath the mount. And he took the calf which they had made,
and burnt it in the fire, and ground it to powder, and strawed it upon the
water, and made the children of Israel drink of it. . . . And it came to
pass on the morrow that Moses said unto the people, Ye have sinned a great
sin: and now I will go up unto the Lord; peradventure I shall make an atonement
for your sin" (Ex. xxxii. 15-30).
It is evident that while Moses had not lost heart because of the wilful
rebellion of the children of Israel, yet it is apparent that his knowledge
of the exceeding sinfulness of their sin had wonderfully increased his sympathy
with the Almighty. In other words, he could now see what he had not been
able to see before; that is, the greatness of God's goodness in not allowing
His wrath suddenly to overtake them.
Furthermore, we notice that on the return of Moses from the mount, his intercession
takes quite another turn. He now makes a special acknowledgment of their
sin; as it is recorded, "And Moses returned unto the Lord, and said,
Oh, this people have sinned a great sin, and have made them gods of gold."
It is possible that the tidings with reference to the manner of their transgression
had so surprised and shocked him, that for a while he was quite unable to
grasp the magnitude of their sin. But after his going down and witnessing
for himself the facts, it seemed that the knowledge of the greatness of
their sin grew rapidly upon him. It must have been an unspeakable blessing
to Moses that the tidings of their transgression came to him when he was
upon the mount in divine communion; otherwise it is possible that he would
have been completely crushed and incapacitated.
On the first occasion it appears that Moses was able to draw sufficient
arguments for his intercession from the covenant of God with Israel. But
what can he now say, seeing that he has witnessed for himself the fact that
they had broken their covenant with God and had allowed their sin to come
between Him and His covenant with them. We may ask, Where can Moses now
turn for a single promise in their favour? or find a suitable argument on
which to base a single petition for their deliverance? Moses is conscious
of the fact that there is not a man in all Israel upon whom he could rely,
or who would be accepted to join him in the ministry of intercession. Even
his own brother, Aaron the high priest, had yielded to the temptation and
shared in the transgression. Therefore it fell entirely to Moses to fill
the gap and to find sufficient grounds upon which to plead so as to prevail
with God, and avert the nation's doom.
Here we find Moses face to face with a crisis in many respects equal to
a thousand battles in one. But it is not the first time he has been put
into a strait, as was the case when Israel was walled in between the Egyptians
on the one hand and the Red Sea on the other. But God in their extremity
made a path through the sea. On the present occasion he feels that he is
walled in, as it were, with a rebellious people on the one hand and the
wrath of an offended God on the other.
Already, as we have noticed, Moses had exhausted every strong argument in
their favour. There is only one hope left. If that fails, then all must
fail with it. That is, the hope of forgiveness in the exhaustless and unmerited
mercy of a loving God. If justice requires a sacrifice before such mercy
can be granted, then Moses is quite willing to give himself up as a sacrifice
for their sake. In manifesting this spirit Moses was like the Apostle Paul,
who in later years testified that he had continual sorrow of heart for Israel,
and said, "For I could wish myself accursed from Christ for my brethren,
my kinsmen according to the flesh (Rom. ix. 3).
Constrained by the power of omnipotent love, Moses again pours out his soul
to God in supplication on Israel's behalf and says, "Yet now, if Thou
wilt forgive their sin - and if not, blot me, I pray Thee, out of Thy book
which Thou hast written." The prayer of Moses in this case was so intense
that he was prepared to make the greatest possible sacrifice. He practically
said, "Never mind me; put me out of Thy promise, out of Thy covenant.
Blot me, I pray Thee, out of Thy book, but forgive Israel their sin."
Yes, brethren, we may learn from this that real effectual fervent prayer
will be sure to cost us something - possibly much. Judging from the divine
record, the effectual prayers of the past have cost blood and agony and
rivers of tears. Its success, however, as we have noticed elsewhere, is
stamped with the divine certainty, namely, "It availeth much."
This is confirmed in the Book of Psalms; as it is written concerning this
event, "Therefore He said that He would destroy them, had not Moses
His chosen stood before Him in the breach, to turn away His wrath, lest
He should destroy them" (Ps. cvi. 23).
Oh, to reach such a point of spiritual intercession as to be able to stand
in the breach before the Almighty God, and by our intense pleading bind
His wrath and hold back His omnipotent power; refusing, like Moses, to relax
our hold upon the arm of God until we have conquered Him by our agonising,
intensified, believing prayer!
But such prevailing prayers can be made possible only where they are steeped
in the atoning merits of Jesus Christ, and where there is perfect reliance
upon the Holy Spirit, who "maketh intercession for us with groanings
which cannot be uttered." And when this is fully realised, and our
petitions have their roots in God's boundless love and mercy and compassion,
our prayers will become an irresistible force. So effectual were the prayers
of Moses that Israel's sin of idolatry was forgiven and the nation's doom
averted.
Yet on a second occasion, although it was more than a year later, we find
that Israel, through their own wilful rebellion, had again brought themselves
under the divine displeasure and were in the same danger of being wiped
out. By their constant murmurings and their slowness of heart to believe,
they shut themselves out of the Promised Land. "And the Lord said unto
Moses, How long will this people provoke Me, . . . for all the signs which
I have shown among them? I will smite them with the pestilence, and disinherit
them, and will make of thee a greater nation and mightier than they"
(Num. xiv. 11, 12).
Such an offer of promotion, coming as it did from God Himself a second time,
and under such circumstances, must have been a special test to Moses. Doubtless
angels, principalities, and powers were deeply interested and possibly looked
on with wonder, longing to know the effect which this second offer of promotion
will have upon Moses, especially considering that the future hope, or the
present doom of the Israelites, wholly depended upon his decision. Moses
is well aware that if he accepts this present offer, he will not only be
greatly promoted, but it will completely release him from the dreary task
of having to return to the wilderness, the experience of which had already
vexed his righteous soul; and it is only natural to suppose that Moses will
remember the former occasion, when he refused to accept the first offer
to be placed at the head of a mighty nation. And with regard to the Israelites,
circumstances had grown considerably worse instead of better, so that we
might expect that he would grasp at this second opportunity. Surely this
is indeed an awful crisis in the life of Moses, and one which compels him
to act.
God's wrath for Israel's sin has already waxed hot, and Moses is conscious
that he has not a moment to lose. Notwithstanding, however, he would take
time to think soberly, so as to act wisely. No doubt he feels that he must
show the highest regard to Him who had condescended to make him such a transcendent
offer. It is not a matter that can be treated lightly. God never throws
His Gift or offers of promotion to any one. Had Moses been an office - seeker,
or had he some special ambition for greatness, now was his opportunity.
To have an offer of a large church with a more influential congregation,
and to have the stipend doubled and trebled, falls infinitely short of an
offer like this. Dr. F. B. Meyer, speaking with reference to this event,
says, "There are few greater passages in the whole of the Bible than
that in which Moses puts away the testing suggestion as impossible."
While the mind of Moses is reverting to the past events, he will remember
the special sacrifice he willingly made for his brethren long years before,
when, by faith, as it is written, "Moses when he was come to years
refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter, choosing rather to suffer
affliction with the people of God than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for
a season.~~ He will also remember how he was graciously accepted by God
as a leader and commander of His people Israel. These and many other things
that had transpired during his experience with them would rush into his
mind and heart in a way which is only possible for such as have passed through
a similar experience to understand. Yet there can be no doubt but that the
recollections of the experience Moses had passed through with them bound
him to them like a threefold cord.
But the thing which carried the greatest weight with him, and which had
the effect above all others of causing him to decline the offer of promotion,
was the character of God. How could he think of accepting a higher position
if thereby God's character would be at stake and His Name blasphemed among
the heathen. Besides this, he would hear the wailing of a nation's doom
and the cry of a lost Israel. Moses knew that it was impossible for him
to accept the offer that had been made him without consenting that Israel
be blotted out. And what would even Heaven itself be to him, much less a
place at the head of a great and mightier nation, if Israel be lost and
the nation blotted out. This, together with his great regard for God's character,
carried the day, and compelled Moses to decide in Israel's favour.
Herein, we believe, lies the true secret of his fervent and effectual prayers.
The more we study the life and character of Moses, the more we are struck
with the true greatness of his character, so that it might be said of him
that which had special reference to another, namely, "Thy gentleness
hath made me great." But, on the other hand, the more we study the
life and character of the Children of Israel as a nation, the more we are
likely to be disappointed. If we carefully follow their history we soon
learn that they had sinned almost against every attribute of God and humanity.
And this, too, in spite of the fact that God had wrought miracle after miracle.
He had spread for them a table in the wilderness and fed them with manna
from heaven. Besides this, He gave His Spirit to guide them, His mercy to
pardon them, His providence to support them, and His grace to preserve them.
Yet they constantly murmured against God and against Moses and against Aaron,
the Saint of God; yea, they despised the pleasant land, they believed not
His word; therefore He lifted up His hand against them. But for the prayers
of Moses, His servant, they would have been wiped out altogether.
We have a number of cases of self-sacrificing love given in different portions
of Scripture and Church history, but, apart from the Man, Christ Jesus,
there are none to excel Moses. It is because this spirit so dominated his
whole being that he was ready to risk anything for the benefit of others.
Moreover, we must remember that it was for a people who did not appreciate
his self-sacrificing love, but rebelled against him and had also rejected
him and said one to another, "Let us make a Captain and let us return
to Egypt." Moses was fully aware that they were guilty of all this,
and infinitely more, at the time he refused God's offer. In addition to
this there yet remained the fact that God will be inquired of by Moses before
Israel can entertain any hope of their deliverance. But a man like Moses,
who had endured so much, who by his gentle yet heroic spirit had triumphed
over so many difficulties, and had prevailed so mightily, can still be relied
upon to pray effectually. But in this case, as in the former, Moses is entirely
shut up to God's unmerited mercy. Therefore, he again, in reliance upon
God's infinite compassion, pleads most intensely on Israel's behalf, and
says, "Pardon, I beseech Thee, the iniquity of this people according
to the greatness of Thy mercy, and as Thou hast forgiven this people, from
Egypt even until now. And the Lord said, I have pardoned them according
to thy word" (Num. xiv. 19-20).
No doubt it was an unspeakable blessing to Moses personally as well as to
the people of Israel that he met every crisis by which he was confronted
in the spirit of prevailing prayer. Because of this the exceeding great
and heavy trials which otherwise would have crushed him, only had the effect
of calling out the best and noblest qualities which hitherto had been deeply
buried within the soul of this great intercessor. |