July 9th
Intervention
Psalm 106:23
Therefore he said he would destroy them-- had not Moses, his chosen one, stood in the breach before him, to turn away his wrath from destroying them.
There are times in our lives when we need someone to intervene for us. It could be a counselor to help us work through relational issues. It could be an advocate to stand on our behalf. It could be a referee to help decipher the rules of the game. It could also be an arbitrator to resolve legal matters. But one thing for sure, we all need someone who will intercede on our behalf when we are entangled in sinful behavior.
The children of Israel had been rescued from years of horrific atrocities during their long Egyptian slavery. God brought Moses to intervene on their behalf before the Pharaoh and eventually by God’s powerful hand they were set free. “He redeemed them from the hand of the enemy” (Ps 106:10). They faithfully followed for a while as they journeyed through the wilderness, but “They soon forgot His works.” (Ps 106:13). They intentionally fell into sin as “they made a calf . . . and worshiped the golden image” (Ps 106:21, Ex 32:1-4).
Their actions incurred God’s anger. By taking the gold that God had lavishly given them during their exodus from Egypt and making it into a golden calf they defied God’s commands to “have no other gods before “ Him, to “not make . . . a craven image” and to “not bow down to them or serve them. The etchings in the stone tablets of the ten commandments were still fresh when they boldly and belligerently chose to walk in the way of disobedience to His directives. This caused God to say to Moses atop Mt Sinai. “Now therefore let me alone, that my wrath may burn hot against them and I may consume them . . . “(Ex 32:10). Our text recalls God’s displeasure when it states, “Therefore he said he would destroy them”. God’s anger was against His people because of their sin and now He had made Himself ready to carry out His just judgment upon them.
Yet God’s anger brought intercession. In the Exodus account, Moses upon hearing of God’s harsh verdict upon the people, intervened and interceded. The first response of Moses was to pray, “But Moses implored the Lord His God” (Ex 32:11). The people of God were about to be punished by God, so Moses pleaded with God to put aside His wrath. Moses intervened through intercession in hopes that God would “turn away his wrath from destroying them.” As it was with Moses, so it should be with us. We are the ones who can and must intervene and intercede for all those who are under God’s wrath for their wayward behavior. God has set Himself to destroy all who disobey and defy Him, but He also offers them freedom from and forgiveness for their sins through a relationship with Christ. We like Moses, must plead with the Lord to bring them to a place of repentance and faith and turn away God’s just wrath that now rest upon them. We must pray that God will deliver them rather than destroy them.
We must be His chosen ones that will stand in the breach before Him. A breach is a break in the wall of a fortified city that provides easy access for the enemy to advance and overtake the city. Sin makes a “breach” in our right relationship with God. Iniquity makes God our adversary. He becomes our enemy. He can easily break through the breach and destroy us. Our text gives us hope when our harmonious relationship with the Lord has been interrupted because of sin. Like Moses did for God’s people, we need someone to intervene and intercede for us by standing in the breach before him. Fortunately, there is one greater than Moses. One who will not only intercede but actually intervene. It is the Lord Jesus. He ever lives to intercede for us (Heb 7:25, Rom 8:34). He stands “in the breach” as our savior. It is His death on the cross for our sins that forever closes the “breach” and “turns away” God’s wrath from us. We are made right with God through the intervention and intercession of Jesus.
Today rejoice that the breach that was made because of our sin is closes because of our relationship with Christ. Thank the Lord that God’s wrath that was placed upon us was put upon Jesus. Thank Jesus that He became our intervenor and intercessor that we might be saved. Ask the Lord to show you people in your life that are still under God’s destructive wrath because of their disobedience so that you can intervene and intercede for them to be saved.
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