The Lord Relents

When the Israelites responded to Moses’ long absence by crafting and worshiping the golden calf, God responded in righteous anger, threatening to destroy the nation and to begin anew with Moses (Ex. 32:1–10). Yet as we see in today’s passage, Moses so closely identified himself with his kinsmen that he could not bear to see this happen. He interceded for his people, and the Lord relented of the destruction He had announced (Ex. 32:11–14).

The content of Moses’ prayer is remarkable because it appeals to the immutability of God and thus displays the faith of Moses that while the Lord’s threats were real threats, it was not inevitable that they would be carried out. Exodus 32:13 makes this particularly clear. Moses refers to the promise of God to Abraham, Isaac, and Israel—Jacob—that He would make their descendants into a great nation (see Gen. 15:1–6; 26:1–5; 35:9–15). Of course, since God is omniscient, knowing all (1 John 3:20), He did not need a reminder of the commitments He had made to the patriarchs of Israel. Nevertheless, the Lord does enjoy hearing His own promises on the lips of His servants, and when we speak these promises to Him and implore Him to act according to His words, we show that we believe what He has said. Moses believed that God would certainly keep His promise to make Israel into a great nation, and he did not see how this could happen if God were to wipe out the nation and start the history of redemption over from scratch, so to speak, with Moses. The prophet’s deep faith is also evident in his appeal for the Lord not to destroy His people, for it would give the Egyptians a chance to bear false witness against God and thereby dishonor Him. No true servant of the Lord wants to see His name maligned by His enemies (Ex. 32:12).

Today’s passage speaks of God’s relenting in response to the prayer of Moses (Ex. 32:14). Here we note that the Bible is not ascribing an actual change within God, as if He changes His mind as creatures do. He does not literally change His mind (Num. 23:19). When creatures act in certain ways, however, the Lord might not bring to pass what He has announced. Augustine of Hippo gives us sound guidance regarding God’s relenting in Scripture: “Though we sometimes hear the expression ‘God changed his mind’ or even read in the figurative language of Scripture that ‘God repented,’ we interpret these sayings not in reference to decisions determined by almighty God but in reference to the expectations of man or to the order of natural causes.”