104_The way back to God

Ex 33:1-6 The Lord said to Moses, “Depart; go up from here, you and the people whom you have brought up out of the land of Egypt, to the land of which I swore to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, saying, ‘To your offspring I will give it.’ 2 I will send an angel before you, and I will drive out the Canaanites, the Amorites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. 3 Go up to a land flowing with milk and honey; but I will not go up among you, lest I consume you on the way, for you are a stiff-necked people.”

4 When the people heard this disastrous word, they mourned, and no one put on his ornaments. 5 For the Lord had said to Moses, “Say to the people of Israel, ‘You are a stiff-necked people; if for a single moment I should go up among you, I would consume you. So now take off your ornaments, that I may know what to do with you.’” 6 Therefore the people of Israel stripped themselves of their ornaments, from Mount Horeb onward.

A little boy was exploring a crowded exhibition ground with his parents. His parents were attentively keeping watch over him, mindful of the crowds. Despite their efforts, he wandered away, lured by an attractive stall down an alley. When he looked around at last, he realized he was lost. Fear gripped him, as he frantically searched for the familiar faces of his parents. Finally, he ran into a kind police officer who attempted to console him with ice cream, chips, and cookies. But all the little boy would do was cry out, “I just want to get back to my parents.” This simple desire —to return home—is the cry of every human heart.

In Exodus 33, the Israelites found themselves lost, separated from their Savior who had rescued them from hopeless and harsh slavery in Egypt, and had fulfilled his promise to bring them to the mountain where they would worship. Of course, they had not merely drifted away unawares. It was their deliberate choice to replace their God with an idol they had made. Tired of waiting for Moses, who was up on the mountain receiving the law from God, and perhaps skeptical that he would ever return, they became impatient. They demanded, “Make us gods who shall go before us.” They wanted something tangible, and a god that they could manipulate. something they could control.

Paul, in Romans 1:21-23, describes their terrible exchange: “For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things.” The heart of sin, theirs and ours, is the desire to redefine God on our terms, to fashion Him into something that fits our preferences and conveniences.

Moses recognized the depth of their sin and interceded, going before God to confess their wrongdoing and seek mercy. He did not justify their actions or seek to downplay their rebellion. He named it a great sin. True repentance begins with an honest acknowledgment of our sin. In our modern lives, idols are often more subtle than golden calves, but they are just as real. They may be hidden behind virtues such as ambition, discipline, or self-sufficiency. Yet, anything that takes God’s rightful place in our hearts is an idol. Nehemiah, Daniel, and other great intercessors understood this and began their prayers by confessing both their sins and the sins of their people.

The Israelites lost 3000 lives in the plague of the golden calf. Sin always brings consequences. Throughout Scripture, we see this truth unfold. When David sinned, distress, shame, and death ensued for his children. four of his sons died, and his concubines were publicly humiliated. His favorite son Absalom sought to dethrone him. Sin disrupts our relationship with God, damages our relationships with others, and leaves us spiritually malnourished, like the prodigal son who finally realized, “I perish here with hunger.” The Israelites had to recognize not just the presence of sin but its devastating impact.

Yet, the most terrifying consequence of sin is separation from God. In Exodus 33:3, God tells them, “Go up to a land flowing with milk and honey; but I will not go up among you, lest I consume you on the way, for you are a stiff-necked people.” To some, this might have seemed like a fair trade—blessings without accountability. They could still inherit the promised land, enjoy abundance, and have victory over their enemies. But the people understood that without God’s presence, they had nothing really worth having. Verse 4 records their response: “When the people heard this disastrous word, they mourned, and no one put on his ornaments.” True repentance recognizes that the greatest loss is not material but the loss of relationship with God Himself.

Repentance is not a feeling of sorrow but corrective action prompted by the heart’s desire to go straight. It produces tangible change. The Israelites once stripped themselves of their jewelry to fashion an idol, but now they stripped themselves of their ornaments in recognition that they were in the wrong. Their repentance was not a temporary emotional response but a lasting change, as verse 6 states, “The people of Israel stripped themselves of their ornaments from Mount Horeb onward.” This is the kind of repentance God desires—not mere words but transformed lives. The people of Nineveh demonstrated this when they responded to Jonah’s warning. Their king humbled himself, removed his royal robe, covered himself with sackcloth, and called for fasting and repentance. God saw their actions and relented from bringing judgment upon them.

John the Baptist echoed this truth when he warned, “Bear fruits in keeping with repentance.” (Luke 3:8). The Israelites accepted God’s verdict on them as a stiff-necked people. They did not argue or justify themselves.

The prophet Ezekiel confronted the elders of Israel with God’s words: “Repent and turn away from your idols, and turn away your faces from all your abominations.” (Ezekiel 14:6). True repentance is forsaking our wrongdoing and our wrong motives, and returning to God with a whole-hearted resolution to serve him. It means acknowledging our idolatry and discarding our idols, while we actively offer our worship and obedience to God.

The way back to God is simple, though it cripples our rebellious ego. When we realize we have gone astray, let us acknowledge the reality of sin without making excuses. Second, let us recognize its destructive consequences. Sin causes separation from God’s presence. Finally, let us demonstrate the truth of our repentance through lasting change. The Israelites’ story is our story. The Lord calls everyone to repent and return: “Repent, for the kingdom of God is near.” Like the lost boy, our hearts long to be with the one whose we are and who loves us. Let us never persist in sin, but return to the God who loves us, who calls us back, and who is ready to forgive and rejoice with us and over us. God bless.