READING: Exodus 31-34
Waiting is not easy. We’re impatient. We’re easily exasperated. We want answers yesterday, and we don’t know how to rest when we think any response is delayed. We know we’re supposed to just trust God in a waiting period, but it’s tough. And, sometimes we make really dumb decisions rather than wait.
That’s what the Hebrews did when it seemed Moses was too long on the mountain with God. After all, he had been their leader who represented them before God. He had been God’s spokesman, God’s miracle-worker, God’s appointed guide. Now, the people had seen him enter into the fire of the mountain and stay there for a long time. If something had happened to Moses, they would have been leaderless—and that was surely frightening.
So, they turned to false gods. As Stephen later reported the story, “They even made a calf in those days, offered sacrifice to the idol, and were celebrating what their hands had made” (Acts 7:41). Rather than trust God in their waiting, they turned their hearts away from Him.
PERSONAL REFLECTION: How well do you wait?
DAILY PRAYER: “God, make me patient.”
TOMORROW’S READING: Exodus 35-37
