Following all the fun stuff with the Plagues and the parting of the Red Sea and what-not, we see something rather surprising. If you've ever seen the Disney version of the Exodus story ("The Prince of Egypt"), they leave the story wide open after the big Red Sea incident. One might think everything was just peachy at that point.
The fact is, the Israelites begin getting a little knuckle headed (as Coach Larry Gould used to say) from time to time...and, frankly, ticked God off. In Exodus 32, the Golden Calf incident (among other stupid things) occurred and REALLY spat in the face of the Lord.
In Exodus 33, we learn about how Moses used to meet with God one-on-one in a tent he set up. This scene itself is a testament to our own relationship with God...how we should spend time in prayer getting close to God.
The funny part pops up in this very chapter. The Lord tells Moses to take his people to the land he had promised to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. He promised to send an angel ahead of them and drive out all of the people that would be in the way. Then He says in verse 3 "Go up to the land flowing with milk and honey. But I will not go with you, because you are a stiff-necked people and" [LISTEN TO THIS!] "I MIGHT DESTROY YOU ON THE WAY."
WOW! This, to me, reveals a little bit of God's character to us. Have you ever been so angry that you need to stay away from somebody you love for a moment for fear of saying something you regret? I think that we see that, perhaps, God does this once in a while. Maybe God "abandons" us (OUR phrasing, not how He would phrase it, I'm sure) because He is so annoyed with us that He is trying to avoid doing something brash.
Of course this is just speculation...but based on what happened in this passage in Exodus, I don't think it is completely unfounded.
In this instance, God needed to avoid the Israelites for fear He would hurt them. In the New Testament, the Bible says that the Father turned His back on Jesus. Perhaps God needed to look away to keep from "smiting" all those who were punishing His only Son so relentlessly.
Again...all speculation. When we talk about the essence, character, and personality of God, it is awfully difficult to come to certain conclusions. Many folks quickly blame God for natural disasters. I heard an argument yesterday that "nothing bad can come from God" because He is Holy. What I think most people have a problem with is accepting the grace of God but NOT being able to accept the JUSTICE of God...or the Judgement of God. Maybe natural disasters occurred because God momentarily "turned His back"...for our own good.
Maybe those natural disasters are Satan, himself. We read in Job about God allowing Satan to really put one man through the proverbial "buzz saw." I hear people everyday saying "God will never put more on you than you can handle"...really? Tell that to Job!
The fact is that God often puts WAY more than you can handle so you will get on your knees and give it back to Him!
The Bible says I can do all things "through CHRIST, who strengthens me"....not "through myself because God wouldn't want to cause me any trouble."
God gets angry too. Don't blame everything on Him to be His wrath. You don't know. You can't know.
I heard someone say that the natural disasters we have seen recently were God's judgement on our nation to get the President's attention. That's awfully pretentious. It is not as obvious as you may think when you read about the character of God. Our Lord is infinitely more complicated than we could ever ascertain...as we can see here in Exodus...and Job too, for that matter.
Maybe God "turned His back" during those tornadoes...maybe they were Satan....maybe both. Maybe He really DID do it to get Obama's attention. I don't know...and neither do you. This, in Exodus, reveals elements of God's character...but it does so in a way that puts Him outside of the box we often like to put Him in.
The thing about understanding God's anger is that we can't... His goodness...His Holiness...His ways transcend all of our understanding. Don't be too quick to put God in a box.
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