Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, Your servants, to whom You swore by Your own self, and said to them, “I will multiply your descendants as the stars of heaven; and all this land that I have spoken of I give to your descendants, and they shall inherit it forever.” So the Lord relented from the harm which He said He would do to His people. (Exodus 32:13-14)

Changing God’s Mind

It did not take the Hebrews long to turn back to the influence of Egypt and make a golden idol to worship. The children of Abraham lived in the land of the Egyptians for four hundred years, and while they retained a belief in the one true God, the influence of pagan worship filled their minds. Moses had led the people out following the terrible plagues against Egypt. God had delivered nearly two million souls when the Red Sea parted, and the people walked across on dry land. The Lord had won a great victory against the Amalekites. Since leaving Egypt, God provided water and bread from heaven. Three months after leaving the land of Egypt, they came to Mt. Sinai.

Moses had gone to the mountain to receive the law. The Ten Commandments were inscribed on tablets of stone. When the people saw that Moses did not return quickly from the mountain, they became restless. They supposed something had happened to their leader, and they had been abandoned. Aaron, the brother of Moses, agreed with the people, instructing them to bring their gold to him, where he fashioned a golden calf. Remarkably, Aaron believed his brother had died on the mountain or had gotten lost. He proclaimed the next day as a feast to the Lord.

The people rose early in the morning, offering burnt offerings and peace offerings, and then began the feast of idol worship by feasting and drinking and indulging in pagan revelry. There was no restraint among the people. All the miracles they had seen by the hand of God were forgotten. They had become like the nations around them and the Egyptians they had despised. The Hebrews were acting like licentious, immoral, and ungodly people who did not believe in the one true God.

As Moses communed with the Lord on the mountain, the anger of the Lord grew hot against the Hebrews. God was angry with the people. In His anger, the Lord God promised to rain down His wrath upon the people He had delivered from bondage. He promised Moses He would make a great nation from him. There was nothing to stop the anger of the Lord from destroying the people. Then Moses did what few men would embolden themselves to consider and to be successful. Moses pleaded with the Lord.

Moses’ plea was for the Lord to remember the covenant made with Abraham. Moses reminded God of the great power of delivering the Hebrews, showing how great the God of Israel was compared to the gods of Pharaoh. If God killed the people now, what would the Egyptians say about the benevolent God who delivered them? Moses interceded for the people, and the wrath of God abated. The Lord relented from the harm which He said He would do to the people. Moses changed the mind of God.

Prayer is pleading the promises of God. The Bible is filled with stories of the power of prayer. What seemed impossible was made possible because of prayer. All things in this world will be for the glory of God, but it should never be thought impossible to change God’s mind. Jesus taught that faith and prayer can move mountains. We laugh and say it is impossible; we are right because we do not believe in that kind of prayer. Moses pleading with God was seeking the mountain moving prayer – and God listened. How often have we not believed in the power of prayer because the answer did not suit our needs, and yet God is saying, “Just ask.” Moses did not know if God would relent, but he asked. Because of Moses’ prayer, Israel was saved that day.