DEVOTION – DAY 272

Exodus 32:33-34 “God Judges In His Time”

 

Exodus 32:33-34 The Lord replied to Moses, “Whoever has sinned against me, I will blot out of my book. Now go, lead the people to the place I spoke of, and my angel will go before you. However, when the time comes for me to punish, I will punish them for their sin.”

 

After the Israelites had committed a grave sin by worshipping a golden calf, Moses went before God to intercede on the people’s behalf. Moses even graciously offered to receive God’s judgment on the people’s behalf. But God replied in the above verses to tell Moses that the person who sinned against God was responsible for his or her own sins. Despite the people’s sins, God gave Moses the assurance that He would still covenant with the nation of Israel even though the people were sinful and stubborn and that He would still lead them to the Promised Land. God also said that He would deal with the sinful unrepentant people in His time. God will not let sin go unpunished.

 

There are people who think that they can be above the law. They think they can do as they like. The more powerful they are, the more they think they can commit wrongful acts because they think they can get away with it. A recent example was the case of the ex-Prime Minister of Malaysia, Mohd Najib Tun Razak. He came from a privileged background and went to the best schools. He was groomed for politics at a young age and swiftly rose to the most powerful position in the country.

 

At the height of his power, he misused his position and diverted great sums of public money into his personal bank accounts. All this was subsequently exposed in the well known 1MDB scandal. He thought he was untouchable. But God will not let sin go unpunished. Unexpectedly for him, he fell from power and he found himself charged in court for his wrongdoings. The case dragged on in the Malaysian courts for 4 years before he was finally sent to prison. Many thought he would never be brought to justice but God is Sovereign and He is just. He will punish the wicked in His time. No one can take Najib’s place in prison. No one can be his scapegoat. He must face his time in prison on his own. That was the point that God made to Moses. Moses could not take the place of the punishment that rightly belonged to those who had worshipped the golden calf idol. In the same way, Najib will have to take the punishment due to his own sins of corruption.

 

Let us pray: Heavenly Father, you are just and we can trust that you will know what to do with those who have sinned against you. Help us to pray for such people and not be vengeful against them. We humbly pray this in the worthy name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

 

Questions:

  1. What kind of injustice that you see or have experienced that you long for God to judge against?
  2. How does knowing that God will judge the wicked in His time help you to surrender all injustices to Him?
  3. What can you learn about God’s mercy and grace as you reflect on this devotion?