Anger is quick to present itself as an optional response to most anything these days. Angry people are plentiful. When someone is denied control or is not happy with certain circumstances, the default is to first explode with anger and think later. Although believers have the same opportunities to become angry [because someone around us is going to say or do something thoughtless and selfish] we are going to need to practice the power to forgive, because harboring unrighteous anger gives a leadership opportunity to the devil (Eph 4:26-27).
In our passage today, Moses has ascended Mount Sinai to meet with God, so he leaves Aaron in charge to lead God’s people. While Moses is gone, the people grow so impatient they pressure Aaron to agree to do something he knows is wrong as a leader, but wants to please the people. About that time, Moses comes back down the mountain with the stone tablets of the law etched with the finger of God.
The leadership reactions of both Aaron and Moses reveals their need for more wisdom. Aaron denies responsibility for being a poor leader; instead he blames the people . Moses gets mad at the people and in anger confronts Aaron; but God has to remind Moses he is the one who actually smashed the tablets in anger. Leadership is about using wisdom and learning to discern the difference between a righteous or unrighteous display of anger. BTW, God is angry with all of them (Ex 32:7-11)!
Exodus 32:19-24 NLT 19 When they came near the camp, Moses saw the calf and the dancing, and he burned with anger. He threw the stone tablets to the ground, smashing them at the foot of the mountain. 20 He took the calf they had made and burned it. Then he ground it into powder, threw it into the water, and forced the people to drink it.
21 Finally, he turned to Aaron and demanded, “What did these people do to you to make you bring such terrible sin upon them?”
22 “Don’t get so upset, my lord,” Aaron replied. “You yourself know how evil these people are. 23 They said to me, ‘Make us gods who will lead us. We don’t know what happened to this fellow Moses, who brought us here from the land of Egypt.’ 24 So I told them, ‘Whoever has gold jewelry, take it off.’ When they brought it to me, I simply threw it into the fire—and out came this calf!”
Prayer: Lord, all of your children are being groomed to be leaders of the gospel of Truth. So, help us to gain the necessary wisdom to handle our responses righteously; even when we get angry, give us the power to handle it without sin. In Jesus’ name.