This part of the Exodus story really gets me. They have just witnessed God do amazing things and seen one miracle after another. Moses takes a little too long at the top of Mount Sinai talking with God, and they get antsy. It is so easy to think poorly of the Israelites in this moment, and in all honesty they are blatantly going against everything they have been taught this far about God’s character. But I see so much of myself in this part of the story.
I do not have a very dramatic story of how I came to know Jesus. I grew up in a home that followed Jesus, my parents and grandparents were all Christians. But since I’ve walked with Him for so long, there have been many seasons, including seasons when I doubted or was disobedient. Time and time again God has shown His love for me and my family, and time and time again I have questioned His goodness. Just like the Israelites, I wanted to take matters into my own hands because God’s timing was not the timing I wanted. In my short sightedness, I picked other idols and I worshiped other things, even in the midst of all the blessing I had been given.
But God is the King of Peace. He works it all out in the end for His glory. That means we don’t have to walk in chaos, and it means that the Israelites were brought back to God’s peace. Praise God that this is not where the Exodus story ends. God fulfills His promises even in their sin, just as He does for us.