Have you ever been so happy, or so depressed that you could not find words to express your feelings? Moses had this feeling when dealing with the children of Israel and their failings. While Moses was on the mountain, receiving the Ten Commandments, the children of Israel we down below basically breaking all the commandments God was giving. God quickly told Moses to return to the people. As he came down the mountain, he recognized that the children of Israel had constructed a golden calf, and were in the process of defiling themselves in worship to it.
Moses threw the two tablets of stone to the ground that God had just written the Ten Commandments. Moses then issued judgment on the people, and watched as God carried out the judgment. As the time of judgment ended, Moses showed his godly character, by asking God to forgive and restore the people that were left. The Bible account is as follows: “And Moses returned unto the LORD, and said, ‘Oh, this people have sinned a great sin, and have made them gods of gold. Yet now, if Thou wilt forgive their sin –; and it not, blot me, I pray Thee out of Thy book which Thou hast written’” (Exodus 32:31-32).
Did you catch that “–” in verse 32? Moses was so disgusted with the sin of his people, but at the same time so burdened that God not wipe them off the face of the earth, that words failed him. He had such a conflict in his own soul that he could not speak a word. However, what he did is a perfect picture of what we ought to do when we find ourselves at a loss for words. Moses asked God for mercy. He not only asked God for mercy, but he begged God to lay their sin on his account if He could not forgive them on their own. He had such a compassion for his people that he could not bear the thought of their sin being laid to their charge and separating them from a relationship with God.
I wonder if my heart is equally burdened for those I will pass today who are without Christ. Do I have that sacrificial love that Moses had for Israel? Do I pray and words fail me in describing my burden for the people around me? Do I yearn so for the salvation of the lost in my path that I cannot express the depth of my burden? Have I ever been at a loss for words when asking God to save your family members? your friends? your co-workers? your neighbor? I want the heart that Moses had for Israel to be my heart for those mentioned above. I believe that God and Moses had the same heart of mercy for Israel. I want my heart to match God’s heart for those around me today as well. Will you join me in praying for the lost until you run out of words?