“He said that He would destroy them, had not Moses His chosen one stood before Him in the breach, to turn away His wrath, lest He destroy them.” – Psalm 106:23 

Scripture reading: Psalm 106:1-48

Adam and Eve were banished from the garden. Cain was driven further to the east. At Babel, all of humanity was scattered across the face of the earth. We find a pattern in the Old Testament of growing distant from God.

As the exodus progressed, this sad pattern developed again. Though God’s people had followed Him safely across the Red Sea, they soon began to despise His ways. Psalm 106 reviews this history of rebellion and punishments. God had made it clear that His people deserved to be destroyed. There was a breach between God and His people. The word means “gap,” and it points to a dreadful relational breakdown, a situation where two parties had a chasm or abyss of brokenness between them. 

Israel had “cheated” on God with the golden calf. They had fallen in love with an idol and rejected Him. So, He threatened to destroy them utterly and they would have deserved that end (Exodus 32:10). But there is hope in this scene! Moses himself had not been part of this rebellion or idolatry. He was still in fellowship with God and he was allowed to stand in the breach. When Moses pleaded with God for them, he pointed to God’s covenant promises to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (Exodus 32:13). Moses became their mediator. His role was preparing God’s people to see how all of us need a Mediator. Though we have not been faithful to Him, He continues to make intercession for us!

Suggestion for prayer

Pray for those in denial of the serious breach between themselves and God. Pray for forgiveness and repentance for “…covetousness, which is idolatry” (Colossians 3:5).

Pastor Robert VanDoodewaard currently serves the Free Reformed Church in Powassan, Ontario, Canada as a minister of the gospel.