"Pray for Me". Kenneth H. Carter Jr.
as well. What should Moses do?
He intercedes. “Moses implored the LORD his God, and said, ‘O LORD, why does your wrath burn hot against your people, whom you brought out of the land of Egypt with great power and with a mighty hand?” (32:11). Moses speaks on behalf of his people. Here Moses fulfills the role of priest. Moses speaks boldly to God, and there is give and take in this relationship. Moses reminds God that these are “your people”! He reminds God of the divine reputation: “Why should the Egyptians say, ‘It was with evil intent that he brought them out to kill them in the mountains, and to consume them from the face of the earth’? Turn from your fierce wrath.”
Moses says to the Lord, don’t you remember who you are? You are “the Lord [who is] . . . merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love” (Exod. 34:6, emphasis added). Moses pleads with God: “Change your mind and do not bring disaster on your people” (Exod. 32:12).
The persistence of Moses leads to theological questions: Can or should we expect God’s mind to be changed? Moses does not let up! “Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, your servants, how you swore to them by your own self, saying to them, “I will multiply your descendants like the stars of heaven, and all this land that I have promised I will give to your descendants, and they shall inherit it forever’ ” (Exod. 32:13).
Moses appeals to the nature of God, which is to keep faith with promise and covenant. Moses knew the history and character of God. He knew the frailty and error of his own people. And yet Moses refused to allow the relationship to end. And finally, “the LORD changed his mind about the disaster that he planned to bring on his people” (Exod. 32:14).
Invitation to reflect: We sometimes imagine that God is unchanging, and yet there are clearly alterations or shifts in God’s discernment and thinking here. What does this say to you about the nature of God? Do you find the thought of a God whose mind can be changed to be encouraging or uncomfortable?
The Intercessions of the Prophets
Then Elijah said to the people, “I, even I only, am left a prophet of the LORD; but Baal’s prophets number four hundred and fifty.”—1 Kings 18:22
[The angel of the Lord] said, “Go out and stand on the mountain before the LORD, for the LORD is about to pass by.” Now there was a great wind, so strong that it was splitting mountains and breaking rocks in pieces before the LORD, but the LORD was not in the wind; and after the wind an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake; and after the earthquake a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire; and after the fire a sound of sheer silence. When Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his mantle and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave. Then there came a voice to him that said, “What are you doing here, Elijah?” He answered, “I have been very zealous for the LORD, the God of hosts; for the Israelites have forsaken your covenant, thrown down your altars, and killed your prophets with the sword. I alone am left, and they are seeking my life, to take it away.” Then the LORD said to him, “Go, return on your way to the wilderness of Damascus; when you arrive, you shall anoint Hazael as king over Aram. Also you shall anoint Jehu son of Nimshi as king over Israel; and you shall anoint Elisha son of Shaphat of Abel-meholah as prophet in your place. Whoever escapes from the sword of Hazael, Jehu shall kill; and whoever escapes from the sword of Jehu, Elisha shall kill. Yet I will leave seven thousand in Israel, all the knees that have not bowed to Baal, and every mouth that has not kissed him.” —1 Kings 19:11-18
Do you ever sense that God is speaking through you? Are you puzzled, challenged, or even angered by what is going on in the world? Do you wonder why there seems to be such a huge gap between the world that God intended and the way things are? Do you ever find yourself asking God to intervene in events, to change the course of history, to bring about peace and justice and righteousness?
In the Bible, prophets are those who speak God’s word into a present situation. They are in tune with the events of their time—warfare, poverty, worship of false gods, complacency—and they also are open to the will of God. “Everyone more or less believes in God,” Eugene Peterson has written. “But most of us do our best to keep God on the margins of our lives, or, failing that, we refashion God to suit our convenience. Prophets insist that God is the sovereign center, not off in the wings awaiting our beck and call. And prophets insist that we deal with God as God reveals himself, not as we imagine him to be.”2
The perception that prophets predict the future is only partially true. Prophets are given a vision that has implications for the present and the future. At times the work of the prophet can be lonely, as Elijah confessed to the Lord.
Invitation to reflect: When have you felt that you were praying for an outcome that seemed unlikely, and that you were in the minority in making your appeal to God?
We can think of intercession as priestly work—speaking to God on behalf of the people, speaking to people on behalf of God—but intercession is also a prophetic ministry. In the Hebrew Bible, the books written by the prophets are the second major portion of scripture, following the Law. Prophets like Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel called the people to follow God’s law, to remember God’s salvation, to accept God’s judgment, and to receive God’s mercy. They did this by making the word of God plain (“thus says the LORD”) and by pointing others to signs. Jeremiah spoke of a potter working with clay, which communicated that God is free to shape and mold us for a variety of purposes. Ezekiel envisioned a valley of dry bones, reminding us that God can bring life out of death.
Elijah is often regarded as representative of all of the prophets. His story in 1 Kings narrates the struggle between the worship of God in contrast to the worship of Baal. Overtaken by fatigue and fear, Elijah complains to God. God listens, and God reminds Elijah that he is not alone. Elijah is sent forth: “Go, return on your way to the wilderness” (1 Kings 19:15). God overlooks Elijah’s tendency to cast blame on Israel. Like so many of us, Elijah overestimates the obstacles before him. God keeps Elijah’s focus on the future and upon the vision that will be fulfilled.
The prophetic words are always vivid and stark. They get our attention! The prophets spoke chiefly against two evils: (1) the tendency to worship other gods, and (2) neglect of the poor. They challenge the complacent and self-sufficient, warning them of coming disaster. They comfort the people in exile, driven from their homes, assuring them of protection. In their own time, and today, the prophets envision a reality so different from what we know that we are forced to look and listen. In a vision of the “Peaceable Kingdom,” Isaiah spoke of the wolf living with the lamb. In a world marked by war, violence, and conflict, the prophets present God’s vision for the world and call us to live toward that vision.
Martin Luther King Jr., a prophetic witness in the last century, reminded people of the difference between their public profession (“that all are created equal”) and their practice in regard to people of other races. He called Christians to listen to the prophets. He often quoted a favorite scripture from the prophet Amos: “Let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream” (5:24). In this way King’s voice followed in the tradition of the prophets of ancient Israel.
Invitation to reflect: Meditate on the words of Amos 5:24. Say them slowly. Imagine that you are speaking these words to God, as appeal, as demand. Now imagine that the Lord is speaking these words to you, also as appeal and as command.
It has been said that the role of the prophet is to afflict the comfortable and to comfort the afflicted. To those who are comfortable and complacent the prophets bring a warning. To those who are suffering and burdened the prophets bring a word of hope. Who are the prophetic voices in your own community?
Invitation to reflect: What would your community look like if God’s vision for it were to become a reality? Who are the comfortable in your community? Who are the afflicted in your community? How can you remember both these groups in your prayers?
Intercession and the Psalms:
Joy of Human Desiring
O God, you are my God, I seek you,
my soul thirsts for you;
my flesh faints for you,
as