“The Lord spoke to Moses, ‘Go down at once! For your people you brought up from the land of Egypt have acted corruptly. They have quickly turned from the way I commanded them; they have made for themselves an image of a calf. They have bowed down to it, sacrificed to it, and said, “Israel, these are your gods who brought you up from the land of Egypt.”‘ The Lord also said to Moses, ‘I have seen this people, and they are indeed a stiff-necked people. Now leave me alone, so that my anger can burn against them and I can destroy them. Then I will make you into a great nation.'” (CSB – Read the chapter)
Have you ever known someone who liked to play the Devil’s advocate in a debate setting? Are you that person? Some people just like taking the other side in a debate. Even if they don’t really believe in the position, they’ll stake it out simply because they like arguing. I bring that up because this next part of our story is hard to understand. All the players switch roles in ways that are confusing at best. If we are not sufficiently grounded in our understanding of their character outside of this story, we are going to struggle to make any positive sense out of it. Let’s take a look at God’s getting angry with Israel.
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The Nexus 