Interceding
To intercede means to intervene on behalf of another. Doing a simple search for the definition of intercede quickly brings up a definition for intercession. Intercession is the act of interceding or prayer, petition, or entreaty in favor of another. This idea of praying for others may not seem all that radical on the surface; you probably pray for others daily—your spouse, your kids, your parents, friends. Often in times of great distress, such as the war in Ukraine, there are calls for prayer. In fact, you may have been praying recently for people half way around the world who you may never meet. When we pray on someone else’s behalf, God’s blessing and grace can flow abundantly. We are going to look at two examples of Moses talking to God on behalf on the Israelites, interceding on their behalf.
“Then the Lord said, “I have seen how stubborn and rebellious these people are. Now leave me alone so my fierce anger can blaze against them, and I will destroy them. Then I will make you, Moses, into a great nation.” (Exodus 32:9-10)
The Lord’s anger was burning in reaction to the people having made a golden calf idol while Moses was up on the mountain receiving the ten commandments. While Moses was with God and learning from Him, the people were down below breaking the first of the two commandments they would soon learn about: “You must not have any other gods but me” and “you must not make or worship any idols.” God’s anger was righteous and just, but Moses intervened.
“But Moses tried to pacify the Lord his God. ‘O Lord!’ he said. ‘Why are you so angry with your own people whom you brought from the land of Egypt with such great power and such a strong hand? Why let the Egyptians say, “Their God rescued them with the evil intention of slaughtering them in the mountains and wiping them from the face of the earth”? Turn away from your fierce anger. Change your mind about this terrible disaster you have threatened against your people! Remember your servants Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. You bound yourself with an oath to them, saying, “I will make your descendants as numerous as the stars of heaven. And I will give them all of this land that I have promised to your descendants, and they will possess it forever.”’ So the Lord changed his mind about the terrible disaster he had threatened to bring on his people.” (Exodus 32:11-14)
“So the Lord changed his mind….” Moses, interceded on the behalf of God’s people and God changed his mind. We don’t know the exact plans God has at any given moment (Romans 11:34, 1 Corinthians 2:11), but we know that when we intercede on someone else’s behalf, God’s grace can flow to those people. When Paul instructs us to not worry about anything but to instead pray about everything, this idea of intercession can be included in that. Don’t worry about the war far away or the neighbors who seem to involved in some pretty bad stuff. Pray for them! Intercede to the Lord Almighty on their behalf, and when you do, God’s grace and mercy and justice may flow unto them. As we’ve discussed many times on this site, the Hebrew people were as adept at complaining, rebelling, and treating God with contempt on their desert journey to the promised land as we are on ours. In Numbers 14, we have another example of Moses intervening on behalf of the people.
“And the Lord said to Moses, “How long will these people treat me with contempt? Will they never believe me, even after all the miraculous signs I have done among them? I will disown them and destroy them with a plague. Then I will make you into a nation greater and mightier than they are!” (Numbers 14:11-12)
The people had directly experienced so many miracles from the Lord and still they complained, this time specifically that it would have been better to have died in Egypt than to be living in freedom in the desert! And if that wasn’t bad enough, they decided to elect a new leader and go back to Egypt. Isn’t this just like us when we choose Christ and live in the freedom of new life in Him, yet we complain when times are hard and we look to return to our sin for a little pleasure. Again, God’s anger and reaction are justified but again Moses pleads on behalf of the people and speaks truth about God.
“‘Please, Lord, prove that your power is as great as you have claimed. For you said, “The Lord is slow to anger and filled with unfailing love, forgiving every kind of sin and rebellion. But he does not excuse the guilty. He lays the sins of the parents upon their children; the entire family is affected—even children in the third and fourth generations.” In keeping with your magnificent, unfailing love, please pardon the sins of this people, just as you have forgiven them ever since they left Egypt.’ Then the Lord said, ‘I will pardon them as you have requested.” (Numbers 14:11-20)
God again changes His mind, however He also states that none of this generation would enter the Promised Land. Instead, it would be their children. Moses speaks truths about God, about His unfailing love and forgiveness, about how He is slow to anger and yet He does not excuse the guilty. We don’t get a free pass and we are not meant to pray for unjust things. Interceding for someone should not come from a selfish place. It is not permission to try and change God’s mind to suit your own preferences. Interceding for others should come out of love for them. You may be praying for someone who doesn’t even know God and would never know to pray. Never forget the power of prayer and do not diminish the fact that you get to speak to the Creator of the universe and that He not only hears you, but cares about you.
May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.
