Exodus 32:7-11, 13-14
And the LORD said to Moses, “Go down; for your people, whom you brought up out of the land of Egypt, have corrupted themselves; they have turned aside quickly out of the way which I commanded them; they have made for themselves a molten calf, and have worshiped it and sacrificed to it, and said, `These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt!'”
And the LORD said to Moses, “I have seen this people, and behold, it is a stiff-necked people; now therefore let me alone, that my wrath may burn hot against them and I may consume them; but of you I will make a great nation.”
But Moses besought the LORD his God, and said, “O LORD, why does thy wrath burn hot against thy people, whom thou hast brought forth out of the land of Egypt with great power and with a mighty hand? Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, thy servants, to whom thou didst swear by thine own self, and didst say to them, `I will multiply your descendants as the stars of heaven, and all this land that I have promised I will give to your descendants, and they shall inherit it for ever.'”
And the LORD repented of the evil which he thought to do to his people.
Homily:
I find the exchange between Moses and God illuminating.
In the beginning, God plans to punish the people of Israel and refers to them as Moses’ people – “Go down; for your people, whom you brought up out of the land of Egypt, have corrupted themselves”.
To follow through on His plan, He promises to make Moses a great nation. He has promised same to people before Moses.
But Moses understands God, and he flipped the script, starting with a reassignment of the people to God – “O LORD, why does thy wrath burn hot against thy people, whom thou hast brought forth out of the land of Egypt with great power and with a mighty hand?”
Moses made it clear that the people are not his people, but God’s people.
Moses then went further to show God that these people were the descendants holding the promise He already made to Abraham, Isaac and Israel. No new promise with him was required.
In the end, “The LORD repented of the evil which he thought to do to His people.”
This is a Masterclass in negotiation.
To achieve this, Moses understood His God, resisted the urge for personal glory, and chose a Win-Win path for all concerned.
All the great prophets were skilled negotiators.