Anger Over Sin

Deut. 9:17-18  “…..So I raised the stone tablets and dashed them to the ground.  I smashed them before your very eyes.  Then for forty days and nights I lay prostrate before the LORD neither eating bread nor drinking water.  I did this because you had sinned by doing what the LORD hated, thus making him very angry.”

I am struck by the concern Moses had for his people.  He knew they had sinned against God and that they were going to pay the price for it.  He knew that you do not mess with God and get away with it.  He was heavily burdened for their lives.

Moses felt so strongly about the sin of the Israelites that he destroyed the stone tablets that contained the Word of God.  Wow!  He was so distraught that all he could do at the moment was to react violently to show his anger.  He could not let them get away with it! 

Why is it that we don’t seem to care too much when one another sins against God?  We don’t seem to get too bothered about what might happen as a result of it.  We don’t seem to think sinning against God is that big of a deal anymore.  But, isn’t it?  Is it okay to tolerate sin, whether it’s our own or others?  Should we not get angry over sin too?

Has God changed?  Moses knew that sin made God angry.  He had heard about it and seen it happen.  God hates sin and will not let it go unpunished.  God is as passionate against sin today as He has always been.  It often drove Moses to his knees.  He prayed for his own sins and the sins of others.  He has set a good example for us to follow.  Sin does matter to God and it had better matter to us as well.