Moses’ response to the Israelites’ worship of the golden calf in Deuteronomy 9 blows me away. After fasting forty days and nights, God told Moses that He would destroy Israel because of their sin and make Moses’ name great. Let’s be honest. If we spent forty day fasting only for God to say, “I want to make your name great,” our response would probably be, “Thank you, Lord! I don’t like the fact that people have to die, but Your will be done.” This is especially true when we feel that they deserve it. Moses was not pleased with an exalted name at the expense of others. He responded by fasting an additional forty days on Israel’s behalf. Through fasting, I pray that we will remember that it’s not about us. It’s not about our name being great. It’s not about us receiving benefits in life at the expense of others. It’s not about someone else loosing so that we can win. It’s about God being glorified and lives being transformed.
