Stand in the Breach

"So he said he would destroy them--

had not Moses, his chosen one,

stood in the breach before him

to keep his wrath from destroying them."

Psalm 106:23 NIV

I am no different from the Israelites, failing in many ways to live up to God's standards, to meet His expectations, to faithfully place all my trust in Him.  This God who rules over all the earth in His magnificent sovereignty is not One to cross.  It is a terrible thing to fall under His wrath, into His hands (Hebrews 10:31).

Since my unfaithfulness, my periods of doubt, my selfish ways can incite His wrath just as it did for the Israelites, I need a Moses to stand in the breach, to protect me from His horrible fury that my sin incites.  In standing between God and the wayward people, Moses shielded the guilty ones from being destroyed.  In the same way, Jesus stands in the gap, protecting me from the wrath of God my sins have provoked (Colossians 1:21-22, Romans 5:10). 

Now that I'm in Christ, it's not that God has changed and is no longer infuriated by sin, but that Jesus stands between me and what I truly deserve.  It is true that if I had to face God myself, without the covering of Jesus' blood, I could not stand before Him (Psalm 130:3).  Instead, through faith in Jesus I am forgiven and in right standing with God, despite my unworthiness (Romans 6:23).

Thankfully, Jesus is my Moses.

Test.  I test God's character by my blatant disregard for His sovereign nature.  Problems rise up and I panic, as if God is not in control. Just like the Israelites who had been cared for by God yet lost their composure when there was no water, acting as if they didn't have a God who had delivered them from the heavy hand of a stubborn Pharaoh and parted the Red Sea to provide an escape route.  Instead, they freaked out, thinking they would die of exposure and dehydration (Exodus 17:1-7).

Despite the fact that I often do the same, failing to acknowledge the fact that I have a Father who cares for my needs or refusing to wait for Him to lead me like a Shepherd, I am protected from His rightful anger.  Instead, I only receive His love, grace and mercy as He reminds me of His tender loving care for me, all because Jesus is my go-between (Hebrews 4:14-16).

Jesus stands in the breach for me, between my unfaithfulness and a faithful God.

Ungodly Exchange.  God made me to reflect His glory, to worship at His feet, to enjoy His presence forever, yet I exchange this sacred privilege for something more base.  I turn to worldly pleasures that seem to temporarily quench a desire in my flesh as a cheap substitute for drinking from the satisfying streams of life that come from His unconditional love.  Or I seek out the approval of people in my quest for meaning in life in place of pursuing His esteem.  Or I worship at the altar of success instead of acknowledging the greatness of the One who made me and His plan for me.

He wants my undivided attention, my complete adoration, my whole heart.  Instead, I am distracted by the trivial, worship Him haphazardly, and give him only fragments of what I feel I can let Him have of me.  I don't deserve such a perfectly attentive God who desires my trust, yet in Christ, I have Him, even if I fail to give Him what He truly wants. 

Jesus stands in the breach for me, between my infidelity and a jealous God.

Forget. He never forgets me.  I am always on His mind.  If He had a refrigerator, my picture would be on it, front and center.  Why, then, do I forget Him, letting Him slip from my thoughts, setting Him aside as I tend to the details of my life?  He wants to be in the midst of it with me, slugging through the slop with me instead of me doing it on my own.  I forget how intimate a Father I have through faith in Jesus Christ.

God wants me to remember that He is my only hope when things seem hopeless, that He is my best bet when life seems like a crap shoot, that He is the only One I can count on when I feel all alone.  I can put all my eggs in His basket, yet I tend to withhold a few, just in case.  I don't put all my weight on Him, forgetting He is there waiting to carry my load for me.  If He gave me what I deserved for turning away from Him again and again, I would be destroyed as He wanted to do to the Israelites. Yet, I have hope in Christ!

Jesus stands in the breach for me, between my forgetfulness and a powerful, sovereign God.

I fail in many ways, just like God's people of old.  And just like them, I need someone to stand between me and the God I often test, fail to submit to as Lord, and forget of His faithfulness.  In these ways I could be inciting His righteous anger just like the Israelites did.  They had Moses to stand between them and God, and I have Jesus.  And through Christ, I get the best God has to offer.  May I never take His sacrifice for granted but treasure it thoroughly in the way I live in respect of Him.

As I begin this day I pray I can remember that God's love drove Him to send Jesus to stand in the breach. 

Have I pondered how Jesus bore God's wrath so I did not have to?

Do I ever think of the wrathful side of God and consider how I've been saved from it because of what Jesus has done for me?  How do I respond in the way I live my life?