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  MOSES AND THE PEOPLE
  by Clement of Rome
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Summary: Moses' intercession for the people demonstrates the Lord's
mercy and forgiveness, and shows the importance of humility and love in
our relationship with God.

Topics: "Intercessory Prayer", "Sacrificial Love"
Scripture References: Exodus 32:7, John 15:13, Romans 5:8, 1 Timothy 2:1, Hebrews 7:25

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DESCRIPTION
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Clement of Rome reflects on the story of Moses interceding for the
people of Israel after they sinned against God by making molten images.
Despite God's anger and desire to destroy them, Moses pleads for their
forgiveness, even offering to be blotted out of the book of the living
in their place. This act of selfless intercession showcases Moses' deep
love and care for his people, mirroring Christ's sacrificial love for
humanity. Clement emphasizes the importance of intercessory prayer and
sacrificial love in the face of sin and disobedience.

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CONTENT
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Ye understand, beloved, you understand well the Sacred Scriptures, and
you have looked very earnestly into the oracles of God. Call then these
things to your remembrance. When Moses went up into the mount, and abode
there, with fasting and humiliation, forty days and forty nights, the
Lord said to him, "Moses, Moses, get down quickly from here; for your
people whom you brought out of the land of Egypt have committed
iniquity.

They have quickly departed from the way in which I commanded them to
walk, and have made to themselves molten images."

And the Lord said to him, "I have spoken to you once and again, saying,
I have seen this people, and, behold, it is a stiff-necked people: let
Me destroy them, and blot out their name from under heaven; and I will
make you a great and wonderful nation, and one much more numerous than
this." But Moses said, "Far be it from You, Lord: pardon the sin of this
people; else blot me also out of the book of the living." O marvellous
love! O insuperable perfection! The servant speaks freely to his Lord,
and asks forgiveness for the people, or begs that he himself might
perish along with them.

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Source: https://sermonindex.net/speakers/clement-of-rome/moses-and-the-people/
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