When Moses is on Mount Sinai he offers the gutsiest prayer of all time. I’m in awe of it because it doesn’t sound at all pious; it sounds like an argument. The Lord says, “Your people, who you brought out of the land of Egypt, have acted perversely. . . . Now let me alone, that my wrath may burn hot against them.”
Moses says: “O Lord, why does your wrath burn hot against your people, whom you brought out of the land of Egypt?” (Exod. 32:7–11).
The people are dancing around a gold calf while God and Moses squabble over who has responsibility for them. As in any hot argument, they exaggerate their claims. “Nope,” they each insist, “This is your fault.” I’ve had arguments like this with my wife, but never with God.