Year 1, Day 129: Numbers 14

What another awesome passage of God’s Word!

What’s so Awesome About Consequences?

Maybe that expression caught you by surprise.  Maybe after reading that line you thought that you ought to check with the schedule to make sure that you read the same chapter that I did.  You probably read stuff about God’s judgment against the people.  You probably read words about a great defeat of the Hebrew people.  You might wonder how such a passage could so boldly – if not rashly – be called an awesome passage of God’s Word.

Here’s why.  God is a just God, slow to anger.  He is merciful, although He does make consequences happen regarding transgression against His will.  That very nature makes Him just; it does not prevent Him from being just.  Let me give you an example.  How just would it be to take someone who embezzles a million dollars from a company and give them absolutely no punishment?  It would not show that our system is just.  There must be some restitution.  At the very least, the people that had the money taken from them must be repaid – or repaid as well as humanly possible.  To ignore their loss would not show justice.  We can further argue about what other punishments that should be enforced, but that will detract from this argument.  My point is that there must be some consequence or else it really shows a moment of injustice, not justice.

However, God is also gracious.  The people rebelled against God’s will.  They deserved to be abandoned like sheep without a shepherd.  They deserved to be spiritually divorced by God.  They deserve to be destroyed so god can begin again with people who desire to be righteous.  But God does not do this either, even though He would have been just had He done so.  Instead, God demonstrates His justice by enforcing a real penalty in that none but Caleb and Joshua shall see the Promised Land.  But He shows His grace by making that penalty far less than is actually deserved.  That’s what is so absolutely cool about this passage.  Here we see God’s justice – law – and His grace – Gospel – so very neatly tied up in one chapter.  It is absolutely phenomenal.

Defeat

Oh yeah.  There is the little bit about the battle, too.  That part of passage makes me grin like an all-knowing parent.  Have you ever watched a parent tell a toddler or young child that they cannot do something?  I’m not talking about someone saying that what the child is about to do is wrong and against the parent’s rules.  I’m talking about a parent telling a toddler or child that what they are trying to do is physically impossible for them to accomplish.  As soon as the parent lets the child, the child tries it anyway!  That is exactly what is going on here with these silly Hebrew people.

God says to them, “As punishment, you cannot go into the Promised Land.  You did not want it enough to trust me, and you cannot do it on your own.”  It is not so much that God prevents them as it is that they literally cannot do it.  When they try to do it on their own power, they fail miserably and are routed.  Oh, those silly Hebrews.

For the record, I could easily say, “Oh, those silly Christians,” too.  We’re not usually much better.  We design these grandiose plans about how great our church will be.  We design these phenomenal images in our mind of what we can do for God – or even what we can do on our own for ourselves without God’s help.  And we fail.  Sometimes we fail miserably.  It’s just part of being human, really!

Yet again, here we see God’s justice and grace –His Law and Gospel.  God does not prevent the Hebrews from trying and He does not prevent the consequence of their failure in being routed.  But neither does God allow the Hebrew people to become enslaved by the Amalekites or the Canaanites.  They try, fail, and God takes them back in order to begin their wandering through the desert. 

Law and Gospel right there.  Justice and grace.  It is what makes this such an awesome passage.

Joshua and Caleb

I’ve got another message for those of you willing to keep on reading.  Don’t miss out that Caleb and Joshua are promised to go into the Promised Land.  Why are they allowed to go?  Simply put, they are allowed to go because they never lose their faith in God.  They live out their faith.  They trust in God’s plan and know that with God nothing is impossible.  They already survived the Exodus under God’s provision, why should they doubt now? 

Their faith is rewarded.  They will get to see the Promised Land.

Hear the promise that God extends.  If we never completely lose faith, then you and I can see the Promised Land even here and now.  We don’t have to die to see God’s Kingdom come to heaven and earth!  Trust solely in God and follow His guidance and we will see the Promised Land! 

We will see the unfolding of God’s plan for our lives right now.  We may need to endure a little time while God takes care of removing the less-than-faithful from the picture, but those who stay faithful to God’s Word and His providence will see the Promised Land.  That is a powerful promise, one that is made to all who call upon the Lord and remain in their faith.

That should make you want to evaluate your life and make sure you are still faithful, eh?  I know it does for me!

<>< 

Year 1, Day 128: Numbers 13

Send Out the Spies!

Here we get yet another famous passage.  This is the sending out of the spies.  Notice two things.  First, when the Lord tells Moses to send out the spies, He gives him a very clear purpose.  It is a purpose that I am sure he passed on to the spies: “I am giving this land to you.”  (Numbers 13:2)  Also notice in the list of duties for which they were to spy that evaluating the success of God’s plan - or even the ability for the Hebrew people to take the land – is actually not on the list of things for them to do!  They are told to scout out the land noting the land’s produce and the people’s strength in numbers.  They are not told to evaluate whether or not the plan is able to be successful.

When you think about it, this makes sense.  With God, are not all things are possible?  So the question is honestly never “Can I/we do this?”  The question is always “Is God calling me/us to do this?”  Do you notice the fundamental difference in even how those sentences are constructed?  The first question places the emphasis on the human as the subject of the question.  The second places emphasis upon God as the subject and the person becomes the object of God’s will.  Fundamentally these are two different questions in scope and theme.

Of course, the spies are actually obedient at first.  When they first get back to the camp, they put forth an honest appraisal of the land.  They told about the produce.  They told where the people were strong.  That’s okay.  That’s what they were supposed to do.  They accomplish the purpose that God sent them to accomplish.

Getting Ahead of God

But after Caleb steps forth with a word of encouragement, the rest of the spies – although not likely Joshua as we shall see in the next chapter – stand against him.  These spies go beyond the task of their mission and begin to evaluate God’s plan for the taking of Canaan.  They assert that it cannot be done.  Essentially, they say that their own evaluation of the situation is better than God’s evaluation.  When you put it that way, it sounds rather harsh, doesn’t it?

Of course, I am just as guilty as the spies in certain places and times in my walk with God.  God says “I have purposed this or that for you.”  At first I am excited about the prospect until reality hits me.  I am excited about what God wants me to do until the time actually comes to do it.  Then I get scared.  Or I get worried.  Or I underestimate my ability without considering that I should rely upon God’s ability.  Or I get tired.  Or I get weary.  Or I get lazy.  Or … well, you get the idea.  I’m not better than the spies.  I identify with these spies.

I actually long to identify with Caleb.  As we’ll see in Numbers 14, I long to identify with Joshua, Moses, and Aaron.  I long to step up next to the impossible and say, “With God nothing is impossible!”  I long for it.  I desire it.  I want to be that person.  I want to be like Caleb.  Don’t you?

Oh, how God has called us to a great inheritance!  Oh, how God has called us to a great mission.  {Read Matthew 28:18-20 if you doubt this} All we have to do is be like Caleb and continue to taste the fruit of God’s hand!  But we do not, not very often.  Our unbelief in God’s ability and our over-belief in our own disability paralyze us from tasting the fullness of God’s inheritance even here and now!

Here’s a great quote to end upon: “When the other spies saw giants, Caleb saw the Lord.”  Am I focused on the fruit God in which God has called me to partake or am I focused on my own inability to comprehend and execute God’s plan?  Is life about living into the richness of God’s provision or depending upon my own pathetic ability to provide for myself?

Amen.

<>< 

Year 1 Day 127: Numbers 12

Anticipation

Oh boy!  We get to have several great chapters right in a row!  First we have God bestowing a disease on Miriam, then we get the spies into Canaan (round 1, at least), and then we see the true rebellion of the people.  This is a most historic part of Numbers to which we are coming!

Why Is Only Miriam Leprous?

Today we get to focus on Miriam.  First things first.  The Bible is quite clear that Aaron and Miriam both spoke out against Moses.  I don’t know why God only punishes Miriam.  I really don’t – and the Bible isn’t clear on the reason.  Here are some possibilities:

·      More than likely it revolved around Aaron’s special duties in the tabernacle. 

·      Some people argue that Aaron makes a confession of guilt and Miriam doesn’t, but in truth Aaron’s confession comes after Miriam is already made leprous.  So, I don’t buy that Aaron is spared because of his confession in Numbers 12:11-12. 

·      Some people want to lift this up as evidence of chauvinism in the Bible, but clearly in other places God has no problem cursing men with leprosy, so I don’t buy that, either. 

·      The verb translated as “spoke” in Numbers 12:1 is feminine singular, implying that Miriam was the instigator and Aaron simply followed her.  While this is accurate to the Hebrew and it does explain why Miriam was punished, it doesn’t necessarily explain why Aaron is spared.  After all, in other places God has punished not only the instigators but all who were involved.  However, it is fair from a linguistic perspective to say that Miriam and Aaron are not equal co-conspirators.  Combining this reason and the first reason may explain the text the best.

I’m acknowledging up front that this part of the text still puzzles me.  The truth is that the real answer for why only Miriam was cursed with disease is likely some combination of the above reasons and probably a few other things that God knows and I am not privileged to know.  That’s okay.  I don’t have to understand everything for my faith in God to hold true.

Backing Up a Few Steps

What I would like to talk about is the actual “problem” in this text.  Notice that his chapter begins with the fact that Aaron and Miriam were making trouble for Moses because he had married a woman who was not a Hebrew.  Now, we can talk about that if we want.  But if we do, we’ll actually be missing the point.

Notice that the real problem is stated in verse 2.  Miriam and Aaron were jealous of Moses’ power.  They knew God had spoken through them and they wanted recognition instead of Moses getting it all.  They bury the real issue under something that they can get more people to rally around!

This is the way of humanity.  There is some root problem within a person, but usually that root problem is too “difficult” to confess.  It may be difficult because the person knows they are in the wrong, or it might cause too much trouble in the relationship, or it might lead to direct confrontation, or whatever.  But for whatever the reason, the true problem often gets buried.  Humanity cannot deal with buried issues; they boil out in other ways always.  So although Miriam’s and Aaron’s problem is in their jealousy, they begin to focus on something they can talk about in public: Moses’ wife.

Again, notice what happens here.  Miriam and Aaron know their initial problem with Moses is not something likely to have any importance.  In fact, they might likely know that how they are feeling is downright wrong.  So they focus on something within Moses that they can safely use against Him.  This is the way of humanity.  Whenever someone comes with a problem, chances are that the problem being spoken about is not actually the true problem in the depth of the person’s soul.

The Perceptiveness of God

Here’s the great thing, though.  God cannot be fooled.  Notice that when the three gather before God that the topic of Moses’ wife isn’t even mentioned?  God goes straight to the point.  In spite of what they might like to think, Moses is different.  God uses prophets all over the place.  In fact, last chapter alone we see 70 new prophets come about out of the spirit that God had originally given fully to Moses!  But even when God uses other people, Moses is still different.  Moses speaks face to face with God, not in dreams and visions. 

Life’s Not Fair

Miriam and Aaron have no right to be jealous of Moses.  They should accept the place that God has chosen for them and not be jealous of how God has chosen to work through any other person.  But how easy is that to do?  How many of us truly like playing second fiddle?

Let’s not ignore the fact that both Aaron and Moses appeal to God with pleas.  Aaron’s plea is a confession after he sees the consequence of his action.  Moses’ plea is a pained leader watching as yet again sin has affected his community.  I like how Aaron is not too proud to confess – if even after the fact.  I like how Moses does not hold a grudge. 

True faithful leadership does the right thing and intercedes between people and God regardless of the past between them.  After all, in the end it is not so much “who is right” that is important but rather that “as many people as possible are right with God.”  True leadership understands this and can let go of grudges as easily as they come.

Mercy and Egalitarianism

Notice also that God has mercy.  There is a consequence for her sin, and she is shut out of the camp.  But the camp doesn’t move until she is allowed back into the camp.  It is as though God is telling her that He will not move the camp while she cannot participate in leading the people along that move.  God allows the people to stay put until Miriam is allowed back into leadership. 

Let’s return to the third bullet in the list above.  If God was truly interested in chauvinism, do you think that He would have cared about Miriam’s position when considering the timing for moving the camp?  No.  A chauvinistic God would have likely moved the camp while Miriam was cast out in order to drive the point home.  The reality is that God cares as much for the women in leadership as for the men.  This is evidenced here in this passage.

<>< 

Year 1, Day 126: Numbers 11

Truth

Human nature. 

Never satisfied. 

Always wanting more. 

Storing up treasure for ourselves. 

Unable to see that our grass is green regardless of the color of other people’s grass.

Ok, maybe a few of those are slight exaggerations – although I think all of them are true about all of us at points in our lives.  So while it might be a stretch to say that they are true about all of us all of the time, it is no stretch to say that they are all true about all of us at some point in our life.  It is who we are.  That is our nature.

So the people complain against God.  God punishes the illegitimate complainers with fire.  They complain about the fire to Moses.  Moses is gracious and prays for them – in spite of the fact that they deserve the fire – and the fire subsides.  Human beings are fickle.  They complain, get a result they deserve, and then complain about the result.

But they’re not through, are they?  Add “slow to learn a lesson” to the list I started above.

Lack of Protein

Some continue to complain about the lack of meat!  Now, let’s pause for a second and analyze the complaint.  I’m going to be blunt here.  Big surprise, right?  I’m also going to stretch the use of the word “meat” to a more general word “flesh.”  After all, meat is flesh, is it not?  I’m going to do it to prove a spiritual point about humanity.

The Hebrew people lust after the flesh they had in Egypt.  See why flesh makes a bigger impact there than meat?  I’m sorry if you read that and imply a sexual connotation, because I am not implying that the Hebrew people lusted in a sexual way.  But to use the word lust is not inappropriate, in fact it is precisely the word I wanted you to imply in my statement.  The Hebrew people were lusting after the carnal things – in this case, the meat to eat – that they had in Egypt.  They were not satisfied with the sustaining miraculous heavenly food that God gives.  No, they lusted after the carnal, worldly meat in Egypt.

To illustrate the dissatisfaction of the Hebrew people, look back to the original description of the manna in Exodus 16:31.  Manna tastes like honey.  Yet, when the Hebrew people tire of this divine honey-bread they try to improve it.  Or at the very least they make it into a different form.   They bake it, boil it, or beat it.  They were doing anything to eat something other than manna.  But look at the description of how it tastes when they manipulate it into something that isn’t what God gave them.  Instead of tasting like honey, Numbers 11:8 tells us that it now tastes like oil.  How disappointing it would be to take something as sweet as honey and make it taste like oil.  Oh, how our humanity destroys the good things of God!

The Contagious Nature of Sin

Now, it isn’t bad enough that the complaining affects a portion of the Hebrew people.  But then we see that the complaining affects the leadership as well.  Moses’ morale drops.  His confidence lessens.  His relationship with God is strained.  Read Numbers 11:23 as proof of God needing to rebuke Moses a little bit. 

The truth is that the people’s complaints hurt more than their own relationship with God.  The people’s complaints tarnish Moses’ relationship with God.  Now, I’m not laying the blame of the tarnished relationship at anyone’s feet except Moses.  We are all responsible and accountable for our own relationship with the Lord!  But we should also realize that our relationships can impact other people’s relationships if they are not strong enough to overcome our negative influence.

God Answers

Ultimately, though, God met the needs of the people.  But He met them at great cost.  The people who craved meat got their meat – and a plague to go with it!  Moses got the help that he demonstrated that he needed, but he got it at the cost of losing some of the Spirit that God had given to him.  God answered the prayers and complaints, but the answers were not entirely good at all.

Digging Our Own Grave

As we learn the lessons of lusting after carnal, worldly things that Numbers 11 has to teach us, I’ll leave you with one small note.  The place was given the name Kibroth-hattaavah.  In Hebrew, that name literally means “graves of lust” or “graves of desire.”  Jesus warns us of the same lesson.  “Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” (Matthew 6:21, Luke 12:34)

<>< 

Year 1, Day 125: Numbers 10

Movement

Numbers 10 gives us the first moments of movement.  I do find it very comforting to know that the movement of the Hebrew people – as well as the declaration of High Festivals and other gathering times – was proclaimed by trumpets. 

Why is this so comforting?  It shows us that significant movements of the Lord are announced.  Specifically, Jesus tells us that when He returns to this earth He will do so at the shout of a loud trumpet.  There are several other places that speak of trumpets when the Messiah comes.  Additionally, we know that much of God’s judgment as set forth in the book of Revelation is by trumpet.  The point is clear – when God moves suddenly, He declares it.

Put this in contrast with our present experience of the movement of God.  We do know that God moves, of course.  He moves within us.  He moves within others.  But typically we think of that as slow movement.  It is a long process. 

That kind of movement doesn’t need to be announced with a trumpet because it is slow enough for us to recognize before God gets too far away.  On the other hand, the cloud moving away in Numbers, Christ’s return in the New Testament, and the points of judgment in Revelation are all quick movements of the Lord.  Those are things we want to have our attention brought to or else we might just miss what is going on!

Hobab

Having spoken about the trumpets, I’d now like to turn a little bit here to this dialogue between Moses and his brother-in-law Hobab.  Remember that Jethro – sometimes called Raguel in the scriptures – was Moses’ father.  Moses wants Hobab to come along and show them the good places to stay.  At first, this sounds really like the right thing to do.  After all, if you are heading into the wilderness who wouldn’t want a scout who knows all the good places to lead them?

But think about what that inherently says.  Moses is asking Hobab to be their guide when he has the cloud to lead them!  And what is the cloud?  The cloud is the very presence of God!  Quite subtly and perhaps without even knowing that he is doing it, Moses is denying his reliance upon God.  He is subtly stating that he would rather rely on a scout made of flesh and blood than God.  When stated like this, it seems so wrong.  That’s why I personally hope Moses doesn’t even realize what he is doing here.

I can certainly forgive Moses – especially if the intent I hint at here is unintentional and subconscious as I believe it to be.  I am prone to doing this very same thing.  I know that I should lean on God as my guide through this life.  I know He should be my religious and spiritual leader.  I know His plans and His ways are the ways that I should follow.  But so often I seem to want some human being to come and show me the way.  No, the Lord is my shepherd, not some human being.  The Lord is my Rock, my Strength, my Shield – not some human being.

Mentoring

But before this gets taken the wrong way, let’s not forget that sometimes God intends for us to follow people who are following Him.  For example, God intentionally sent Moses to the Hebrew people so they could follow Moses.  Of course, Moses is following God.  When God sends us someone in our life to follow, then we should follow them.  Woe upon us if we do not follow someone that God sends into our life!  But unless a person is sent by God to be our guide, we should focus on following God directly.

In fact, as one of those people who often gets labeled as “someone to follow spiritually”– since I am a pastor – I would advocate that when we choose to follow someone because God sent them that we still must hold them accountable.  Everyone is prone to straying from the path, God’s messengers are no different. It is hard to solely depend upon God – even for the ultra-close to God like Moses!  Moses in this story is subtly beginning to stray from depending upon God.  So, please make sure that we hold our leaders accountable.  Let there be no blind faith among us – unless that blind faith rests purely upon God.  And even then, let our faith not be blind but informed by His ever-present Word.

<>< 

Year 1, Day 124: Numbers 9

A few things hit me today as I read through this passage about the defiled people still wanting to celebrate the Passover.  Forgive me if this post seems a little random, but I have a few agenda items of which I want to blog.

Admitting We Don’t Have the Answers

First, I really like what Moses does here.  He says “I don’t know the answer, but I will find out.”  Of course, then He actually does go find out the answer.  Some people think they know everything and refuse to acknowledge something they don’t know.  Some people think their spiritual leaders should have all the answers.   

I’ve even seen people make stuff up on important questions rather than admit they don’t know something!  Other people legitimately say what they know and confess what they don’t, honestly reporting their findings when they discover them.  And then there is a third group.  These people use the “I don’t know” as an excuse.  They honestly don’t know something, they confess it, but they never research it or report back with any kind of findings.  I think it is important to note that Moses is in the middle category – the good category of leadership.

Reaching Into the New Testament

Second, here’s an interesting New Testament connection.  Depending on the timeline that you use for Holy Week, note that when Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus – members of the Sanhedrin – took down Jesus’ body from the cross they defiled themselves and could not participate in Passover.  I had honestly never thought about that before, but it is true.  Their touching a dead body would have interfered with their ability to remember Passover.  No doubt both of them remembered the Passover a month later.  The legal means put forth in this chapter reach into the lives of those people who care for the dead body of God’s Messiah!

Grace Amidst the Law

Third, note that this ability to observe Passover in the second month is a sign of grace in the midst of the law.  God would rather us delay our remembrances so that we can make ourselves ritually right before Him than plunge ahead without concern for our ritual purity.  This one is far deeper than it appears. 

It is a call for us to take seriously our ritual purity.  If you know that you are going to be spending time with God in worship, try not to defile yourself beforehand!  But if you do, confess your defilement to the religious leader who can then go to God and figure out how to deal with the disparity between human defilement and God’s holiness.  We should not hide our defilement in our hearts and assume that nobody knows.  At the very least, God knows – and God is the one that matters!

Cut Off

Fourth, and perhaps most troubling of the group of ideas, is this idea of being “cut off” from the people.  We hear that expression all over the Old Testament.  The specific phrase “cut off from his people” appears 11 times in the ESV translation of the Old Testament.  The words “cut off” and “people” appear together in 22 different verses in the ESV’s translation of the Old Testament.  Did God expect this to be taken seriously?  What would it mean if we actually practiced this today?  What would it mean if families and churches took this idea seriously?  Would we even have the guts to do so?

I think of times in our culture where we use the words “cut off.”  Bartenders cut off patrons who have had enough to drink.  Rehab centers cut off patients who are addicted to drugs and other addictive substances.  Sexual partners cut off sexual experiences between them when there is serious trouble in the relationship.  Each of these places tell me that our communities understand that when someone is doing something so harmful to who they are as a person then there is just cause for cutting someone off from the offending behavior.  Our society understands that being cut off has situational necessity.  So that leads me to a simple conclusion.  Since we never “cut anyone off” religiously, we must not consider falling away from honoring God all that serious of a problem.

Think about it and it makes sense – although it is a harsh critique of our families and our churches.  It shows that we value peace among our family/church more than we value true relationship with God.  Much like a family hides a secret about the family drunk, we as faith groups hide our secrets about the faithless.  Rather than confront the issue and either cure it or drive its harmfulness away, we hide it and ignore it as best we can.

Now, I am not saying we should cut off everyone who does the small sin.  Everyone sins – and God Himself knows this.  Furthermore, those who truly repent regardless of the sin have no need to fear being cut off at any time!  People in the Old Testament who sinned were not shunned or cut off, they were expected to repent and ask forgives from their God.  So should our response be when people in our communities/families sin against us.

Just for fun, let’s look at what some things are that the Old Testament lifts up as worthy of being cut off from the people:

·      Genesis 17:14 – someone who is not circumcised

·      Exodus 30:33 – someone who misuses the holy oil for anointing

·      Exodus 30:38 – someone who mimics the incense of worship as perfume

·      Leviticus 7:20-21 – someone who eats of the Lord’s sacrifice while being unclean

·      Leviticus 7:25 – someone who eats the fat of an animal capable of being sacrificed to God

·      Leviticus 7:27 – someone who eats the blood of an animal

·      Leviticus 17:9 – someone who offers a burnt offering anywhere but at the tabernacle

·      Leviticus 19:8 – someone who eats of a peace offering to the Lord on the third (or later) day

·      Leviticus 23:29 – someone who does not participate in the Day of Atonement

·      Numbers 9:13 – someone who does not keep the Passover

If we look at these, what we see is that common sins – fornication, adultery, lying, cheating, drunkenness, stealing, even murder! – are not things that deserve “shunning” or being cut off.  Someone who deserves to be cut off is someone who actively denies our covenant with God.  A person who denies their faith is cut off.  A person who rejects God is cut off.  A person who defiles God’s worship is cut off.  A person who has no intention of honoring that which is holy, or separate, is cut off. 

As you can see, all people sin.  So long as there is repentance there is forgiveness and no need to cut someone off for sin.  But when a person directly confronts the holiness of God, that person is to be cut off.

Of course, God is a loving and forgiving God.  I genuinely believe that if a person trespasses against God’s holiness and comes to repentance before his death, then God would forgive even the person who is cut off.  This is, however, just my hopeful opinion.

Realizing One’s Transgression of the Holiness of God

But it raises the question, how does a person who has transgressed the holiness of God know the severity of the deed?  The simple answer is that they are confronted by being cut off.  People must be made to understand the gravity of transgressing against the holiness of God.  We should not be actively condemning anyone – although certainly we should be leading them to repentance!  But we should be very wary of those who actively transgress upon the holiness of God. 

What exactly that looks like in practice, I don’t know.  I’m going to have to do some thinking about that one.  I just wanted us to refine our thinking about being cut off, who should be cut off, and whether or not we take this practice seriously in our families, churches, and communities today.

Moving the Camp

Okay, my blog is already long and I haven’t even touched the movement of the people in the second half of this chapter.  So, I’ll save that for three years from now.  But I will say this.  The people move when God wants them to move.  They wait when God wants them to wait.  The very movement of the camp demonstrates God’s authority over the people.

<>< 

Year 1, Day 123: Numbers 8

The Work of God

I was reading Richard Lawrence this morning.  Richard makes an interesting point in his commentary called The Bible Reader’s Companion.  He says, “Some view heaven as a place where the redeemed stand idle, strumming harps. But throughout the O.T. those who have been closest to God have been the most active!  Heaven will be filled with work and worship.  And those committed to work and worship experience a foretaste of heaven now!”

Why do I bring forth this point about heaven as we read about Numbers 8?  Well, it is really simple.  This chapter states {again} that the Levites are a special people, chosen from among the Hebrew people.  But what is it the Levites are called to do?  We know from a few chapters ago that they weren’t allowed to fight.  We also know that they were given a separate place among the community to dwell – as a buffer between God and the people.  This points us towards what the Levites were called to be.  They were not just called to be separate, but they were called into a work for the Lord. 

They didn’t work for themselves.  In an interesting twist of fate, they don’t even work for the Hebrew people, although their work certainly does benefit the Hebrew people.  They work for God and for God alone.  It goes back to the quote with which I began this blog entry.  Those who are the closest to God are often the most active in His work, and those truly committed to God now can work and worship God now!  As God’s priests under Christ, this same principle applies to us.  Those closest to God are going to be about His work in this world.

Retirement of the Levites

We then turn to the retirement of the Levites.  They have a mandated retirement age.  However, notice what it says here.  The priests may help after retirement, but they are not to actually do the work themselves.  They can still be involved, but the burden of responsibility is passed on to the next generation.

I wonder how often this principle is overlooked in our churches.  How often do people who are afraid of their church “changing” insist on keeping hold of the reins?  Rather than pass along the baton to the next generation, who are equipped with the ability to bring about change in order to meet the spiritual sensitivities of the upcoming generation, people hold onto the reins and intentionally block change.  By holding on longer than they should, the church stays the same while the culture changes around it.  Pretty soon the church may have a relevant message but it has no relevant means by which to communicate this message.  This is most easily brought about by people who are too focused on both preventing change and refusing to trust in the upcoming generations to lead.

Remembering Leviticus 7

Now, this puts me back in conflict with the points that I blogged about yesterday.  Does the shape of our worship or Christian life matter so long as it is genuine?  If we are to embrace change, what can be said for appreciating the rote about which I spoke yesterday?  Let’s look at this from two perspectives:

From God’s perspective:  God desires genuineness in worship, not perfection.  God desires a heart that longs for Him rather than a rehearsed tradition that happens without thought.  I believe that God can enjoy, accept, and appreciate true worship in whatever shape that happens to be – so long as it brings glory to God.  This can be with contemporary music, hymns, guitars and drums, prayer service, liturgies and a bunch of other things too many to mention.

However, from an evangelical perspective I believe our worship form absolutely matters.  If people are walking into the service and are uncomfortable, they are not likely to return.  Again, the shape of discomfort can take many forms.  Some people may feel discomfort in traditional liturgy.  Others may feel discomfort in a contemporary style.  Still others may find discomfort in a rock service.  Others may find discomfort in a healing service, or a prayer service, or whatever.  There is no one right form for worship.  From a human perspective it is absolutely important that the worship be structured so as to be able to be one tool in our evangelistic nature.  Ultimately, I think this is one of the main reasons why the Levites are forced to retire.  They can assist, but they cannot get in the way of ministry meeting the culture where the culture actually is.

<>< 

Year 1, Day 122: Numbers 7

89 verses later …

Sorry, I couldn’t resist.

Reading and Receiving Gifts

I wonder if that simple sentiment captures your attitude when reading this text.  I know it did mine.  It is one thing to read a book that is interesting and exciting.  But within these 89 verses are 12 paragraphs that with the exception of the name of the leader and the tribe that the leader is from these paragraphs are completely identical.  They give the same gift, day after day.  I confess that it felt a bit monotonous to read.  I wonder if you were like me and found yourself skipping along the text just checking to make sure that the paragraph that you were reading was the same as the four that had come before it, knowing that it would also be the same as the 7 that would come after it.

I wonder how God felt receiving the identical gifts.  I’m willing to bet that He did not tire of the monotony as I tired merely of reading it.  That’s the greatness of God.  God does not tire of good things as we do.  An earnest gift brought before God is treasured, valued, and remembered.  It doesn’t matter if it is the same gift as yesterday.  What is important is not the scope of the gift but the genuineness of the faith and person who offers the gift.

For the record, this principle works gloriously in reverse.  When the people are in the Promised Land and they are bringing glorious gifts but have no spiritual motivation God does not receive their gifts. The glory and the splendor are nothing compared to the heart within.  See Hosea 6:6 or Psalm 51:16-17.

Pondering My Response to 89 Verses

So I am left to ponder a few things.  First, shame on me for tiring of reading about the repetitive and meaningful gifts to the Lord.  Shame on me for tiring of the same Kyrie sung every Sunday, or the same group that meets weekly, or the same Bible I pick up and read every day.  Shame on me for tiring of the things that sustain my faith.

Second, it makes me wonder about the religious practices in which I am involved.  Is God receiving religious practices that are genuinely offered – or is He sitting through the repetitive worship that is not genuine?  We know full well from this passage that God doesn’t tires of honest repetitive practice.  But we also know from later in the prophets that God does indeed tire of meaningless worship.  So, which is it for me – or for you?  Are we honestly giving God a worship of which He will never tire or are we wearing Him down with a worship of which He is already tired?  There is nothing wrong with worship of any kind – so long as it is truly God-centered and erupting out of our faith in Him.

Recently I’ve come across a really neat teaching.  Ritual leads to religion, discipline leads to discipleship.  Even the Pharisees of Jesus’ day prove this point.  They were doing a great number of spiritual practices, but their lives weren’t changing!  Jesus’ disciples pick up a few spiritual disciplines from their mentor and their lives change drastically!

Unity

There is another thing to be said here.  With the same gift being brought forth by each tribe, there was a clear focus on unity.  They weren’t interested in outdoing each other.  They weren’t interested in competition or to see who could offer up the best gift to God. 

Their faith led them to unity in worship.  They may have all had their differences, but when it was time to worship God they worshipped Him first and foremost in a way that was pleasing to God.  And I think that is also significant.  How many times do we want to worship in a way that is pleasing to us?  How many times do we demand worship experiences that are building in spirituality so that the ones we have this year make the ones we had 10 years ago seem like an immature spirituality?  That is what we want. 

How often do we approach the idea of worship as something that God wants?  Does the form and shape of our worship really matter – so long as it is pleasing to God?  Which is more important – the fact that our worship is pleasing to God or that it is pleasing to us?

<>< 

Year 1, Day 121: Numbers 6

The Nazarite Vow

The Nazirite Vow is an incredibly powerful moment in the scriptures.  Here is the way for any lay person to voluntarily lift themselves up into a special relationship with God.  Any Hebrew person could dedicate their life (or a portion therein) to God and be holy regardless of whether or not you were a Levite.

However, there are a few things that have to happen.  First – it is up to the person to make the decision.  The priest didn’t appoint people to be in the vow.  The priest didn’t tell people to do it.  It was up to the individual to decide to make this promise of dedication.  So it is with all things of faith.  God gives faith {and salvation!} to all who wish to receive it.  But one must decide to live according to the gift of faith once it is received.

Second, notice the restriction for fruit of the vine counts all grapes – whether fermented or not.  As I pondered this, I found a possible answer within one commentary I read.  In order to have grapes, one must lead the life of having a home.  You don’t often find wild grapes in enough quantities to make wine or even grape juice.  So this prohibition against grapes in any form is likely a reminder of the nomadic lifestyle.  Let me put it bluntly: to be holy to the Lord means that our home is not in this world.  To truly be holy in the presence of the Lord means living this truth, not just saying it or even believing it.  Faith is best when practiced.

Now, I am not saying we should all give up wine and all grape products.  If we did, communion would certainly be different!  However, I am suggesting that we take some time today to pause and remember this Nazirite vow and how it asserts the principle that Paul tells us in 2 Corinthians 5:6: “As long as we are at home in the body we are absent in the Lord.”  If we are at home in the body, then we are absent from the Lord.  Let that translation from the ESV soak in a little bit, because that nails this “nomadic” attitude precisely here in Numbers.

For the record, the prohibition for shaving the head as well as the contact with the dead bodies can have the same kind of spin on them.  A nomad does not have the time nor the convenience for keeping their beard and head well trimmed.  A person who is truly living for God and not living for the world shouldn’t even care about whether or not their appearance is pleasing to the world! 

As for the dead bodies – notice that the text makes a point to specify “not even for father, mother, brother, or sister.”  While this again might sound harsh, remember what we said multiple times about the past texts regarding dead bodies.  How many funerals are about worshipping the dead person and not worshipping God?  How many mourning people allow their grief to prevent them from proclaiming God’s love, grace, and mercy?  Human beings have a tendency to make idols out of both our families as well as our grieving process.  The prohibition here about dead bodies will clearly prevent a person from making an idol out of something or someone that they shouldn’t.

As with the grapes, I’m not also saying that we should give up funerals and cutting our hair.  But I think we should do some serious thinking about how much effort we put on “looking good” for the world.  I think we should do some pretty serious thinking about how we grieve when someone dies.  {Grief is inevitable, but there are ways to grieve that honor God first and foremost.}  A holy people are to act holy, not just say they are holy or believe that they are holy.

Defilement within the Vow

Also, notice that if the person becomes defiled in the midst of their vow, the whole time is lost.  That is a steep consequence!  However, being separate from the world is not easy nor for the faint of heart.  The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few.  Wide is the gate that leads to destruction, narrow is the gate that leads to eternal life.  It is not easy to follow God’s ways in this world.  Not many will choose to do so.  When we make the “entrance requirements” easy we give people a false sense of security that isn’t fair to them.  Read the three parables of Matthew 25 if you don’t believe me.  Read up on what Bonheoffer calls Cheap Grace and Costly Grace in His book The Cost of Discipleship.  God doesn’t call us to be His followers when its convenient or easy.  He calls us to follow Him, period.

Aaronic Blessing

This leads me to what is typically referred to as the Aaronic blessing – a blessing we often use in our worship still to this day.  To tie it in with the Nazirite vow, let me merely say that the emphasis of this blessing is “The Lord” and not the individual being blessed.  The Lord is mentioned at the beginning of each stanza of the blessing.  The emphasis of this blessing is that it is the Lord who blesses us, who keeps us, looks upon us, and gives us peace.  The Nazirite vow was not easy and it was about separation for the Lord – or to be with the Lord if you will.  The Aaronic blessing likewise reminds us that it is the Lord that is important, not the things of this world.

Amen.  May we do a better job remembering that in the future.

<><