Wednesday, February 9, 2011

numbers 14-16

Wow....tough stuff.....what do we make of this.  It seems to be such a harsh punishment for rebellion.  And yet we remember how Pharaoh's heart hardened as he refused to comply with God and the price of that hardness was the lost of the 1st born of all of Egypt.  Even as loving parents we know that we cannot allow a child to continue in a rebellious state.  Such perpetual rebellion leads to destruction and surely Israel's rebellion was serious with serious consequences.

God has promised this land to Israel since the time of Abraham and here they are on the brink of occupying it and they hesitate.  They hesitate, perhaps because it seems that it may be difficult to take it from those who now occupy it.  Has God ever called you to a difficult thing?  God does not make all things easy and yet still he is with us in even the most difficult of settings.  He calls missionaries to enter hostile lands in the name of the Prince of Peace, he calls us to love our enemies, he calls us to love the "least and the lost" and to be peacemakers in times of war.  None of these are easy and yet God equips us, prepares us and calls us to enter into the land of Giants in his name, to do his will, to "occupy" the land.  Failing to move forward can only mean that we are moving backward.....perhaps even into the wilderness, never again to have the opportunity to move into the land of milk and honey.  Those who refused to enter recieved a sentence of 40 years.....until all adult males 20 years and older perished in the desert.  Only Caleb and Joshua would be allowed to enter.  Is their a correlation here for us at Faith UMC?  Let us walk by Faith knowing that God will not always make it easy for us, but still he demands obedience.

Immediately in the 15 chapter, God begins to speak again of the time when they will occupy the promised land as he speaks through Moses telling the people how they will offer sacrifices that are pleasing aromas to him.  He reminds Israel that there is no distinction between alien and Israelite.....is this a precursor to Paul's words, "neither slave nor free, male nor female, Jew or Gentile".  Certainly God's hope is for every human being.  All who come by faith will be saved.  As a reminder the Israelites are to fashion tassels on the corners of their garments with a blue thread hanging from the tassel to remind them of God's law.  Why a blue thread.  Remember back to the tabernacle.  The Ark of the Covenant is covered by a blue cloth.  The Tabernacle contains blue curtains.  The Priestly garments contain blue.  The blue thread is to remind them of God's law and God's presence in and among them.  What do you use to remind you of God's presence in your life?

Chapter 16 is again about rebellion.  In this instance it is a group of levites who wish to be priests.  God isn't having any of it.  When the levites stand before the temple with the censers containing incense and fire they are performing a Priestly duty and God reminds them and all the people that only Aaron and his descendants have been prepared for these duties.  He brings fire down to destroy the 250 and then has Aaron take their bronze censors and pound them into a covering for the altar as a perpetual reminder of who is in charge of the tabernacle and the calling of the Priest.  Further rebellion leads to a plague striking the people and their is the Priest, Aaron, rushing into the stricken people to stand between the people and the death that comes in the form of the plague.  14,700 die, but what would have happened if Aaron had not stood with the people?  Is that not what the church is called to do?  To stand in places where death is all around and become and intercessor for the people?  is that not what Christ has done for us?

Finally, this entire 16th chapter is an illustration about what happens when there is division in the camp.  Much is written in the New Testament by Paul about the importance of unity in the body.  One of the reasons that Faith has been successful in recent years has been the absence of strife within the body.  We must be careful to work out our disagreements in ways that are pleasing to God.  We must work to be one in the Spirit and one in the Lord lest our disagreements invoke God's displeasure with those who are in the camp.

2 comments:

  1. I really look forward to your take on our reading everyday. Thank you for your faithfulness and incite. It’s an encouragement to know that I’m reading along with many.

    Among the rebellion and punishment, oddly enough, I found hope. I wrote this in the margin next to chapter 14, “How close am I to seeing God’s promises revealed? Keep trusting, keep believing, and never forget who He is!” What a wonderful reminder that we walk by faith, not by sight.

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  2. …and yet, if another blessing never comes from His hand, I’ve already been given more than I deserve. His grace is sufficient for me.

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