Tag: Moses

Getting it Twisted

One of the more surprising things in the Gospel of John is when Jesus says that He must be lifted up by God in the same way that Moses lifted up the snake in the desert. If we go back to that snake in the desert, we see that God used the instrument of destruction to bring about healing. We call that “redemption”. But here we see that King Hezekiah (the most righteous king of Judah) had to DESTROY the bronze serpent because people began to worship it. Seems like we will worship just about ANYTHING, if it doesn’t get the in way of us doing exactly what we want to do. And so the people took a thing originally designed for good and twisted it for evil. To the point where it had to be destroyed for the salvation of those very people.

Just because something was designed for good or accomplished good, doesn’t mean it will always be good for all time. We still need to evaluate those things. I know as a pastor I have done events that were a huge success the first time, but didn’t yield the same results the following year. I think it’s important that we bring everything back to God. And if that event, or job, or thing, or dream that God gave you has become twisted… it might be time to destroy it and start fresh.

The Least & The Greatest

Another day chock-full of all manner of things to dig into, it’s hard to choose where to focus.

I think I want to take a minute and contrast our man Gideon with the previous judge, Deborah. Now, we don’t know either of these people of antiquity overly well, but what I find interesting is how far their stories diverge.

Gideon is not the leader we would expect, being a small man from a small tribe, and Deborah was an unlikely leader just because she was a woman. But God called both of them to lead.

Deborah did not want to go fight, but Barak pleaded with her to join him and so she did, and Israel was successful. Whereas Gideon needed all kinds of proof. Burn this up. And make this wet. And keep this dry. And show me a bizarrely specific interpretation of a WEIRD dream. Gideon needed so much hand-holding by God. But some of us need more prodding than other. This is no shade on Gideon, but then…

Deborah helps Barak to lead a successful campaign and co-writes a victory song with him that both starts AND ends with the Lord. Yahweh. The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

Gideon leads multiple successful campaigns, accepts fame, donations, takes a multitude of wives, makes a golden Ephod that the people of Israel WORSHIP, and which also becomes a trap for him. One of his sons ends up killing all the others… there were 70.

As a teen (I only accepted Christ at the age of 15, so I never did Sunday School) I heard about Gideon and Samson, but I never heard about Deborah. Gideon had many battles and accomplished great feats. Samson did the same… or did they? The fact is that these were two broken people used by God to accomplish HIS purposes. They actually contributed very little to their own success, but they were more than willing to bask in it.

Yet Deborah goes largely overlooked. Almost like an afterthought… did you know there was a FEMALE judge? Oooh! How unorthodox and wacky! Yet her quiet confidence and upward-facing attitude are what we claim to value most in both our leaders and ourselves.

I guess what I’m driving at is that we ought to remember that the people in the Bible were not special people that God chose. They BECAME special people because God chose them. So let’s not hoist up the ones God used to most brightly reveal His glory (if I am honest, I have very little interest in being like Gideon, or Samson… or Pharaoh). Instead let’s look for those, like Deborah, or Ruth, or Boaz, or Moses who tried to stay humble and honour the Lord with upright actions and a dedication to obedience.

Judges 7:1-9:21 | 092/365

Submission to the Lord’s Judgement

God decides it is time to visit His judgement on the Midianites. The tribes of Israel each prepare 1000 fighting men. 12,000 in total. This is far less than the total fighting personnel available. And they easily defeat the Midianites. All 5 kings fall in the battle. A sobering reminder of what could have been in the promised land if the Israelites had trusted God as prompted by Caleb and Joshua.

But it gets interesting when the soldiers return with the women and children as prisoners, or servants, or whatever the law allowed. Moses and Eleazar were furious and told the soldiers to kill the boys and any non-virgin women. But why?

The women part is pretty simple: these were the women who tried to draw their hearts away from God. And He had already pronounced His judgement on them. They could not be spared. They played a crucial part in the idolatry of Israel.

But why the boys? Because the judgement was carried out on the Midianites. And in that culture the boys passed down the lineage. So as long as these boys lived, so too did the Midianites. They had to die for God’s judgement to be completed. On an apologetic note, it is worth mentioning that these boys could well have been very young. Under the age of accountability. If so, I think it is reasonable that God visited an earthly judgement upon them, but then received them to Himself. They might well be in Heaven and we might expect to be able to talk with them when we get there.

When event like this come up in the Bible we like to get outraged, furrow our brows and click our tongues and say (to ourselves or others)… God should have done [your idea here].

Remember that God has an eternal perspective and knows everything. In fact, He knows MORE than everything, He knows everything that would have been, had circumstances been different. He can account for any counterfactual you can imagine. The takeaway is this:

You can’t out-justice God. You can’t out-mercy God. You can’t out-love God. If you and He disagree, you are the one who is wrong.

Mar 10 | Num 30-31 | 068/365

Putting Our Money Where Our Mouth Is

So far in Leviticus and through the back half of Exodus we have gotten a great deal of instruction from God through Moses. We got case law, regulations, best practices, and punishments for crime. Some of it is thick and worth contextualizing and explaining, like why Molech — of all the Mesopotamian “gods” — was singled out, or why ‘dishonouring’ your mother or father requires a death punishment, or even why an animal and it’s mother cannot be killed as an offering on the same day.

But while that all would be genuinely interesting, the thing that most stood out to me from today’s reading was right near the end. Leviticus 22:31 (NLT) says, “You must faithfully keep all my commands by putting them into practice, for I am the LORD.” I love the way the NLT puts this as opposed to other translations, because it underscores something most of us still need to hear today.

It’s not enough to profess that we believe something. If we don’t put it into practice, our actions will betray our words. My kids don’t doubt that I love them, because I put that love into practice. The same is true for my wife. I continue to be gainfully employed because I practice a good work ethic. There a a myriad of examples, you can probably rattle off a few without thinking too deeply about it yourself.

But it is likely because you are confessing or stating something that is true in your heart — in the core, the centre of who you are. That’s why Paul says in Romans 10 that you need to BOTH confess with your mouth AND believe in your heart. You confess “Jesus is Lord” with the conviction of a heart that believes He was raised from the dead.

Word are easy. Actions are hard. Let’s practice what we preach.

Feb 23 | Lev 20-22 | 054/365

Making It Right

There is much todo about sin throughout the Pentateuch (the first five books of the Old Testament: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy). And much of it is sin against God. The things we do that are an affront to Him and His law. But God isn’t simply worried about how we treat Him, but also how we treat each other.

In Leviticus 6 God gives Moses specific instruction regarding the mistreatment of each other. The Lord specifically cites cheating, security deposits, stealing, fraud, lost property, and lying under oath. Then He hits Moses with that catchall of “or any other such sin”. God was deeply concerned that we deal fairly with each other.

But what’s interesting is not that God says these things are sins, but rather what He says we are expected to do about it. The pattern so far has been sin:offering, sin:offering, sin:offering. So naturally that’s what we expect to see here, but it is not. Because there is a crucial difference. We are not committing a sin against God that ONLY requires an offering, we are committing a sin against a fellow image-bearer of God, a member of our community of faith. We cannot simply give an offering to God and dust our hands of the situation.

God says explicitly that we have to make it right first. Give back what you stole, took, found, or obtained. AND THEN add 20% on top. It is not enough that we seek to get right with God while there is still a matter outstanding with our sisters and brothers. We are called to go over and above to make it right, and only THEN do we go to God for the final forgiveness.

This is an act of contrition, repentance, and reconciliation. How can we stand before God and claim to be sorry while the person we wronged is left hurting? It isn’t possible. We need to make it right before we can make it right.

Leviticus 4-6 | 048/365

Digging Deeper

Leviticus often gets a bad rap for being “boring”. Disagree. Leviticus is drastically underrated. Numbers, however, I am fully ready to admit can seem like a slog at times. Today’s passage is a prime example of just that. Upon first reading this can be a dry, repetitive list seemingly without any purpose. But I think there are several things we can pull out of today’s chunk. This is sort of a potpourri, but next year I’ll go deeper on one of them. haha

1) The Tabernacle and its furnishings have been set aside for the Lord, but now they are anointed for that purpose. Much like the Levites themselves are anointed before the people for service to the Lord, so too are the instruments of that service. Why would this ceremony be necessary?

2) When God speaks to Moses, He speaks from the Place of Atonement, the Mercy Seat atop the Ark. This underscores not God’s holiness, justice, or provision… but His mercy. Why is that what He chooses to highlight?

3) All 12 tribes come on consecutive days to bring the exact same offering. And each is counted out in meticulous detail. Why is it important that all members of the community of faith are contributing to the work of the faith with the same devotion and giving?

4) The tribes of Judah, Issachar, Zubulun, Reuben, and Simeon are the first to bring their offerings. These presentations do not follow birth order… so what (if anything) is the significance to this order? Perhaps worth noting that the first 5 tribes are all the direct descendants of Jacob’s first wife, Leah. What does this signal about marriage?

5) Of all the tribes, Judah is first to offer. What do we know about the future of the tribe of Judah that might make this noteworthy?

We could still look at the animals, ages, genders, weights, materials, contents, etc. What I’m saying is: don’t settle for a surface reading. All scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training to equip us for every good work.

Numbers 7 | 046/365

Black Sabbath

Exodus 35:2 (NET) says, “In six days work may be done, but on the seventh day there must be a holy day for you, a Sabbath of complete rest to the Lord. Anyone who does work on it will be put to death.”

Woah, coming in strong there!

Why?

Well, God is continually exhorting the Israelites not to make treaties and negotiate with other nations. Typically such treaties were sealed with marriages where a daughter from one side would marry a son on the other. This made a family bond. And families will be influenced by their members in both directions. This is just how it works.

And the Israelites seemed to be a special case. They did not even need any more outside influences. Moses was gone for 40 days and in that time they invented a new god to worship! Exceptional. So they have this Sabbath day, a weekly reminder of their covenant with God Almighty. And anyone who decides that they want to break covenant with God and the people of Israel is to be put to death. This — shocking as it might appear to us today — was for self-preservation. Israel had a difficult-enough time staying faithful to God with outside distractions and wandering minds, let alone if one of their own members was actively breaking the faith.

And while Sabbath adherence is not required under the New Covenant, it is still a good, valuable, and highly recommended practice. Work can become an idol. It can become our identity. That is a danger, and a real one, but simply having a day off will not protect our spiritual lives. Shopping, errands, kids sports and camps, birthday parties, and other commitments can eat up that day off to the point where we no longer “have time” for God. And our day of rest for the Lord become a day of service to ourselves.

Protect your time with God. As you press into the Lord, you will find clarity and direction in other areas of your life. And if you don’t, your heart will grow cold towards Him and ultimately you will turn away from Him and your path to the grave will be set. And in that way if we do not set aside time for the Lord, we will be put to death — ironically enough — by our own hand.

Exodus 35-36 | 043/365

Set Apart

The Israelites fall prey to their own impatience and the weak leadership of Aaron. The people couldn’t wait 40 days, they made a gold cow and worshipped it, Moses made them drink the cow, they got sick… suffice it to say it was a wild time.

Shortly after this series of events Moses would come before the Lord in the Tent of Meeting just outside the camp. There he would ask the Lord who was being sent with the Israelites on their journey. God says He will go with Moses. Moses rejects this proposal. Seriously. Just like Moses rejected the proposal to wipe out the Israelites entirely and become the new father of the nation of Israel himself. Moses was a leader who truly, genuinely cared about his people. Moses was a shepherd who fought for his sheep. Moses told God — basically — it is not enough that you go with me, you must go with us as a nation. If God will not lead the Israelites into the promised land, Moses would rather not go at all. God agrees to Moses proposal because he (Moses) has found favour with God.

A side note to pastors, elders, and other leaders… we should be interceding before God for our people with the fervour and resolve of Moses.

This leads to the sentence that most moved me this morning, as rendered in the NLT: “For Your presence among us sets Your people apart from all other people on the earth.”

This is still true today. Without the love and presence of the Lord in our lives, we look remarkably like everyone else. And more than that, we we claim to be children of the Lord, but there is no distinction between us and anyone else, that brings disrepute on the Lord. Here we are, claiming to be His special possession, but our lives bare no evidence of that?

Let’s press in to the Lord. Let’s seek his presence until we shine like Moses. Let us seek to be VISIBLY set apart from all the other people on the earth so that they can see the difference in us plainly and WANT to know the source of our joy.

Be blessed as you pursue the Lord today, brothers and sisters.

Feb 11 | Ex 32-34 | 042/365

Made For A Purpose

God has given Moses a long, heavily detailed description of the alter, ark, tabernacle, garments, incense, and other items (Did Moses have a notebook? iPhone? Palm Pilot?) that each require a significant amount of skill. And this is where the story gets interesting:

In Exodus 31 God tells Moses (not the other way around) that He has specially equipped a couple of guys for some of these specific tasks. Highly capable craftsmen. This would have been a skill they had possessed and developed all through their lives. But wait, it gets better! Exodus 31:6b says:

“Moreover, I have given special skill to all the gifted craftsmen so they can make all the things I have commanded you to make”

As a youth pastor I would often deal with students who were insecure and dealt with identity and confidence issues. “I’m not good enough” was such a common phrase that I wish I had been paid to hear it. But I became fond of telling these students — and I think it applies to all of us — that God has made you the way He needs you to be to accomplish His purposes. Let me say that again so you don’t let it go too quickly…

God has made you the way He needs you to be to accomplish His purposes.

Don’t measure yourself against a someone else who has an ability you wish you had. All that does is make you feel poorly about yourself. Rather, develop the gifts and skills that God HAS given you, so that when you get the call to use those skills you are ready to roll.

“[Because God has] given [you] special skill to [… do] all the things [He has] commanded you to [do].

Be blessed, walking in the confidence of a God who made you fearfully and wonderfully.

Exodus 29-31 | 041/365

They Had No Idea

After being rescued from the oppression of the Egyptians, the Israelites lack water, so they whine about it to Moses. Moses goes to God and He provides water. Some time later , the Israelites lack food, so they whine to Moses. Moses goes to God and He provides food. A flock of Quail descend of the encampment and died there. Meat! But God also sends what will become known as Manna. A food that more-or-less is dried dew. It was white and tasted like honey.

Actually, I think it may still be in the Ark of the Covenant (wherever that might be) and I very much would like to taste it. If anyone reading this ends up in possession of the Ark, reach out to me!

But what I find particularly interesting about this is the fact that the Israelites see this Manna in the morning, and have no clue what it is. They asked each other, “Hey, Al, any idea what this flakey white stuff is.” And Al replied, “I have no idea, Jim. I know that Moses told us the Lord would provide food for us, but that could not possibly be what this is. I was expecting bakery fresh bread!” Jim concurred, “Yes! And I was hoping for a delightful lentil soup!”

Okay, maybe it wasn’t exactly like that, but the fact remains that the people had the blessing of God there before them, ripe for the picking, and couldn’t see it for what it was.

It’s not enough that we believe God will provide for us, we need to stop expecting God to do what WE want and starting asking Him to open our eyes to see what HE wants. God loves you, but the world doesn’t revolve around you. God has a greater, longer, more wholistic view and the way he meets our needs and answers our prayers gives us NOT the thing that we WANT, but rather the thing that we NEED. Pray that the Lord would open your eyes to see the blessings before you for what they are.

Exodus 16-19 | 037/365