Moses’ Last Words

Readings for the day: Deuteronomy 1, 2, 3

You finished Numbers! Great job! Another book down! Some would say you’ve just made it through one of the toughest stretches of the Bible. Pat yourself on the back as we dig into Deuteronomy.  

The Book of Deuteronomy is a sermon. In fact, it is Moses’ final sermon to God’s people. His last will and testament as it were. His final chance to encourage. Challenge. Confront. Comfort. He’s now led Israel for decades. And he was no spring chicken when he got started! He’s led them out of Egypt. Led them through the wilderness. Led them through the ups and downs of the wilderness journey. He has personally witnessed the miracles of God. Delivered the Ten Commandments. Issued the Law. Under the mighty hand of God, he has created a system of worship, governance, economics, and military organization that will long outlast him. It is a remarkable accomplishment. 

Now he’s at the end of his life. He’s not going over the Jordan. He will not set foot in the Promised Land. What would you say in Moses’ position? Given one last chance to address God’s people, what would be on your heart and mind? What would you want them to know moving forward? What lessons would you hope they learned?  

One of my favorite speeches of all time was delivered April 3, 1968 by Martin Luther King Jr. on the eve of his assassination. He sounds a lot like Moses in my mind. “Well, I don’t know what will happen now. We’ve got some difficult days ahead. But it doesn’t matter with me now. Because I’ve been to the mountaintop. And I don’t mind. Like any man, I would like to live a long life. Longevity has its place. But I’m not concerned about that now. I just want to do God’s will. And He’s allowed me to go up to the mountain. And I’ve looked over. And I’ve seen the promised land. I may not get there with you. But I want you to know tonight, that we, as a people will get to the promised land. And I’m happy, tonight. I’m not worried about anything. I’m not fearing any man. Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord.” I think at the end of the day Moses, like King, was happy. He knew he couldn’t go over to the Promised Land but he died knowing his great work was finished. He had witnessed the salvation of God’s people. He had seen the glory of the Lord. 

When you finish your life, how will you feel? When you look back at all you’ve experienced. All you’ve accomplished. All you set out to do. When you think about your family. Your children. Your grandchildren. What will you want them to know about you? Say about you? Remember about you? Will it have anything to do with your faith in Christ? 

Death Penalty

Readings for the day: Numbers 33, 34, 35, 36

I worked for two years at New Jersey State Prison as a volunteer chaplain. NJSP is where the state of New Jersey sends the worst of the worst. Murderers. Violent criminals. Sex offenders. Gang leaders. Mafia dons. It is also where they used to house death row. I never was allowed into death row itself but I remember standing outside the door, looking in. It was a sterile environment and the men housed there were cut off from the general population. New Jersey abolished the death penalty in 2007, five years after I left. But from 1690 to 1963, they executed 361 people. 

The death penalty is a thorny subject for Christians. In theory, it does have biblical support drawn mainly from passages like we read today in Numbers 35. A careful reading of the passage reveals many fascinating details. Cities of refuge. Premeditated murder vs. accidental death. Avengers of blood. Congregational trials. Evidence. Witnesses. Motives. Methods. It’s a very specific passage that actually places limits on vengeance in a way that would have been striking to other ancient near east cultures. It employs the principle of lex talionis  or “an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.” Proportional justice. It keeps vendettas from forming between families and clans that last generations. 

Those who support the contemporary use of the death penalty on biblical grounds need to wrestle with the boundaries this passage sets. Provision must be made for the safety of the murderer while he/she awaits trial. Motive must be carefully discerned and the accuser is the one to carry out the sentence. If there was no premeditation, then the congregation is allowed to judge and show mercy by assigning the person to a city of refuge for a certain duration. (Lifetime of the current high priest.) There must be more than one witness to the crime. And you cannot tolerate murder in the land lest it become ritually polluted. 

Obviously, it’s quite the challenge to apply ancient near east law codes in a 21st century context. Layer in the obvious problems we have in our legal system with racial and economic injustice (statistically ethnic minorities and the poor are FAR more likely to be convicted in our culture), as well as the frequency with which our justice system convicts the wrong person (DNA evidence has been a game-changer here) and one can see why many would argue we should abolish the death penalty altogether. Furthermore, what are we do to with Jesus’ words in the Sermon on the Mount? “You have heard that it was said to those of old, 'You shall not murder; and whoever murders will be liable to judgment.' But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says, 'You fool!' will be liable to the hell of fire.” (Matt. ‭5:21-22‬) Clearly, Jesus is accusing all of us of being guilty of murder in our hearts! 

So what do we do? We must carefully and prayerfully consider our position on the death penalty. We must ask if it is just...not as an abstract concept but as a concrete practice. We must make sure our practices are just and if there is a hint of incompetence or injustice in the way we prosecute then we must forbear. Furthermore, we have to come to grips with the gravity of our actions. Executing another human being is deeply significant. The shedding of blood is not something to take lightly. Unjust killing pollutes the land in which we dwell. Furthermore, to take the life of another human being before they accept Christ as Lord and Savior consigns them to an eternity in hell. All these factors must weigh heavily on us as we wrestle with this issue in our society. 

Honest Questions

Readings for the day: Numbers 29, 30, 31, 32

It is important to read the Bible honestly. Eyes wide open. Not shying away from the difficult texts. Today’s readings are hard. They raise hard questions. They raise hard issues. They force us to grapple with our understanding of God and Israel and history. Thankfully, I have many friends who aren’t afraid to ask these questions and one, in particular, asked the following...

• ”Israel’s warriors slaughter thousands in battle, including women and children, and this pleases God? “
• ”I would expect 2 million people to have left some sort of footprint over the course of 40 or so years of wandering.” Where’s the archaeological evidence? 
• ”Anyone else wonder about all the animals sacrificed?” The number had to run into the millions! 

These are fantastic questions and the logistics of the Exodus has presented a puzzle to scholars for centuries. A few things to help you along as you read... 

First, Numbers was not written as a math textbook anymore than Genesis was written as a science textbook. Israel often reported their “numbers” collectively rather than individually and sometimes spoke hyperbolically to make a deeper point. For example, Numbers 11 talks about God giving quail to Israel to eat after they complained about the manna. One skeptic, doing the math, suggests God would have had to send 29 trillion quail if we take the calculations literally. Obviously, this is a misreading and the careful reader is able to make room for hyperbole without losing sight of the larger point. The Torah is not a system of equations to solve which is why Biblical numerology is junk science.  

Having said that, it doesn’t mean every detail of these stories should be taken allegorically or metaphorically. They did actually take place. There is real truth here that needs to be teased out. So, Israel’s battles. Yes, they were bloody affairs. Yes, Israel slaughtered entire cities and put entire populations to death. “Devoting cities to destruction” was an act of divine judgment with Israel serving as God’s instrument of holy justice. The nations Israel defeated and destroyed were evil by any definition. Filled with horrific practices like child sacrifice, sexual perversity, idol worship, economic exploitation, etc. The reality is these pagan nations earned their fate through their depravity. One can question the “fairness” of this approach since Israel engaged in some of these same practices but one also has to remember that what’s “fair” is God rightfully destroying the human race for its sin. Israel was only spared as an act of grace.  

Israel’s desert wanderings. Much archaeological research has been done in this area with little to show for it. (Of course, I read a recent account of a contemporary archaeologist doing work in Sinai on the 1973 Yom Kippur war who found an Israelite Jeep under 52 feet of sand! So you can imagine how deep the evidence for the Exodus might be buried after thousands of years!) The reality is very little physical evidence has been found except for a couple of Egyptian records and a spontaneous explosion of Canaanite settlements around 1200BC. (Right about the time we would expect them to appear according to Scripture.) This begs the question of the route Israel took. Several different ones have been proposed. Furthermore, there are no graves. No pottery. No “footprint” as the question above suggests. Of course, this isn’t unique to Israel. The Scythians who lived in the Russian steppes from 1000BC to the medieval era also left little trace. They too were a nomadic people. The reality is much of it is probably still to be found buried deep in the sand. 

Israel’s sacrifices. Without a doubt, life in ancient Israel was a virtual slaughterhouse. Practiced literally, the priests would be sacrificing millions of animals every single year. Here again the principle of representation applies as it is entirely possible one man’s sacrifice would “represent” an entire family, clan, or tribe. Furthermore, considerable latitude was given in ancient near east cultures when it came to the practical application of the law. At the same time, the sacrificial fires were kept burning day and night. By the time we get to the Temple in Jerusalem, the Talmud depicts priests wading knee deep in blood. It describes in some passages up to 1.2 million animals being slaughtered in a single day , something the Roman historian Josephus confirms. Archaeological evidence from dumps outside the city seem to confirm these findings as well. The reality is the sacrificial system of Israel created an enormous economic system that had to be supported by trade, animal husbandry, etc.  

Obviously, there’s a lot more that we could say about each of these topics but here’s the big point. The Bible continues to bear up under the closest scrutiny possible. There is no ancient book more studied, more dissected, more questioned, more challenged than the Bible. And yet it continues to stand the test of time. If we resist the temptation to turn it into a textbook and read thoughtfully, we find the overall narrative is confirmed over and over again. In fact, in 2009 archaeologists found a 2,700 year old seal with name “Isaiah” on it near another seal bearing the impression of King Hezekiah. This is quite possibly the first physical evidence we have of the Old Testament Prophet Isaiah! Incredible! 

Zeal for God’s Glory

Readings for the day: Numbers 25, 26, 27, 28

Baal is the Canaanite fertility god. Worshipped by the tribes occupying the Promised Land, he will continue to entice the people of Israel to abandon the true worship of the Living God. The Moabites and the Midianites (nomadic tribesman who wandered frequently much like the Bedouin’s today) worshipped Baal through sex and gluttony. They would hold massive parties where they would eat and drink to excess. In the midst of the drunkenness, they would engage in all kinds of sexual activity. All in an effort to show Baal how faithful they were to him so he would make their crops grow and their flocks multiply and open the wombs of all the women so they would bear children. So when Numbers 25 talks about the people of Israel “whoring” with the daughters of Moab, it is speaking literally. They were engaging in the worship practices of Baal and this was an abomination before the Lord. One of them even took it as far as bringing a Midianite woman before the Tabernacle and having sex with her in front of Moses and the whole congregation. It was a brazen act of defiance against God. 

If we don’t learn anything else from this passage, we must understand how serious God is about worship. Not just what we do on Sunday mornings for an hour but the worship we give Him every single day. God demands our single-minded devotion. God will not tolerate us worshipping other gods. God will not allow our love to be divided. It’s black or white. You either love God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength or you don’t. There really is no gray area. This doesn’t mean we will be perfect and God, in His graciousness, provides for our weaknesses. But the trajectory of our hearts must be set. God must be our North Star! God must be the sole object of our devotion! God alone is worthy to be praised! 

It is critical to think about this passage in context of what we read yesterday. Balaam was paid by the king of Moab to curse Israel. Several times, he makes the attempt only to have God intervene. God will not allow Israel’s enemies to curse her. He will protect and guard His people. But what about when Israel curses herself? What about when she brings judgment down on herself for her actions? What Balaam could not do, Israel did to herself by worshipping Baal at Peor and this incident becomes almost proverbial in the national life of Israel. It will show up again and again throughout the Old Testament. Deuteronomy, Joshua, Psalms, and Hosea all refer back to this moment in time when Israel broke the first commandment and abandoned her God. 

We aren’t so different, are we? Over and over again, God protects us. Provides for us. Guards us and keeps us. He rescues us from the curse of sin. He breaks the power of the devil. He overthrows death itself. But then we chase after other gods. We pursue success. We pursue wealth. We pursue comfort. We pursue safety. We make idols out of our children. Out of our health. Out of our professional careers.  We even bring these idols with us to worship and ask God’s blessing upon them! (I think of the picture that went viral this week of the religious cult in Pennsylvania asking God’s blessing on their AR-15’s! Craziness!)

Unfortunately, we do it all the time. I cannot tell you the number of people I have married over the years who engaged in premarital sex but then wanted God’s blessing on their relationship. I cannot tell you the number of people over the years who shared with me God told them to get divorced. I cannot tell you the number of people who told me they felt God blessed their adultery. It’s like we’re still worshipping the Baal of Peor! Friends, God will not be mocked! God will not tolerate our sin! We cannot pretend there won’t be consequences for our rebellion! It may not be Phineas with his spear but it could be much, much worse! "Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?' And then will I declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.” (Matt. ‭7:21-23‬)

What sin are you indulging in your life right now? What thoughts do you entertain? What feelings are you holding onto? What activities are you engaging in that will bring down God’s judgment? A man by the name of H. Richard Niebuhr once argued that too many Christians want to believe in a “God without wrath bringing men without sin into a Kingdom without judgment through the ministrations of a Christ without a Cross.” If you have fallen for this lie, you need to repent. If words like “judgment”, “sin”, “wrath”, etc. have fallen out of your vocabulary, you are in danger of missing out on the heart of the gospel. Yes, God is love. But because God is love, He hates our sin. Because God is love, He sent His Son to die. Because God is love, He bore the wrath we deserved. Paid the price we owed. Satisfied the judgment we earned. God’s love is not some warm fuzzy. It is fierce. Jealous. Loyal. Steadfast. True. And it will not tolerate any rivals. 

The Donkey that Spoke

Readings for the day: Numbers 21, 22, 23, 24

When I first became a Christian, I started eating at this little pit BBQ place off Arapahoe in Boulder. It was owned and operated by an amazing man named Bruce. Bruce was the son of the famous “Daddy Bruce” who served the homeless of Denver for so many years, making sure they got a full Thanksgiving dinner. Bruce Jr. was cut from the same cloth as his father. He not only served the homeless of Boulder well, he also was a strong believer in Jesus Christ. I don’t know that I’ve ever met someone quite like him. He literally could quote you chapter and verse from the whole Bible. He would quiz me every time I came in before he would make me any food. He would tell the best stories about how God had worked in his life. One day, he was sharing with me his frustrations with how biblically illiterate Christians tend to be. He was a black Baptist preacher and could preach with the best of them. I still remember the crescendo of his sermon that day...”Doug, when I’m in need don’t you give me Footprints in the Sand! I don’t need no Prayer of Serenity! Tell me about the donkey that spoke! Now that’s in the Bible!” I still chuckle to this day every time I think of it!

Today we read a crazy story about a fortune-teller named Balaam and his donkey. Israel is moving towards the Promised Land. God is going to fulfill His promise to Abraham. But it won’t be easy. The land is already occupied. There are forces arrayed against them along the way. Nations and tribes and cities whom they will have to fight in order to claim this promise as their own. Arad. Amorites. Bashan. All fall before Israel. All are put to the sword. Devoted to destruction. And now it’s Moab’s turn. (If you remember, the Moabites are descendents from Lot who was Abraham’s nephew. His oldest daughter got him drunk and slept with him in order to get pregnant. So these are distant cousins of Israel.) One can almost imagine living in those days. Getting word of a new superpower rising from slavery. Defeating the Egyptians. Overrunning all who oppose them. Fear and trembling seize the Moabites. So Balak, their king, sends for Balaam. His hope is that Balaam will use his magic to put a curse on Israel, thus weakening them so they can be defeated. But Balaam is visited by God. God commands Balaam not to go with the princes of Moab. However, Balaam eventually relents before the pressure and promises Balak brings to bear. So he mounts his donkey and begins his journey. It’s not long before the donkey freezes in its tracks. It can see the angel of the Lord blocking their path. Balaam, in his blindness both physically and spiritually, is unaware. God opens the mouth of the donkey (insert your favorite Shrek scene) and speaks to Balaam. The net result of all this is that Balaam will indeed go to Balak but will only speak blessings over Israel. 

So what are we to make of all this? Magic? Fortune-telling? Donkeys that speak? The point here is that God uses all things to accomplish His purposes. Even our superstitions. Remember when Jacob peeled poplar and almond trees in order to breed a specific kind of goat and sheep in Genesis? Does anyone actually believe the power was in the trees? Or was it God using even Jacob’s foolishness to accomplish His purposes? Or what about the bronze serpent on the pole? Is it really the talisman that saved Israel from the poisonous snakes that were killing them? Or was it God using even their delusions to deliver them? Think about the fallacies we live with today. The “invisible hand” of Adam Smith from his famous book, Wealth of Nations.  The myth of universal human rights in a world where every tribe or nation seems to place a different value on human life. The notion that democracy is transcultural and can be universally applied in the way we apply it here in America. (A mistake that is costing us dearly in Afghanistan and Iraq...) The reality is we too believe in magic. We too believe in myths. They may be couched in more sophisticated language and political or economic theory but they are fairy tales nonetheless. 

So what’s a Christian to do? We have to push past our superstitions and look to God. We have to push past the “bronze serpents” we create and stop looking to “fortune-tellers” to show us the way. We have to dig deep into God’s Word. We must fix our eyes on Jesus! See Him lifted high on the cross! Paying for our sin! Showing us the way home! Showing us how to live a life with and for God! He is our only hope! He is greater than any bronze serpent! He is wiser than any Balaam! He is the Way, the Truth, and the Life!  

Blame Shift

Readings for the day: Numbers 17, 18, 19, 20

As a pastor, I do a lot of counseling. One of the most common issues I face is something called “blame shifting.” Basically, a person commits a wrong and when confronted on it, “shifts” the blame to someone else. This can be their spouse. Their children. Their parents. Even their pastor! :-) I cannot tell you the number of times I have counseled a couple on their marriage only to have them blame me for their eventual separation and divorce. Nevermind the fact they were unwilling to put in the work. Unwilling to do the homework I assigned. Unwilling to change any of their unhealthy behaviors. Unwilling to engage each other at a different level. At the end of the day, because the counseling didn’t “work”, it must be my failure as a pastor. 

We see this same dynamic in play in Moses’ relationship with Israel. How many times do they accuse Moses of failing to lead them well? How many times do they blame him for not providing water, food, or getting them to the Promised Land? Nevermind their own sin. Their own lack of faith. Their own fear. Their worship of false gods.  “And the people quarreled with Moses and said, "Would that we had perished when our brothers perished before the Lord! Why have you brought the assembly of the Lord into this wilderness, that we should die here, both we and our cattle? And why have you made us come up out of Egypt to bring us to this evil place? It is no place for grain or figs or vines or pomegranates, and there is no water to drink." (Num. ‭20:3-5‬) Over and over again, we hear this refrain. Let’s go back to Egypt. Let’s go back to slavery. You brought us out here to die. You brought us out here to suffer. It would be truly baffling if I didn’t see it everyday. 

Jesus addresses “blame-shifting” in the Sermon on the Mount. “Why do you see the speck that is in your brother's eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, 'Let me take the speck out of your eye,' when there is the log in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother's eye.” (Matt. ‭7:3-5‬) Essentially, we have to be humble enough to acknowledge our own fears and failures and struggles and sin before we dare to confront someone else on their issues. We have to be willing to look ourselves in the mirror and honestly confront our own faults before we point out to others where they fall short. In my experience, there is plenty of blame to go around in just about every broken relationship. It’s always a two-way street. 

We live in a highly critical world. A quick glance through Twitter or Facebook reveals how quick we are to blame others. We blame the system. We blame the government. We blame the church. We blame liberals. We blame conservatives. We blame Republicans. We blame Democrats. We blame our leaders. We blame teachers. We blame coaches. We blame absentee fathers. It’s like “blame-shifting” has become the national pastime. What you don’t see is anyone taking responsibility for why they find themselves in the position they’re in. You rarely find anyone acknowledging the ways they failed and how that contributed to their pain and suffering and heartache. No, it’s always someone else’s fault which makes us the “victim.” And there is great power in our culture today in casting ourselves as “victims” for it means we don’t have to take responsibility for our actions. We set ourselves beyond accountability. No one then gets to confront us and we are safe. Or so we think. The sad reality is when we avoid confrontation, accountability and responsibility; we never grow. And because we never grow, we tend to experience only more loneliness, pain, and heartache. It’s a vicious cycle. 

So where do you find yourself today? Are you the kind of person who takes responsibility for your failures? Is confessional prayer a regular part of your life? Do you find it easy to apologize and ask for forgiveness? When confronted, do you listen and receive what the other person is saying? Or do you get defensive? Do you blame shift? Do you take their criticism personally? In Christ, we are set free from the need to be perfect. In Christ, we are set free from the need to perform. In Christ, we have nothing to fear and no need to blame. In Christ, we can accept the reality that we are sinners in desperate need of grace.  

God’s Faithfulness

Readings for the day: Numbers 14, 15, 16 and Psalm 95

Today’s passage reveals two things in stark terms. If God were not faithful. If His steadfast love did not endure forever. If His grace was not extended to generation after generation. We would be dead. We would be destroyed. Our sin is simply too much. Our penchant for rebellion to hard to resist. Our pride too much to overcome.

The people of God quake in fear at the report of the spies. They mutiny against Moses and the Lord. They make plans to head back to Egypt. Back to slavery. Back to what was familiar. It reminds me of one of my favorite Proverbs, “Like a dog that returns to his vomit is a fool who repeats his folly.” (26:11) But for the intervention of the Lord, they would have stoned Moses to death! Incredible! So God tells Moses to step aside so He can destroy them and start all over yet again. Once again, Moses is being tested. Once again, Moses is being challenged to stand in the gap for God’s people. Once again, Moses intercedes. He calls on God to remember His own name. To be true to His character. To forgive as He has promised which is what God does. 

At the same time, God has a mission. Come hell or high water, God will make His glory known on the earth! God will fill the earth with His glory no matter what! No obstacle will stand in His way. No power will prevent Him from accomplishing this great task! Not sin. Not evil. Not death.  “But truly, as I live, and as all the earth shall be filled with the glory of the Lord,” (Num. ‭14:21‬) It’s an incredible statement! One that drives God even to this day! One you and I exist to fulfill! God’s plan is for God’s people who are made in God’s image to multiply and fill the earth! This is the “Great Commission” given to Adam, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and the people of Israel. Jesus renews this Great Commission at the end of Matthew’s Gospel when He sends His disciples out into all the world to make other disciples! 

This is God’s great mission and the greatest obstacle standing in its way is...us! You and me! God’s people! Korah rebels. Dathan and Abiram rebel. The people of God blame Moses and Aaron for their deaths. So once again, God has to step in. He must discipline His people. He must teach them to obey. So He sends plagues. He opens the earth. He reminds them of the law. He allows them to be defeated in battle. He makes them wander in the wilderness until an entire generation passes away. God is faithful. God is steadfast. God is holy. God will not be mocked. God will not allow His people to derail His mission. 

So think about your own life? Where are you living in willful disobedience? Where are you living in stubborn rebellion? What sins are you clinging to, refusing to let go? Is it pride? Is it anger? Is it disappointment? Is it fear? Where are you personally getting in the way of God’s mission to fill the world with His glory? 

Real Life

Readings for the day: Numbers 10, 11, 12, 13 and Psalm 90

There seems to be this yearning in the human heart for deep connection. To God. To other human beings. There is a real craving in the world today for authenticity. A desire to “be real” and be known. I hear it all the time and I feel it down in my bones as well. The problem, of course, is most folks don’t really want to engage on an authentic level because it’s not very pretty when we do! We run into all kinds of warts and sin and ugliness and we’re not very good at accepting each other’s faults. We aren’t very good at showing each other grace. We aren’t very good at forgiveness and reconciliation because such things take a lot of work. So we settle. We settle for less in our human relationships. We settle for not being known. Not being understood. Not being connected. And worst of all, we settle in our relationship with God. We only let Him in so far. We only let Him reign and rule over parts of our lives, not the whole. We only submit halfway and the result is a lot of pain and suffering and heartache. 

Nothing’s new under the sun. The people of God have been struggling with these things for thousands of years. It’s like the struggle is hardwired into our system by the Fall. (Remember that tragic event in Genesis 3? It frames everything!) You think about the blessings Israel enjoyed. A literal pillar of fire by night and a cloud by day. God visibly present among them! God’s Shekinah glory filling the Tabernacle. Moses literally speaking to God on their behalf. Silver trumpets blowing every time they went forth to remind them God would be with them. The parting of the Red Sea. The deliverance from slavery in Egypt. Rescue from the plagues. Manna in the wilderness. The miracles they experienced were incredible! And still they complained! Still they struggled to believe! Still they rebelled!

 “And the people complained in the hearing of the Lord about their misfortunes, and when the Lord heard it, his anger was kindled, and the fire of the Lord burned among them and consumed some outlying parts of the camp.” (Num. 11:1) 

“Now the rabble that was among them had a strong craving. And the people of Israel also wept again and said, "Oh that we had meat to eat!” (‭Num.‬ ‭11:4)

 “Miriam and Aaron spoke against Moses because of the Cushite woman whom he had married, for he had married a Cushite woman. And they said, "Has the Lord indeed spoken only through Moses? Has he not spoken through us also?" And the Lord heard it.” (Num. ‭12:1-2‬)

 “And there we saw the Nephilim (the sons of Anak, who come from the Nephilim), and we seemed to ourselves like grasshoppers, and so we seemed to them." (Num. ‭13:33‬)

Leading God’s people has never been easy! Or any group of people for that matter! There is always complaining. Always whining. Always criticism. But guess what! That’s real! That’s authentic! That’s people being themselves! And if we’re honest, none of us are immune! Even Moses complains, “I am not able to carry all this people alone; the burden is too heavy for me.” (Num. ‭11:14‬) 

So what’s the answer? Humility. One of my favorite verses in all of Scripture is Numbers 12:3, “Now the man Moses was very meek, more than all people who were on the face of the earth.” What a statement! Moses’ leadership was not based on his power or eloquence or influence or wealth or talent. It was based primarily on his humility. His meekness. And because Moses considered others more important than himself, he wasn’t threatened God put His Spirit on other leaders. He wasn’t threatened when God’s Spirit showed up in other parts of the camp. He wasn’t crushed by the betrayal of Aaron and Miriam. He remained faithful. 

Humility gives us the ability to accept other people for who they are...warts and all. It gives us the ability to extend grace even in difficult circumstances. It gives us the ability to address the log in our own eye first before we go to pluck the dust out of our brother or sister’s eyes. Most importantly, it is humility that allows us to submit our lives to the Lord and to follow in His ways.  

Waiting on God

Readings for the day: Numbers 6, 7, 8, 9

One of the hardest things to learn as a follower of Christ is how to wait. We are always in such a hurry. We rush around in the morning to get off to work and school. We rush around all day at work trying to get things done. We rush around in the evenings to different activities and events. Then we wake up the next day to do it all over again. Furthermore, we live in a world of instant gratification. We get what we want when we want it and woe to anyone who cannot deliver on our timeline! Patience is no longer a virtue in our world. Waiting is considered a waste of time. 

The Bible is clear that “waiting” is a key skill for any disciple. Patience is a fruit of the Holy Spirit’s presence in our lives. Long-suffering is something God’s people know intimately. Consider what we read from Numbers today.  “On the day that the tabernacle was set up, the cloud covered the tabernacle, the tent of the testimony. And at evening it was over the tabernacle like the appearance of fire until morning. So it was always: the cloud covered it by day and the appearance of fire by night. And whenever the cloud lifted from over the tent, after that the people of Israel set out, and in the place where the cloud settled down, there the people of Israel camped...At the command of the Lord they camped, and at the command of the Lord they set out. They kept the charge of the Lord, at the command of the Lord by Moses.” (Num. ‭9:15-17, 23‬) The passage tells us that sometimes they camped for days in one location. Sometimes for hours. The point is Israel didn’t move until God moved. Israel didn’t break camp until God broke camp. Israel was learning how to wait on God. 

I’ve been in ministry now for almost twenty years. Over that time, I’ve spent hundreds if not thousands of hours in my office counseling people through all sorts of different seasons in their lives. One of the most common issues I have to address is impatience. It makes total sense. People in crisis want out of crisis as soon as possible! So I get it. However, in their rush to get out of crisis they often jump from the frying pan into the fire. Refusing to wait on God, they prematurely end their marriage. Prematurely cut off a relationship. Prematurely make a professional decision. Prematurely rush into what they think is a solution only to find their supposed “cure” worse than their disease.  

God wants us to wait on Him. His time is not our time. His ways are not our ways. His thoughts are higher than our thoughts. So often when we wait on God, we don’t understand. I am sure there were moments when Israel looked around and said, “Really God? This is where you want us to camp? This is where you want us to settle down for a few days?” I’m sure there were other times when they found wonderful pasture and plentiful water only to have the pillar of cloud rise the next morning, taking them onward. They had never seen the Promised Land. They had no idea where they were headed or what it would look like when they got there. They simply had to trust God. They had to wait on God. They had to look to God.  

Where is God calling you to trust Him in your life today? Is it with a professional decision? Is it with your children’s future? Your marriage? Is it with you finances? Or perhaps your aging parent’s health? Maybe it’s your college choice? Or a career decision after you graduate? What does that look like for you and how are you learning to wait on God to reveal His will? 

In God’s Hands

Readings for the day: Numbers 3, 4, 5

The title for this particular book of the Bible could not be more appropriate. The Book of Numbers is all about the numbers! The number of warriors in Israel. The layout of the camp of Israel. The duties of the Levites. Even more specifically, the duties of Kohathites, Gershonites, and Merarites. And then some more regulations regarding ritual purity, confession and repentance, and then this strange test for adultery. As was the case in Leviticus, we have to take a step back and look at the big picture. 

 “Behold, I have taken the Levites from among the people of Israel instead of every firstborn who opens the womb among the people of Israel. The Levites shall be mine, for all the firstborn are mine. On the day that I struck down all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, I consecrated for my own all the firstborn in Israel, both of man and of beast. They shall be mine: I am the Lord." (Num. ‭3:12-13‬)

Israel belonged to God. They were His chosen possession out of all the nations of the earth. He had redeemed them from slavery in Egypt and thereby laid claim to their very lives. They were not their own. They were not “free” to choose or not choose God. He had chosen them. He had saved them. He had rescued them. He had made His covenant with them. No matter where they went or what they did or how they acted, they remained His children forever. In order to remind them of this great and awesome truth, God told Moses to set aside one entire tribe...the Levites.  They would not be counted in the census. They would not be considered “part” of Israel. They would have no inheritance in the Promised Land. Their “inheritance” would be God Himself. They would be set aside to serve Him in His Tabernacle and, later, His Temple. They would play specific roles within the worshipping life of Israel. They would guard the sanctuary. They would set it up, tear it down, and transport it day after day. From birth they were set apart, consecrated to the Lord’s service. It was not a vocation they chose but a calling God had placed on their lives.  

Fast forward a few thousand years. One greater than Moses is born. A high priest greater than Aaron has come. The Old Covenant is fulfilled. The New Covenant is established. “In speaking of a new covenant, Jesus makes the first one obsolete. And what is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to vanish away.” (Hebrews‬ ‭8:13‬) The reality is the Old Covenant was always temporal. Always bound to a particular cultural situation. Always designed to point us to a new and better covenant which Jesus Himself would die and rise to guarantee. “This makes Jesus the guarantor of a better covenant.” (Hebrews‬ ‭7:22‬) The ceremonial laws of Israel were culturally bound to a particular time and place. To a particular situation in history. Even the moral law which remains binding only serves to show us our weakness and imperfections. Therefore, it is useless to save. “For on the one hand, a former commandment is set aside because of its weakness and uselessness (for the law made nothing perfect); but on the other hand, a better hope is introduced, through which we draw near to God.” (Hebrews‬ ‭7:18-19‬) Jesus is that better hope! And through His life, death, and resurrection, God once again lays claim to our lives. He chooses us. He redeems us. He purchases us with His own blood. And because He Himself is the eternal high priest, interceding for us continually in the heavens. And because He Himself is the eternal sacrifice, fully atoning for the full weight of all our sin. “He is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him...” (Hebrews‬ ‭7:25‬)

In Christ, we belong to God. We are His treasured possession. His chosen people. As such, we are not our own. Our lives are not our own. Our future is not our own. All that we have and all that we are and all that we achieve is not ours to hold onto but rather ours to offer in service to God. How different would life be if we understood this great truth? How different would life be if we understood every minute of our day...every dollar we make...every interaction we have is in God’s hands? 

The Purpose of the Law

Readings for the day: Leviticus 26, 27...Numbers 1, 2

You’ve just finished Leviticus! Congratulations! Huge props! It’s one of the hardest books in all the Bible to get through! But you persevered! You pushed through! Even if you are a little behind, you’re going to make it! Well done!  

One big question a lot of folks are afraid to ask is this...what is the purpose behind all these laws? Or big picture, what is the purpose behind God’s Law? The late, great R.C. Sproul described it this way...

“The first purpose of the law is to be a mirror. On the one hand, the law of God reflects and mirrors the perfect righteousness of God. The law tells us much about who God is. Perhaps more important, the law illumines human sinfulness. Augustine wrote, “The law orders, that we, after attempting to do what is ordered, and so feeling our weakness under the law, may learn to implore the help of grace.” The law highlights our weakness so that we might seek the strength found in Christ. Here the law acts as a severe schoolmaster who drives us to Christ.

A second purpose for the law is the restraint of evil. The law, in and of itself, cannot change human hearts. It can, however, serve to protect the righteous from the unjust. Calvin says this purpose is “by means of its fearful denunciations and the consequent dread of punishment, to curb those who, unless forced, have no regard for rectitude and justice.” The law allows for a limited measure of justice on this earth, until the last judgment is realized.

The third purpose of the law is to reveal what is pleasing to God. As born-again children of God, the law enlightens us as to what is pleasing to our Father, whom we seek to serve. The Christian delights in the law as God Himself delights in it. Jesus said, “If you love Me, keep My commandments” (John 14:15). This is the highest function of the law, to serve as an instrument for the people of God to give Him honor and glory.”

We see these three purposes at work in Leviticus 26. In verses 1-13, God clearly lays out the blessings of obedience. If God’s people will live in a way that is pleasing to God, they will bring Him honor and glory. God will dwell with them and walk with them. And they will be blessed. This is the third purpose of the Law. Then, in verses 14-39, God clearly lays out what will happen if God’s people don’t follow His Law. God Himself will become their adversary. He will fight against them. He will walk contrary to them in wrath and fury. He will punish them. They will suffer. This is the second purpose of the Law which is to restrain evil. Finally, in verses 40-46, we see the first purpose of the law come into play. Repentance. The reality is God’s people will not be able to fulfill God’s Holy Law and this is by design. It’s to teach us that righteousness and holiness are beyond us. It’s to bring us to our knees in what I call “holy despair.” It’s to drive us to the end of ourselves. Our strength. Our ability. Our self-sufficiency. So we get to a place where we cry out to God for mercy and grace! We look to Christ to take our place! We glorify Christ for doing what we could not! We surrender to Christ and exchange His righteousness for our own. It’s a beautiful exchange!

So here’s the most important question as you finish Leviticus...do you find yourself resenting the Law of God? Dismissing the Law of God? Or do you find yourself overwhelmed by a deep sense of inadequacy before the Lord? If it’s the former, I would encourage you to go to prayer and ask God to soften your heart towards Him. If it’s the latter, be encouraged that you are drawing ever closer to Christ and He stands ready to take your place! 

Holy Rhythms

Readings for the day: Leviticus 23, 24, 25

Sabbath. It is a core, foundational principle in Scripture. Hardwired into our system at creation so that we could find rest. One day out of every seven. One year out of every seven. One year out of every fifty set aside for rest. Set aside to honor God. Set aside for not only our rest but that of the land. Animals. Basically, all of creation. A pattern God Himself followed at creation. Six days God labored to make the universe and all that is in it and on the seventh day He rested.  

We ignore this command at our peril. Not just because God commands it. This is no arbitrary rule God puts in place to test us. It’s not divine busy work just to make sure we are listening. No. God has hardwared the human body for rest. Our best medical professionals will tell you the source of so much of the depression, anxiety, fear, and pain we suffer from is due to the stress of feeling like we have to work 24/7.  We are being crushed under the weight of the burdens we carry. The responsibilities. The obligations we’ve taken on as a family and as individuals in our world. Social media only exacerbates this problem with it’s never-ending stream of connection. The reality is we were not built to be “on” all the time. 100% productivity is a goal that will kill us if we achieve it.  

I remember seeing this play out when I worked as the Manager of Patient Access Sevices at Boulder Community Hospital. The stated goal of the Human Resources department was to get maximum productivity from each employee. They actually had an equation they followed to determine how much each employee was expected to produce. They kept our available workforce as lean as possible in order to achieve this goal. The result was a much higher number of sick days, lower quality of life in the workplace, and therefore, lower productivity. In their effort to achieve maximum efficiency, they lost sight of the very real human cost. 

That was twenty years ago. Things have not gotten better. As a pastor, I watch as people try to squeeze 28 hours worth of work into a 24 hour time period. I see them running from dawn to dark, giving themselves barely any space to breathe. The result is broken marriages. Broken families. Broken lives. 

The Sabbath is designed to create a “speed bump” in our lives. To get us to slow down. To rest. To let God be God. It is perhaps the most tangible expression of our faith because it forces us to relinquish control over our lives. When I Sabbath, I am letting God back onto the throne of my life because I am specifically choosing NOT to produce anything. And that’s a good thing. Even a godly thing.  

A major reason Israel lost the blessing of God was their failure to keep the Sabbath. We actually don’t have any evidence they let the land rest every seven years. We certainly have no evidence they honored the Year of Jubilee. When you read the passages from today, it’s important to sit back and ponder what life would look like if we really lived according to God’s divine rhythm.   

The Golden Rule

Readings for the day: Leviticus 19, 20, 21, 22

Raise your hand if you knew the Golden Rule came from Leviticus? Now repent because you broke the 8th Commandment! :-) Most associate the Golden Rule with Jesus and rightfully so. After all, Jesus repeats it as part of His teaching in the Sermon on the Mount. (Matthew 7:12) However, very few people realize that God first enshrined this rule in law in Leviticus. Lost in all the conversation about sacrifices and priestly garments and what one should eat or wear is this beautiful picture of community life in Leviticus 19:9-18.

We see God’s heart for the poor and less fortunate...“When you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not reap your field right up to its edge, neither shall you gather the gleanings after your harvest. And you shall not strip your vineyard bare, neither shall you gather the fallen grapes of your vineyard. You shall leave them for the poor and for the sojourner: I am the Lord your God.” 

We see God’s concern for honesty and transparency..."You shall not steal; you shall not deal falsely; you shall not lie to one another. You shall not swear by my name falsely, and so profane the name of your God: I am the Lord.”

We see God’s compassion, especially for the less abled in our midst..."You shall not oppress your neighbor or rob him. The wages of a hired worker shall not remain with you all night until the morning. You shall not curse the deaf or put a stumbling block before the blind, but you shall fear your God: I am the Lord.”

We see God’s desire for justice and righteousness and truth..."You shall do no injustice in court. You shall not be partial to the poor or defer to the great, but in righteousness shall you judge your neighbor. You shall not go around as a slanderer among your people, and you shall not stand up against the life of your neighbor: I am the Lord.”

And finally, we see God’s admonition against hate, anger, rage, contempt, and most of all, vengeance..."You shall not hate your brother in your heart, but you shall reason frankly with your neighbor, lest you incur sin because of him. You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against the sons of your own people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the Lord.” 

This are massively applicable in our world today! Could you imagine a community of people who sought to put these into practice? On a daily basis? Who gave generously? Dealt honestly? Showed compassion? Fought for truth? Laid aside anger and rage and malice and hate in the name of love? Hopefully you can! It’s called the Church! Now I know no church is perfect. After all, it’s full of imperfect sinners like me who struggle to keep God’s law faithfully. However, as we seek God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength, we can expect to see some of these same behaviors break loose in our lives! We can expect to bear this kind of fruit for the Kingdom! And as brothers and sisters called into community together, we can make a HUGE difference in the world today! That’s the call! That’s the challenge! That was God’s plan for Israel and it’s still God’s plan for His people today!

Sexual Purity

Readings for the day: Leviticus 15, 16, 17, 18

Today’s reading includes a very important section on sexual purity. These regulations will sound somewhat foreign and somewhat familiar to our ears as they have provided the foundation for the Western legal system for centuries. Incest, bestiality, adultery, and homosexuality are all considered “abominations” before the Lord. Engaging in such activity comes with a heavy price. One would be cut off from his or her people. “Vomited” out of the Promised Land. 

We struggle to understand this section of Scripture. Some dismiss it as ceremonial law much like the restrictions on what we can eat or wear. The problem with that approach is that we do affirm such things as bestiality and incest as abhorrent practices even in our time. Some argue these passages are culturally bound. Their argument is that such regulations were designed just for ancient Israel and therefore have no bearing on how we regulate our sexual activity today. Proponents of this argument believe in the primacy of love. As long as two people love one another, to deny them sexual fulfillment is cruel and harsh. Therefore, even adultery is justifiable in most cases as are same-sex relationships. The problem with this approach is that it misunderstands the nature of love. It trades on the erotic almost exclusively and dismisses any notion that sexuality and holiness are inextricably linked. A final argument is made - particularly from our LGBTQ Christian friends - that the authors of Leviticus didn’t understand the nature of same-sex attraction and had no experience with loving, committed, monogamous same-sex relationships. Same-sex relationships in the ancient world were always exploitative, oppressive, violent, etc. and therefore the prohibitions in Leviticus 18 do not apply to a 21st century context. The problem with this approach is it is simply not true. Pioneers in Queer Studies like Louis Crompton and New Testament scholars like William Loader (neither of whom are Evangelical Christians and both of whom affirm same-sex relationships) are among many who have demonstrated that loving, non-exploitative, same-sex relationships have existed since antiquity. The Bible is univocal in its condemnation of any sexual expression outside of marriage between a man and a woman to claim otherwise is not being honest. Admittedly, their arguments are more focused on the Apostle Paul’s argument in Romans 1 but the roots of Paul’s sexual ethic come from Leviticus 18. 

So what’s the big deal about sex? Is God a prude? Is He simply trying to squash our natural desires and affections? We can’t help how we feel, right? The key is to remember the context. You and I are born in sin. Our bodies. Our minds. Our hearts are warped and broken. This includes our sexual desires. We are “naturally” going to want to rebel against God’s will. We are “naturally” going to want to pursue unholiness. Our hearts are bent towards evil and corruption and this prevents us from being able to enter into God’s presence. And God wants to dwell with us! God wants to be with us! So God commands us to “be holy as He is holy” and this call covers every area of our lives, including our sexuality. Sexuality is not an end in itself. It is a powerful drive created by God for the main purpose of the procreation of our species as well as to give physical expression to the kind of “oneness” God desires men and women to have in this life. The joining together of man and woman in sexual intimacy within the context of the covenant of marriage is literally designed to give us a foretaste of the joy and freedom and transparency we will enjoy with one another in the Kingdom of Heaven. This is why sex is such a powerful drive within us. And it is why God has placed such strong boundaries around it’s expression. To keep us safe sexually. To keep our sexual lives pure and free from corruption so we can experience all God has for us. 

All one has to do is look around our culture today to see the consequences of unfettered sexual desire. Sexually transmitted disease. Sexual abuse and assault. The objectification of the female and male bodies. Rampant divorce and infidelity. The breakdown of families. Depression and anxiety and fear surrounding every potential sexual encounter and/or its aftermath. It’s heartbreaking. God’s desire is for us to repent and commit ourselves to holiness. Holy sexuality is expressed in celibacy in singleness and intimacy in marriage between a man and a woman. I realize taking a traditional, Biblical position on sexuality in our world today will draw scorn and even accusations of bigotry. However, I believe when one takes a step back and looks objectively at the empirical data surrounding the consequences of pursuing a sexual ethic divorced from the Bible, one can easily conclude God probably knows better. We would do well to trust Him in this area of our lives and submit our sexuality to His Will as revealed in His Word. 

Clean vs. Unclean

Readings for the day: Leviticus 11, 12, 13, 14

First of all, it needs to be said that Leviticus 13:40 brings great comfort. “"If a man's hair falls out from his head, he is bald; he is clean.” Ha!

On a more serious note, this is where Leviticus starts to get really challenging. Holy. Unholy. Clean. Unclean. Common. Polluted. Lots of words that we don’t think much about in our own context and culture. This begs for some explanation. Scholar Gordon Wenham does a great job describing the distinctions in his commentary.

“Everything that is not holy is common. Common things divide into two groups, the clean and the unclean. Clean things become holy, when they are sanctified. But unclean objects cannot be sanctified. Clean things can be made unclean, if they are polluted. Finally, holy items may be defiled and become common, even polluted, and therefore unclean… . cleanness is a state intermediate between holiness and uncleanness. Cleanness is the normal condition of most things and persons. Sanctification can elevate the clean into the holy, while pollution degrades the clean into the unclean. The unclean and the holy are two states which must never come in contact with each other.” (pp. 19-20)

Why does all this matter? Because God’s stated goal for His people is for them to be holy as He is holy. “For I am the Lord your God. Consecrate yourselves therefore, and be holy, for I am holy. You shall not defile yourselves with any swarming thing that crawls on the ground. For I am the Lord who brought you up out of the land of Egypt to be your God. You shall therefore be holy, for I am holy."(Lev. ‭11:44-45‬) Yes, in Christ the ceremonial laws of Leviticus have been fulfilled. We no longer need to worry about clean and unclean animals. (See Peter’s vision in Acts 10 as an example.) We no longer need to fear being made unclean by touching lepers or coming into contact with the dead. Through His shed blood, Christ has not only washed us clean (in the Levitical sense) but also sanctified us permanently! This is incredible to think about as we read about the rituals the Israelites had to perform!

At the same time, the call to personal holiness has not been set aside. God still calls His people to be set apart. By thought. Word. Deed. We are called to “be holy as He is holy” and to offer our lives as “living sacrifices” according to Romans 12. The moral law is still in effect. God still has expectations for His people. Sin is still serious and should not be treated casually. This is why Jesus spends a great deal of time talking about the heart in the Sermon on the Mount and Paul spends a great deal of time on the ethical obligations of Christians in most of his letters. As Christians, we no longer need to undergo elaborate rituals to maintain a state of cleanliness or sanctification before the Lord but we should undergo regular examination and confession of our sin in light of the Word of God. 

A great practical exercise is what’s known as the  “Daily Examen.” Pioneered by Ignatius Loyola, founder of the Jesuits, it is an intentional way to prayerfully reflect on our day, asking God to reveal what drew us closer to Him and what drew us away from Him. We think back on the actions, thoughts, and feelings we experienced during the day and we consciously “examen” them in light of the Word of God. We confess where our actions/thoughts/feelings fell short and we rejoice where our actions/thoughts/feelings reflected Christ. This is just one example of learning how to bring every thought captive to Christ and live for Him. 

Unauthorized Fire

Readings for the day: Leviticus 8, 9, 10

I love this quote from Annie Dillard. “On the whole, I do not find Christians, outside of the catacombs, sufficiently sensible of conditions. Does anyone have the foggiest idea what sort of power we so blithely invoke? Or, as I suspect, does no one believe a word of it? The churches are children playing on the floor with their chemistry sets, mixing up a batch of TNT to kill a Sunday morning. It is madness to wear ladies’ straw hats and velvet hats to church; we should all be wearing crash helmets. Ushers should issue life preservers and signal flares; they should lash us to our pews. For the sleeping god may wake someday and take offense, or the waking god may draw us out to where we can never return.” I tend to agree. We are far too often unaware of the sheer and utter holiness of the One we approach Sunday after Sunday. We treat Him far too casually. 

Worship for the Israelites was a dangerous proposition. Not because God is capricious or reckless or mentally unstable. But because God is holy. Pure. Dwelling eternally in unapproachable light and glory. His presence is a consuming, purifying fire. It separates gold from dross, wheat from chaff, clean from unclean by its very nature. It’s a double-edged sword. Piercing to the deepest recesses of our souls and joints and marrow. Cutting away all that is rotten and septic within us. Every time we invoke His name. Every time we enter His presence. Every time we come before Him in worship, we are literally entering the Most Holy Place. And this is why Dillard challenges us to become more aware of our surroundings. More aware of gulf that exists between an unholy people and a Holy God. More aware of the nature of the One we approach and to take the necessary precautions when we come to worship.  

The Israelites knew all this, of course. And yet even they could become far too casual about worship. “Now Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, each took his censer and put fire in it and laid incense on it and offered unauthorized fire before the Lord, which he had not commanded them. And fire came out from before the Lord and consumed them, and they died before the Lord. Then Moses said to Aaron, "This is what the Lord has said: 'Among those who are near me I will be sanctified, and before all the people I will be glorified.'" And Aaron held his peace.” (Lev. 10:1-3) I cannot imagine watching my children die in worship. I cannot imagine watching them burn to death before the Lord. I cannot imagine the fear and anger and frustration I would feel. But then again, I have not seen God face to face. I’ve not had to endure His fiery presence. I’ve not felt the fear the Israelites experienced when they approached God in His sanctuary. Christ, thankfully, saves me from His righteous wrath. Christ, thankfully, turns aside the Father’s burning anger and takes it on Himself. Christ, thankfully, satisfies all the demands of God’s justice and because of His shed blood, I am made pure. I am made clean. I am made holy. Aaron and his sons had none of these benefits. They had to tread very carefully in the presence of God. They had to perform their duties with devotion and carefully do all God commanded. 

We do not understand the nature of sin. We tend to think of sin in rational terms. Errors in judgment. Honest mistakes. Poor choices. Leviticus uses completely different categories. Sin is impure. Unclean. Unholy. It is rotten. Decaying. Festering. Decomposing. Corruption. In order to really grasp the nature of sin, we have to leave the rational behind and think in Biblical terms. The other day, my children took our dog on a walk. Along the way, he found the corpse of a rabbit that had been dead a while. He naturally grabbed it and my kids were disgusted. How many of us have been hiking in the mountains and have come upon the worm-filled, decomposing corpse of some animal and been similarly repulsed? I think of the clean up work we did in the wake of Hurricane Katrina and the smell of rot and decay we had to put up with as we gutted homes and cleaned out refrigerators. It was nasty work that made us routinely gag.  That’s the stench of sin and it’s why sacrifices had to be burned continually before the Lord. 

How seriously do you take your sin? How seriously do you take your thoughts, attitudes, and actions before the Lord? How seriously do you take your worship? Do you take Christ’s sacrifice for granted? Are you, as the Book of Hebrews warns, “sinning deliberately after receiving the knowledge of the truth?” If so, hear very clearly these sobering words, “there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a fearful expectation of judgment, and a fury of fire that will consume...” (Heb. 10:26-27) We will never be perfect, of course. But to continue to sin deliberately. To continue to pursue a lifestyle that offends God. To continue to refuse to give God the glory and honor He deserves is to wallow in filth. It’s to “trample underfoot the Son of God and profane the blood of the covenant by which He was sanctified and outrage the Spirit of grace.” (Heb. 10:29) And this, my friends, is a dangerous thing. Just ask Nadab and Abihu. 

Importance of Sacrifice

Readings for the day: Leviticus 5, 6, 7

One of the biggest challenges in reading the Bible is keeping in mind the larger story. It is so easy to get down in the weeds whether we’re talking about the laws of Leviticus or the statistics/genealogies in Numbers or the tragic stories in Judges. It’s easy to lose sight of the big picture and how each of the books of the Bible ties together to illustrate a seamless whole.  

The basic story the Bible tells happens in four acts. Act 1: Creation. God creating the heavens and the earth and all that is in them. Everything is good. Everything is right. Everything is beautiful. Humanity reigns and rules with God over all He has made. Act 2: Fall. Humanity rebels and decides to go it’s own way. Sin enters the world. Creation falls into ruin. Death. Disease. Pain. Suffering. All become commonplace. Act 3: Redemption. God doesn’t abandon His creation. Out of love He reaches out in rescue. Deliverance. Salvation. The culmination of His plan is Christ who defeats Sin and Death once and for all on the cross. Act 4: Glorification. The reunion of the heavens and the earth. The joining back together of the two spheres of life that were separated by the Fall. Jesus’ resurrection is the firstfruits of this reality and His promise is that He will return one day to make all things new. 

It’s important to note that Acts 2 and 3 are running simultaneously throughout the Scriptures. From Genesis to Revelation, we see humanity rebel over and over against her God. We also see God’s grace on display as He relentlessly pursues those He loves. The sacrificial system instituted by Moses in Leviticus is one movement, if you will, within Act 3. It is not the final movement. Rather, it points beyond itself to the climax to come when Jesus will become the Perfect, Spotless Lamb. This entire system with it’s different offerings and different requirements and specific instructions is given as a means to prepare God’s people for Christ. To get them ready so they will recognize Him when He appears. It’s a system designed to prepare the heart and soul for the culmination of God’s redemptive purposes.  

By reading and reflecting on Leviticus, we are reminded over and over again of the extreme penalty our sin deserves. Death seems to reign throughout this book. You almost can’t turn around without stumbling over the carcasses of bulls, rams, sheep, goats, and turtledoves. The sacrificial fires would have been kept burning day and night as the people of Israel - now numbering in the hundreds of thousands - came to make their offerings. The priests must have been exhausted from all the hard work of gutting and dressing and cleaning each animal. The smell would have permeated the camp. Again, all to remind God’s people of the monumental effort it took to keep them holy before God.  

This should only deepen our appreciation for Christ. Fully God. Fully Man. As God, He is fully able to satisfy the justice of God for all sin for all time. As Man, He is able to truly represent us. Take our place. Become our substitute. In Christ, Act 3 comes to its glorious close! The Father making Him who knew no sin (Christ) to become sin on our behalf that we might become the righteousness of God! (2 Cor. 5:21) Because of what He has done, no more sacrifices are required. No more blood needs to be shed. We ARE made holy just as He is holy! This is the glory of the gospel which the Levitical sacrifices foreshadow. 

Readings for the day: Leviticus 1, 2, 3, 4

Today is our first day in Leviticus. One of the hardest books for Christians to read and stay engaged with in the Bible. And yet, if we are willing to put in the work, we’ll learn some amazing things about God’s relationship with His people.  

The first thing we need to understand as we approach this book is that it clearly delineates what we call the “ceremonial” law of Israel. Laws governing sacrifice. Laws governing worship. Laws governing what is holy and unholy, clean and unclean. Most of these laws were fulfilled once and for all by Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross. (In fact, all of the sacrifices we’ll read about in Leviticus foreshadow the sacrifice of the Messiah.) Because the ceremonial laws were fulfilled, Christians no longer are required to keep them. However, this doesn’t mean we can dismiss Leviticus as some antiquated piece of history not worth our time. Embedded in this book are important tenets of what we call “moral” law which still is instructive and binding on us today. The key is know which is which and how to separate out the two.  

A second thing we need to remember as we approach this book is where it falls in the narrative. The people have just been saved from Egypt. They are standing at the foot of Mt. Sinai. God is still speaking to Moses. And the burning question that is on everyone’s minds is this...How can a holy God dwell with an unholy people? If God is literally going to live among them, how will they survive? The answer is sacrifice. The first seven chapters of this book describe in great detail the sacrifices that were necessary to purify the people. Animal sacrifices. Bulls. Sheep. Goats. Birds. Grain offerings. Always with oil and salt. Peace offerings. Sin offerings. Blood being thrown against the altar. Animals dissected into little pieces. It must have been hard and fairly gruesome work. The fires must have burned continually. The smoke from the sacrifices rising into the heavens in a continual stream. (It must have smelled like Greeley...all the time! How that’s pleasing to the Lord, I’ll never know!)

What’s the point of it all? To remind us every hour of every day that the penalty for our sin is death. To remind us that as bad as the stench of sacrifice may be, the stench of our sin is much, much worse. The reality is we don’t take our sin seriously enough. We don’t take God’s holiness seriously enough. We like to think we aren’t all that bad. The baseline for many of us is that we’re pretty good people. Flawed? Yes. Imperfect? Sure. Sinner? Okay. Antiquated term but we’ll go with it. God sees us - absent Christ - much differently. He sees creatures utterly deformed by their sin. Barely resembling the glory He initially created in them. He sees creatures living in complete and total rebellion against His perfect will. Creatures who are so full of selfish, prideful ambition and deceit. He sees creatures who are enslaved. Under bondage. Creatures with a terminal illness. Weak and emancipated by their sin. When He looks down from heaven on the earth, all He sees is death. Decay. Destruction. Our lives are a shell of what He intended. And for Him to enter into this world. Dwell with His people. In the perfection of His holiness and glory is to risk destroying them utterly. For God is a consuming fire. (Deut. 4:24) So God institutes the sacrificial system in order to give God’s people an opportunity to purify themselves so they may live their lives before the Lord without fear. And because the sacrifices are animals, they have to be repeated with regularity in order to maintain the people’s purity before God. 

All this changes with the coming of Jesus. All this changes when Jesus - the perfect sacrifice - goes to the cross. Once and for all, He satisfies God’s holy justice. Once and for all, He purifies God’s people. Once and for all, He pays the penalty for the people’s sin. I love how the Book of Hebrews puts it, “But when Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things that have come, then through the greater and more perfect tent (not made with hands, that is, not of this creation) he entered once for all into the holy places, not by means of the blood of goats and calves but by means of his own blood, thus securing an eternal redemption. For if the blood of goats and bulls, and the sprinkling of defiled persons with the ashes of a heifer, sanctify for the purification of the flesh, how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God. Therefore he is the mediator of a new covenant, so that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance, since a death has occurred that redeems them from the transgressions committed under the first covenant.” (Heb. ‭9:11-15‬)

Bezalel and Oholiab

Readings for the day: Exodus 37, 38, 39, 40

You just finished Exodus! Well done, friends! You’ve already knocked out three of the longest books of the Bible and are well on your way to meeting your goal of reading the Bible this year! If you’ve fallen a little behind...no worries! Keep plugging away! Remember, reading the Bible in a year is somewhat arbitrary. It’s just as good to read the Bible in six months or a year and a half! God honors all the time we spend in His Word.  

Before we leave Exodus, I do want to give a shout out to two guys who are often overlooked. Bezalel and Oholiab are just as critical to this story as Moses, Aaron, Miriam, and all the rest. Without their God-given talent and ability and passion for craftsmanship, we wouldn’t know much about how the early Israelites worshipped. Without their attention to detail and ability to shape gold and wood and cloth, we wouldn’t have the Tabernacle and all its furnishings. No ark. No altar. No golden lamp stand. You may recall back in Exodus 31, God saying these words, “See, I have called by name Bezalel the son of Uri, son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, and I have filled him with the Spirit of God, with ability and intelligence, with knowledge and all craftsmanship, to devise artistic designs, to work in gold, silver, and bronze, in cutting stones for setting, and in carving wood, to work in every craft. And behold, I have appointed with him Oholiab, the son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan. And I have given to all able men ability, that they may make all that I have commanded you: the tent of meeting, and the ark of the testimony, and the mercy seat that is on it, and all the furnishings of the tent, the table and its utensils, and the pure lampstand with all its utensils, and the altar of incense, and the altar of burnt offering with all its utensils, and the basin and its stand, and the finely worked garments, the holy garments for Aaron the priest and the garments of his sons, for their service as priests, and the anointing oil and the fragrant incense for the Holy Place. According to all that I have commanded you, they shall do." 

It’s so easy to get focused on Moses or Aaron or Joshua or some other great leader in Israel’s history. It’s so easy to assume they are the focus of the story. They are the ones gifted by God. They are the ones called by God.  They are the ones whom God uses to accomplish His great work. But Bezalel and Oholiab are quick to remind us that ALL of us have been gifted by God in some way and ALL of us are called to use our gifts for His glory. It’s not just the pastors or the missionaries who are the heroes.  It is the people of God exercising the gifts God has given each of them for the upbuilding of the Body of Christ and the glory of God’s Kingdom. When we fail to exercise our gifts or diminish our gifts in any way, we lose out on at least part of what God has planned for us. Think about how impoverished we would be if there had never been a Bezalel or Oholiab? Think about the impact on the worshipping life of Israel if there were no craftsmen around to make all God had ordained? 

Now think about our life together. Think about our worship together. What gifts do you bring? Is it the gift of music? The gift of prayer? The gift of friendship? The gift of production? The gift of preaching? The gift of teaching? The gift of serving? If you are a Christian, you have the same Spirit of God filling you that filled Bezalel. This same Spirit imparts all the gifts and talents we need to worship and serve God as He demands. So how are you exercising your gift? How are you seeking to use your gift to build up others in your church family? In your home? In your neighborhood? At work or at school? May God fill you with the same passion that He once gave to Bezalel and Oholiab and may you then put your gifts and talents in service to God’s mission in the world! 

The Name of God

Readings for the day: Exodus 33, 34, 35, 36

The importance of these readings from the Book of Exodus cannot be overstated. God is renewing His commitment to Israel. Despite their sin. Despite their rebellious ways. He has determined to be their God. He has determined to do something miraculous in and through them that will stun the nations of the earth. He will drive out their enemies. He will secure for them a homeland. He will do for them what has not been done for any other people. For they are set apart. They are His chosen ones. 

The conversation between Moses and God which begins at the end of chapter 33 and finishes in chapter 34 is of particular importance. God begins chapter 33 by telling Moses He will not be going with them. His holiness would consume them along the way for the people are stiff-necked and stubborn in their sin. Instead, He will send an angel to accomplish the mission He’s started. This isn’t enough for Moses. Jump down to 33:12ff and Moses again intercedes on behalf of the people. He asks God to remain faithful. To be present among them. To teach them His ways and show them the right paths to walk. God responds favorably to Moses’ prayer. But then Moses gets even more bold. He asks to personally witness the glory of God. Perhaps he needs assurance from God? The text doesn’t tell us. But God indeed passes before Moses and in one of the most important passages in all of Scripture reveals His character and nature. 

“The Lord descended in the cloud and stood with him there, and proclaimed the name of the Lord. The Lord passed before him and proclaimed, "The Lord, the Lord, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, but who will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children and the children's children, to the third and the fourth generation." And Moses quickly bowed his head toward the earth and worshiped.” (Ex. ‭34:5-8‬)

From this point forward, whenever Israel is in trouble. Whenever Israel has fallen into sin. Whenever Israel suffers. Whenever they are oppressed and in need. They call on the “name of the Lord” and are delivered. They call on the “name of the Lord” knowing with full assurance that the Lord’s name is mercy. Grace. Steadfast love. Faithfulness. They call on Him knowing He is slow to anger and keeps his steadfast love to the thousandth generation of those who love Him in return. They call on Him knowing He is just and will be no means give the guilty a pass. They call on Him trusting Him to be true to Himself. True to how He revealed Himself to Moses. True to what He has declared about Himself. Over and over again, we will see these verses referenced throughout the Old Testament. Every time the people of God call on the “name of the Lord” to be saved, they are looking back to this particular meeting where God showed Himself to Moses.  

Fast forward several centuries to the Apostle Paul. Writing to the church in Rome. A church that is struggling. A church that is suffering. A church that is being persecuted. Torn apart by division from within over the Jew/Gentile question. In the midst of his letter to them, Paul writes these words, “For everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” He’s quoting from the Old Testament prophet Joel who himself is looking back to this encounter between God and Moses in the Exodus. The difference, of course, is Paul is referring to Jesus. “The radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature...” according to Hebrews 1:3. In Jesus, we have seen God’s glory in all its fullness! In Jesus, God has revealed Himself truly to be merciful and gracious and steadfast in love and faithfulness! In Jesus, God has promised to be with us even to the end of the age! Thanks be to God!