Trust and Don't Verify

“But they shall not go in to see when the holy things are covered, lest they die.” (Nu 4:20 AV)

A thought occurred to me this morning.  There were elements of the tabernacle that no one but a certain number of priests ever saw.  Only the high priest saw the uncovered ark of the covenant. He, and the family that was tasked to cover it and transport it.  No one but the ministering priests saw the table of shewbread and the candlestick.  The laver and altar were in public view.  But these three pieces were not.  Only the ministering priests saw them.  Once they were covered and carried from the holy of holies,  no one saw exactly what they looked like.  No one but the ministering priests could see what they actually looked like.  Those watching the transportation of them saw an outline, but not the actual bare piece.  Further, if anyone snuck a peak, they were killed by the hand of God.  God’s holy things were not objects of curiosity.  They were to be treated with the utmost respect.  Their significance lay in their function and not their appearance.  What struck me is the faith required for those seeking intercession that the ministry of the priest would be accurate and sufficient.  They had no idea if the furniture was actually in the holy of holies or if whatever was in there were the right pieces.  They had to accept by faith the tabernacle was set up correctly and that ministry was efficacious.  The only evidence they had was the pillar of smoke and fire that rested upon the tabernacle.  In short, their faith resided in the presence of God’s glory and was sufficient to prove the tabernacle was as it should be.

There are things we must take by simple faith without further explanation.  In fact, most of those things we are to accept by faith lack some information that would then eliminate faith to accept.  Certain recipes require the chef to leave his concoction alone, or it will completely fail.  Many cakes can fail if the chef opens the door to the oven too soon.  One particular finicky cake is the famed soufflé.  The soufflé has a very specific temperature and time for baking.  I remember the time.  It is fourteen minutes.  When watching cooking competitions, eventually the chefs will have to bake a soufflé.  When they are in the oven, the camera tends to pan to the chefs staring at the oven, watching their soufflé.  If they open the oven before they are done, the sudden temperature change will cause the cake to fall.  When it is in the oven, leave it alone.  Trust the process.  The recipe, the temperature, and the time will produce perfection.  One must trust it.

We cannot know everything.  Otherwise, faith would not be faith.  The secret things belong to God.  And that is a good thing.  There are things we could know, but the LORD doesn’t think it is important enough to know.  Where Christ spent three days and nights while his body lie dead in the grave is an example.  If it was important enough to know for a certainty, then He would have told us.  The thing is, when we try to go beyond faith and trust reason or observation, we devalue the supernatural character of divine truth.  If the Jewish worshipper could watch every step the Levites took to pack up and transport the tabernacle with its furniture, the sacredness of it would have been lost.  Simply put, there are things we must take by faith that we could know without faith.  We are required to do this so that God remains God and us, His lowly creation.  Treating the things of God as a common thing would cause God to lose what He is.  He is not common.  He is Holy.  And to that end, the things of God should be treated the same way.

Strange Bedfellows

“A man’s pride shall bring him low: but honour shall uphold the humble in spirit.” (Pr 29:23 AV)

This seems contradictory only in the sense we tend to think of pride and honor as closely related, or even one and the same.  When someone carries himself with pride, he does so because he honors himself.  It might seem that honor is contrary to humility.  When we think of humility, we often think of the downtrodden.  Those who walk in such a way as to garner disrespect towards those walking in pride and honor.  However, Solomon touches on a finer distinction between pride and honor here.  Those who are humble can still have honor.  Honor can often be thought of as integrity.  The inner character will not allow the self to be degraded by faults and sin.  Integrity is that character trait that disciplines the self to refrain from evil at all costs and excel at good no matter what might come.  Pride, on the other hand, lacks discipline.  It may elevate the self but to its own destruction.  Humility does not require we be degraded by the arrogant.  Nor does it mean we must flagellate ourselves to walk in humility.  Honor and humility can comfortably co-exist.

One of my good friends comes to mind.  Pete was a Navy Corpsman assigned to a marine unit that saw combat.  Pete was married and had three kids.  Pete also served as a drill instructor for part of one tour.  During his remaining time with us, he was an instructor.  I was fascinated with military life.  I had neither the calling nor the courage to enlist, but I deeply admired those who did.  When I asked questions about his normal day’s duty, he would tell stories of how he handled recruits.  There were stories of students who needed discipline.  There were stories of him taking the class on a five-mile run.  There were stories of how he had to work with doctors and nurses and conflict resolution military-style.  It was Pete who invited me and my wife to witness his promotion ceremony to the rank of chief.  What a spectacle that was.  It was truly moving.  The thing about Pete, and almost all enlisted men and women I have had the pleasure of knowing, is they are the perfect example of honorable humility.  They know their place.  They understand officers have the responsibility of ordering them to comply.  However, there is never a time when they surrender their dignity.  When they carry out their orders, the greatest motive is honor.  When they carry themselves in public, there is a sense of honor.  When they interact with one another, there is a sense of honor.  There is a chain of command.  But that chain of command oozes with respect.  In both directions.  The enlisted for his commander and the commander for his men and women. 

Honor and humility can indeed dwell together.  Each gives the other the beauty they behold.  What drew me to this verse is the whole verse.  The warning that pride leads to a fall while honor upholds the humble.  Thinking we stand when we do not lead to a great fall.  Knowing how low we are and seeking to live up to a standard will only lead to stability and strength.  There is an element of humility with honor.  Honor requires deep sacrifice.  Pride only requires the sacrifice of others.  Humility requires an honest evaluation of self and a plan to overcome it.  That is honorable.  Pride sees no fault or explains away fault that the self does not need to address it.  Honor and humility go hand in hand.  So, do the honorable thing and live humbly with yourself, others, and Your God.

Time For a Wash and Wax

“Sanctify yourselves therefore, and be ye holy: for I am the LORD your God. And ye shall keep my statutes, and do them: I am the LORD which sanctify you.” (Le 20:7-8 AV)

How confusing is that?  Verse seven states the saint is to sanctify himself.  Then the end of verse eight the LORD states it is He that sanctifies.  Which is it?  Obviously, it is both.  To understand why both can be true we must understand the meaning of the word.   To sanctify means to set apart for a specific purpose or status.  It also means the process by which the object is prepared for that purpose or status.  The saint is to set himself apart from that which would hinder his purpose or status and the LORD prepares the saint for that purpose or status.  Theologians call this distinction positional sanctification and practical sanctification.  The error in the theologians is to make so much of a distinction as to the first can be done without the second.  Rather, practical sanctification occurs because positional sanctification has been accomplished.  In other words, whether positional or practical, they are two expressions of the same event.  A person or object is set apart and as a result, is prepared.  We are encouraged to yield to the work of the Holy Spirit in practical sanctification because we have been positionally placed in Christ.

Think of a car wash.  It’s funny when I take Lisa to a car wash.  She will not go to one herself.  She is terrified.  She thinks that once you are in a car wash, the whole experience could be ruined by being trapped, or worse, having a car accident.  She will not drive a car into and onto the guiding track.  The moment she does, she has to yield control of the car to something she cannot see or influence.  It is a total yielding in order to get the car washed and waxed.  There is a setting apart from.  The dirty car must be set apart from everything.  It must be set apart from other cars.  It must come out from the world that made it dirty in the first place.  One must pull off the road and drive in a lane that guides the car to the wash.  One must follow the instructions and steer to the exact place which the attendant determines.  One thing is for sure.  A car that remains on the road a will not come apart is a car that stays dirty.  If there isn’t separation from the normal course of operation, the car remains filthy.  The driver must choose to be cleaned.  It cannot be forced upon the car.  Rainwater is insufficient.  Rain may wash off some of the dirt.  But not all.  To be totally clean, the driver must separate himself from all other drivers and enter the wash to be cleansed.  He doesn’t do the cleaning.  The wash does that.  He doesn’t apply the wax and buff it out.  The wash does that.  He doesn’t wipe down the car.  The wash does that.  His part is to come out of the dirty environment that made the car dirty and yields to the control of the one who can make it clean. 

This is the understanding above.  For sanctification to be efficacious, the saint must come apart and yield to the cleansing and maturing that only God can do.  God will not force it upon the one who chooses not to yield.  There must be a coming apart.  There must be a sanctification.  To be sanctified, one must first sanctify himself.  Once the saint does, then God can sanctify him.  We wonder why we have little victory in our spiritual lives.  It is because we haven’t put the blinker on, got off the highway, turned into the wash, and let go of the steering wheel.  We are not clean because we choose not to be cleaned.  We are not sanctified because we have not first sanctified ourselves.  God is waiting.  He is waiting for us to choose His perfect sanctification by a free will choice of our own to yield to the ministry of the Holy Spirit.  Otherwise, we are driving around filthy and aimlessly.

Of Rest And Affliction

“It shall be a sabbath of rest unto you, and ye shall afflict your souls, by a statute for ever.” (Le 16:31 AV)

At first glance, one might see a difficulty here.  How can rest and affliction coexist?  Rest and affliction are polar opposites, aren’t they?  How can someone rest and at the same time afflict himself?  But that is exactly what the day of rest was for.  It was a day to rest from one’s labors and slow down enough that the soul could be afflicted with the reality of who and what we are.  The day of rest from one’s labors was a day of rest from one’s sins; and the spiritual consequences of those sins.  The practical reality is times of rest are good times to reflect on our walk with God.  It doesn’t matter whether it is a Sunday or any other time of idleness.  These times of rest could be just as much of a vacation as it is the quiet time right before slumber.  Perhaps the time of rest is a coffee break at work or waiting for an appointment.  Whenever we have times of slow or no activity, it might be a good time to afflict the soul as self-examination is the means to walk more intimately with God.

There are times we enjoy the quietness that comes from an unoccupied mind.  We enjoy the peace that comes from perfect contentment and faith.  We enjoy the reality of total absolution for all our sins and the freedom from guilt this provides.  But we cannot always say this is the case.  

There are times we reflect on who and what we are and we do not like what we see.  For me, it is usually at night.  As I fall off to sleep, the LORD gets an ear full of how I have failed Him.  The list is long.  The time of affliction is when the day is over and rest is on the schedule.  God is entitled to our transparency and the thought occurs to me that if I were not to wake in the morning, I would want my slate to be as clean as it possibly can be. 

Yet, there is another operation that is more precious than confession and forgiveness.  It is often in the night the Spirit does His best work.  Upon affliction of the soul, there is also learning and healing.  As He speaks to me regarding my deepest thoughts, feelings, and condition, He leads my thoughts through biblically-based reasoning.  He helps me understand what I need to know so that when I wake in the morning, He has matured me ever so slightly.  It is the meditation of the heart that brings understanding in the way.  As the Spirit so gently guides my thoughts into the reality of the word of God, I can understand why I am the way I am and the promises He brings that can change that.  This affliction is a good thing.  Think of it as a physical trainer.  He is not critical.  He is not a drill sergeant who will malign you into subjection.  The physical trainer will push you and give you the confidence and encouragement that might seem like impossible goals.  I had the privilege of working with one many years back.  He set goals and increased those goals so after a year or so, I was able to do things that I didn’t think possible.  Like hiking five miles dragging a dead deer without having to stop and catch my breath.  It took afflicting the body.  It took afflicting the mind.  Growth takes affliction and it is in the times of rest where the Spirit does His best affliction.

Joy Over Sorrow

“And Moses diligently sought the goat of the sin offering, and, behold, it was burnt: and he was angry with Eleazar and Ithamar, the sons of Aaron which were left alive, saying, Wherefore have ye not eaten the sin offering in the holy place, seeing it is most holy, and God hath given it you to bear the iniquity of the congregation, to make atonement for them before the LORD?” (Le 10:16-17 AV)

 There is a lot going on here.  Nadab and Abihu, two sons of Aaron who served as priests, offered strange fire before the LORD and died as a result.  There is much speculation as to exactly what the strange fire was, but clearly, it was not in accordance with the laws of fire offered to God.  God struck them dead.  Eleazar and Ithamar took their place.  Two more sons of Aaron.  The goat of the sin offering was to be offered, but the flesh was to be kept back and eaten with joy by the priests in the holy place before the LORD.  The two sons, out of respect for their father’s grief and their own sorrow, decided to burn their portion on a separate fire apart from the brazen altar.  Moses confronts them and seeing as how they could not fulfill the law by eating the sacrifice with joy, was content with their solution.  Prior to this entry, I wrote regarding God’s grace and the impossibility of fulfilling God’s law.  Sometimes it is virtually impossible to walk in obedience and thus God’s grace abounds.  One cannot read the word and pray daily if they are under medication following surgery.  However, for this morning’s meditation, let us consider joy.  In particular, the joy that should always attend to the reality of forgiveness of sins.  The sin offering was the offering that atoned for sin.  When assimilating it by eating it, joy should abound.  Sin has been atoned for and joy must be the result.

Recently, I have been reminded of the temporary nature of life.  As one ages, they are keenly aware of how short life is getting.  Life changes and the simple joys of this life are lost to its realities of it.  Things change.  Adjusting to my sons growing older and leaving the house was a difficult adjustment to make.  One that almost broke me.  For twenty years or so, there were always around inviting me to be a part of their life.  I watched them grow up together.  I watched them play together.  Now, they were scattered to different parts of the globe.  The joy of my salvation was one source of overcoming that deep grief of loss.  Today, my wife and I are getting older.  Our health isn’t what it used to be.  Some of the simple things we used to enjoy as a couple is not as common as they once were.  But one comfort which keeps me in a state of joy is remembering we will share eternity.  I know Jesus says there is neither marriage nor giving in marriage in eternity, but that doesn’t mean Lisa and I will cease to keep company.  Nothing can separate us from the love of God which we have in Christ Jesus.  Not His love for us, nor our love for one another.

Salvation, or the forgiveness of sin, should be the joy that sustains us through the hardships of life.  Knowing nothing can separate us from the love of God no matter the depth of our trial is the medicine a troubled soul needs.  We are not one to judge Eleazar, Ithamar, or Aaron.  We would have done the same.  And grace from Moses and God would have been granted.  But in this account, we can also see that not eating the sacrifice with joy failed to take advantage of an opportunity to hasten recovery from their troubled soul.  Perhaps they should have tried.  Perhaps not.  All we do know is they were required to eat the sacrifice with joy and if they had, their loss would have been lessened.  There is no blame when they could not.  No fault left at their feet.  Moses was content with the explanation.  No harm, no foul.  But one cannot help but ask the question if they had eaten, would they have been better off?

BloodBath

“And he brought Aaron’s sons, and Moses put of the blood upon the tip of their right ear, and upon the thumbs of their right hands, and upon the great toes of their right feet: and Moses sprinkled the blood upon the altar round about.” (Le 8:24 AV)

Of this practice, Albert Barnes writes, ”Before casting forth the blood round the altar in the usual manner, Moses took a portion of the blood and put some of it on the right extremities of each of the priests. This, being performed with the blood of the peace offering, has been supposed to figure the readiness of the priest who is at peace with Yahweh to hear with the ear and obey the divine word, to perform with the hand the sacred duties of his office, and to walk with the feet in the way of holiness.”  The Jewish religious system is filled with symbols.  Everything they did points to a greater principle.  The furniture of the tabernacle was laid out in the shape of a cross.  The Israelites encamped around the tabernacle in the shape of a cross.  In fact, the symbol of the cross is throughout the tabernacle.  In the above example, the symbolism is not lost on Bro. Barnes.  His assessment is as good as anyone's.  God takes sin rather seriously.  For someone to undertake ministry on His behalf without first cleansing himself would not be acceptable.  That which one would hear, partake of, and walk of his life should be cleansed by the blood of our Perfect Sacrifice before we attempt to serve Him with our life.

Just the other day, we looked at the custom of washing one’s hands before one eats.  I gave examples of my Mother’s on-the-spot grooming habits.  I shared the whole spit-and-wipe technique of mobile bathing my Mom used to perform on our way to any place in public.  She wanted us to look our best and if we did not, it was a reflection on her.  This is not that.  This is a bit different.  The practice of placing blood on the tip of the ear, the thumb, and the great toe of the foot was an act of consecration.  It was a rite of purification prior to service.  Something similar would be a prayer of confession and repentance before we rise and serve God for the day.  Perhaps a few moments of reflective intercession for one’s own faults is warranted before we attempt to live for God the entire day.  Maybe a reflection of what we are and how we have failed would be a good faith gesture on our part so that a holy God is not offended by how flippantly we can take the responsibility to live for God.

Moses bathed Aaron and his sons.  Moses applied to blood.  This is not something these priests could do for themselves.  Someone of authority and ordained by God to do so would be the one to consecrate them to service.  What a picture this is of Christ!  Moses, who is the one who prepares the priests for service is a perfect picture of Christ’s atoning and sanctifying work of His people.  In order to be worthy of service to our Father, we must yield to the cleansing of the blood of Christ in all areas of life.  We are to yield to the ministry of the Holy Spirit as He washes away all the sin which we have indulged by confessing and forsaking it.  Then, by the water of the Word, our souls can be cleansed of all that offends God so that we might enter the day as a clean vessel, fit for the Master’s use.

The Unsinkable Saint of God

“Lay not wait, O wicked man, against the dwelling of the righteous; spoil not his resting place: For a just man falleth seven times, and riseth up again: but the wicked shall fall into mischief.” (Pr 24:15-16 AV)

Verse sixteen is often used, and correctly so, as encouragement for those who have fallen by the wayside.  It is a promise that because they are a child of God and do have a heart that desires to live right, God honors that and helps the errant child back on his spiritual feet.  It is a promise that no matter the situation, those who seek to be conformed to the image of Christ, when they fall away from that goal, will not remain so.  He will rise again.  The power of the promise in verse sixteen is in the rebuke of the wicked in verse fifteen.  The futility of the wicked to completely destroy the just is the thought of verse fifteen.  What a tremendous thought.  Rebuking the wicked for laying a temporary trap for the just should be motivation for the just to not fall therein.  Knowing defeat is not permanent, those who tend to be fatalistic can have hope the world, flesh, and devil cannot have permanent victory over him.  He is not destined for failure.  He will rise again.  And the enemies of God’s people embark on a hopeless mission.

As a child, we have strange games we play without realizing the outcome is already determined.  Camping got boring.  At our family property, there wasn’t much to do.  There was a swing set, a badminton court, trails, and a pond.  That was it.  That would be ok if you were camping for a weekend.  But my dad would take us for one to two weeks.  You can only play volleyball or badminton so many times.  You can only hike the same five trails so many times.  And between eleven kids, I am sure we caught the exact same fish more than once.  The pond was a source of fascination.  We did all sorts of things at that pond.  Skipping stones, of course, was a favorite.  That was until my father yelled at us because he thought it would harm the fish population.  One of our activities at the pond was to through a log into it to see if we could sink it.  We tried to get a wet log knowing we had a better chance.  Forget the little skipping stones.  We threw rocks.  We would hit it again and again.  Depending on the size of the rock and how hard we hit it, the log would go under and bob right back up again.  The heavier the rock, the more it stayed down.  As children, we did not understand the science behind buoyancy.  We didn’t understand that no matter how hard you struck the log if there was air in it, it would rise to the surface.  As long as there was breath in that wood, is was not going down.

We have the breath of life.  The breath of spiritual life, that is.  We have the Holy Spirit of God dwelling in our hearts and spirits.  Just like a child that cannot see nor conceive of trapped air is a log, the world and the devil cannot conceive of the power of the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.  Perhaps He is not evidently known.  Not at all times.  But He is there and a source of life, power, and endurance which assails the boulders that come our way.  So, next time you are discouraged by failure, remember verse fifteen along with verse sixteen.  Note the futility of their attacks.  Note the writer, but the inspiration of the Holy Spirit is calling the attacker an idiot.  They are wasting their time and energy.  Have you heard of The Unsinkable Molly Brown?  It is a movie and Broadway play about a real-life socialite who survived one disaster after another.  She got her nickname by surviving the Titanic and attempting to rescue fellow passengers.  She is a model of endurance.  We may not be the unsinkable Molly Brown, but we are the unsinkable child of God!

Did You Wash Those Hands?

“When they went into the tent of the congregation, and when they came near unto the altar, they washed; as the LORD commanded Moses.” (Ex 40:32 AV)

The priests were required to wash prior to, and following ministry.  Hygienically, this would make perfect sense.  The priests handed blood sacrifices all day.  They would be intermingling with blood.  But there is a spiritual significance to this washing as well.  Washing prior to ministry or approaching God was a physical reminder of what the supplicant should be doing when approaching the person of God.  Those who relate to the world should also cleanse themselves of all that could offend.  The saying ‘cleanliness is next to godliness’ perhaps has this passage in mind.  Those who are affected by the sins of others in the form of offering their sacrifice need to cleanse themselves of that which adheres to them.  Those wishing to seek God must cleanse themselves of sin so that it does not inhibit this choice.  God deserves our best.  Not that which we are comfortable doing.

Things sure do change.  Watching older family sitcoms like Leave It To Beaver or Andy Griffith, we witness a standard forgotten over the decades.  There was a standard of personal cleanliness that we do not see today.  The activity dictated the level of cleanliness expected of them.  If they were working in the field, they were expected to be dirty or smelly.  However, if their activity did not result in a constant state of untidiness, then cleanliness was the standard.  One of those practices is washing up before dinner.  In particular, Mom or Dad would do a full body inspection, but especially the hands.  It didn’t matter if the meal was eaten with tableware.  It didn’t matter if the child came home from school and spent the afternoon in his room apart from the dirt and grime of the outdoors.  Washing up for dinner was commanded.  My own mother used to do this until there were too many of us and it took much time and argument to get it done.  Fingernails especially were under the microscope.  There was no way a child was coming to the table and being around food that others might eat with unwashed hands.

Hygiene was not the only factor.  Cleanliness meant respect for those around you.  Coming to the table filthy from the outside was not respectful toward one’s siblings.  Especially if there was odor involved.  On our way to our grandparent's home, Mom did an inspection and cleansed any smudge with spit on a Kleenex.  The same with going anywhere.  But most of all, to church.  If we were not in the best possible condition, Mom made a fuss.  As she should.  We were going to church.  We were to be at our Sunday best.  Church was a special place.  It was where we went to meet with God.

God asks that we cleanse ourselves as best we can by repentance and prayer prior to approaching Him.  At least in our hearts.  If we went to the presence of God with sin in our hearts or in our lives, we disrespect His very person.  This was the warning to the priest.  If you are going to approach God, it better be in the best condition you can muster.  Otherwise, it shows a lack of respect for the God whom you claim you serve.

His Way Is Him

“Now therefore, I pray thee, if I have found grace in thy sight, shew me now thy way, that I may know thee, that I may find grace in thy sight: and consider that this nation is thy people.” (Ex 33:13 AV)

The relationship between knowing God and knowing God’s way is obvious.  We cannot say we know God if we do not know His way.  His way is the extension of His character, purpose, and plan.  To know His way is to know Him.  This is where the bulk of Christendom fails.  Much is nothing more than fake and emotional mysticism.  There is a curiosity about the theology of God.  But there is little interest in knowing the way of God.  The statutes, commandments, and principles of God are least among the spiritual that is desired.  The way of God is only desired to the extent the saint gains a benefit from it.  If there is a blessing associated with the ways of God, we are all over it.   But to know the way of God that He might be glorified and pleased regardless of what it might personally cost us, no thank you.  Moses knew he could not lead God’s people without knowing God.  And, he cannot know God without knowing His way.

My father passed away almost two years ago.  Upon his death, my sister compiled all of dad’s photos.  He was a prolific photographer.  Of the pictures she could collect, there were over 4500.  But that is only a drop in the bucket of all the photos he actually took.  When I look at the photos, I see the history of the man I called Dad.  Part of that history; actually a large part; could be boiled down into two interests.  His religion was a big part of who he was.  There was also his passion for wilderness camping.  He was heavily into the boy scouts.  We have black and whites of him in his early twenties and one of him camping while in the boy scouts or just for fun.  There are pictures of him with friends, his brother, and his parents.  There are pictures of him in the thick woods or at a lakeside.  He is involved in all sorts of activities from canoeing to fishing to cooking over an open fire.  He raised us with that same passion.  He wanted us to appreciate what this part of his life meant to him.  We learned the same skills he had.  We learned his ways because that was who he was.

It is an insult to reject part of the ways of God because we simply do not prefer them.  When we reject the ways of God, we reject Him.  When I received Christ and left the church of my forefathers, it hurt my father deeply.  I had no choice.  The LORD led me that way.  But the hurt that came from it was deep and personal.  Why?  Because that was who he was.  His religion was him.  In the same manner, when we reject the word of God, or portions of it, because we want to live as we want to live, this is a personal insult to God.  When I left the religion of my forefathers, I was leaving a faith tradition that teaches salvation by works.  There is an element of human effort in salvation whereas the word of God clearly teaches salvation is by faith.  I left a church that taught tradition and church leaders are on equal footing as the word of God.  This is a grave error.  I had to leave for my own conscience's sake.  God’s way is perfect and pure.  There is no reason to leave them.  To follow them is to appreciate Him.  This is where we are failing.  This is where we need to return.  To know God’s way is to know Him.

Frame In God

“And when the people saw that Moses delayed to come down out of the mount, the people gathered themselves together unto Aaron, and said unto him, Up, make us gods, which shall go before us; for as for this Moses, the man that brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we wot not what is become of him.” (Ex 32:1 AV)

Herein was the beginning of their error.  Moses didn’t bring Israel out of Egypt, God did.  It was this temporal and carnal way of thinking that got Israel into more trouble than any other single thing.  It was their inability to see God in all things and exercise faith in Him that led to the majority of their problems.  From the need for water three days after their great exodus to the last bit of the old generation that died off, they had a hard time framing their existence as a relationship with a God that could not see who would lead them and care for them.  Their eyes could not stay on the spiritual and eternal, even if they were temporarily set that way.  They had been led from Egypt with a pillar of fire and cloud.  They had a miracle of water handed to them.  God manifested Himself when they needed Him to but the moment they doubted, their eyes were on what they could see.  Not on what they could not see.  To constantly frame our pilgrimage in spiritual reality rather than physical reality is difficult.  But it is necessary.

We are physical creatures that live in a physical world.  We deal with the physically obvious.  The physical things of this world meet our immediate and most pressing needs.  As far as our physical existence is concerned.  However, there is a whole nother realm out there which is far more significant.  The spiritual world is the eternal one and this spiritual existence should give definition to the physical and not the other way around.  We fail at framing our existence in the context of a permanent and continuous relationship with God.  We compartmentalize our relationship with God rather than seeing it as something that gives definition to everything else.  We do not see our wage as something God provides.  Rather, we see it as something we personally earned.  We do not see the breath we take as something God enables us to do.  We see it as a force of nature which our brains involuntarily do.  We do not see the sunny days or snow-filled days as something God sends.  Rather, we see it as a result of the movement of the jet stream.  We fail to frame God in our lives and the dominant influence and force upon them because we are naturally inclined to do so.

It thanks a mind that is spiritually orientated to see what is really there.  It wasn’t Moses who led Israel out of Egypt and more than it was your gifts or talents that made you a success.  It wasn’t Moses who turned the bitter water into potable water any more than it was you who recovered from an injury.  It wasn’t Moses who fed Israel in the wilderness, organized a battle, or gave direction as they wandered any more than it was you or another human entity that got you to where you are in life.  God did it all.  This is the point.  The less we see God, the more we will stray from our relationship with Him.  The more we see God in all things, the more intimately we will experience Him.  The saint that sees God in all things is the saint who knows God in all circumstances.  Set our affection on things above, starting with God Himself and we will realize there is more to life than what can be seen.  He is real!  He is active!  He does care!  He is watching!  We just need to see it.

No Need For Just For Men

“The glory of young men is their strength: and the beauty of old men is the gray head.” (Pr 20:29 AV)

 

The most interesting nugget about this verse is the appearance of the colon between the young man and the old man.  Solomon is comparing what others observe as admirable.  The young man is recognized for what he can accomplish through his own efforts.  His strength is his glory.  We admire an athlete who can do things no normal person can do.  As we should.  He works hard and trains equally hard to accomplish the things that he does.  His strength is a manifestation of the discipline to be strong.  On the other hand, the old man is extolled for his wisdom.  That is the analogy to the gray head.  The gray head is often a symbol of wisdom garnered by experience.  The word ‘and’ along with the colon joins the two.  As much as we might appreciate a world record of some physical feat, the same appreciation should be had for those who have lived a life and learned from the LORD and His word coupled with experience.  The grey head should be appreciated even more than the strength of the young man for strength cannot continue to mature and increase while wisdom can.  Solomon is trying to tell his children even though you may admire the accomplishments of the young, the wisdom of the old is of equal or greater value.

I have been thinking of my father a lot lately.  I miss him.  He passed away almost two years ago.  My father was an extremely smart man.  There isn’t a time when I don’t remember him without grey hair.  I’m sure he had another hair color at one time, but I don’t know what that might have been because there was no color photography back then.  All I remember is grey hair.  He also had a certain style that screamed ‘50s scientist.  He had the tight crew cut and plastic horn-rimmed glasses.  He used a pocket protector as well.  My father and Einstein could have been friends.  However, as throwback as that was, we know if we had a question, he had an answer.  He may have not been right one hundred percent of the time, but it was pretty close.  He learned by personal experience the right and wrong way.  When we had an issue, it was dad whom we asked.  Mom was smart in her own way.  College-educated and very smart, my mom could probably solve most problems.  But it was dad who had all the answers.  It was that gray head that I remember the most.

This is something his son soon forgot.  Reheboam, the son of Solomon who took his place on the throne, ignored the advice of his father’s counselors and contemporaries and went with the advice of his young friends.  This resulted in a bloodless civil war.  Jereboam, given the ten northern tribes by God, ceded from the two southern tribes and established his own government.  All because Reheboam would not heed the advice of those with grey heads.  Grey heads come at a cost.  I know.  I am quickly getting one.  There is an old wives tale that equates white hair to the stress of life.  There is something to that.  Mostly, I am sure it is genetics, but stress does play a part.  Stress is the emotion one feels while learning life-altering lessons.  This instruction is also an encouragement to those of us with grey heads.  We may not be able to accomplish physically what much younger men can, but that does not mean we are void of purpose and profit.  There is a place for the gray head.  Those hairs got there because of experience and the voice of experience can often help the strength of youth to be better focused and more effective.

God Repays

“He that hath pity upon the poor lendeth unto the LORD; and that which he hath given will he pay him again.” (Pr 19:17 AV)

Doesn’t that underlined phrase above pique your interest?  Can we really lend to a God who owns everything?  Yet Solomon states we can.  In sharing with those less fortunate we are lending to the LORD.  We are giving to that individual something which God has given to us.  The reason for phrasing it as such is that God will return that loan to the one who made it.  Much like a bank that issues loans.  The bank has no capital of its own, so to speak.  Their capital comes from the saving of those who hold accounts there or the interest paid by those who have loans.  When they issue a loan, what they are really doing is advancing your money that comes from a third source; the debtors and account holders.  In this sense, we are the bank.  God gives us resources that we save.  Then when one has a need we can fill, we disburse what God has bestowed and the LORD returns what we have lent; either in reimbursement of like kind, or some other blessing of greater value.  Generosity is always repaid in one way or another.

If we have a surplus, or even if it might hurt a little, meeting the needs of those less fortunate is a good thing to do.  The concept above is not a foreign one.  Jesus told His disciples that if they give to the poor, they are giving to Him.  If we do so unto the least of the brethren, we are doing so unto Him.  There are those who are in dire straights and it is in the power of others to help.  I don’t claim to know the theology of it all.  All I know is the LORD says if we give unto the poor when it is in the power of our hand to do it, we are doing do unto the LORD.  When we do, the LORD will be sure to recompense our generosity back upon us.  It may not be equal to material blessings.  Rather, it may be spiritual in nature.  Whatever the reimbursement, it will be equal to or greater than what we were willing to part with.

The beauty of thinking of benevolence this way is that it takes out of the equation what we may or may not think of the poor to whom we are being kind.  If we overthink it and require a means test to the nth degree before we share what we have, there may be an unfair evaluation towards the one with the need.  However, if we see it as though we are lending to the LORD, then the individual who receives the gift is free from unfair judgment.  If they are in genuine need and have no other recourse, then we are free to share with no requirement to justify the benevolence.  One condition is if we are lending it unto the LORD, then the person receiving it must use it as the LORD would use it.  Therefore, we can do our due diligence so we are not giving to someone who would use it for vice, or who is habitually poor when he need not be.  If the poor will use our kindness ethically and morally, then we are giving unto the LORD.  And all judgment ceases.  So, when someone with a need expresses that need, remember, you are giving to God and God will pay you back.

Tell Me Twice

“And the LORD said unto Moses, Go down, charge the people, lest they break through unto the LORD to gaze, and many of them perish…And Moses said unto the LORD, The people cannot come up to mount Sinai: for thou chargedst us, saying, Set bounds about the mount, and sanctify it. And the LORD said unto him, Away, get thee down…So Moses went down unto the people, and spake unto them.” (Ex 19:21-25 AV)

A reminder is a reflection of our nature.  Moses had already instructed the people not to approach the mountain.  And, if they did, they would die.  Moses ascends the mountain and the LORD tells him to return to the congregation a second time and command them again not to approach.  Moses’ response was, “trust them, LORD, I already told them and surely they will not approach.”  That wasn’t good enough.  The LORD wanted them commanded a second time.  Although I prefaced this as a reminder, it is better understood as an affirmation of a command.  One might get offended if they had to be told more than once.  Especially adults.  We would get offended.  Moses responds as one would expect.  He told these adults once not to approach and since they were scared of the presence of God, surely they would heed the warning.  But God knows our frame.  We need to be told more than once.  We need to be told over and again.  One time is not enough.  We are stubborn and have short memories.  If they were not told a second time before Moses ascended, the implication is they would have forgotten or ignored the instruction.  One time is seldom enough.

I have a son whose nickname was “tell me twice -----.”  It didn’t matter what we told him to do, one time was never enough.  His mind was far ahead of his actions so if you told him to clean up his room, in his mind, it was already done and he was on to the next thing.  It wasn’t so much a disobedience thing as it was a concentration thing.  He could entertain many thoughts at one time.  In his own way, he is a prodigy.  Sometimes, however, his inability to grasp a simple command the first time he was told was a matter of mere obedience.  He could use his tendency of inattention as a means to do what he really wanted to do all along.  Telling him twice was not because he could not concentrate.  Telling him twice eventually became a matter of obedience.  So, we devised a plan to train him to concentrate on the command at hand and comply immediately.  It actually worked out well for my other two sons as well.  The rule was if they complied with the first time they were told, no adverse consequences would ensue.  However, if he or they had to be told more than once, they got a little swat for every time over the first time they were told and ignored the command.  So, if we had to tell our son to do something twice, he got two swats.  Three times, three swats.  Even if they complied, they got swats according to how many times it took them to comply.  The technique accomplished more than training.  It also kept Mom and Dad from chastening as an emotional response to disobedience and made it far more dispassionate and reasoned.

The point is, we are no different from our kids.  We don’t get it the first time.  That is why we need to repeatedly read our bibles, go to church and hear some of the same principles, and read several books on the same subject.  We simply do not get it the first time around.  Try not to take offense.  Even if we are in compliance, a reminder doesn’t hurt.  Our pride can get in the way and although we may comply, there will come a time when the reminder becomes an offense and we ignore it.  Not a good idea.  If Moses had to reaffirm God’s command to the people of Israel, we must need the same thing, too.

God's Lens

“And it came to pass, that in the morning watch the LORD looked unto the host of the Egyptians through the pillar of fire and of the cloud, and troubled the host of the Egyptians,” (Ex 14:24 AV)

The Bible tells us when Israel was safely over on the other side of the Red Sea, the pillar moved from in front of Israel to behind them.  The pillar, at this point, was between Israel and Egypt.  Thus, it was in front of Egypt, blocking their progress.  What caught my eye was the manner in which God looked at Egypt.  A God who is omnipresent can see all things everywhere and at all times.  He does not need to look through anything.  God could look at the enemy of His people from the glories of heaven and see it all in one moment.  Yet, He chose to use the pillar as a magnifying glass.  Not for His sake.  Not that He might examine Egypt closer.  Not that He needed to.  His examination of Egypt was for their benefit and God’s glory.  By looking through the pillar, God gave context regarding the nature of His relationship with Egypt.  At the moment, they were not His favorite people.  They sought to enslave His people at any cost and they refused to take no for an answer.  Now, they were stuck.  Their wheels broke off because the horses were trying to do a one-eighty rather quickly.  They stuck fast in the mud and broke right off.  God looked through the pillar right at Egypt and they knew it.  This is why it troubled them so.

Nowhere else does this type of phrase occur.  At least not in the exact phrasing as above.  God looks toward, upon, and into.  Mostly, upon.  When I think of God looking through a lens, I think of definition for the one upon whom the gaze is cast.  We can think of it as our parents whose disposition changed depending on the circumstances at the moment.  Our parents could look at us through the lens of an authority figure in one moment and a mentor the next.  They could look at us with the eyes of friendship yet also share a glance of disappointment.  Our parents could be so proud of what we have accomplished, and then a few minutes later, see faults that need addressing.  When God looked at Egypt, He saw them through the lens of His wrath.  This is what troubled them.  They had seen the pillar lead Israel.  The pillar was not something new.  It was safely at a distance.  It was in front of their prey.  While there, it could be assumed a benign cloud only of concern to the Israelites. But it moved.  It moved and its character changed.  No longer was it a pillar of cloud by day.  It was not a pillar of cloud and fire by day.  The gaze of God changed direction and nature.  This is what troubled the Egyptians.

But what of the believer?  How should we see this?  How should we apply God’s gaze?  Does He see us with the eyes of wrath as He does His enemies?  Surely not.  We are His children.  But it does beg the question.  Through what lens does He see us?  We know there are certain lenses that are always in place.  He sees us through the lens of the blood of Christ.  We are His children made pure by the Son’s sacrifice.  He sees us through the lens of everlasting love and grace.  He sees us through the lens of purpose and function in the scheme of His will.  However, there are times when these lenses are a bit more complicated.  He may see us through the lens of pleasure or disappointment.  He may be looking through the lens of patience and kindness.  The question we can ask is how does God perceive us as we are presently walking with Him?  One thing that is hard is for a parent to continually see us as a minor even though we are grown adults.  The perception of others bothers us somewhat.  Therefore, the question this morning is how does God perceive us and what can we do about it?

Remember Always - God Delivers

“It is a night to be much observed unto the LORD for bringing them out from the land of Egypt: this is that night of the LORD to be observed of all the children of Israel in their generations.” (Ex 12:42 AV)

The underlined phrase may indicate the children of Israel were instructed to remember the night of Passover more than the law required.  The law required them to observe this night as a memorial once a year.  It was their New Year’s day celebration.  Passover was the beginning of the Jewish calendar.  But reading the narrative of the history of Israel, the theme or mention of the Passover is shared repeatedly.  The Passover was the foundation of many arguments toward godliness.  Moses rehearsed the fact of the Passover over and again as a reminder that God delivered them for a purpose.  David includes the fact of the Exodus as a theme in many of his psalms.  The Passover was not relegated to a yearly memory.  Although the feast may have been once a year, remembering what God did was not.  This is sort of like our ordinance of the LORD’s Supper.  We should observe it as oft as we will.  As often as necessary so that we never forget what Christ did for us.  The more Israel remembered their deliverance, the more faithful they were to walk in obedience.  The further from the memory of that deliverance, the more trouble they had with sin.

I’m probably just as guilty as the next saint who doesn’t make a regular practice of remembering the day of my salvation.  This memorial does not need to be limited to salvation.  Although the feast of the Passover is dedicated to one specific event in the history of Israel, the New Testament saint is not limited as they were.  We can remember all sorts of events of deliverance from whatever had us bound at the time.  In this entry, I wish to make a connection from the greatest delivery of all to those after that deliverance.  The greatest is deliverance from our sin and that which kept us from fellowship with God.  When Jesus Christ died on that cross, He paid my entire sin debt.  Even that which I have yet to do.  In that one act of death, burial, and resurrection, I am forever a child of God.  I can have peace if and when death approaches.  I know there is nothing between God and me.  But God’s deliverance did not stop there.  Since that time, there have been numerous hazardous events from which the LORD has delivered.  There have been health issues, deep financial issues, emotional issues, issues of the purpose of life, etc.  There have been crossroads one after another.  There have been times I didn’t think I would ever survive.  There have been issues in ministry, issues of regular life, and even family issues from time to time.  But the LORD has been good and delivered me out of them all.  I cannot say they turned out as I wanted at the time, but they did turn out as God designed them.  And His way is always best.

It is important to remember God’s deliverance frequently.  There will come times when deliverance is doubted.  We may think what we are facing is even too much for God.  But if we remember that God is bigger than anything we could ever face and He knew we would face it in eternity past, surely was can trust Him in the present.  We can also live a life of consistent joy if we choose to remember God’s deliverance more than we do our present troubles.  God has delivered.  God is delivering.  God will deliver.  Temptation of faith or failure doesn’t have to be overwhelming.  The God of deliverance is always there.  All we need to do is remember.

Experiencing God Versus Knowing God

“And I appeared unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob, by the name of God Almighty, but by my name JEHOVAH was I not known to them.” (Ex 6:3 AV)

John Gill has a good explanation of this phrase.  Factually, Israel would have known God as the immutable and eternal God who is self-existing and who honors His word.  They would have known this name and the fact of God’s nature.  What they did not know is the experience of a God who honors His covenants based on His eternal existence and His immutability.  This is exactly what would be tested here.  For over four hundred years, Israel was held in slavery.  Or at least the bulk of that time.  During that time, they would have doubted the promises made to their forefathers.  No doubt the question arose as to God’s faithfulness to His word.  Were the promises to Abraham and Isaac still in force?  Did God mean what He said to Abraham?  They know God is almighty.  They heard of it in the past.  But there never arose circumstances by which the faithfulness of God was tested.  This is what Egypt was all about.  It was meant to build faith in God’s immutable faithfulness even when circumstances may seem contrary.

I always knew my father was a teacher.  I saw him leave for work in the morning.  I saw him return at night.  I saw him grading papers or writing tests.  I saw him with textbooks open.  I saw his teacher's equipment like protractors, compasses, chalk holders, erasers, pens and pencils, pocket protectors, and a briefcase.  I saw the evidence of his profession.  I saw the pictures of his college days.  I saw his diploma.  I even saw his classroom with his name on it.  I saw his desk and his separate office.  To this day, I still dream of going to school and trying to find where his office is before he retires and I cannot see him in school any longer.  I met the principal and saw them talking.  I noted the collection of school paraphernalia he had collected over the years.  School jackets, yearbooks with his picture in them, mugs, and pens.  I saw all the evidence.  I could hear the stories of difficult students or listen to my siblings mention an incident or two while they sat under his lectures.  But until I could sit in his classroom, I would never truly know him as a teacher.  Not until I could experience that part of him, I would never truly know him as such.

The point to be made here is we may know God theologically, but we do not know Him practically.  Not until we are faced with circumstances that require a manifestation of His nature do we really begin to know Him.  This is the theologian’s burden.  He may have studied until his eyes were bloodshot.  He may have articulated before the Doctors of Divinity the finer points of exegesis, but until life happens, all they know of God are words and concepts.  They truly do not know the name of Jehovah.  Life has to happen for us to truly know God.  This means difficult times must be a part of our lives to know that God is who He claims to be.  It was unfortunate that Israel had to suffer four hundred years of slavery.  But what they learned they could learn no other way.  They learned that God is who He claims to be and there should be no further doubt.

Take Note

“And Moses said, I will now turn aside, and see this great sight, why the bush is not burnt.” (Ex 3:3 AV)

This reminds me of the prophet Jeremiah.  Jeremiah didn’t let anything pass his notice.  If there was something to notice, notice it he did.  Here, Moses witnesses an impossibility.  Or at least what should be an impossible event.  A bush is lit with fire, yet is not burned.  The scientist would have shown up and tried to explain away this phenomenon as a natural but rare event.  In fact, there are those who have done just that.  It doesn’t matter if it can be logically explained or scientifically determined.  The event still had the same effect.  Moses took notice.  He sat up and noted this should not be happening.  I think those whom God speaks to are more apt to notice the unusual or abnormal.  These are the saints who notice curiosities from the Word of God that others pass completely by.  Now, this can, and is overdone.  A curiosity may be just that.  But more times than not, the LORD is trying to speak to us through things that do not make sense or are not ordinary.  Determining just what that is, is the trick.  We might be tempted to make more of it than God intended.

Every now and again I get a question from a saint regarding something they noticed in the word of God that seemed out of place or didn’t make sense.  My sons call me every once in a while with such a question.  Recently, my son called me and asked why Abraham stated, in Genesis chapter 22, that God would provide a lamb yet it was a ram caught in the bushes.  Good question.  A curiosity.  Something of which someone should take note.  I have never studied that out and I am sure there is a plethora of explains.  The only difference between the lamb and ram which we know of is age.  A lamb could be male or female.  A ram is an adult male.  My answer was a lamb wouldn’t have horns that could get caught in the bushes.  Another might be there is no indication that Abraham infallibly prophesied.  Just because Abraham said lamb doesn’t require God to provide one.  There may be a deeper meaning here that others have contrived.  There probably is.  The point is, my son noticed a curiosity and through that curiosity, God will speak with him.

These curiosities can be overdone.  So, I must caution you not to make more of them than they are.  However, I have been reminded recently that a curiosity can also have a ripple effect and the curiosity may not be directly related to what God has for you.  It could be the curiosity was designed to stop you in your tracks and remove all distractions so that the voice of God could speak to you in an unrelated matter.  Curiosities are designed to get our attention.  Often, they are nothing more than that.  They are an attention grabber.  When the bush was burning, Moses went out of the way.  In other words, he was headed in the direction of tending to the cattle of his father-in-law and he turned out of the way to examine a curiosity.  Once he did, God was able to speak to him regarding his calling.  A burning bush had nothing to do with the substance of the call.  It was merely that which God used to get Moses’ attention so He could extend the call without competing with Moses’ sense of duty to his flock.  Noticing curiosities sent from God is a good thing.  They are often the knock at the door but not the person behind it.  So, when you sense something out of the ordinary, perhaps assume it is God trying to get your attention.  Then listen.  There is something behind it that you need to hear.

Look At Your 6

“Evil pursueth sinners: but to the righteous good shall be repayed.” (Pr 13:21 AV)

I have to be honest.  When I read this verse, I took it a different way than Solomon intended.  I read it to mean the evil who are habitually so, are tailed by temptation to which they will eventually yield.  But the word evil above is judgment.  As I read commentators on the subject, they all agreed it was pending judgment that pursues the sinner.  As I was reading, one particular writer drew an analogy that stuck with me.  Rather than zero in on the word ‘evil’, he focused on the word ‘pursueth’.  He drew the analogy of pending judgment as always future, which it is.  He used the example of a hunter in pursuit of a hare that was driving him toward a cliff.  At the last second, the hare darts off in a safe direction while the hunter plummets to the base.  Generally, this is how we think.  We think of consequences as in front of us and not behind us.  The problem with thinking that way is the delay of consequences is assumed as an escape from them altogether.  If we do not suffer immediate consequences, then we assume we have escaped all of them.  The writer is making the distinction between assuming grace from consequences and delay of consequences.

No one is impervious to this truth.  We all suffer future consequences for present decisions.  I get a kick out of watching police shows where a perp is pursued by a police officer on foot.  Just last night I was watching such a chase.  Usually, in such a scene, the perp is rather young while the police officer or detective is ten to twenty years older.  In last night’s episode, the perp was in his early twenties and the detective was in his late thirties to early forties.  The detective had dress shoes on while the perp had sneakers.  The perp was lightly dressed while the detective had a suit and overcoat on.  The perp wasn’t carrying any equipment while the detective had a gun holstered and other law enforcement equipment strapped to his belt.  Guess who won?  The detective who has sixty pounds and fifteen years on the perp who wasn’t dressed for a track meet chased down and tackled the perp.  Reality doesn’t work that way.  The race goes to the swift.  In reality, if a perp runs, there is usually a network that works against him.  He will eventually get caught, but it won’t be by a middle-aged cop with cardigans. 

This is how we often see consequences.  We see them as something that will never catch us but do not realize there are a whole set of circumstances that work to bring those consequences around.  It may appear we are winning the foot race, but the foot race will turn into a dragnet.  The foot race is only meant to steer us into a waiting dragnet.  We may outrun the jurisprudence of God for a time.  It may appear as though God does not care or that He is being merciful towards it all.  But not so.  He may be merciful.  He may be gracious.  He may not think our transgression is worthy of immediate consequences.  He may even forgive it for a time because the goodness of the LORD leads to repentance.  For the habitual sinner, evil will pursue.  It will catch up.  Rather than run a sprint, evil is a marathon runner.  When the sinner loses the ability to run because he sprints everywhere, fulfilling all desires that he can, then when at rest, evil jogs right in and says, “I’ve been following you and there is something we need to discuss.”  This is the pattern of God’s corrective hand.  It may not come immediately and we may not see it down the road.  But it is there.  Following close behind;  waiting for a time when it will be most effective.