Care of the Most Holy Things

In Numbers 4:4 God commands the "most holy things" of the tabernacle to be cared for and carried by the Kohathite branch of the tribe of Levi (also Num 3:29-31). This must have been a huge honor, but was also a huge responsibility they had to carry. Literally. In Num 7:6-9 we see they had to carry the most holy things on their shoulders while the other Levite families (Gershonites and Merarites) got oxen and carts to carry their portion of the tabernacle. When you carry something on your shoulders, you feel the weight sometimes with every step, you think about it often, you mind is drawn to it. You're intimately familiar with it. On the road you have a constant reminder of the object in your charge on your back. The Kohathites were not allowed to use ox carts to carry the most holy things.

Eleazar: leader of leaders
The chief leader of the Levites was Eleazar son of Aaron, the priest (Num 3:32). He was appointed over those who were responsible for the care of the sanctuary. Eleazar, son of Aaron, brother to Nadab and Abihu, who were killed by God in priestly duties when the offered "unauthorized fire" (Lev 10), was appointed to be in leadership over those responsible for the care of the most holy things. In Num 4:16 Eleazar is set in charge of "the entire tabernacle and everything in it" for care and moving. He must have felt the tremendous burden of this stewardship. In fact in Num 4, the warning is issued multiple times to act properly with the most holy things or they would die (Num 4:15, 20; Num 3:10). Even Stephen Spielberg got this right in Raiders of the Lost Ark when the Nazis got torched by the Holy God for ordinance violations. Probably because they didn't have the hides of sea cows to cover it (Num 4:10). When Eleazar wrapped up the ark for the first time for transport, was he still grieving the death of his brothers? Did he delegate that task to others? Maybe not. As a leader he might have "taken one for the team" and had first position as ark carrier.

We too must lead by example. The "things" we carry as youth group leaders, parents, teachers, aunts/uncles, grandparents are most holy!! In fact, even more holy than the acacia wood and gold box that was the ark. How valuable are the people entrusted to our care? Look at the price paid by God the Father to redeem them. But despite the value of the most holy things (both then and now), God puts sinful, weak, clumsy , forgetful, lazy, stubborn people in charge (See post on God's Carny). In the OT He appointed Moses (murderer, coward), Aaron (idolater, liar), Nadab and Abihu (killed for unauthorized fire), Eleazar and Ithmar (?) to care for the tabernacle and said, "Now be careful, and obey, or you'll be killed".

In a very real sense it is both comical, and also sad. God knew they would fail. This is like putting Deputy Barney Fife in charge of secret service security detail for the President or Mr Bean in charge of the National Security Administration. Just look at the mess that Adam made. God told him to "take care of the garden". Basically, just go mow the lawn. And ends up with all of creation poisoned, corrupted, utterly ruined by war, sickness and sin. As if he went to trim the shrubs in the yard but ended up with the whole house a smoldering pile of ruin (which is not far from the truth).

And yet, God still entrusts us with the most holy things of His creation (people) and creation itself. Knowing that in our nature we are no better than Adam, God still gives us this huge stewardship. Why? Pure love and grace (which I always figure is a safe answer and probably not far from the truth with most unanswerable questions).


Leadership Lessons:
1) Eleazar was the third born of Aaron. A low man on totem pole of familia rights. Likely taking little leadership for most of his life. But with the death of his older brothers Nadab and Abihu, he was thrust into a leadership position. Sometimes our leadership roles suddenly come upon us. Learn what lessons you can wherever you're at, so that if you are called you can be as ready as possible.

2) People are not often fully ready for leadership but need to grow into the position. Moses was clearly not fully ready for leadership. Nor Aaron. At least learn from others' past mistakes so you can make fresh new ones! Are we surprised that Eleazar didn't offer "unauthorized incense"?

3) Num 3:49-51 Money was collected from the Israelites by Moses who then entrusted the money to Aaron and his sons. Our handling of $$ as leaders needs to be above reproach.

4) The most holy things we carry, our students or own children, are to be carried on our shoulders, not in ox carts. We're to be close, feel the weight of their lives, struggle along side them, be present with them. We hurt when we carry these most holy things in our stewardship. At times it is a grind. A discipling relationship with a student can be tiring, but it becomes less so when we remember the value of the most holy things we carry.

5) Our heavy lifting is sometimes done in the desert. Not only do we labor under the strain, there is a scorching sun, in a parched landscape, and sometimes feel like we're just wandering.

Other observations;
1) In Num 3:3 the sons of Aaron were anointed to be priests. The Hebrew word for anointed is "mashiah" which is where the word Messiah comes from. The priests were a foreshadowing of our Great High Priest, Jesus, the Messiah, the anointed one of God. We too are called holy priests (Peter 2:5), we are anointed and set apart for service. Our anointing is by the Holy Spirit (1 Jn 2:20-27).

Biblical Numbers [For Geeks Only!]

[Warning: this post is mostly for geeks like me. If you are not a geek stop reading immediately, lest you become one.]

An NIV text note for Proverbs 10:1 tickled my fancy today (sidenote: where and what the heck is my fancy? Seriously.) Proverbs 10 starts a collection and new section in the book. The note mentions that there are 375 verses in this section which runs through Prov 22:16. So what, you say? (Get out the tape for your glasses because the geek factor is going to kick in right about now.). Turns out that the value of the letters in Solomon's name is... 375.

[Hebrews were highly numerical and devised a system of assigning a value to each letter in the alphabet, so that a name and words had a number.]

Some people have taken Biblical numerology to the H.N.L. (whole 'notha level). Kabbala is a mystic sect based on Old Testament numerology and has recently gotten a shot in the arm thanks to Madonna.

And rabid eschatologists spend their holiday weekends trying to determine the name of the antichrist based on 666, the number of his name. And, yes, there's an app for that.

My interest in numbers is not in the mystical or end-times-guessing-game camp. But the geek aspect of how numbers are used in the Bible.

For example, everybody who has watched even a single snap of a football game knows John 3:16 Even Raiders fans.











But there are truckloads of other very cool 3:16 verses in the bible. Check out:
2 Timothy 3:16
Joshua 3:16
Matthew 3:16
Luke 3:16
1 Corinthians 3:16


Sequential Bible Verses
Some key passages in the Bible have cool numeric chapter/verse sequences:

Philippians 2:3-4
Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.


Phillipians 4: 5,6,7
Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.


Exodus 34:5,6,7
Then the Lord came down in the cloud and stood there with him and proclaimed his name, the Lord. And he passed in front of Moses, proclaiming, “The Lord, the Lord, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin. Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished; he punishes the children and their children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation.”



Luke 23:45
The sun stopped shining and the curtain of the temple was torn in two [at Jesus death. ]

Ecclesiastes 12:13
Fear God and keep his commands, for this is the whole duty of man.


Repeating Numbers
John 10:10
The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.

2 Tim 2:2
And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable people who will also be qualified to teach others.
(Not coincidentally this is the basis for a cool mentoring ministry called Lead222)

Proverbs 21:21
He who pursues righteousness and love finds life, prosperity and honor.

2 Peter 1:21
For prophecy never had its origin in the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.

Anagrams
Some great passages have cool number things and have anagrams embedded:

Matthew 7:7
Ask and it shall be given to you, seek and you shall find, knock and the door will be opened to you (A.S.K.)



These are the tip of the iceberg. I'd love to hear of other geeky number things you've found in the Bible.

The Wood Gatherer (Part III)

The Bible has a large number of passages that just make me squirm. These bitter pills don't make me doubt my faith in God, nor question His goodness or love. But they are difficult to swallow nonetheless. In Part 1 I resolved not to deny or diminish such passages, but instead to dig for meaning and Truth.

Currently I'm struggling with Numbers 15:32-36 where God has the assembly of Israelites stone a Sabbath breaker who was collecting wood. In Part II there is good reason to believe that this man was engaging in active, intentional and defiant rebellion against God. It's clearly not a case of unintentional sin, but a man who held contempt for the Living God.

But even if we ascribe the worst intentions, the most malice, the hardest heart of rebellion to the wood gatherer, we're still faced with the stiff reality that God had this man killed. And, even more, God commanded the assembly of people to do the actual deed. This was no fire from heaven episode, supernatural plague, or hailstones cast from the hand of God. But this man died, bloody blow by blow with stones cast from the hands his tribesmen, brethren, people he travelled with. Were family members present? Close friends? How long did the people who participated keep the image of the dying man's face in their minds? Did they see him in their sleep years later?

This passage joins a Biblical pharmacy of other bitter pills that are tough to swallow:

--Nadab and Abihu (Lev 10)
--Korah and company (Num 16)
--Uzzah (1 Chron 13:9-10)
--Anybody not named "Noah" or immediately related in his time (Gen 6:5-8).

And before we broad-brush the New Testament as being the "nice part of the Bible", let's remember:

--Annanais and Saphira (Acts 5)
--Most any moment within the Great Tribulation (Revelation)
--The guy Paul delivered to Satan for the destruction of his flesh (1 Cor 5:1-5)
--Jesus teaching more about hell, eternal torment, weeping, gnashing of teeth than anybody else in the Bible.

So how do we reconcile the God who is love having wrath? Grace with judgement? Heaven with hell? Jesus the gentle Lamb of God also the coming King who will destroy his enemies with His breath?

The answer might come by thinking about what might have happened if God didn't act as He did. What if God let the sin, rebellion, and contempt go unchecked? What if the wood-gatherer went out on the Sabbath and nothing happened? Probably not much would change. For a time. But sin tends to grow, both within the heart/mind of a person and through his community. One broken law leads to another. One law breaker leads to another.

But, we might say, "Well, so what if one sin leads to another? Nobody got hurt when he gathered his sticks. Maybe even some good came out of it, because he could feed and warm his family." But the Lord instituted the Sabbath out of love and concern for his people. Think of the grace involved in dedicating a day to rest and worship. A life without rest and worship is not without consequence, both to communities and individuals. The argument is even more clear with the other commands related to living in community (lying, adultry, murder). If the Sabbath Breaker has no consequence for his sin, he's more likely to move down the list of offenses. If he goes unchecked. We know this in our lives, that sin unchecked breeds more sin. Not until we repent and the Holy Spirit convicts can we bear fruit for the Lord.

Just look at the Philistines to get a picture of sin left unchecked: immorality that stained the very earth (Lev 18:25), sacrificing their own children to the false god Molech (Lev 18:21) as a few examples.

"Well and good," we might say, "But still, isn't stoning too harsh? What about a slap on the wrist? Or a time out? Or taking away the wood-gatherers Xbox for a week?"

To me, the issue comes down to three main points:

The Wages of Sin
Romans 6:23 seems to hit the nail on the head. Not understanding the wages of sin, is to underestimate the true ugly offense of sin, the cost, the insult to a holy God. The price paid for sin is death, both in spiritual separation from God and in the physical destruction of our bodies. The price paid for sin is ruin and discord in families, marriages, between parent/child, siblings, friends. There is separation and alienation between people in any organization greater than 1 in size. The cross of Jesus is the culmination of the wages of sin. God's own Son dying for our sin. The wood-gatherer's death is not the marvel, but the norm. When a sinner dies, it is a "dog bites man" story. But the true wonder and marvel is when mercy is shown to a sinner and he is forgiven by the blood of Jesus and given new life. This is a "man bites dog" story and really worthy of wonder.

"But why wasn't the wood-gatherer shown mercy? Why wasn't God patient with him?" By understanding the passage in context, it is very likely that this wood-gatherer did experience a life of forbearance, patience with God. He was delivered from Egypt and shown miracles that should've turned any heathen to a believer. Yet he decided rebel. And his time was up. The piper must be paid, but from whose pocket? Mine? Yours? Or do we let Jesus pick up the tab for our sin?


The Holiness of God
God's hate for sin is the other side of His love for us. Because He is good, then His very nature is to squash evil. Otherwise, He would not be good. The policeman that allows the bank heist to proceed isn't a good cop. Nor the fireman who turns his back on the blazing inferno, consuming the house with his own family. When the Bible says that "God is Holy" it means that he is entirely separate and set apart from sin. There is no co-mingling. For a time God is allowing sin and evil to proceed for the sake of the salvation of the elect. But a time will come where all evil is destroyed, all unrighteous cast out, every tear wiped away, every hurt healed, even death itself will be cast in the lake of fire. And those who die without faith in the one true living God will also perish. They could not tolerate his majestic glory with the stain of sin. When we are washed clean of sin, rebellion, and evil then will be able to bask in His holiness, see His face, dwell in His full glory. But only because Jesus paid the wages of our sin by his death to satisfy the Holy God and Father.


The Name of God
Though I'm still squeamish about the "smite button" on God's remote control, the resolution of the love/wrath questions also lies in the name of God. Exodus 34:5,6,7 captures it perfectly (and is easy to remember because of the 3, 4, 5, 6, 7!). This is the passage that is commonly called the John 3:16 of the Old Testament:

Then the Lord came down in the cloud and stood there with him and proclaimed his name, the Lord. And he passed in front of Moses, proclaiming, “The Lord, the Lord, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin. Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished; he punishes the children and their children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation.”

If the Hebrews played football back in the day, a sign with this verse would be held up behind the goal posts.

I believe that we will spend eternity learning the full meaning of His name, the depth of His character, the breadth of His love, the glory of His holiness. I pray for courage to learn about these things now in His scripture, even in a wood-gatherer.

Korah's Rebellion: Leadership Lessons from Numbers 16

The account of Korah's Rebellion against Moses and Aaron is filthy rich with leadership lessons. In Numbers 16 there is a face off between God's chosen leaders and a large group of ungodly leaders. The story itself could be a Hollywood film because of the twists/turns and high drama. But apart from that, it is a gold mine that gives really practical lessons for leadership.

For everybody with a Dgroup of squirrley kids, a Doxa or Flipside night where the nothing went right, this is a great chapter that makes you thankful for your problems and is good to meditate on and really chew for a while.

Background to the chapter
After God delivered the Israelites from Egypt, the journey to the promised land wasn't pretty. There was more down than up, more chaff than wheat, more manure than fruitful crop.

Picture a nightmare family road trip to Disneyland in Tim Burton style. The parents Moses and Aaron are driving a mini-van filled with many hundred thousand hungry, whiny, bratty kids (the Israelites). The air-conditioner is broken, the windows don't roll down, Timmy got car sick in the 230th row of seats, and everybody is furious because they're tired of eating McManna Happy Meals. In Numbers 14 God's pillar of fire is the TomTom navigation system that just turned the mini-van away from Disneyland (the promised land) and now they are going back to the desert. The kids in the backseat then went from being whiners to vandals and thugs. They are smashing windows, sticking gum in the ceiling mounted DVD players, pulling pig tails, duct-taping the little kids. All the while steam is shooting out of both the car's radiator and the nostrils of Moses in the driver's seat. A tire blows out on the mini-van and they come to a skidding halt in the middle of nowhere on a 100 plus degree day. Then as Chapter 16 opens Korah, with tire iron in hand, decides to fight Moses for the keys.

(Truth be told, this is also the same story of the whole human race where we are the kids and God is the driver. Each one of us has picked up the tire iron and taken a swing at our Heavenly Father by our sin. And it's only by the love, grace and sacrifice of Jesus that we actually do get the ticket to Disneyland and can leave the desert to enjoy the cool, watery Small World ride in heaven. I know the analogy breaks down here because most people would assign the Small World ride to hell.)

Here are some leadership lessons that speak to me from this chapter.

Being Outnumbered and Unpopular
Leadership sometimes means being outnumbered, going against the crowd, swimming upstream while everybody else is going down. This requires great courage. Moses and Aaron were outmanned as Korah came with 250 "well known community leaders appointed to the council" (vs2). And if these were leaders of the council, it is very likely they represented a much larger community that was equally upset with Moses and Aaron in the camp. But Moses and Aaron were being led by God. Knowing His will is a huge source of courage when facing even a rebellious mob. It is worth the price of unpopularity and being outmanned if the Lord is wearing your team's jersey. Because you know who will eventually win.


Reputation isn't King
The people who rebelled had a sterling reputation in the community (vs 3). Today they might have have been senators, mayors, or even a judge on American Idol. But reputation is worthless if not held with integrity and obedience to God. Better to be humble before God than "well known members of the council" and insolent. Moses and Aaron were members of God's council and that's the place to be.

Prayer is the First Step In Leadership
Moses' first reaction to the uprising is to fall face down before the Lord (vs4). I believe that in between vs 4 and 5 is an unrecorded prayer of help and wisdom. Moses did very few things without God's council and for years developed a habit of prayer that turned into a reflex action in this moment. Instead of blowing his top, or making a plan, or sharpening his proverbial sword, he sought the Lord in prayer and humility. As soon as we know trouble is coming down the road, it is a great time to get on our knees. In fact, before trouble arrives is a good time, and while trouble is here. Or after it passes.

Plenty is Enough
Korah was a member if the Kohathite family who God separated out and sanctified for the purpose of carrying the most holy things of the tabernacle (see Numbers 3). Korah was already in a special position of leadership among the Israelites. It's likely that thousands of Israelites watched with jealousy as they saw Korah carrying the golden lampstand in parade fashion. But Korah wasn't satisfied with his blessing and position given by God (vs9). He wanted to kill the golden goose to get the few golden eggs inside. We need to guard our hearts, learn contentment and remember that plenty is enough. Our blessings from God are too many to count and if we despise the position God's given us, we're in for a life guaranteed to be disappointing and miserable. In fact, the rebels were so consumed and twisted by greed that in their minds Egypt had become the promised land "flowing with milk and honey" (vs 13).

Love for Those You Lead
Moses had an amazing love for the rebellious people and acted to save them at the end of the chapter when God opened up a can of whoop*** on them. In vs 42-50 there's yet another rebellion and God releases a plague that starts knocking people down like bowling pins and could decimate the entire population. In an amazing act of grace and love, Moses and Aaron sprint like Usain Bolt to atone for the people's rebellion by offering incense. The plague is stopped, but only after 14,700 people died. I believe it was compassion and love for the people that drove Moses' leadership at this time. If there are rebellious students under our stewardship, we need to remember to love them deeply, pray for them always, intercede on their behalf so that that too might be covered by the atoning sacrifice of Jesus.


Anybody up for Magic Mountain?

The Wood Gatherer (Part II)

In part 1 of looking at Numbers 15:32-36 I decided to dig into a very unsettling passage of the OT rather than deny it exists or somehow diminish it's message:

While the people of Israel were in the wilderness, they found a man gathering sticks on the Sabbath day. And those who found him gathering sticks brought him to Moses and Aaron and to all the congregation. They put him in custody, because it had not been made clear what should be done to him. And the Lord said to Moses, "The man shall be put to death; all the congregation shall stone him with stones outside the camp.". And all the congregation brought him outside the camp and stoned him to death with stones, as the Lord commanded Moses.

[taking deep breath, spitting in hands, picking up shovel, beginning to dig...]

To begin with, I want to gather some facts... Wait, backup. To begin with I want to pray to the same God who thousands of years ago issued this judgement on a man to be killed for gathering wood.

Lord God Almighty, Father in heaven, I'm having a very difficult time looking at this passage and then looking at you. I'm frankly more comfortable right now with your Son who saved an adultress from being stoned to death. I'm more comfortable with the Spirit who softens hearts of stone. But you, Father, issued a death warrant to somebody doing light duty work on the Sabbath. Isn't this the type of thing your Son rebuked the Pharisees for? Father, please give me eyes to see and ears to hear. I love you and want to know you more, but I'm more than a bit uneasy with this snapshot of you in your word. Show me the Way, Guide me into the Truth, give me fullness of Life. In Jesus name. Amen.

Now to begin gathering facts from the passage:

The setting: Sinai desert, not far the Jordan River.

The time: An unspecified Sabbath day, soon after the nation of Israel was turned back from the promised for inciting rebellion. Within a few months or perhaps a few years after being set free from Egypt.

The players: 1) wood-gatherer; 2) God; 3) people who found the wood-gatherer; 4) Moses; 5) Aaron; 6) the assembly or congregation of the Israeilites.

The text doesn't give much info up about the wood-gatherer other than he's a man. We can safely assume a Hebrew. Moving beyond that, we need to play Sherlock Holmes with deduction. He most likely endured slavery in Egypt under the torment of the Pharoah. Was there ever blood on his hands from the slaughtered Passover Lamb? Did he peak his head out of the window to see the destroyer killing the Egyptian firstborn sons?

He might have stuck his hand into the wall of water that towered on either side of him as he crossed the Red Sea on dry ground. He likely sang the song of Moses when they reached safety and saw the destruction of Pharoah's army. Did this man also gather wood to melt the gold to make the golden calf idol when Moses was on the mountain? He probably saw the lightening, heard the deafening thunder of God on the mountain.

Did he mourn the deaths of Nadab and Abihu when they were killed by God in the temple for another seemingly minor infraction (Lev. 10)? Did he grumble about not having food in the desert, then grumble about the mana after a time, then grumble about the quail that God brought? He surely saw the pillar of fire and cloud as God led Israel in the desert. Did he tremble in fear when the scouts delivered a bad report of the promised land? Then pick up stones to kill Joshua and Caleb who delivered the good report of the promised land? Did God personally stay the hand of this man to keep Joshua from being stoned?

He heard the reading of the Law by Moses given by the Lord. He saw numerous miracles and knew God's awesome power firsthand. God's holy standards cannot be argued to be a surprise to the wood gatherer. Especially the command to rest on the Sabbath.

To bring these events into clearer focus, let's look at the passages immediately before and after for context.

In the passages before, God gives instructions for unintentional sins committed by the people (Num 15:22-29) and, more importantly, for intentional, defiant sins (vs 30-31):

“ ‘But anyone who sins defiantly, whether native-born or alien, blasphemes the Lord, and that person must be cut off from his people. Because he has despised the Lord's word and broken his commands, that person must surely be cut off; his guilt remains on him.’ ”

The wood-gatherer passage is followed immediately by another horrible episode where Korah leads a rebellion against Moses and Aaron, he gets torched, along with 250 other rebels, then 14,700 people get killed by a plague because they sided against Moses and Aaron and ultimately against God.

These before and after bookends shine interesting light and the author of Numbers is probably sending a message in the arrangement: the wood collector wasn't just some guy who forgot that it was Saturday, an absent minded bumbler who accidentally strayed. If it was unintentional then there would be atonement (vs 22-26).

But the Lord had such a strong reaction that we can conclude that this man was being defiant, knew exactly what he was doing, he's despising the Lord's word. This might have been a regular pattern or habit of breaking the Sabbath. Or perhaps the first time, but with an "in your face God!" attitude.

The man who sees the mighty power of God displayed countlessly, who knows first hand His righteous and holy law yet still spits in God's eye is indeed treading on thin ice. Was he a husband and father, setting a bad example and leading his family into sin? Was he an elder of his tribe and leading the community to despise the Lord's commands?

Is it too much of a stretch to say that what seems like a small, minor infraction (getting wood) was more likely a serious transgression (participating in a wider rebellion against the Holy Living God)? The context certainly draws this conclusion. And from this we can learn quite a lot about this simple wood gatherer. But the next question is what can we learn about God from His reaction to the wood gatherer?

In Part 3 I'd like to chew on what it means that the sovereign God would kill somebody for violating the Sabbath. What does that reveal about His character, His personality, His name? And how does this mesh with His more popular and "likable" qualities of being loving, forgiving, and gracious?

The Wood Gatherer (Part 1)

Some passages in the Bible are bitter pills. Some are bitter pills, dipped in habenero sauce that are difficult to even sniff, let alone swallow. Numbers 15:32-36 is one of those:

While the people of Israel were in the wilderness, they found a man gathering sticks on the Sabbath day. And those who found him gathering sticks brought him to Moses and Aaron and to all the congregation. They put him in custody, because it had not been made clear what should be done to him. And the Lord said to Moses, "The man shall be put to death; all the congregation shall stone him with stones outside the camp.". And all the congregation brought him outside the camp and stoned him to death with stones, as the Lord commanded Moses.

My knee jerk reaction when I read this passage is to forget that I just read the passage. Put my hands over my ears, squeeze my eyes shut and blurt, "Nananananananana!!!!! I can't seeing anything!!!! Nanananananananan!!!!!!!!! Can't hear anything!!!!!!!!!" Or whatever the spiritual equivalent is. I like to think of God as the Good Shepherd. Not the Great Smiter. These passages are not taught in Sunday school. Not preached from the pulpit. Chances are that if they are ever mentioned, it's by some guy who is also holding a sign that says, "God hates figs." Or something.

But after reading this passage today I decided to open my eyes, take my fingers out of my ears and look at God's word closely, even if it makes me pucker.

But having set out down the path there is immediately a fork in the road and I must choose one of three routes:

Deny
Deny the validity of the Bible. Simply write off what what written, because it is such an old book and couldn't have any bearing on my life today. Conclude that the author was a sicko painting an image of a sicko deity (after all a good God wouldn't do such a bad thing). Or be generous and say that this was a mistranslation and the original text and meaning has long been lost. Or maybe the cultural gap is too great to understand the meaning back then. Or I might decide to pick and choose which parts of Scripture I like and feel comfortable with, like selecting melons from a fruit stand. Thump it, smell it, squeeze and if it feels good, toss it in the cart. All of these can be reduced to a denial of the authority and sufficiency of the Bible. But this is not an option for me, so I move on to the next.

Diminish
Reduce the importance of the passage by some trick of Xerox, hit the 25% zoom button and make it shrink in substance. So that somehow I convince myself that God didn't really command the stoning of a guy because he wanted to warm his family by the fire some Saturday, or cook his Hungry Man meal. Or maybe the author stuck a figurative tale in the midst of a historical account. Or perhaps the author was ascribing to God the actions of humans to justify his own personal guilt or shame in the murder of an innocent man. The idea is that if I get uncomfortable with a text, I won't outright deny it, but I'll shrink it down to a smaller size. So it can fit into the small cubbyhole in my small head labeled "Brian's Image of God" (with an acronym that is often not appropriate.)

Yet this option also doesn't sit well with me. So I move on to the last option:


Dig
Pick up a shovel and put in some toil and hard work to dig for the significance of the passage. Ask difficult questions, seek answers from multiple sources, starting with the Bible itself. What does the immediate context of passage indicate? Do verses adjoining before and after shed any light or give new information? Dig into the rest of the book of Numbers to see what the larger context is in the book. Dig into the historical context of the Israelites in the desert. What do the previous days, weeks, months, years and centuries say about God's character/actions as related to this wood gatherer? Dig into other books of the Bible to search for passages that deepen our understanding. Then move out of scripture to external sources: commentaries, sermons, biblical scholars. Dig into original language studies. Dig. And pray for the Spirit's guidance to teach us.

But be prepared, at the bottom of the deep hole we've dug, we'll hear the clank of a buried chest. And inside that is a treasure: the Truth. And the truth of the passage might be what our gut told us at the outset. Or the truth might force us to expand our understanding of the Almighty. But even if we don't fully understand it, we should value what was found, not diminish or deny it.

Next post in Part II, I'll try to do this very thing and dig for the truth about the stoning of a man with sticks in his hands.

Quail out the Nose (Numbers 11)

Numbers 11 records an amazing episode that in the same moment is horrible, hilarious, sad, and convicting.

The Book of Numbers has a building pile of insults against the Lord by the people that God delivered from Egypt. He wants to bring them to the promised land, into the fullness of His blessings, but they return favor with insult, blessing with grumbling, mercy with rebellion. Eventually in Chapter 14:20-24 the people add the last straw that breaks the camel's back and God turns them away from the promised land, vowing that the "wicked" people would perish by 40 years wandering in the desert. So heartbreaking.

But Chapter 11 starts with another piece of straw added to the camel with the Israelites wailing and complaining about their hardships. This elicits the Lord's wrath who makes the outskirts of the camp a golden, toasty brown with fire.

I'm often quick to point the finger at the tribes here, but when I do there's three more fingers pointing back at me. The tribes of Israel were miraculously delivered from the slavery by the mighty hand of God. This group of people arguably saw more miracles and divine acts of power than any in history save for the disciples of Jesus. And yet, it was not enough to cultivate faith, trust and gratitude. And while I haven't seen a pillar of fire or a plague of frogs, I've clearly seen God's hand in my life, delivering me. Yet just like the Israelites, I'm prone to complain that I don't have enough. Prone to want more than what's been provided, to crave what I don't have rather than be thankful for what I do. Contentment and thankfulness is so important to a joyful life.

Instead, look at the litany of unflattering words used to describe the people under Moses' care: wailing, complainers, crying, rabble, cravings, rejecting the Lord. This is serious stuff. They got sick and tired of eating manna (the miracle food provided by God). Instead, they whined for meat and longed for the "good old days" back in Egypt. And so God answers their sniveling cry for meat by sending hundreds of Wal Mart trucks worth of quail, so much that they eat till it comes out their nostrils (vs 20!) and they loathe the meat. There's both great humor and sadness in this. Because the default human condition is to want what we don't have, no matter how full our houses, bellies, or DVRs. And then when we get what we want it becomes loathsome eventually because we want something else.

Sometimes when I'm bummed out I'll count my blessings. Literally. It's humbling to remember how much I'm blessed, even in very difficult and trying "desert experiences". I thank God for blessings great and small:

1) Drinking water that flows at the turn of a faucet.
2) Not just daily bread, but abundance of food.
3) Roads that I can travel without fear of IED explosions.
4) Arms and hands that can hug my son, carry soccer goals to a game, be raised in worship.
5) Socks.
6) Freedom to pray and meet publicly in discussions about the Bible.

...

347) Dozens of personal copies of the Bible.
348) A son that loves Jesus.
349) Blood shed on the cross.
350) Rain.
351) Dirt.

...

795) Plastic, metals and oil that create innumerable products that save lives, fuel industry, facilitate our fun.
796) Alpine meadows.
797) Toothbrushes.
798) Fleece jackets.
799) Grande americanos with cream and two sugars.

And my prayer is that if God should take anything or everything from me, I would still praise him for a rich inheritance reserved in heaven for me, a mansion with a room prepared for me, a coming new heaven and earth, a new body, and an eternity to worship the loving Savior who made it all possible. Pass the manna, please.

Giving Generously (Numbers chapter 7)

In Numbers 7 Moses finished setting up the tabernacle, anointed and consecrated all the furnishings, then did the same for the altar and utensils. And then I imagine a pause, when he just finished sprinkling the last drop of blood, lit the last censor of incense... I imagine a moment that possibly lasted a few minutes or hours but certainly felt like an eternity. That pregnant space of time after Moses finally did everything God commanded for the preparation of the tabernacle. Everything. From sacrificing the last goat to hanging goat hide curtains. From meat forks to breast plates. Onyx stones on ephods to acacia wood in the cross bars. He's done. And now he's waiting for God to fill the tabernacle.

For Moses, this must have been a very tense and frenzied preparation. Like the first time your parents come to your house for Thanksgiving dinner. Your Mom is a perfectionist when it comes to the moisture of turkey meat. And Aunt Madge gets really critical if the marshmallows on top of the yam dish are not the right shade of golden brown. You can already see Grand Pappy's bushy eyebrow raised just a tad when he spoons into the green beans that don't have enough crunchy cornflakes sprinkled on top.

Except it's worse for Moses. Because Grand Pappy doesn't kill you with fire from heaven if the mashed potatoes are over salted. Moses thinks again of Nadab and Abihu, his dead nephews.

So there is Moses in the Tabernacle, probably sweat coating his palms as he is making tiny adjustments to the location of the lamp stand, the wash basin, then back to the lamp stand to turn it just a smidgen the other way.

And nothing is happening. Nothing. He's waiting for God to fill the tabernacle with His glory, take His place on the mercy seat. But there are crickets chirping in the background. Silence. Or, even worse than silence, maybe Moses is hearing the grumbling of the thousands of Israelites outside the courts. An occasional "What's taking so long?" rising above the crowd. "Oh for Pete's sake!!!!" (or the Hebrew equivalent to the name Pete).

And now beads of sweat are dripping down Moses' forehead, making a puddle on the goat hair curtain. He's thinking about his nephews again, Nadab and Abihu who God killed for offering "unauthorized incense" in the temple (Leviticus 10). He's worried he didn't do something right perhaps. Moses is starting to get freaked out: was the curtain supposed to have been sea cow hide instead of goat skins? The crowd noise outside is pounding in his head. Where is God????!!!!!

He straightens his breast piece and counts, for the 10th time, to make sure there are still twelve stones on front. Did one of the artisans misspell the name of "Issachar" carved on that stone? Is there one "S" or two in Issachar???

He looks at a thread on his robe to make sure it is of gold, blue, purple and scarlet yarn. He's practically loosing it now because the purple thread looks kinda mauve!!

If Moses wasn't OCD when he started all of this, he definitely is by now.

But God still did not fill the temple. Moses braces himself for the lightning bolt that is surely on the way to make him extra crispy. Waits for the thundering wrath.

Instead Moses heard a different sound outside the tabernacle. So he went out to look and get some fresh air, clear his head.

Outside there are twelve leaders, one from each tribe of Israel. They have six carts and twelve oxen. The carts are heaping to overflowing with offerings brought from their people: silver plates, gold dishes, sacks of grain, flour and oil. There was a huge string of animals, practically receding to a vanishing point into the distance: bulls, rams, goats, oxen, lambs. Each of the twelve tribal leaders had collected a mass of silver and gold from his people then melted it down to make a huge silver plate, silver sprinkling bowl and golden bowl for an offering to the Lord.

I imagine Moses seeing this huge crowd, the twelve leaders proudly standing next to the rich and generous offerings from their people, the grumbling of people replaced with the braying of animals. He must have wept.

And for the next twelve days, the leaders of each tribe presented the offerings of their people and brought them before the altar (vs 10). Gifts of worship to the Lord. This was a vast amount of resources and a genuine sacrifice from the people.

At the end of the twelfth day of offerings, something remarkable happened. Moses went back into the tabernacle, past the outer court, through the holy place, parted the curtain in the Holiest of Holies. And he heard the voice of God speaking to him from the mercy seat on the ark. God arrived!

Only after the 12 leaders of Israel brought their offerings, scarifies, and worshipped at the altar, then God filled the tabernacle. And how much did Moses worship the Lord in that moment!!

There are some great applications here for Christian leaders:

1. Our relationship to God is fruitful only when we add worship to our work. It is not enough to just go through the tasks of ministry. God is so pleased with our offerings of worship, sacrifices of praise and the Holy Spirit speaks to us within the temple of our hearts when we sit at the altar of God in worship, bringing not just words and songs of praise, but also offerings of time, treasure and talent.
   
   Many times and for extended periods in my life I've just been counting threads on my spiritual life, re-arranging the meat fork on the altar, but not worshiping the Lord with all I have. And then I wonder why there are crickets chirping in the background, not the voice of God.
   
   
2. The combined weight of silver brought by the 12 leaders of Israel was 60 pounds. The gold weighed 3 pounds! Just the precious metal alone was worth over $100,000 in 2011 dollars. Add in the value of the food and animals, and the offering was probably equivalent to millions of dollars back in the day.
   
   What is the value of the worship we bring to the Lord? Is it easy and convenient? Or do we return to the Lord with the abundance He has given to us? Too often in my life, the sum total of my worship to Him consisted of one hour on Sunday morning. But not even a full hour because half of that time was a sermon I didn't remember longer than the time it took to reach the coffee service. And not even 1/2 hour because most of the first worship song I missed because I was late. But even during the remaining worship songs I was thinking about what happened the day prior or would happen the next day. And I was also distracted by that guy who was singing too loudly. And the lady's perfume in front of me that was too strong. So maybe there was 6 minutes of worship that week. Sweet.
   
   
3. The leaders of the twelve tribes were responsible for collecting the offerings from the people. Our job as leaders is so much more than getting students to attend a bible study, or retreat, or a big gathering where they get pummeled by a dodge ball (though that's certainly a bonus). But one of our goals as leaders is to see our students come to the place where they are offering themselves as living sacrifices to the Lord (Romans 12:1). And then, after that, the students would desire to join the great commission to make disciples of others who then offer themselves as living sacrifices. May the line of worshipers approaching the altar stretch far into the distance.
   
   
4. The main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing. We no longer need to have goat hair, or anointing oil, or sea cow hides. (Although a sea cow hide jacket would be pretty awesome!) Because Jesus offered his blood and body, one sacrifice alone, then we can approach the throne of grace and presence of God with boldness (Hebrews 4:16). We are now the temple of God (Heb 3:6) and He's not waiting for us to make a fancy box out of acacia wood covered with gold. But sometimes we make worship, ministry and service to God a long list of rules, adopt a legalistic code that kills the grace of God. We need to guard the liberty we have in Jesus carefully so that the gospel does not get replaced with a "to do list". We are asked to love God with all our hearts, soul and strength and love others as ourselves. Period.
   
   
5. Where did the Israelites get such huge wealth for their offerings? After all they were a desert nomadic tribe that just came out of 430 of years of Egyptian slavery. God provided it to them out of His abundant sovereignty. When the Israelites fled Egypt, the Lord predisposed the Egyptians to give the Israelites their treasure on the way out of town (Ex 12:35-36). They were utterly plundered by the Israelites. I picture some sort of Jedi mind trick scene:
   
   Hebrew: [waving his hand Jedi style] You want to give me your awesome 48" LED TV.
   Egyptian: [swirly hypnotizey things in his eyes] I want to give you my awesome 48" LED TV.
   Hebrew: And your sweet iPad 2.
   Egyptian: And my iPad 2.
   
   So the bounty the Israelites brought to God for the tabernacle was from God in the first place. This is like a Dad giving his kid a $20 bill so the kid can buy a father's day gift. How sad would it be if the kid only spent $1 then bought $19 worth of candy for himself?
   
   Everything we have has been given to us from the Lord. Everything. God asks us to be responsible stewards of the blessings placed in our care. And as He's given to us, we give back to Him in love and worship.
   
   A nearly identical scene is repeated for Solomon's Temple in 1 Chronicles 29 - 2 Chron 5:
   
   1) Generous offering stewarded by the leaders of people. 
   2) Release of praise and worship
   3) God filling the temple. 
   
   It is as if we need to generously give our stuff to others, to make a void that will be graciously filled by God.