From Punishment to Provision

Pharaoh was the one who provided to the Israelites what they needed to survive as his slaves. Everything came from his hand.  But what the Pharaoh gave, he could also take away:  life, food,  security and most of important of all, identity. 

Once the Israelites are in the desert, they mumble and grumble over what they do not have: life (what they were used to) food, ("pots of meat" and lots of it) security (starvation is imminent) and identity ("this entire assembly"). 

 "Assembly" ...really?  Not the children of Israel?  Clearly, they didn't see their glorious inheritance of the covenant between God and His people.  Egypt with its enormous structures, all extolling the virtues of the pharaohs, the gods and the glory that was Egypt, meant that their covenant with God seemed pretty lackluster:  

Them: Pyramids! 

Us:  We have this verbal contract spoken by God years ago to our distant ancestor named Abraham.

Them:  Big statues of the pharaohs, powerful and looking divinely smug!

Us:  Some guy named Moses shows up, and tells we are to be free and how our God is going to demonstrate not once, but many times, His superiority. 

Them:  Gods for every aspect of life, carved in stone, and looking divinely smug!

Us:  We have one God. He has revealed that He is enough and covers all the bases--weather, harvest, water, animals, life and death.  

Them:  We were slaves and yes, they tried to kill our babies, but hey, we got up every day, knowing who we were and who we were not!

Us:  Who are we now?  Children of Yahweh, who really showed us and Egypt who is mightier, but this desert thing is not very impressive.  Well, yes, we have food. And drink.  And Yahweh's presence.  And security. But...

God is cultivating trust in these former slaves.  He shows them time and time again that He is worthy of their trust with all He is providing.  Yes, Pharaoh provided, but with a whip, and a claim to deity that is utterly offensive to Yahweh, and oh yes, all of those gods...Basically, these gods are what humans think gods should be and what they should do; thus, they are made in man's image.

That's the way humans like it.  Remember, the fruit from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil went into our collective DNA, and we have recreated the world into something we think is accurate and explains what we hear, see and feel.

So our gods are just a version of a mightier us, and while we are afraid of them, we seek to control them with ritual and sacrifice.  Because we fulfill our part of the bargain, we count on them showing up and doing our bidding. 

But Yahweh, the one true God, operates on a level He must teach His children to recognize and understand. He shows His glory to the Israelites, not by punishment and oppression to inspire and maintain fear, but by provision.

This is God's modus operandi:  He provides for His children out of His character, which is centered on lovingkindness--the word for covenant, by the way.  God is demonstrating His covenant by His lovingkindness in how He continually provides for them in the desert.  

God could allow us to sink ever so slowly but surely into the mire of sin and its deception, but He seeks to put our feet up on the rock, enlarging our view and seeing the world through His perspective.  

In other words, God is constantly handing us the Tree of Life's fruit, and asking us to partake of it.  

Jesus used another analogy.  He is discussing manna and how it nourished the people, but they eventually died: 

"Our fathers ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written, ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’ Jesus then said to them, 'Truly, truly, I say to you, it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven, but my Father gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.' They said to him, 'Sir, give us this bread always.'” (John 6:31-34) 

Then Jesus ups the ante on this spiritual analogy:

"Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes has eternal life. I am the bread of life. Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died. This is the bread that comes down from heaven, so that one may eat of it and not die. I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. And the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.” (John 6:47-51)

Now an uncomfortable part (God's words generally are): 

"The Jews then disputed among themselves, saying, 'How can this man give us his flesh to eat?' So Jesus said to them, 'Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day. For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him. As the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so whoever feeds on me, he also will live because of me. This is the bread that came down from heaven, not like the bread the fathers ate, and died. Whoever feeds on this bread will live forever.'” (John 6:52-58)

The people listening comment that "this is a hard saying." (6:60) and many leave Jesus as a result. 

But upon inquiring of the Twelve if they will leave as well, Peter responds: "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life, and we have believed, and have come to know, that you are the Holy One of God.” (6:68-69) 

Jesus showed lovingkindness every time He provided for His disciples and His followers.  He gave them a new identity, from slaves to a ritualized religion, to becoming children of God. He demonstrated this provision with His teachings, His miracles and His love for their hungry souls. His ultimate provision would be His very flesh and blood, broken and poured out for the remission of sins and giving us a new life of freedom and forgiveness.

The manna eaten by the Israelites nourished them and enabled them to survive.  

But Jesus was saying His bread--His flesh, broken and sacrificed to give His people eternal life--would  nourish their spiritual DNA, recoding who they were.  He would provide wisdom and strength, enabling His children to longer be slaves to sin's deception. 

In other words, those who followed Jesus would eat from the Tree of Life. 

The same applies to us. Jesus' bread, His sacrifice of His body on the cross, is ours to partake of and be transformed from sin's slavery to walking as His children.  We, too, will eat from the Tree of Life.

But we, through Christ alone, must leave behind what Pharaoh--the world--says who we are.  

The World: Big, flashy and very alluring to our flesh!

Us:  We have fulfillment of all of God's promises in Jesus Christ, spoken by God years ago to our distant ancestor Abraham.

The World:  Look at all the world has, seated in power and authority and looking "divinely" smug!

Us:  The Messiah came to set us free. God demonstrated mightily that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.  

The World:  "Gods" for every aspect of life--money, sex, power, indulgence and pleasure--inviting us to bend our knee and join in, so we, too, can be smug as we show off what we have and who we are!

Us:  One God. We only need Him--He fulfills every aspect of who we are, and transforms us to be what we were intended to be. 

The World: We are slaves and yes, the world tries to kill our souls, but hey, what a ride, huh? 

Us:  Who are now children of God.  He has triumphed over the prince of this world, for greater is He who is in us, than he who is in the world. Christ is our food, our drink, and will never leave nor forsake us. We are secure in Him, and He stands by us.  

From punishment to provision:  What a holy ride, huh?

  

Children, Not Slaves

It's been a while! Thank you for your patience.  I went out of town and then celebrated Thanksgiving. I hope yours was a restful time with family and friends.  God is so good, and I love having a holiday that focuses on just that: being thankful for the bounty in our lives that He has provided.   

You can take the people out of Egypt, but it's hard to take Egypt out of the people. 

These former slaves were now God's new creation, and He was making sure that His people understood that. God doesn't just take your life and make it better--He gives you a new life with new values, and new ways of seeing the world with a new heart.  

The old heart, sent to you directly from Adam and Eve, is broken, corrupt and hostile to the things of God.  

But God is in the business of allowing us to start over.  We are not given a second chance in our old selves,  but we are transformed by choosing to follow Jesus and not continuing to follow our flesh. With His Spirit in us, we are born anew. If you think about it, He is allowing us to return to the Garden, metaphorically, where we walk and talk with Him in the cool of the day.  He has brought us into a new relationship through Christ by His death on the cross.

Sometimes we watch the people wandering in the desert, and wonder, Why didn't they get it? 

It takes God time to recraft slaves into His sons and daughters.  We may ask Jesus into our heart and that is our moment of freedom, just like the Red Sea drowning Pharoah and his army, and the people no longer in danger of being captured and sent back to Egypt as slaves.

But that moment of new birth begins a period of recrafting, transforming and teaching us what our new status is and how we are to operate. 

Look what Paul says:

• "Don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? When we were baptized into his death, we were placed into the tomb with him. As Christ was brought back from death to life by the glorious power of the Father, so we, too, should live a new kind of life. If we’ve become united with him in a death like his, certainly we will also be united with him when we come back to life as he did. We know that the person we used to be was crucified with him to put an end to sin in our bodies. Because of this we are no longer slaves to sin. The person who has died has been freed from sin." (Rom. 6:1-7)

• "So you are no longer a slave, but God’s child; and since you are his child, God has made you also an heir." (Gal. 4:7)

• "The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.” (Rom. 8:15)

The note in Bible Gateway says for Romans 8:15: "The Greek word for adoption to sonship is a term referring to the full legal standing of an adopted male heir in Roman culture..."  

Talk about a change, a transformation into an entirely new status, with all of the rights and privileges thereof!   

You notice that, just like the children in the desert, we are in our own desert of slavery to sin.  Oh, we know who the Pharaoh is--Satan--for he never ceases to remind us that we are his, for we are enslaved to our sin nature, to our flesh, with no redemption possible. 

Wrong. 
 

God redeems us and makes us His children and as His children, we are His heirs.  To what?  All He has for us without interference from our previous status.

Yes, our sin natures asserts itself.  Yes, Satan is constantly trying to tear down our new status with his accusations of, "You are not good enough for that!" or "You are such a poser--if everyone knew the true you, they would see just how much of a hypocrite you really are!" 

If our status was dependent on what we did, we'd be back to works:  Trying to do, do, do to keep earning God's favor.

Wrong. 

Works--the doing--is not what God bestowed on us. He didn't say, "Here's some new things you can do for Me."  A slave is still a slave, no matter what he or she does.  But God gave us a new status, a new  position that is not dependent on what we do, but who we are in Christ:

 
"But if it is by grace, it is no longer on the basis of works; otherwise grace would no longer be grace." (Rom. 11:6)

Boom. 

Slaves has no choice.  They can be good slaves, a recalcitrant ones, a rebellious ones or obedient ones, but their status does not change.

But in Christ, we have a choice:  We can love Him, serve Him, seek forgiveness from Him, remember Him as our Father, our Savior, our God, and walk with a heart set free.

Satan's time is running out, but he still tries to frighten us with his army chasing after us, and sometimes our back will be to the sea.

But we are children of God, so why wouldn't He part it?

Jesus reminded people just how good the Father is:

“Which of you, if your son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake?  If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!" (Matt. 7:9-11)

God expects and empowers us to act as His children, for He is rich in kindness and mercy to those whom He loves.  

That is one of the reasons, I sincerely believe, why the Israelites' behavior infuriated God:  They still were acting as slaves, and not as His children.

Hence, the Law.  The Law was one gigantic corral that keep evil out and protected His children from within.  It didn't save them but guided them into acting like God's children, and not as slaves anymore.  When they reverted back, by grumbling, creating an idol and engaging in immoral behavior, God could point to the Law and say, 

I told you how I want you to act.  You are not to act like this--only slaves act that way!  You are no longer slaves but My chosen people!

Do we exasperate God with our failure to see, act and model our status as His children? 

I wonder, Why don't we get it? 

  

 

 

 

No Longer Slaves, But What Then?

Let's ponder a moment our former Egyptian slaves.  They are wandering in the desert, grumbling and stumbling, questioning God and driving Moses to distraction. 

Slavery is a very contradictory state to be in. Our Israelites were subjected to violence, stifled in liberty, demeaned to inferiority and driven to extremity. 

The lash, the threats, the deprivation, the fear, the loss... plagued them every day. Some slaves had it better than others, to be sure, and how they were treated by the master may have mitigated their suffering, but at the end of the day, they were still slaves. 

They were not Egyptians. They would never be Egyptians. 

And yet, the Israelites as slaves were given the basics for human existence:  food, shelter, clothing and potable water. 

Strange, isn't it?  These former slaves were at the bottom of society. You could argue that the slave masters and ultimately Pharaoh had an incentive to keep them alive, because they needed their labor, so they provided the bare minimum. These former slaves were taken care of, not out of human kindness, but because they were needed.  Not wanted.  Needed.

So, here we are in the desert with these former slaves, wandering with them and watching them.

Did they miss the lash?  No.

Did they miss the violence?  No.

Did they miss the food, potable water, clothing and shelter?

You betcha.  

They came into the desert, redeemed from slavery, but because slavery meant getting the basics, they feared they would not survive.

They complained about not having potable water to drink.  The bitter water at Marah made them snipe at Moses.  

God stepped in through Moses and made the water potable.  

They sniped at Moses about the lack of food.  Look what they say:

"The whole Israelite community set out from Elim and came to the Desert of Sin, which is between Elim and Sinai, on the fifteenth day of the second month after they had come out of Egypt. In the desert the whole community grumbled against Moses and Aaron. The Israelites said to them, 'If only we had died by the Lord’s hand in Egypt! There we sat around pots of meat and ate all the food we wanted, but you have brought us out into this desert to starve this entire assembly to death.'” (Ex. 16:1-3)

(You failed to mention that the slave master was just a few feet away, watching you and making sure you weren't planning an escape or some kind of revolt. The lash was equally only a few feet away.)

So, let's invade the thoughts of these people: 

Slaves get water to drink.  Check.

We are no longer slaves, so no water?

Slaves get food to eat. Check.

We are no longer slaves, so no food? 

Slaves are provided with clothes.  

We are no longer slaves, so will our clothes wear out?

Look what God says about their clothing: "Yet the Lord says, 'During the forty years that I led you through the wilderness, your clothes did not wear out, nor did the sandals on your feet.'" (Deut. 29:5)

God was not a new slave master.  He wanted their obedience not out of fear, but out of love for Him.  He didn't replace their former masters; He was their Shepherd, who led them as sheep.  

This new radical status as His chosen people meant they were led, not driven: 

"And the Lord went before them by day in a pillar of cloud to lead them along the way, and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, that they might travel by day and by night. The pillar of cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night did not depart from before the people." (Ex. 13:21-22) 

His chosen people were now under His care, not subjected to violence, not stifled in liberty, not demeaned to inferiority and not driven to extremity. 

But they didn't understand just how dramatically their status had changed.  

Now, in the desert, they were learning a whole new way to see themselves. They, while still in Egypt, saw themselves as slaves who were turning the tables on their masters and Pharaoh, for their God was mightier!  Take that, Pharaoh!  Take that, all you gods! 

No.  God's purpose for redeeming them was so much more than a regime change. What then? 

“For you are a people holy to the LORD your God. The LORD your God has chosen you out of all the peoples on the face of the earth to be his people, his treasured possession.” (Deut. 7:6)

"The Lord did not set his affection on you and choose you because you were more numerous than other peoples, for you were the fewest of all peoples. But it was because the Lord loved you and kept the oath he swore to your ancestors that he brought you out with a mighty hand and redeemed you from the land of slavery, from the power of Pharaoh king of Egypt. Know therefore that the Lord your God is God; he is the faithful God, keeping his covenant of love to a thousand generations of those who love him and keep his commandments." (Deut. 7:7-9)

So, we are not slaves. Check.

But what are we?

We will explore how God was molding these people into their original purpose--guiding, reminding and transforming them to a new status:  Men and women who will be priestly representatives of the one true God. 

We, too, were former slaves.  

Our slave master was sin. 

Our Pharaoh was Satan. 

We don't exchange God for a new master.  

He is now our Father.  Our Shepherd.  Our Savior.  

 

What a Week, Huh?

I have been told I have a prophet's heart, which is a nice way of saying I am a pessimist.

But I am not a pessimist for the sake of being a bringer of doom and gloom.

I have spent most of my adult life studying the Holocaust.  Germany was one of the most liberal in terms of laws in Europe regarding the Jews.  If any nation was going to turn on them, many Jews thought it would be France.  They would have been shocked if you had told them that not only Germany would repudiate them but would build places whose sole purpose was to murder them.

It's hard not to be a pessimist when you are a history nerd like me.  Human beings don't fundamentally change from age to age, and to think we are enlightened, as compared to everyone else who has gone before us, is arrogant and prideful, and looking for a fall. 

I am studying Bible history, and exploring the two kingdoms of Israel and Judah.  I am looking at their leadership and wondering if we can draw any lessons from what the Bible says about them. The kings of Judah and Israel, who did "evil in the sight of the Lord" were constantly reminded by God's prophets what God expected of them and how to live a life that reflected Him. The kings and the priests had the Mosaic Law that left no societal or personal stone unturned as to what to do and how to live as God's chosen people. 

The kings' response to the prophets? Ignore them.  Persecute them. Try to kill them. Why?  The prophets reminded them in no uncertain terms that God knew exactly what they were doing, and how they were leading His people astray.  

God always wants to bless, rather than judge.  But when people and their leaders are constantly disobedient and God's decrees are violated, He will respond. 

What were the leaders and the people doing?  Compromising what God had set their nation aside to do:  To be a blessing to the nations around them.  What did the leaders do?  They mixed the worship of the one true God with the local gods, built temples to them or allow the places of worship that were already there to remain.

In other words, they started looking a lot like their neighbors. 

They led the people into thinking that some how, some way, Yahweh's prohibition against idolatry, polytheism and depravity were not all that bad.  The leaders compromised their covenantal mission and encouraged their people to follow along. The people enjoyed their freedom to sin, with their leaders' approval and the leaders enjoyed their freedom to sin because they had the support of the people.

Was everyone joining in?  No.  I am sure many Jews looked in horror at the rampant idolatry and sin that accompanied it, and walked away, not wanting to displease Yahweh. 

God promised over and over to restore His errant people if they sought Him: "If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land." (2 Chronicles 7:14)

The hope of God's mercy was always there: 

    "Yet the Lord longs to be gracious to you;
    therefore he will rise up to show you compassion.
    For the Lord is a God of justice.
    Blessed are all who wait for him!" (Is. 30:18)

When we seek the Lord, He is quick to receive us as we confess our sins.  

That is true for a nation as well.

So why was I pessimistic?  I assumed we had gone too far down the road of disobedience.  Or that the whole democratic process would be subverted and the people's voice would be silenced by political abuse of our system. In other words, we would never see a legitimate election in this country again.

And here we are. 

But we must consider:  

    "Praise the Lord.

    Praise the Lord, my soul.
    I will praise the Lord all my life;
    I will sing praise to my God as long as I live.
    Do not put your trust in princes,
    in human beings, who cannot save.
    When their spirit departs, they return to the ground;
    on that very day their plans come to nothing.
    Blessed are those whose help is the God of Jacob,
    whose hope is in the Lord their God." (Ps. 146:1-5)

We, as individuals, must search our hearts, and ask where we have contributed to the decline of the nation. God is always ready to cleanse and forgive, for that is always His desire for His people: "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness." (1 John 1:9) 

Jeremiah also warns us against placing our trust in leaders and not in the Lord:

    "This is what the Lord says:
    'Cursed are those who put their trust in mere humans,
    who rely on human strength
    and turn their hearts away from the Lord.
    They are like stunted shrubs in the desert,
    with no hope for the future.
    They will live in the barren wilderness,
    in an uninhabited salty land.

    But blessed are those who trust in the Lord
    and have made the Lord their hope and confidence.
    They are like trees planted along a riverbank,
    with roots that reach deep into the water.
    Such trees are not bothered by the heat
    or worried by long months of drought.
    Their leaves stay green,
    and they never stop producing fruit.

    The human heart is the most deceitful of all things,
    and desperately wicked.
    Who really knows how bad it is?
    But I, the Lord, search all hearts
    and examine secret motives.
    I give all people their due rewards,
    according to what their actions deserve.'” (17:5-10) 

Yes.

We may breathe a sign of relief for the change in the White House. But we are to look to the Lord for His restoration in our nation and in ourselves.

We must not think that compromise with the world's values is somehow acceptable; you must ask the Holy Spirit, every day, "How can I reflect Jesus today?"

Revival.

Renewal.

Restoration.

Repentance.

That is what we all need.

That is what our nation needs.

We are at a crossroads in this country. If we go for what is acceptable, easy and not in line with His Word, we can expect the same reaction God had with His chosen people.

This country will be unrecognizable in ten years if we choose poorly.

If You Are Exceptional, You Must Be Acceptable...to God

With the election looming large, I have been thinking about American Exceptionalism.

I had to look that phrase up, because it seems to invoke a lot of arguing and finger pointing. Here is a good operating definition from the Britannica: 

"American exceptionalism, idea that the United States of American is a unique and even morally superior country for historical, ideological, or religious reasons. Proponents of American exceptionalism generally pair the belief with the claim that the United States is obligated to play a special role in global politics." [1]

This definition played out when we landed on the moon in 1969.  As a kid, it seemed that there was nothing we couldn't do as a nation.   

My history books seem to imply that when we made our way out West, it was one vast empty plain.  I  remember one Indian attack, on a poor hapless woman evangelist.  Imagine my surprise when I learned about the complexities existing between native peoples and westward expansion.  Dances With Wolves was a revelation. 

Slavery?  We focused on the Emancipation Proclamation. That was about it. 

Back then, it was easy to believe America got it right every time, or at least, rarely got it wrong. 

I am not here to bash America.  It has become very trendy to point out all of our faults, seriously flawed beliefs and failures. That is why Trump seems so out of place in the public arena for a lot of people.  His beliefs about America echo what I heard growing up and what I read about in my history books.

Was what I learned all wrong?  No, I don't believe so.  I think a lot of it was not discussed, because it didn't fit the idea of American Exceptionalism, so it was left out.   I perceived that Viet Nam seem to be a mistake, only because my dad was angry about it. We consoled ourselves with the thought that at least we got out with what Nixon called "Peace with honor."  The war and its destructive effects on our  soldiers and America's confidence in itself took decades to heal, but we carried on with our definition of our greatness. 

I remember a college professor who taught exactly the opposite of what I had been taught.  When I asked him about this, he said, "I am teaching the other side."  I hadn't really thought there was another side. 

Yes, there was.  

The Jewish people, the chosen people, had that same sense of destiny and being special. They were to be a blessing to all nations, as God told Abraham, who had been willing to offer up his son: 

"I will surely bless you and make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as the sand on the seashore. Your descendants will take possession of the cities of their enemies, and through your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed, because you have obeyed me.” (Gen. 22:17-18) 

Why did God chose the Jewish people? He tells them:

"The Lord did not set his affection on you and choose you because you were more numerous than other peoples, for you were the fewest of all peoples. But it was because the Lord loved you and kept the oath he swore to your ancestors that he brought you out with a mighty hand and redeemed you from the land of slavery, from the power of Pharaoh king of Egypt. Know therefore that the Lord your God is God; he is the faithful God, keeping his covenant of love to a thousand generations of those who love him and keep his commandments." (Deut. 7:7-9)

For what purpose were they chosen?   God tells Moses: "Now if you obey me fully and keep my covenant, then out of all nations you will be my treasured possession. Although the whole earth is mine, you will be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’ These are the words you are to speak to the Israelites.” (Ex. 19:5-6) 

Priests point to God, teach about God and live in such a manner that people may know about Him by watching how His people live. 

Peter takes this idea and applies it to include those who follow Jesus, whether Jew or Gentile: "But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light." (1 Peter 2:9) 

Imagine then, the day Jesus and His disciples were in Jerusalem for the Passover.  They stood in utter awe of the Temple.  It was a mind-boggling and breathtaking architectural achievement.  But more than that:  God resided there.   

God's house.  Chosen people.  Exceptional among the nations. 

But He blew them away:

"Jesus left the temple and was walking away when his disciples came up to him to call his attention to its buildings. 'Do you see all these things?' he asked. 'Truly I tell you, not one stone here will be left on another; every one will be thrown down.'” (Matt. 24:1-2)

I am sure the disciples were dumbfounded.  They wanted to soften this statement by Jesus, and put it in its larger (read: future) context--someday, far away from now (the disciples were hoping) and they asked Him to explain.  The picture He painted was scary, but seemed far off... They must have breathed a sigh of relief.  Maybe, they thought,  Jesus was just being metaphorical.  He loved to teach in parables, after all.  

But it was only about 40 years in the future. 

What is known as the Great Revolt, where some Jewish radicals, disgusted with the Romans, rose up in Galilee in 66 AD.  For several years, many uprisings occurred, and the Roman army, in characteristic fashion, crushed these revolts.  By 70 AD, the Romans went in without mercy into Jerusalem after a siege, and threw down the walls of the mighty Temple just as Jesus predicted.  The army looted the Holy Place and Holy of Holies. They killed or enslaved the Jewish people.  There were a few more revolts, and by the 130's, the Jews were exiled altogether from Israel, and would not return until 1948.

It was catastrophic. 

This echoes the destruction of Israel (the northern kingdom) by the Assyrians in 732 BCE and the destruction of Judah and Jerusalem by the Babylonians in 587 BCE, resulting in their captivity in Babylon for 70 years. 

There, God allowed pagan nations to punish His people for their disobedience of His laws and decrees.  They disregarded their exceptionalism and took on the practices of their pagan neighbors: worshipping idols and engaging in their practices of sexual immortality and child sacrifice. They were no longer acting as priests to the nations.   

Or, as in the Great Revolt, they grew weary of their oppression and took matters into their own hands, ignoring God and assuming He'd just get on board once they started.  They believed in God, but believed even more in their just cause. 

Pagan practices. Disloyalty to God. Failure to act and behave in a manner that behooved the chosen of God. It's as if God said, You so admire pagan practices, pagan ways and pagan kings.  You will come out from under My eagles' wings, and live, die and be scattered by those people you so admire and emulate. 

Their exceptionalism demanded they be acceptable to God. 

And they weren't.

Are we a kind of Israel?  The American exceptionalism definition seems to have an implied affinity with Israel--that we have been chosen by God. 

But is our exceptionalism being lived out, or are we imitating the ways and behaviors of nations that have turned away from God?  Are we taking matters into our own hands, trying to be progressive, savvy and not burdened with conventional morality? 

There were certainly Jews who did not go along with what their kings were doing and how their neighbors were acting. They listened to the prophets who warned the nation and tried to make changes.

But overall? 

God used His word, His prophets and an occasional king to try to turn the people back to Himself.  But the people ignored Him.  Judgment came. This sad biblical history of blessing, descending into disobedience, ignoring warning and then receiving judgment is there for one reason:  To teach humanity that God takes very seriously that nations uphold His morality. 

Micah put it so well: 

"He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. 

And what does the Lord require of you?
To act justly and to love mercy
and to walk humbly with your God." (6:8) 

The bar was set higher for His chosen.

We have set the bar higher for our nation, seeing it as exceptional. 

Consequently, are we acting in ways that are acceptable to God? 

[1] https://www.britannica.com/topic/American-exceptionalism

The Everyday is So...Well, Every Day

"The problem with everyday," my mom used to say, "It's, well, so every day."

That right there is life in the desert: It's day by day, every day, with a level of hopelessness that your life will be like this.  Forever.

Sometimes it's hour by hour. 

It's hard, to be sure, but that doesn't permit us to slip into grumbling--which is kind of hidden rebellion against God.  

Think of it this way:  Have you ever known someone who will not tell you out right what is wrong, but will say something under their breath, just loud enough for you to hear it?  They won't come right out and tell you--they want you to know just enough, and because they are hurt or angry, they want you to fill in the missing pieces and then understand their hurt or anger.  Or they get someone else to tell you, for the person is still not willing to confront you directly; they think if someone else tells you, you will go to that person and inquire as to what is wrong.

The person, all the while, is still hurt or angry as they send their "envoys" out. That anger or hurt then begins to transform into bitterness, because the person is not getting the results they think they deserve. Hebrews 12:15 really captures this descent into bitterness and its consequences: "See to it that no one falls short of the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many."

Wow.  By not seeing God's grace, bitterness ensues.  Why?  Because you think that God doesn't (a) care (b) blesses everyone but you (c) appreciate all you've done (d) all of the above.

Look how Paul frames the argument: 

"Nevertheless, God was not pleased with most of them; their bodies were scattered in the wilderness. Now these things occurred as examples to keep us from setting our hearts on evil things as they did. Do not be idolaters, as some of them were; as it is written: 'The people sat down to eat and drink and got up to indulge in revelry.' We should not commit sexual immorality, as some of them did—and in one day twenty-three thousand of them died. We should not test Christ, as some of them did—and were killed by snakes. And do not grumble, as some of them did—and were killed by the destroying angel. These things happened to them as examples and were written down as warnings for us, on whom the culmination of the ages has come. So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don’t fall!" (1 Cor. 10:6-12)

What a minute, here.  I am not an idolater, so that passage is rather irrelevant to me. I don't test Christ.  Yeah, I grumble--sometimes--but I am still here, so I obviously didn't attract the attention of the destroying angel."

OK, that's fair.  But when testing (the same word for "temptation") comes, how do you respond?  Grumbling?  Despairing?  Christian on the outside, rebellious soul on this inside? No comes the most quoted part of this passage: "No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it." (1 Cor. 10:13)

Testing tempts you to dive deep into yourself, and seek out your own resources.

That's idolatry.  When you trust and then are loyal to something or someone other than God, your idol has taken you away from sitting at God's feet and waiting on Him to show you the way. 

Some of us want Christ to show Himself, in a mighty way, because we have lots and lots of faith, and His delay means we need to muster more. We determine the how and why of His showing up with our presumptuous declarations of faith. That's testing Christ.  It's the "if you really loved me, You'd do this!"  We demand a response rather than a relationship.

And we grumble.  To others.  Under our breath.  Disguised as conversation.   Disguised as concern.  Just wanting to vent and really not get to the root of our situation: We are growing rebellious and bitter, despite all appearances to the contrary. 

Back to the desert.  The daily grind gets to us at times, and we start to complain about God's delay and the monotony of the situation. The root of bitterness is slowly but surely twisting around our heart. 

What's amazing is how God will show up despite our grumbling, because He loves us: 

"Then Moses told Aaron, 'Say to the entire Israelite community, Come before the Lord, for he has heard your grumbling.’

"While Aaron was speaking to the whole Israelite community, they looked toward the desert, and there was the glory of the Lord appearing in the cloud.

"The Lord said to Moses, 'I have heard the grumbling of the Israelites. Tell them,  At twilight you will eat meat, and in the morning you will be filled with bread. Then you will know that I am the Lord your God.'

"That evening quail came and covered the camp, and in the morning there was a layer of dew around the camp. When the dew was gone, thin flakes like frost on the ground appeared on the desert floor. When the Israelites saw it, they said to each other, 'What is it?' For they did not know what it was." (Ex. 16: 9-15) 

Way more important is not the manna, but that God showed up!  The manna was amazing, yes, but even more so, the Lord showed up (again, by the way--the Exodus is a testimony to God' numerous appearances!) and then came the bread.

Jesus showed up to answer the cry of our rebellious/aching/lost heart and then He offered Himself as the Bread of Life.

Maybe it's not the every day of the desert and our struggles in it; it's focusing on the desert and not seeing the One who shows up with love and His healing presence.

If we are not careful, our bitterness will blind us to God's appearances in our desert. Not because we've demanded it, or expect it, but because He loves us and has our best interests at heart. 

Trusting Him:  Isn't that what will truly get us through the every day of the desert?  Yes, manna is fine, but isn't our true hunger going to only be met by Him? 

Boxes

Sometimes, in our effort to be spiritual, we store our lives in neat, tidy and separate boxes. We go to church, pray, go to a Bible study, tithe, pray some more, and hang out with a Christian sister or brother for some not-just-on-a-Sunday fellowship. 

All well and good.

But the rest of our lives is in other boxes. We have our financial box; it's our money, after all, and we spend it as we choose, right?  We pay our bills and then whatever is left over is ours. We only consider the spiritual aspect of our money on Sundays mornings (or maybe not even then--or we pop a fiver into the plate and call it good). 

We have our media box. We watch, listen and read whatever sparks our interest or what we want to keep up on.  We really don't think about spiritual implications of what we are putting into our hearts and minds.  Sometimes we watch or read religious teachers, almost as a substitute to spending time in the Word.

We have our family box.  We spend time together, and that is very important.  We take our children to church and then whip out our cell phones during the sermon--the implicit message we are sending is that if the sermon isn't interesting then we can use other means to keep our attention.  We try to eat dinner together, or maybe, we all sit around on our phones, with a few exchanges here and there.  Maybe we do a fine job with our family, watching movies and going places.  But other than going to church, do we spend time talking about God?

Then we have our work box. We work and come home exhausted, upset or just plain wanting the day to be over.  We plop on the couch and check out.  We play video games, spend time on our phone or just want to be left alone.  We may even love our job, but it takes a lot out of us, either because we are doing the work of two people, or because our society is so rude and demanding, that we are drained by our interactions with others.  The last thing we want to do when we come home is be social.

Our lives look like a storage unit filled with lots of boxes; some are labelled and some are not. Then we close the unit's door. We forget what each box contains. 

Finally, there is our social box:  How do we process the news swirling around us, and what do we believe? We can be real nice to people until someone mentions something political and/or societal, and BOOM! we are free to be as nasty, aggressive, gossipy or antagonistic as we want to be, because it's OK to let fly these days on certain subjects.  We tone it down at church and smile when someone says something we disagree with, but on the way home, watch out.  Our words are nothing but judgments on the person we talked to--how could they be that stupid/naive/wrong?  We don't think that way...why should they?

OK, let's tie this in to the desert experience of the Israelites in Exodus.  We see them, in chapter 15, complaining that (a) there is no water and (b) the water they find is bitter.  

God directs Moses to toss a piece of wood into the water, and it becomes potable. God then warns the people that provision from Him is based on obedience to Him: "There the Lord issued a ruling and instruction for them and put them to the test.  He said, 'If you listen carefully to the Lord your God and do what is right in his eyes, if you pay attention to his commands and keep all his decrees, I will not bring on you any of the diseases I brought on the Egyptians, for I am the Lord, who heals you.'” (Ex. 15:25-26)

God is saying, in effect, Don't put Me into a box of your own choosing. I am the God of everything: food, drink, heat, wanderings, joy, and provision. Don't act like pagans.  You are My Chosen People, and I want you to act like it.  Otherwise, you lose My protection, and you will be down range of all sorts of afflictions and trouble. 

Jesus warned the people of avoiding the same pitfall: "And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him." (Matt. 6:7-8)

The Israelites, after receiving water from the rock and camping at Elim, where water and shade were in abundance, (Ex. 15:27) they went right back into putting God into boxes:  

Box 1:  He did lots of wonder-working signs to vanquish Pharoah, his gods and his society, but that was then, this is now. 

Box 2:  He provided water, true, with the wood thing, but God can only work in small increments of mightiness and His power doesn't reach into right now, right here, where we are. 

Box 3:  Hey, the food we brought with us is dwindling, and we feel panicky. God provided before, yes, but that was then and this is NOW! 

They begin to grumble: 

"The whole Israelite community set out from Elim and came to the Desert of Sin, which is between Elim and Sinai, on the fifteenth day of the second month after they had come out of Egypt. In the desert the whole community grumbled against Moses and Aaron. The Israelites said to them, 'If only we had died by the Lord’s hand in Egypt! There we sat around pots of meat and ate all the food we wanted, but you have brought us out into this desert to starve this entire assembly to death.'” (Ex. 16:1-3) 

Really?  But if we don't unbox our life with God, and let all of what God has done/does stay right in front of us, we see only limitations, one-off's and things happening back then, but not now: 

Sure He did it back then, but He won't do it this time. 

God, because of His holy character, is the same yesterday, today and forever.  As He did with the water, He will do with the food: 

"Then the Lord said to Moses, 'I will rain down bread from heaven for you. The people are to go out each day and gather enough for that day. In this way I will test them and see whether they will follow my instructions. On the sixth day they are to prepare what they bring in, and that is to be twice as much as they gather on the other days.'” (16:4-5) 

It's not that God is giving them random instructions:  He wants the people to unbox and look at all He has done, and will continue to do.  He also wants the people to understand that His provision is commensurate with their obedience:    

"So Moses and Aaron said to all the Israelites, 'In the evening you will know that it was the Lord who brought you out of Egypt, and in the morning you will see the glory of the Lord, because he has heard your grumbling against him. Who are we, that you should grumble against us?' Moses also said, 'You will know that it was the Lord when he gives you meat to eat in the evening and all the bread you want in the morning, because he has heard your grumbling against him. Who are we? You are not grumbling against us, but against the Lord.'” (16:6-8) 

Boom!  There it is:  Their grumbling is against God. 

Our grumbling is against God.

They put His provision into a box, stored it away, and now in their forgetfulness, they accuse Him of inconsistency and the failure to provide. 

Whoa. 

We may never admit it, but we do the same thing.

Solution? It's time to clear out the storage unit.