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Romanticizing The Past

The Good Old Days Weren't Always So Good

In a very real sense, sin is an attempt to fill the emptiness in our lives with the things that God will ultimately provide, but doing so apart from waiting and trusting through faith for him to give them in his way and in his time. The scary thing is, when we stubbornly persist in our fleshly attempts to satisfy the empty part of our soul, God may actually give us what we crave—but allow an even deeper emptiness within. We must be careful what we ask for, and rather learn to seek only what he desires to give.

The Journey // Focus: Numbers 11:4-6

The foreign rabble within the Israelite community began to crave other food, and again the children of Israel started wailing and said, “If only we had meat to eat! We remember the fish we ate in Egypt at no cost—also the cucumbers, melons, leeks, onions and garlic. But now we have lost our appetite; we never see anything but this manna!”

The children of Israel were a couple of years into their wilderness experience, and God was developing their faith by testing their trust. And on several occasions, the people failed the test. This was just such an occasion. The “rabble” among them—likely a non-Israelite group that followed them out of Egypt, for whatever reason—were a constant source of trouble. In this case, they influenced God’s people to complain about his provision by romanticizing “all the wonderful provisions” they so enjoyed back in Egypt. Of course, they wouldn’t have left Egypt if those were truly the good old days. But undisciplined desires began to taint their memories, and they started longing for a return to the “pleasures” of Egypt, which of course, were sinful pleasures.

Is sin pleasurable? You bet it is—that’s why it works so well. Hebrews 11 refers to this very thing: “By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be known as the son of Pharaoh’s daughter. He chose to be mistreated along with the people of God rather than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin. He regarded disgrace for the sake of Christ as of greater value than the treasures of Egypt, because he was looking ahead to his reward.” (Hebrews 11:24-26)

To be sure, sin is attractive. There is a certain “value in its treasures”, as we see in the case of Moses’ rejection of sin’s seasonal satisfaction. There is an enjoyment of the “pleasures of sin for a season”: the buzz from that alcoholic drink, the high from that illicit drug, the thrill of crossing that sexual boundary, the emotional release of that angry, hurtful tirade, the general freedom of that life controlled by sinful desires rather than by the Holy Spirit. Yes, there is pleasure in sin—for a season.

But seasons end and sinful pleasures are fleeting: they are short-lived, and they are progressively destructive to everything that God intends for us: a healthy body, harmonious relationships, and a holy life. And sinful pleasures dull our sense of reality—we begin to romanticize what we once had. In that sense, when we long for the good old days where sin reigned in our lives, we need to snap ourselves back into reality and admit that the good old days weren’t actually that good; in truth, they were the bad old days. Listen to how author Larry Osborn talks about this very thing:

Almost every generation looks back and wonders what happened to the “good old days.” It’s human nature. The evils of the past tend to fade from memory, while the injustices and evils of the present stand out in bold relief. Perhaps that is why Solomon wrote, “Do not say ‘Why were the old days better than these?’ For it is not wise to ask such questions.” (Ecclesiastes 7:10)

Whenever we are tempted to ask, “why were the old days better than these?”, that should be a red alert that we need to do as Moses did and compare the short-lived benefits of sin with the long-term reward of trusting God. When we fail to trust in God’s promise to fully meet our needs and satisfy our desires, we will end up romanticizing the past’s sketchy track record of fully pleasuring our heart’s desire. The things we once depended on for satisfaction and security, the pleasurable sensations that money or power or attention or relationships or possessions or food or sex produces, apart from God, are what C.S. Lewis referred to as the “sweet poison of the false infinite.” These are what we might call substitute sacreds—the surrogates we desperately use to fill the emptiness of our dissatisfied lives.

In reality, however, no substitute sacred ever fulfills what it so brazenly promises. Only the one true Sacred can do that! St. Augustine said, “Sin comes when we take a perfectly natural desire or longing or ambition and try desperately to fulfill it without God…All these good things, and all our security, are rightly found only and completely in him.” God longs for us to come trustingly to him with our needy souls so he can graciously and abundantly and unendingly satisfy our deepest longings and most powerful passions—in his way and in his time. As Augustine said, God has created us for himself, and we will only find satisfaction when we find our satisfaction in him.

In a very real sense, sin is an attempt to fill the emptiness in our lives with the things that God will ultimately provide, but doing so apart from waiting and trusting through faith for him to give them in his way and in his time. The scary thing is, when we stubbornly persist in our self-centered attempts to satisfy the empty part of our soul, God may actually give us what we crave—but allow an even deeper emptiness within. Psalm 106:13-15 offers this sad and sobering commentary on our undisciplined desires:

The children of Israel soon forgot God’s works;
They did not wait for His counsel,
But lusted exceedingly in the wilderness,
And tested God in the desert.
So He gave them their request,
But sent leanness into their soul.

To get what we want, yet end up with leanness in our souls—what a sad possibility. Let the Israelites in Numbers 11 be a continual cautionary tale that we must be careful what we ask for. Rather, we must learn to seek only what God desires to give and be grateful for what he has already graciously provided.

Going Deeper: Read and reflect on Psalm 106, then do two things: First repent of your fleshly desires and cry out to God to lead you not into temptation. Second, practice gratitude for what you’ve got. Doing that will cause you to focus on the rewards of following God and reject the false infinites of what you left behind in your life of sin.

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Pray Bigly!

It Never Hurts To Ask

We should pray about every issue in our lives — big, small, medium. We should boldly take them to God. It both honors him and pleases his heart because it reveals our trust in his goodness and generosity. Mark Batterson rightly notes, “Why do we mistakenly think that God is offended by our prayers for the impossible? The truth is that God is offended by anything less!” So why not pray audacious prayers for victory! Why not shout — yes shout, that’s what Moses did — shout out your prayer when you open the front door as you leave for work in the morning: “Arise, O Lord, and let your enemies be scattered! Let them flee before you!” It might freak your neighbors out a bit, but if it came down to it, I would rather have God’s favor going ahead of me into my day than my neighbors’ approval.

The Journey // Focus: Numbers 10:33-36

The Israelites marched for three days after leaving the mountain of the Lord, with the Ark of the Lord’s Covenant moving ahead of them to show them where to stop and rest. As they moved on each day, the cloud of the Lord hovered over them. And whenever the Ark set out, Moses would shout, “Arise, O Lord, and let your enemies be scattered! Let them flee before you!” And when the Ark was set down, he would say, “Return, O Lord, to the countless thousands of Israel!”

Should we pray each day for protection and victory? Do we need to daily ask God to watch over our children, our work, our homes? Should we be bothering him to give us success in what is out in front of us as we leave the house? Doesn’t God already know what we need; doesn’t he already have us covered?

My response to that is, it doesn’t hurt to ask. Besides, Jesus taught us to pray, “keep us from the evil one.” It seems that the Lord’s Prayer Jesus urged us to pray had a sense of dailiness to it: “Give us today our daily bread.”

These kinds of prayers for protection and victory aren’t so much to remind a God who may have forgotten about us. He never forgets. How could he? We are his own special people. Isaiah captured the Lord’s tender watchfulness over our lives when he said, “Can a mother forget the baby at her breast and have no compassion on the child she has borne. Though she may forget, I will not forget you. See, I have engraved you on the palm of my hand.” (Isaiah 49:15) No, these kinds of prayer are not to shake God out of his lapse of memory, it is to remind us that he has us continually covered. They are to bring us back to a daily acknowledgment of our utter but joyful dependence on him for provision, protection, and victory.

So I say why not pray these audacious prayers for victory! Why not shout—yes shout, that’s what Moses did—shout out your prayer as you open the front door: “Arise, O Lord, and let your enemies be scattered! Let them flee before you!” It might freak your neighbors out a bit, but if it came down to it, I would rather have God’s favor going ahead of me into my day than my neighbors’ approval. And at day’s end, why not offer a prayer before your family wraps up and heads to sleep, “Return, O Lord, to the people in this house!”

Some think these kinds of prayers are pointless, even showing a lack of trust in a God who already knows. Others say when we pray prayers like this, we are using prayer like a magic charm to gain the favor of the gods. I disagree. Scripture would lean less toward those opinions than the one expressed by author and pastor Mark Batterson. Let me offer some insights from his book, The Circle Maker,

Each prayer is like a seed that gets planted in the ground. It disappears for a season, but it eventually bears fruit that blesses future generations. In fact, our prayers bear fruit forever.

God won’t answer 100 percent of the prayers we don’t pray.

Why do we mistakenly think that God is offended by our prayers for the impossible? The truth is that God is offended by anything less! God is offended when we ask Him to do things we can do ourselves. It’s the impossible prayers that honor God because they reveal our faith and allow God to reveal His glory.

God won’t answer 100 percent of the prayers you don’t pray. If that is true, I say why not ask, and ask bigly! Ask him daily, and nightly, for protection and victory and anything else you have in mind. God can handle even the prayers that are kind of ridiculous. He doesn’t get offended by your praying. In fact, my guess is, since he is your Father, that he likes it when you as his child believe enough in his generosity that you are willing to ask early and often for anything that is on your heart.

Going Deeper: Pray about everything—big, small, medium. Take it to God. Be audacious in praying. It both honors God and pleases his heart because it reveals your trust in his goodness and generosity.

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The Wonderful Unpredictability of the Great Predictable!

He Can Be Trusted

We do not have utter prophetic clarity as to the leading of the Holy Spirit, but we can still be certain that in his wonderful unpredictability, he is still—and always will be —the Great Predictable. He can be trusted. That was true for the Israelites in the wilderness, and that is true for you. When you follow the Cloud, at the end of the day, your testimony will be that God has led you all along the way.

The Journey // Focus: Numbers 9:15,17-10

On the day the Tabernacle was set up, the cloud covered it. But from evening until morning the cloud over the Tabernacle looked like a pillar of fire. …Whenever the cloud lifted from over the sacred tent, the people of Israel would break camp and follow it. And wherever the cloud settled, the people of Israel would set up camp. In this way, they traveled and camped at the Lord’s command wherever he told them to go. Then they remained in their camp as long as the cloud stayed over the Tabernacle. If the cloud remained over the Tabernacle for a long time, the Israelites stayed and performed their duty to the Lord. Sometimes the cloud would stay over the Tabernacle for only a few days, so the people would stay for only a few days, as the Lord commanded. Then at the Lord’s command they would break camp and move on.

I cannot predict the leading of the Holy Spirit in my life, but I know with certainty that where he leads, there I will find God’s purpose is fulfilled, God’s provision is revealed, and my heart is filled with God’s peace. Of course, I would love to know exactly what the Spirit of God is up to at all times—I’m a bit of a control freak in that regard. I bet you are, too! But we are not the Holy Spirit, and that is a very good thing.

Many Biblical writers spoke of the wonderful unpredictability of the Great Predictable. The Great Predictable; by that I am referring to a God who is always good, loving, wise and kind, but whose ways are inscrutable.

Isaiah said, “Who has known the mind of the LORD, and who has instructed him as his counselor?” (Isaiah 40:13) Paul wrote in Romans 11:34, “For who has known the mind of the Lord, or who has been his counselor?” Again in 1 Corinthians 2:16, Paul says, “Who can know the LORD’s thoughts? Who knows enough to teach him?” Jesus said of the Holy Spirit, “The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.” The wonderful unpredictability of the Great Predictable!

We don’t fully understand the movement of the Holy Spirit, but we can fully trust that his movements are perfect. He never makes a mistake, never leads us into a box canyon with no exit, never takes us along a path that will destroy God’s work in our lives. We may not understand his ways, but we know that “For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen.” (Romans 11:36) We can have complete confidence that he “works all things together for the good of those who love him and are called according to his purpose.” (Romans 8:28). And we can unequivocally trust that where he does lead us the journey will be to produce the character of Christ within us. (Romans 8:29) We can rest in the care of the unpredictable Predictable.

Perhaps that is the greatest application for our lives today as we consider the story of the Israelites inexact but inexorable journey to the land that God promised them. What an amazing grace God provided for their journey: The Cloud of Glory. By day, the Cloud rested over the Tabernacle. By night, the Cloud lit up the sky above it as a pillar of fire. Could it be, in the practical terms, that the Cloud provided much needed shade in the hot desert sun and a night light in the deep darkness of the wilderness night for the people of God? But mostly, the children of Israel were led along the way for forty years in the wilderness as the Cloud lifted and journeyed on. As it did, they broke camp and followed. When the Cloud stopped, they set up camp. Sometimes for a day or two, sometimes for several months.

But one pattern was discernible in the movement of the Cloud: There was no discernable pattern. Why? Precisely because God wanted to remind the Israelites—and by extension, you and me—that God is God and we are not. His ways are inscrutable. And perhaps this was God’s exact plan; he was intentionally demonstrating for them that that it was God himself who was leading them, and that he who had led them faithfully to this point could be trusted to lead them faithfully to the next.

Again, because we do not have utter prophetic clarity as to the leading of the Holy Spirit, we can still be certain that in his wonderful unpredictability, he is still—and always—the Great Predictable. He can be trusted. That was true for the Israelites, and that is true for you. At the end of the day, your testimony will be that God has led you all along the way.

One more insight from this passage: When the Cloud is not leading you in any discernable way, stay put and be obedient to the last thing God showed you. Our text says, “If the cloud remained over the Tabernacle for a long time, the Israelites stayed and performed their duty to the Lord.” Too many Christians get restless as they wait for a “word from the Lord” as to what they are to do next. Until you get a clear sense that the Cloud is leading you, stay put and perform your duty to the Lord. What is your duty? The last thing God gave you to do.

God can be trusted—whether leading you to stay put or to move on. After all, he is the wonderful unpredictable Great Predictable!

Going Deeper: Are you wrestling with uncertainty about your future? Wrestling where God is going to guide you? Quit wrestling and begin resting. God will lead you clearly where you need to go. And if he doesn’t, stay put and perform your duty to the Lord—the last thing God gave you to do.

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Mandatory Retirement?

Amazing Opportunities As You Grow Older

What? Retire at fifty! That both attracts and repulses me. So why would God force the Levites who worked as Tabernacle caretakers to retire when they were still able bodied men? And what does that say about God’s view of retirement and the potential contribution of the retiree in our world today? Well, we will ultimately find that 100% of the Bible’s regulations tell us that God cares about us, even though our present understanding may be, “as through a glass darkly.” His commands are never grievous and are always for our good. As we trustingly embrace them, nothing but God’s abundant goodness will come our way. In the case of mandatory retirement in Numbers 8, even if that grates against your modern sensibilities, as John Newton put it, “God often takes a course for accomplishing His purposes directly contrary to what our narrow views would prescribe. He brings a death upon our feelings, wishes and prospects when He is about to give us the desire of our hearts.” And what is the desire of your heart as you grow older? Hopefully, it is to have greater impact. And may God give it to you!

The Journey // Focus: Numbers 8:23-26

The Lord also instructed Moses, “This is the rule the Levites must follow: They must begin serving in the Tabernacle at the age of twenty-five,  and they must retire at the age of fifty. After retirement they may assist their fellow Levites by serving as guards at the Tabernacle, but they may not officiate in the service. This is how you must assign duties to the Levites.”

What? Retire at fifty! That both attracts me and repulses me at the same time.

So why would God force the Levites who worked in the care of the Tabernacle to retire from their ministry when they were still able bodied men? And what does that say about God’s view of the retirement age and the potential contribution of those who are aging in our world today?

To begin with, no matter how we in the modern world may feel about the fairness, relevance and the wisdom of the decrees and regulations God laid down in the Pentateuch, or anywhere in Scripture for that matter, my belief is that as sincere God-followers we must forever embrace as settled law that God is all-knowing, all-wise, and always benevolent. The problem with God’s law is never with God, it is with us. We just don’t fully understand, and we can’t. Not now, anyway. We are finite and his is infinite. The Apostle Paul said it this way in Romans 11:33-36,

Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways!
For who has known the mind of the Lord, or who has been his counselor?
Or who has given a gift to him that he might be repaid?
For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen.

As someone wisely put it, “God is too wise to make a mistake, too kind to be cruel, and too deep to explain himself.” We would do well with trying to understand and explain God if we would accept that little piece of wisdom.

Beyond that, what we know about service in the Tabernacle was that it was hard work. It involved tedious attention to detail, careful planning and energy draining effort to tear down, pack up and haul the thousands of pieces of God’s house, pieces big and small, for miles and miles, through the Sinai desert. In an act of compassion, God knew that because of the strenuous effort and the raw brawn that it would require, this work would need to be carried out by the able-bodied men within a younger age group. This decree was, therefore, a grace.

We also know that it was a grace of God that he invited men who were above the age of retirement to continue in assisting in the work of his house. He wasn’t forcing capable people out of service or lessening their contribution, he was making a way for them to contribute in a different way. Their work wasn’t downgraded, it was just different.

And finally, what this decree, along with 100 percent of the other laws, regulations and rulings we find in the Bible, even though our understanding of them may be, at the end of the day, “as through a glass darkly,” tells us is that God cares about us. His commands are never grievous and are always for our good. As we trustingly embrace them, nothing but the abundant goodness of God will come our way.

Talk about great retirement benefits!

Going Deeper: Are there any decrees and commands, rules and regulations, from the Bible that you wrestle with, or are angry about, or that embarrass you as a believer? Don’t feel bad about not understanding them. I don’t — at least some of them. Even it you don’t, I would suggest that you offer up an expression of trust to the God who had good reason to give us his law.

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The One Gift We Don’t Publicly Celebrate

Celebrating Generosity

Do you realize that in the modern era of the church, especially in our culture, there is one gift out of the panoply of spiritual gifts that bless the church that we don’t publically celebrate? We celebrate the gift of preaching and the musical/artistic gifts every Lord’s Day. We publically praise the gifts of hospitality and compassion. We give public recognition for the gifts of service. There is not a gift that we don’t cheer in the midst of the congregation, save one: the gift of giving. How unfortunate!

The Journey // Focus: Numbers 7:84

So this was the dedication offering brought by the leaders of Israel at the time the altar was anointed: twelve silver platters, twelve silver basins, and twelve gold incense containers.

Whatever happened to “don’t let the left hand know what the right hand is giving”? Here is a case where the leaders of the twelve tribes led the way in the dedication of the altar in the Tabernacle by bringing a very public offering. And what they brought was very much known by everyone else. They gave a gift to the Lord, and in this case, the left hand knew exactly what the right hand was doing.

Do you realize that in the modern era of the church, especially in our culture, there is one gift out of the panoply of spiritual gifts that bless the church that we don’t publically celebrate? We celebrate the gift of preaching and the musical/artistic gifts every Lord’s Day. We publically praise the gifts of hospitality and compassion. We give public recognition for the gifts of service. There is not a gift that we don’t cheer in the midst of the congregation, save one: the gift of giving. How unfortunate!

I have friends, a husband and wife, whom God has significantly blessed in a material way. And they fully understand that not only do they have a responsibility to be generous with their blessing, but they recognize that God has sovereignly implanted within them the spiritual gift of giving. They, too, recognize that this gift is not one they can wear on their sleeves. And so my wife and I get together with them once a year to celebrate their gift. They are not weird about it, nor are we. It is not a matter of pride, nor of using their significant gift to gain influence. They have a godly, healthy attitude about it. So we celebrate it. I wish we could do it publically, because done in the right way, and received by others in the right way, it would be a huge encouragement and a motivation for others to do what they have done: step out in faith and obedience to give, and thereby, untie God’s hand of blessing to out-give them.

In our culture, we tend to get weird about money—especially when pastor asks us to sanctify it to the Lord through giving, and doubly especially when another does so and starts to get really blessed with more than we have. May the Lord deliver us from our spiritual ridiculousness.

My sense is that we have misinterpreted what the Bible has to say about giving. When Jesus prohibited the left hand knowing what the right hand was doing, he was challenging the odious effort to gain attention from what we were giving. In that case, our giving is more about how we want others to perceive us than the glory we want to bring to God and the good we are hoping to unleash on others through the gift. The fact is, Jesus publicly recognized the amount of the poor widow who put two coins—all she had—into the temple offering box.

There are many instances in Scripture where someone’s gift of giving was publically recorded, recognized and even celebrated. Several times, Nehemiah, the Old Testament wall builder, reminded God of what he personally had given to rebuild Jerusalem—and had the temerity to ask the Lord to remember what he had done.

In Acts 4, the church and its leadership was very well aware of what one wealthy man, Barnabas, gave to support the ministry of the New Testament community. He sold a piece of property, brought the proceeds to the Apostles, and publically laid it at their feet so they could use it as they saw fit. In the very next chapter, a couple named Ananias and Sapphira, seeing how much Barnabas was celebrated for his gift of giving, tried to do the same, although deceitfully and an effort to make themselves look good, and paid the ultimate price for misusing the gift of giving.

My point is, within this context, shouldn’t we celebrate this specific gift as well? I think so. For sure, all giving should be cheered. It is not the amount that matters, it is the heart that counts. (Romans 12:6) All gifts are significant. But some are substantial to the point that like Barnabas’ gift, or the gifts of the Israelite leaders, they create momentum in the life and mission of the people of God.

All that to say, don’t be afraid to share your material gift in front of others if the Holy Spirit prompts you to do so, and if it will glorify God, not you, and if it will encourage others to step out in risky faith and bold obedience. And likewise, when someone else is recognized for their gift of giving, by all means, cheer them. And please, please don’t violate the Eleventh Commandment, “thou shalt not be ridiculous” about the dedication of someone else’s wealth to the Lord’s use.

Going Deeper: Give a generous gift on the Lord’s behalf in a way that inspires others to ridiculous generosity, and of course, brings all the glory to God.

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No Really, God Wants To Bless You

The Blessing

Do you realize that God really does want to bless his people? He wants to bless the non-believer, too, by the way, but their sin obviously blocks the flow of his intentional goodness in their lives. But in terms of his blessing on the people who call on his name, one of the ways he communicates his desire to bless is through the formal blessing of a pastor, or the priest. And when the pastor/priest offers the Aaronic Blessing, as the words are spoken, it is God himself who is entering into that moment to speak and to lay hands on his people to pour forth his favor upon them.

The Journey// Focus: Numbers 6:22-27

The LORD said to Moses, “Tell Aaron and his sons, ‘This is how you are to bless the Israelites. Say to them: “The LORD bless you and keep you; the LORD make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you; the LORD turn his face toward you and give you peace.”’ Whenever Aaron and his sons bless the people of Israel in my name, I myself will bless them.”

God wants to bless you. Really! That is not just something we say off-handedly, he deeply desires to pour out of the storehouse of his treasury the multifaceted favor of his glorious riches. So let me just say it one more time, “May God richly bless you!”

Out of my pastoral bag of benedictions, this blessing found in Numbers 6 is my favorite. There are many beautiful benedictions found in Scripture, but this is the one I most often use. I typically use it at the end of a service to dismiss the congregation as they go back into their world, and for me, it is not merely a pastoral ritual to end a meeting and send the people on their way, it is invoking the literal blessing of Almighty God himself.

Invoking the literal blessing of Almighty God himself. To be honest, I am not sure I have ever thought of it quite like that before. I have sincerely offered this blessing countless times, but I have never fully noticed the context that from which it originates here in Numbers 6. And specifically, I don’t think I have ever caught that this is the Lord himself telling Moses to instruct Aaron, the high priest, and his sons, how to bless the people. And here is the clincher: they are to bless the people with this benediction on behalf of the Lord himself.

How often we mindlessly say, “God bless you.” We use it in response to a sneeze. We use it to end a letter. We use it to affirm affection for someone we care for. And we even use it for people we don’t really care for, that is, for people we don’t really know but want to politely and kindly acknowledge with a reference to our God. So we say, “God bless you!”

But do you realize that God really does want to bless his people? He wants to bless the non-believer, too, by the way, but their sin obviously blocks the flow of his intentional goodness in their lives. But in terms of his blessing on the people who call on his name, one of the ways he communicates his desire to bless is through the formal blessing of a pastor, or in this case of Numbers, the Levitical priests. And when the pastor/priest offers this formulaic expression, as the words are spoken, it is God himself who is entering into that moment to speak and to lay hands on his people to bless them with his favor.

So just what is the blessing that God is giving? If you look at the Aaronic blessing, it includes just about everyone one could hope for:

  • “May the Lord bless you.” In a comprehensive way, it means blessing—God’s general goodness, kindness and benevolence.
  • “May the Lord keep you.” It also includes his watchful care. God promises to watch over, hold close and protect his people.
  • “May the Lord make his face shine upon you.” God desires to look upon you with warm love and the Fatherly pride.
  • “May the Lord be gracious to you.” The blessing includes his grace, which is his unmerited and unlimited favor.
  • “May the Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace.” God will bless you by giving you audience—paying attention to you, granting you his precious time—and letting you know that all will be well with you, no matter how it may seem otherwise.

That is the blessing—not just what your pastor, priest or I want to give to you as you go your way. No, this is God himself, using your spiritual overseer as his mouthpiece, telling you what he desires to do for you.

Whenever Aaron and his sons bless the people of Israel in my name, I myself will bless them. (Numbers 6:27, NLT)

Wow! May the Lord bless you!

Going Deeper: I think the appropriate response to this pastoral benediction is to simply say, “thank you, God.”

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God Is Deadly Serious About The Sanctity Of Marriage

Healthy Families Matter To God

What do the seemingly draconian Old Testament laws about sexual unfaithfulness in marriage tell us about God and his desire for the entire human family? The Bible clearly teaches us that God is deadly serious about the sanctity of marriage and the welfare of the family that derives from the marriage; namely the innocent children who are forever wounded by the unfaithfulness of their parents. And while we no longer serve up the death penalty to adulterers—and by Jesus’ re-definition of adultery in the heart, aren’t we all glad that capital punishment is off the table—God cares just as much today about the health of the human family as he did in the Old Testament. Your family’s health matters to God—make sure it matters that much to you, too!

The Journey // Focus: Numbers 5:20-21, 28

If a wife has gone astray by being unfaithful to her husband and has defiled herself through sexual immorality [and her husband suspects unfaithfulness]—at this point the priest must put the wife under oath by saying, “May the people know that the LORD’S curse is upon you when he makes you infertile…” But if she has not defiled herself and is pure, then she will be unharmed and will still be able to have children.

It would be very easy as a modern reader with a Western worldview to discard this chapter out of hand and think that God and/or the Judeo-Christian tradition had it out for women. On its face, Numbers 5 seems unfair to women, allowing them to be accused of sexual unfaithfulness by a jealous husband with impunity. The suspicious husband could accuse his wife of unfaithfulness and even if she was proven to be innocent, she would still suffer the embarrassment of public humiliation while he suffered no consequence for bringing a false accusation. As one who had been falsely accused said upon being proven innocent, “Now where can I go to get my reputation back”? Being found guilty, even being accused, would mean enduring a horrible ordeal for a wife. For sure, to our modern sensibilities, the ritual law covering a husband’s jealous suspicion of an unfaithful wife seems unfair, misogynistic and draconian.

But, as is the case in so many of these chapters that concern civil and religious law, there is more to the story here. A proper reading and understanding of this chapter requires us to consider one, the culture at the time—God was forming a people without a system of civil law into a nation that was to now live under the rule of his law; two, the context of the law—the law’s greater purpose was to teach the people about the holiness of God and his demands for their holiness as his set apart people; three, a wider reading of Scripture to see how the laws against bearing false witness, the law for dealing with an adulterous husband, and the laws of restitution gave context to this specific law; and four, the new covenant law of love that Jesus imposed over the sexually promiscuous. Likewise, we need to take into account what Jesus also had to say about how husbands treated their wives, the repugnance of divorce, and even how self-righteous men were actually committing adultery simply (and likely continuously) by lusting after women in their hearts.

So, understanding this chapter, which is what I would classify as what theologians term “a hard saying of the Bible”, requires some extra work on our part. Namely, it is important here that we follow the proper hermeneutical principle of allowing Scripture to interpret Scripture.

Having said that, what does this seemingly draconian law tell us about God and his desire for not only his people, but the entire human family? I have a strong belief that this clearly teaches us that God is deadly serious about the sanctity of marriage and the welfare of the family that derives from the marriage; namely the innocent children who are forever wounded by the unfaithfulness of either the husband or the wife. The human race is made up of families, and each family is God’s little society. All these little societies provide stability and health to the larger family of mankind. And in a deeper, truer, more mysterious way, the family, living in loving faithfulness, reflects the image of the Godhead, who lives in utter unity within the mutuality of the Trinity—Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

In Genesis 1 and 2, when God created mankind and instituted marriage, over and over he spoke of his image being reflected in the best possible light among the rest of creation by the loving, faithful relationship of Adam and Eve. More than you and I can possibly realize, God is concerned about your marriage and mine. So serious was he that violation of the marriage covenant through unfaithfulness brought capital punishment. And even though he provided other means for unhappy couples to dissolve their covenant, it grieved his heart. And while we no longer serve up the death penalty to adulterers—and by Jesus’ re-definition of adultery in the heart, aren’t we all glad that capital punishment is off the table—God cares just as much today about the health of the human family as he did in Numbers 5. Our cultural tolerance of boundary-less sex, easy divorce and the acceptance of the single-parent home milieu means that we will have a lot to answer for on the Day of Judgement.

At this point I could list endless research on the destructiveness to men and women, and especially the life-long harm to the most vulnerable, our children, that results from our cavalier attitude toward the sanctity of marriage, but I think you get the picture. What is God deadly serious about? Your marriage, that’s what!

Whether you are married, not yet married, or will be single for life, as a Christ-follower, let us take up the cause of the sanctity of marriage. Let us, first of all, live out God’s ideal in our own homes. Then, let us fearlessly take a stand against the demon-inspired attack in its various forms on God’s ideal of covenantal marriage. Perhaps if enough of us would model the right thing and call out the wrong thing, we could save a few of these “little societies” from destruction.

Going Deeper: Pray daily for your marriage, and for the marriages of your loved ones, and for the marriages in your church. Pray a hedge of protection around them. It may not seem like you are doing much, but your prayer will be heard by the God who answers prayer.