Rescue and Renewal

I have heard too many stories about someone being bailed out of trouble, often multiple times, without learning from a mistake. We live in a bit of a nanny state, where people can make mistakes but still get away with it and not have to suffer consequences. Perhaps you have also experienced the phenomenon of a person told at some point in his life that he was special, and he never forgot it. Every time he does something that would render most people dealing with a fallout and picking up the pieces, he gets rescued by parents or friends, often even the society he lives in. And the cycle repeats.

I think about the Old Testament story of Numbers 12-17. In that stretch of six chapters, God's people do some really bad things. They send 12 spies into the Promised Land. 10 of them bring back a bad report and even exaggerate the negative, while only 2 of them try to hold the people to God's power and promise. They even want to execute God's leaders, including the one who led them out of Egypt and through a body of water that split in two before them and drowned the most feared army of the time behind them. When consequences were doled out (that generation was to die in the wilderness), they tried to go in anyway, and wound up getting whipped. Then community leaders Korah, Dathan, and Abiram, rebelled. They were of the tribe of Reuben, the first-born of Jacob. They may have felt that they had more right to leadership because of the birth order of their ancestors. They even equated the Promised Land with Egypt, and would have executed Moses and Aaron and headed back to Egypt. Those men and everyone who followed them (even their families) were wiped out in a single day.

What if they had been bailed out of trouble? Would this nation of blessing ever have blessed anyone? Would they have become a stench, much like the spoiled child turns into an adult that no one can stand to be around?

Numbers 17 is the story of re-establishing God's order of leadership. The tribes were told to bring a staff with their leader's name carved into it. The staffs were taken before God in the Tabernacle. God would prove the one He chose for leadership by making a dead piece of wood, not connected to a tree or any kind of bush, show buds the next morning. Not only did He do this, but that dead piece of wood created blossoms and ripe almonds. It showed new life, matured life, and the produce of life. And the staff belonged to Aaron. From that time forward, his rod would stay in God's Presence. Anyone who doubted leadership and was tempted to rebel just had to look at the rod and remember God's choice and what had happened to those who rebelled just before this event occurred.

It is interesting how two rods were used in Torah. Moses' rod became a snake, was stretched out to signal the beginnings of plagues, to signal the parting and re-closing of waters (rescue for Israel and judgment against Egypt), and to strike a rock to bring out water. Aaron's rod, like his role, was different. It became a sign of new life, developed into mature beauty and fruitfulness. Moses was the delivering leader. Aaron was the agent of forgiveness and atonement.

What brings a person to Christian maturity? Obviously, there might be pain. The old has to be given up. A person has to "leave Egypt." Christ came to rescue people from slavery to sin. That's the "Moses Rod" part of what He did. He was stricken on the cross before any water flowed out that could bring life.

But He also came to atone for sin. He was sacrificed. His death and resurrection brought us atonement. He's still in heaven before God's throne representing us. He promised to come back. the "Aaron's Rod" part of what Christ did brings with it new, maturing, and fruitful life from what was once dead.

Back to the original thought. What if the consequences of rebellion were not suffered? What would Israel have turned out to be? I would suggest an empty shell of what she would (for a time at least) become. Rescue without renewal--a new life!--is empty. Israel had to become a new "person," rescued (represented by Moses) and renewed (represented by Aaron). The nation needed both.

So do we. I know it's hard. I've had to deal with consequences of mistakes. No one likes it. But without trial, without learning from mistakes, we keep repeating them, and we become people no one wants to be around. We cannot be people of blessing without rescue and renewal. We need them both.

How have you experienced rescue and renewal? What lessons can you share to help others see why both are necessary? Praying that we each will know the blessing of both in our lives, and that we can see past the pain and into the blessing.

Blessings of Celebration, Forgiveness, Inclusion, and Simplicity

Lately, social media has been buzzing over the words of a certain political candidate's views on how we should allow or ban foreigners from entering this country--specific foreigners, in fact. I do not want to spend time on my opinion here. But I would simply ask the question, what would God tell us here? I feel that Numbers 15 gives some perspective.

Numbers 15 seems to be all over the place: Celebratory sacrifices and what should accompany them; absolution offerings and how they are done; what happens when a person, or a group, deliberately sins; a man breaking the Sabbath and his resulting execution; wearing tassels on garments... Sometimes the dots are harder to connect. But I have always felt that they are connectable, even if it takes more time to connect them.

What should accompany a freewill or peace or whole burnt offering? God gives very specific instructions about the grain and drink offerings that should do this. These are the kinds of offerings you might give at one of the appointed festivals that every Israelite was supposed to celebrate.

What should happen when a person sins unintentionally? Or when the entire community sins unintentionally? Specific instructions are given as to how absolution offerings were to be brought to the Sanctuary.

What should happen when it's presumptuous (deliberate) sin? God tells the people they are to cut that person off from the community. This is demonstrated in a very memorable way when a man is found collecting wood on the Sabbath. The community was to take the man out of the camp and kill him by stoning him. Let the power of that lesson sink in. God didn't just strike the man down. The sentence was carried out by the people! This man's deliberate sin very deliberately dealt with, and the man was cut off from the people in a very definitive way. I finished this part wondering if all deliberate sins are really equal. I would think non-repentance is a factor. Obviously, if you steal something, you didn't do that kind of think accidentally, you could be forgiven. I get the impression that this man may have been caught breaking a commandment, was likely warned, but refused to stop and refused to confess his wrongdoing.

Following this, Israelites were told to sow tassels onto their garments a blue thread to remind them to keep the commandments and be separate from the nations around them, avoiding their evil ways.

A few things speak to me from this. First, when I celebrate at all, I should celebrate God and remember that He celebrates with me (assuming the celebration is one He would condone). Never forget that God loves celebration, particular when it honors Him and His goodness.

Second, take advantage of the paths of forgiveness that God has provided. It is so much easier today than it was for the Israelites. I don't have to kill anything on an altar. However, each day is a chance to put my self on the altar (in prayer) and be forgiven. Sin is never to be taken lightly, but neither is Jesus and His sacrifice.

Third, treat people well. Don't qualify your treatment of others by who they are and how they are like you or different from you. God gave both celebration instructions and paths to forgiveness instructions to both Israelite and foreigner. Believers, live a life of blessing to unbelievers. Don't be afraid to invite them to your parties where they can see you celebrating the goodness of God!

Fourth, do what it takes to remember God at all times. For Israel it was to be tassels. What can it be for me? I feel that I need to be more distinguishable from the patterns of the society around me. It is not a call to be bizarre. But it does call me to do simple things, to be simple (not to be a simpleton of course), and to try and keep anything out of me and off of me that would keep them from seeing Christ in me. Perhaps even a simple alarm on my phone can remind me to look into God's goodness through His Word or through prayer at set times during the day.

Back to that opening paragraph. Any nation God has ever blessed was blessed for the intention of being a blessing. We are no different. Clearly God expected "foreigners" to be grafted into His people over time. They were to enjoy the things God blessed His own people with. This may mean there were people that would join them over time that came from areas of concern in the surrounding world. Yet as long as they could tell that they were people who intended no harm, but desired what they had in their God, there was a path for them.

Celebration. Forgiveness. Inclusion. Obedience. These blessings were intended for all people. They still are. How should this be considered today?