Numbers 10-12: Talking with God

Did I conceive all these people? Did I give them birth? Why do you tell me to carry them in my arms, as a nurse carries an infant, to the land you promised on oath to their forefathers? Where can I get meat for all these people? They keep wailing to me, ‘Give us meat to eat!’ I cannot carry all these people by myself; the burden is too heavy for me. If this is how you are going to treat me, put me to death right now—if I have found favor in your eyes—and do not let me face my own ruin.” - Num. 11:12-15 NIV

Poor Moses, one day he was minding his own business, tending his father-in-law's sheep, at an age when he was about to retire, and the next, he is wandering around in the wilderness with a host of ungrateful people.  How did it come to this, what did he do wrong?  Was he just in the wrong place at the wrong time, or was he specifically chosen for the task?  Why did God choose him to lead the people anyway.  He was not a great public speaker.  He did not have a special affinity for his fellow Israelites.  He wasn't a man of great patience.  Why did God choose him?

Perhaps it was nothing more than the fact that he heard God's voice.   As God himself told Aaron and Miriam, “Listen to my words: “When a prophet of the LORD is among you, I reveal myself to him in visions, I speak to him in dreams.  But this is not true of my servant Moses; he is faithful in all my house.  With him I speak face to face, clearly and not in riddles; he sees the form of the LORD. - Num. 12:6-8 NIV

Moses was not afraid of God, he was not afraid to dialog with God, to question God, to be honest with Him.  Most of us spend our lives arguing with everyone but God.  We challenge everyone else, we listen to everyone else.   We look to everyone else for their approval.  Our lives may be simpler as a result.  We don't have a bunch of whiney, wailing people trailing after us, but are we missing the voice of God?

Numbers 7-9: Led By a Cloud

At the LORD’s command the Israelites set out, and at his command they encamped. As long as the cloud stayed over the tabernacle, they remained in camp. When the cloud remained over the tabernacle a long time, the Israelites obeyed the LORD’s order and did not set out. Sometimes the cloud was over the tabernacle only a few days; at the LORD’s command they would encamp, and then at his command they would set out. Sometimes the cloud stayed only from evening till morning, and when it lifted in the morning, they set out. Whether by day or by night, whenever the cloud lifted, they set out. Whether the cloud stayed over the tabernacle for two days or a month or a year, the Israelites would remain in camp and not set out; but when it lifted, they would set out. - Num. 9:18-22 NIV

Just imagine this vast host of people:  wives, children, livestock, and all of their tents and possessions being led by a cloud.  How orderly could that have been?  Who was in charge of traffic?  Where were the policemen?  The Children of Israel didn't need any of that.  They knew that they were God's chosen people.  They knew that he had brought them out of Egypt, out of oppression.  He had blessed them abundantly with the treasures that the Egyptians gave them as they left left slavery, with their bountiful herds of livestock and with their children who were spared from the Angel of Death.  They had seen the workings of God, so they were willing to be led by something as nebulous as a cloud.

It is counter-intuitive to think one could be led by a cloud.  Surely we need something more concrete than that!  Perhaps that's why we never get anywhere.  We're expecting God to show us something visible, when He is asking us to follow a cloud, when he's asking us to trust in the unseen.

Numbers 1-6: A Priestly Blessing

“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.”  - Num. 6:24-26 NIV

What would life be like if we blessed our brothers in Christ with this blessing.  After all, we all are priests.  And, even more so, what would happen if we blessed our enemies with these thoughts.  Have we ever thought of asking God to keep our enemies safe?  Have we ever asked God to give our enemies peace?  Could that be what Jesus meant when he told us to love our enemies?  Did he mean for us to bless them?  Did he mean for us to love them into the kingdom?  Did he mean for us to make this priestly blessing our own?

Leviticus 21-27: Fear God and Keep His Decrees

‘If you follow my decrees and are careful to obey my commands, I will send you rain in its season, and the ground will yield its crops and the trees of the field their fruit. Your threshing will continue until grape harvest and the grape harvest will continue until planting, and you will eat all the food you want and live in safety in your land.-Lev. 26:3-5 NIV

Why is it that God's decrees, which seem so easy and so profitable, are so difficult to follow?  Basically, all of God's commands in the preceding chapters boil down to one thing:  be holy because God is holy.  God gave his creation such a wonderful place to dwell, with everything we need to sustain an abundant life.  But, we choose the mundane, the sensual, the compromising, the dangerous instead.

So much of our lives now are governed by fear.  We fear the weather.  We fear terrorists.  Some of us fear the police.  Others fear any one of a different ethnicity.  We fear for our safety and we fear that we may not have enough.  All of this would be avoided if we feared the one who truly has control of events.  There is a simple formula for living in safety and plenty:  fear God and keep his decrees.

Leviticus 18-20: What is Holy

“Speak to the entire assembly of Israel and say to them: ‘Be holy because I, the LORD your God, am holy.  - Lev. 19:2 NIV

Be holy because I am holy.  This is the command to the Children of Israel and to us today.  What follows is a list of things we are not to do if we want to be holy.  We could say, 'Oh well, I don't have to worry, because all of my sins are covered by the blood.'  But when we commit these acts forbidden to the Israelites, it puts an unholy taint on our lives.  It may not cause us to 'lose' our salvation, but we certainly lose our holiness.

Most of us would say we are not guilty of the egregious sins, such as sacrificing to idols,, but what about some of those forbidden to the Children of Israel?  Below are just a few of the requirements for holiness found in Leviticus 19:,

3 “‘Each of you must respect his mother and father, and you must observe my Sabbaths. I am the LORD your God.  
15 “‘Do not pervert justice; do not show partiality to the poor or favoritism to the great, but judge your neighbor fairly.  
16 “‘Do not go about spreading slander among your people. “‘Do not do anything that endangers your neighbor’s life. I am the LORD.  
17 “‘Do not hate your brother in your heart. Rebuke your neighbor frankly so you will not share in his guilt.  
18 “‘Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against one of your people, but love your neighbor as yourself. I am the LORD.
28 “‘Do not cut your bodies for the dead or put tattoo marks on yourselves. I am the LORD.  
31 “‘Do not turn to mediums or seek out spiritists, for you will be defiled by them. I am the LORD your God.  
32 “‘Rise in the presence of the aged, show respect for the elderly and revere your God. I am the LORD. 
34 The alien living with you must be treated as one of your native–born. Love him as yourself, for you were aliens in Egypt. I am the LORD your God.  

Note that most of these are not what we consider sins today.  They are not the sins I was brought up to avoid like:  smoking, dancing, drinking, or going to movies.  I'm not saying that those sins don't make us unholy, but they are relatively easy sins to avoid.  Avoiding the sins listed in Leviticus is somewhat more difficult.  God sets a pretty high standard for holiness, but then he is a holy God.

Leviticus 11-17: Covered by the Blood

For the life of a creature is in the blood, and I have given it to you to make atonement for yourselves on the altar; it is the blood that makes atonement for one’s life. - Lev. 17:11 NIV

As the old hymn says 'nothing but the blood.'  There was nothing for the Children of Israel and there is nothing for us now that can cover over all of our transgressions.  Interesting isn't it that only something that costs a life can make us white as snow.  Only a blood sacrifice saves us.  It is only shed blood that keeps us safe from all of the destruction that the enemy would try to foist on us.  Nothing harmful can touch us once we are covered by the blood.  While it may not have looked that way to the Children of Israel as they were hurriedly being pushed out of Egypt, they were saved by the blood.  Nothing can touch those covered by the blood.

The blood will be a sign for you on the houses where you are, and when I see the blood, I will pass over you. No destructive plague will touch you when I strike Egypt. - Ex. 12:13 NIV

Leviticus 8-10: The Holy and the Common

Then the LORD said to Aaron,  “You and your sons are not to drink wine or other fermented drink whenever you go into the Tent of Meeting, or you will die. This is a lasting ordinance for the generations to come. You must distinguish between the holy and the common, between the unclean and the clean, and you must teach the Israelites all the decrees the LORD has given them through Moses.” - Lev. 10:8-11 NIV

You would not expect tragedy to fall upon Aaron, the High Priest, chosen and ordained by God.  Only good things should follow him.  But, her was only human after all and so were his sons.  None of them had the close relationship with God that Moses had.  None of them heard the Lord's voice, so it's possible that they didn't truly believe Moses when he told them what the Lord required.

Whether they believed or not, God's commands were true and final.  They were to distinguish between the holy and the profane.  It was a matter of life and death.

How often do we confuse the profane (or common) for something that is holy.  How often do we offer sacrifices that are not what God requires?  Do we wave our unauthorized censers before him and expect results?  If we are wise, unlike Aaron's sons, Nadab and Abihu, we would acknowledge that we are lucky to escape with our lives.  Such is the consequence of not understanding the difference between the holy and the profane.  The common is thought up by man, while the holy is ordained by God.

Leviticus 1-7: The Only Offering

These, then, are the regulations for the burnt offering, the grain offering, the sin offering, the guilt offering, the ordination offering and the fellowship offering, which the LORD gave Moses on Mount Sinai on the day he commanded the Israelites to bring their offerings to the LORD, in the Desert of Sinai.  - Lev. 7:37-38 NIV

How puny our offerings, our sacrifices are in comparison to those required of the Children of Israel.  We say we bring an offering of praise, but that is usually nothing more than a few praise songs sung halfheartedly:  words we could not even recite unless we saw them up on the overhead, rote songs and rote sacrifice.

I imagine it might have been different for the poor Israelite who brought his precious lamb to the priest knowing that it would become the bloody, burnt sacrifice that The Lord required.  The Israelites were painfully aware that their relationship with God was dependent on their offerings:  the burnt offering, grain offering, sin offering, guilt offering, ordination offering, fellowship offering.  All of these were required to obtain a right standing with God.

Do we really appreciate what God provided to us in his son, Jesus.  In one fell swoop, he gave us entrance into the family of God.  He became the sacrifice, the only offering that was needed.

Exodus 36:40: Being Led

But if the cloud were not taken up, then they journeyed not till the day that it was taken up. - Ex. 40:37 KJV

It is easy to think of the Children of Israel as being rebellious...they were.  They complained, they were afraid to enter the Promised Land,  They aligned under Korath in rebellion against Moses.  Even Moses's sister, Miriam and Aaron questioned what they were doing.  All of these rebellions brought consequences.  Some of them dire.  And all the time, there was a cloud that gave them instructions.

It's different now.  We don't have the cloud and most of the consequences of our actions are not as dire as those which the Israelites face.  But, we do have our light, the Bible, we have our cloud, the great cloud of witnesses that surround us as we make our journey and we have consequences as a result of our rebellion as well.  Sexual perversion invites all kinds of ruin.  Over-indulgence precedes addiction.  Greed eventually leads to over-extension.  Envy creates unhappiness.

None of this is what God wants for his people.  He wants us to hear his voice and be satisfied with what he has given us and where he will lead us.  We are not to journey to places outside his will or determine our own schedule.  It's hard to do, but the end result is far better than any of our own machinations could ever achieve.

Exodus 32- 35 : Grace in God's Sight

And the LORD spake unto Moses face to face, as a man speaketh unto his friend. And he turned again into the camp: but his servant Joshua, the son of Nun, a young man, departed not out of the tabernacle.  
And Moses said unto the LORD, See, thou sayest unto me, Bring up this people: and thou hast not let me know whom thou wilt send with me. Yet thou hast said, I know thee by name, and thou hast also found grace in my sight.  
Now therefore, I pray thee, if I have found grace in thy sight, show me now thy way, that I may know thee, that I may find grace in thy sight: and consider that this nation is thy people.  
And he said, My presence shall go with thee, and I will give thee rest.  
And he said unto him, If thy presence go not with me, carry us not up hence.  
For wherein shall it be known here that I and thy people have found grace in thy sight? is it not in that thou goest with us? so shall we be separated, I and thy people, from all the people that are upon the face of the earth.  
And the LORD said unto Moses, I will do this thing also that thou hast spoken: for thou hast found grace in my sight, and I know thee by name. - Exodus 33:11-17 NIV

This passage brings tears to my eyes, because I believe it represents the relationship we should all desire with God the Father.  We all know that God knows us by name, but to experience his presence in such a personal way escapes most of us.  It escaped all of the Children of Israel, with the exception of Joshua.  Even after Moses had left the temple, Joshua would stay behind, basking I believe, in the glory of God that still remained.  Joshua was just a young man at that time.  I doubt that he had designs on the leadership role of Moses.  After all, who would want to be in charge of such a rebellious people.  But Joshua longed for the relationship that Moses had with God and God would one day give him the desires of his heart.  Joshua too, would become a powerful leader of the Israelites.  Just like Moses, he would witness God's awe and might in a powerful way.  He too, would find Grace in God's sight.

Exodus 23-31: Hurry Up

When the people saw that Moses was so long in coming down from the mountain, they gathered around Aaron and said, “Come, make us gods who will go before us. As for this fellow Moses who brought us up out of Egypt, we don’t know what has happened to him.” Ex. 32:1 NIV

Sometimes I speed read through all of the chapters in Exodus that describe how the temple was to be built and God!s laws for the priesthood.  Hurry up, I think.  Let's get to the next place...let's get to a place where something is happening,

That must have been how the Children of Israel were feeling when Moses was so late in coming back down from the mountain,  It began in a very exciting way:  On the morning of the third day there was thunder and lightning, with a thick cloud over the mountain, and a very loud trumpet blast. Everyone in the camp trembled. Then Moses led the people out of the camp to meet with God, and they stood at the foot of the mountain. Mount Sinai was covered with smoke, because the LORD descended on it in fire. The smoke billowed up from it like smoke from a furnace, the whole mountain trembled violently -Ex 19:16-18 NIV

What began with so much excitement, as the Israelites sat around waiting for Moses to return, was becoming boring, bordering on drudgery.   Here they were; they had been to the base of the mountain, they had seen the fire and smoke that denoted God's presence, they watched and waited as Moses and Aaron went up to get closer.  In a short while, Aaron came back while Moses went on even closer to God.  Then, "what...no Moses?  Did God kill Moses because he got to close?  Are we on our own from here on out?  We need someone to lead us, why not a Golden calf?  Why not some inanimate object that won't lead us into so many strange places?"

Thus, the Children of Israel drifted into sin, missing entirely what God was doing.  God was great in the here and now, but if any waiting on him was required, then anything else would substitute.  Just as with the Children of Israel, how often do I want God to 'hurry up'?  How often do I miss out
entirely on what he is doing because I am too impatient to wait?

Exodus 19-22: A Compassionate God

“Do not mistreat an alien or oppress him, for you were aliens in Egypt.
“Do not take advantage of a widow or an orphan. If you do and they cry out to me, I will certainly hear their cry. My anger will be aroused, and I will kill you with the sword; your wives will become widows and your children fatherless.
"If you lend money to one of my people among you who is needy, do not be like a moneylender; charge him no interest. If you take your neighbor’s cloak as a pledge, return it to him by sunset, because his cloak is the only covering he has for his body. What else will he sleep in? When he cries out to me, I will hear, for I am compassionate. -Ex. 22:21-27 NIV

Where would Israel have been, where would any of us be if it were not for that compassionate God?  God had to remind the Israelites that they had been aliens in Egypt.  They might be aliens again one day.  History is a revolving door.  Those who have been the poor, the oppressed, the aliens, run the risk of  becoming the oppressors when their fortunes increase.  God had to remind the Israelites that they were to be his instruments in taking care of the disadvantaged just as he took care of them. Fortunately, for all of us, we have a God who hears us when we cry in despair, for he is a compassionate God.

Exodus 14- 18: God Has Our Back

And the angel of God, which went before the camp of Israel, removed and went behind them; and the pillar of the cloud went from before their face, and stood behind them:  
And it came between the camp of the Egyptians and the camp of Israel; and it was a cloud and darkness to them, but it gave light by night to these: so that the one came not near the other all the night.  
And Moses stretched out his hand over the sea; and the LORD caused the sea to go back by a strong east wind all that night, and made the sea dry land, and the waters were divided.  
And the children of Israel went into the midst of the sea upon the dry ground: and the waters were a wall unto them on their right hand, and on their left.  
And the Egyptians pursued, and went in after them to the midst of the sea, even all Pharaoh's horses, his chariots, and his horsemen. - Ex. 14:19-23 NIV

We think that all of the events of Israel leaving Egypt happened in a day, but it was a much bigger operation than just a few hundred Israelites and Egyptians chasing after each other.  Moses was leading at least six hundred thousand on foot.  I don't know if that includes the wives and animals, but notwithstanding, it was an enormous throng and they were loaded down with all of their possessions.  They should have been an easy target for the Egyptians with their horses and chariots to overtake, but God had their backs covered.  He protected the Israelites with the pillar of the cloud.  The cloud ensured that the Egyptians remained in the dark while the Israelites had all the light they needed for their forward progress.

The Israelites were able to see the sea parting and walk through on dry ground.  The Egyptians were still in the dark when they stumbled into the midst of the sea and were drowned.

We do not have to stumble about in the dark.  We were there once, but not anymore.  While the enemy may use the darkness to foster confusion, God has our back and his light illuminates all those situations where we might trip and fall.

Exodus 9-13: Signs and Wonders

Now the LORD had said to Moses, "I will bring one more plague on Pharaoh and on Egypt. After that, he will let you go from here, and when he does, he will drive you out completely. - Ex. 11:1 NIV
The LORD had said to Moses, "Pharaoh will refuse to listen to you—so that my wonders may be multiplied in Egypt." - Ex. 11:9 NIV

Sometimes God's signs and wonders are of a healing nature.  Other times, God's wonders can be very destructive as in the case of the plagues that came upon the Egyptians because of Pharaoh's refusal to let God's people go.  But always, God's signs and wonders have a purpose;  to bend his creation towards his will.

It is a mistake to blame miserable circumstances on others.  It may be that God is trying to do a work in their lives.  It may even be that he is trying to do a work in our life as well.  My guess is that Moses' faith grew exponentially as a result of the ever increasing plagues brought about by Pharaoh's response.

Exodus 3-8: All that God Sees

"But I know that the king of Egypt will not let you go unless a mighty hand compels him. So I will stretch out my hand and strike the Egyptians with all the wonders that I will perform among them. After that, he will let you go.
"And I will make the Egyptians favorably disposed toward this people, so that when you leave you will not go empty–handed. -Ex. 3:19:21 NIV

Moses answered, “What if they do not believe me or listen to me and say, ‘The LORD did not appear to you’?” Ex. 4:1 NIV

Moses said to the LORD, “O Lord, I have never been eloquent, neither in the past nor since you have spoken to your servant. I am slow of speech and tongue.”
The LORD said to him, “Who gave man his mouth? Who makes him deaf or mute? Who gives him sight or makes him blind? Is it not I, the LORD? 12 Now go; I will help you speak and will teach you what to say.” -Ex. 4:10-11 NIV

Moses returned to the LORD and said, “O Lord, why have you brought trouble upon this people? Is this why you sent me? Ever since I went to Pharaoh to speak in your name, he has brought trouble upon this people, and you have not rescued your people at all.” -Ex. 5:22-23 NIV

This sounds so much like me sometimes.  I hear the voice of the Lord and his promise that he will never leave me or forsake me, but I don't trust him that he will fulfill  his promise.  My life becomes one of constantly questioning what is going on around me. 'You haven't rescued me,'  I cry. 'In fact, my circumstances have become worse.  Now, in addition being enslaved to these bricks, I have to gather the straw to make them with.  Why are you bringing this trouble upon me?'

What we cannot see is behind the scenes.  The entire picture is much more complicated than what our tiny viewpoint would expose.  Moses cannot see what lies ahead.  He cannot see the many plagues and Pharaoh's tepid response.  He cannot see the avenging angel of death passing over the doorposts with blood on them.  He cannot see the Egyptians giving the Israelites their precious possessions and begging them to leave.  He cannot see the sea dividing before them.  He cannot see God's provision. He cannot see all that God sees.

Exodus 1-2: A Foreigner in a Foreign Land

Moses agreed to stay with the man, who gave his daughter Zipporah to Moses in marriage.  Zipporah gave birth to a son, and Moses named him Gershom, saying, "I have become a foreigner in a foreign land." - Ex. 2:21-22- NIV

Moses ran away.  The favored child of Pharaoh's daughter suddenly found himself out of favor so he ran.  He ran to a safe place, Midian, and hid out there in plain view. Up until the sight of the burning bush and the voice of God shook his world, he led a quiet life among his father-in-law's people  But events, like the birth of a son, would occasionally bring back the reality that he was a stranger in a strange land.  He didn't belong.  In truth, the only reason Moses found any peace and safety in the land to which he ran, was a because of God's divine plan.  Perhaps it was loneliness that caused Moses to pay attention to the voice from the burning bush.  God used that time as a foreigner to mold Moses into someone who would be receptive to His voice and His leading.

Genesis 42-50: Always Worth It

But Joseph said to them, “Don’t be afraid. Am I in the place of God? You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.  So then, don’t be afraid. I will provide for you and your children.” And he reassured them and spoke kindly to them. -Gen. 50:19-20 NIV

We have a tendency to think that our circumstances are in the place of God.  That everything that befalls us bigger than He is;  that everything escapes His notice.  Not only does it not escape the notice of the Creator,  It is all orchestrated by Him.  Even the confusion the enemy would try to create is of use to the Father.

What wonderful opportunities for good would we miss if only everything that was good at first glance happened to us?  Our lives would be easy, but would they be fruitful, would they produce the end that we truly desire which is being used by God.  Living in God's will means that we will be used for whatever means he sees fit,  But, God is not a capricious God that lets ill will happen to us for no reason.  God always has good intentions for us.  His intentions, however, include more than just ourselves, so we may walk through trials on behalf of others, but it will always be worth it.

Genesis 36-41: Fruitful in the Land of Suffering

Joseph named his firstborn Manasseh and said, “It is because God has made me forget all my trouble and all my father’s household.” The second son he named Ephraim and said, “It is because God has made me fruitful in the land of my suffering.” -Gen. 43:14-15 NIV

Why is it so hard for us to see this; that often we are being made fruitful in the midst of our suffering.  While Joseph may have felt that he was forgotten and abandoned during the years that he spent in prison, he never was.  It was in retrospect that he could look back and see that the hand of God was at work all the time.  Not only was God at work, but the fruit that was produced by the the events in Joseph's life was greater than that which would have occurred had he led an uneventful life with success but no suffering.  If not for prison, Joseph would never been in a position to interpret Pharaoh's dreams and subsequently would never have been put in the position where he was in charge of everything in Egypt.  As Joseph told his brothers, And now, do not be distressed and do not be angry with yourselves for selling me here, because it was to save lives that God sent me ahead of you.  For two years now there has been famine in the land, and for the next five years there will be no plowing and reaping.  But God sent me ahead of you to preserve for you a remnant on earth and to save your lives by a great deliverance.  "So then, it was not you who sent me here, but God. He made me father to Pharaoh, lord of his entire household and ruler of all Egypt.- Gen. 45:5--8 NIV

It is never God's will to harm us, but to make us fruitful in the land of suffering.

Genesis 29-35: What's in a Name?

Leah became pregnant and gave birth to a son. She named him Reuben, for she said, “It is because the LORD has seen my misery. Surely my husband will love me now.”
She conceived again, and when she gave birth to a son she said, “Because the LORD heard that I am not loved, he gave me this one too.” So she named him Simeon.
Again she conceived, and when she gave birth to a son she said, “Now at last my husband will become attached to me, because I have borne him three sons.” So he was named Levi.
She conceived again, and when she gave birth to a son she said, “This time I will praise the LORD.” So she named him Judah. Then she stopped having children. -Gen. 29:32-35

Even today, some people study the meaning of a name before giving it to a child, and in some cases the meaning of those names follow throughout our lives.  Nancy, which is derived from the name Ann, and Ann, which is my middle name, both mean grace.  I like to think that the meaning of those names have been true in my life.  Not because I am graceful, which I am certainly not, but because my life has been and continues to be touched by God's grace.  What more could one ask?

When Leah named her sons, she considered her circumstances and their names followed.  'The Lord has seen my misery," she said when she gave Reuben his name.  Reuben ended up bearing a lot of misery for the family of Jacob.  He is the one who tried to protect Joseph when the brothers wanted to kill him.  He is the one that pleaded with Joseph on behalf of the brothers when they went down to Egypt for food.  He is the one who had to tell Jacob that Simeon had been left behind in Egypt.  Their names became prophetic.

Then, there is Judah.  The one from which the line of the Savior would come.  Only when Leah let go of her circumstances, only when she decided that she would praise the Lord in spite of her second class status in the eyes of Jacob, did redemption come.  Judah, the one whose descendant would redeem the world, was born out of a heart full of praise.

Genesis 28: The Reality of God

And he dreamed, and behold a ladder set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven: and behold the angels of God ascending and descending on it.  
And, behold, the LORD stood above it, and said, I am the LORD God of Abraham thy father, and the God of Isaac: the land whereon thou liest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed;  
And thy seed shall be as the dust of the earth, and thou shalt spread abroad to the west, and to the east, and to the north, and to the south: and in thee and in thy seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed.  
And, behold, I am with thee, and will keep thee in all places whither thou goest, and will bring thee again into this land; for I will not leave thee, until I have done that which I have spoken to thee of.  
And Jacob awaked out of his sleep, and he said, Surely the LORD is in this place; and I knew it not.  
And he was afraid, and said, How dreadful is this place! this is none other but the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven. - Gen. 28:12-17 KJV

Can you imagine that?  Jacob encounters the Lord, the God of Abraham and Isaac who makes wonderful promises to him and it scares the daylights out of him.  'How dreadful is this place!' he exclaimed.  'This is none other but the house of God and this is the gate of heaven.'

God is that awesome.  Meeting him face to face changes us, it makes us aware of how totally unprepared we are to face him and his majesty.

Shortly before my mother died in December, I visited with her in one of her more lucid moments.  "I've been so foolish.' she kept repeating, 'so foolish." I believe in her final days here on earth she had already begun the transition to heaven and saw things we cannot see. I think her reaction is what our own reaction will be to seeing God:  fear and inadequacy.  Not having seen God, it is easy for us to pray and sing, asking him to come down.  We tend to think of God as being our size, hence someone we can order around, but he is not.  He is something much greater, much more awesome, much more majestic than anything we can conceive.  Our paltry ideas of what he is like pale in comparison to the reality of God.

Genesis 23-27: Despising the Birthright

Once when Jacob was cooking some stew, Esau came in from the open country, famished.  He said to Jacob, "Quick, let me have some of that red stew! I'm famished!" (That is why he was also called Edom.)   Jacob replied, "First sell me your birthright."  "Look, I am about to die," Esau said. "What good is the birthright to me?"   But Jacob said, "Swear to me first." So he swore an oath to him, selling his birthright to Jacob.  
Then Jacob gave Esau some bread and some lentil stew. He ate and drank, and then got up and left. So Esau despised his birthright. - Gen. 25:19-34 NIV

Esau said to his father, “Do you have only one blessing, my father? Bless me too, my father!” Then Esau wept aloud. - Gen. 27:38 NIV

How often do we despise our birthright from God.  Oh, we love the Father, but we're busy with our own lives.  We're hungry, but we don't want to wait to be fed by the father.  We'll take sustenance wherever we can find it.  We come in from the field and we want to be fed right now.  Just like Esau, satisfying our immediate hunger is the only thing we can think of.  In our desperate haste, to succeed, to have our needs met, we decide that our birthright as children of God is not that important.

Rather than taking the time to really read and study God's word, we read 'Christian' novels or watch a renown televangelist.  This fills us up, makes us feel we have been fed, but it's like eating marshmallows instead of a good meal.  We grow fat and weak at the same time.  We know we're famished, but we sell our birthright for a bowl of lentil stew.

Genesis 13-22:: Tested Not Tempted

Some time later God tested Abraham. He said to him, “Abraham!” “Here I am,” he replied. - Gen. 22:1 NIV

There is a big difference between being tested and being tempted.  Enemies tempt, friends test.  Enemies tempt us because they know it may bring about our downfall.  Friends test because it they  know it will make us a better, stronger person.  Satan only tempts us.  He is not interested in our well-being.  He is not interested in our becoming better, in our becoming all we were created to be.  He is only interested in destroying the promise.

God, on the other hand is our friend.  He doesn't want to see us torn down, only brought up.  All of the testing that we receive of God is for our own good.  It is important to recognize the difference.  God tries us to prove what we are made of.  Just as the dross is separated from gold when it is melted down, it is when we are tried in the fire that our love for the Father, if it is true, is shown.   As God told Abraham when he stopped him from sacrificing Isaac, "Now I know that you fear God, because you have not withheld from me your son, your only son.” - Gen. 22:12 NIV

Genesis 9-12: Get Thee Out!

Now the LORD had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house, unto a land that I will show thee:
And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing:
And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed. - Gen. 12:1-3 KJV 

How many times does God tell us to get out and we don't hear or refuse to acknowledge that we have heard.  God never meant for us to have comfortable stagnant lives.  He meant for us to have lives of purpose, lives that produce blessing for others and for ourselves.  We can't do that sitting in our recliner in front of the TV.  'Get away,' God says, 'away from all that is comfortable, away from all that is familiar, from all we have ever known.  Get up, get out and I will show you where you are to go.'

Most of us are waiting for God to show us what he wants us to do, but that's a good excuse for doing nothing.  God tells us to get up, get out of or comfort zone and then, and only then, he will show us where we are to go and what we are to do.  Get up and get out, or as the King James translation says, "Get thee out!"

Genesis 4-8: And God Remembered

And God remembered Noah, and every living thing, and all the cattle that was with him in the ark: and God made a wind to pass over the earth, and the waters assuaged; - Gen. 8:1 KJV

I don't know about you, but I've been through the flood.  I've been in waters so deep, I tired from doing nothing but treading water and feared that drowning was eminent and even preferred to the constant waves that threatened to take me under.  But, just like Noah, God remembered me.  While I may have lost sight of him, I was never gone from his sight.  He remembered me, he lifted me up above the waves.  He set my feet on solid ground.  Not only does God save, He restores.  We are washed clean of all the old muck in which we were entangled.  He strips everything off that was pulling us down.  He sets us free.  He does not remember our sin, the state we were in, but he remembers us.

Genesis 1-4: In His Image

And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.  
So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them. - Gen. 1:26-27 KJV

God, the creator of the universe is so majestic, so great, so grand that we are unable to fully understand him.  One of the things I have had the most trouble comprehending is how can we be created in God's image when he obviously must be much larger than us if he holds the entire universe in the palm of his hand.  I could never get comfortable with the idea that we were just miniature replications of God.

My thinking has changed somewhat after observing the death of my mother.  I watched her body deteriorate and her mind fail, but she never lost her desire to see heaven and her Savior.  On the morning of her death, when I held her hand for the last time, I became acutely aware that the earthly body which she left behind was nothing more and had never been anything more than the outside covering.  Just a shell, like one that the hermit crab lives in for a while then abandons for a bigger and better model.  Our spirit, the essence of life, is the being that was created in God's image.

As Jesus, God's own son told the woman at the well, "God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth." - John 4:24 KJV  

If anyone knew the Father, knew what the essence of God was, it was his Son.  How different our lives would be if we could see the world, our lives, all of the material surroundings as the temporary fixtures they truly are. What would the next year bring if that knowledge permeated our existence...if we saw ourselves as we truly are, spirit beings created in the image of God?