!!! --- DANGER --- !!!

The daily Bible reading brought back memories of technical training when I was in the Air Force.  I still remember the uneasy feeling the first time we opened the lid to power supply for one of the radar amplifiers for the planes.  It was not unusual to see a warning label with something like, “Warning, High Voltage, contact may cause injury or death.”  However, this piece of equipment had a different kind of label.  In very big and bold red letters it said, “Danger!  20,000 Volts.  Contact will cause death.”  Even though we were normally very careful to observe all safety protocols, it was on our mind in a special way that day.  The fear and respect we had for electricity prevented us from having a lax attitude toward it.  Several of our technical instructors had already put a healthy fear of electricity in us with the truth stories of those who ignored safety rules and died because of it.  We were very careful to comply with all limitations, instructions, and safety rules.  This included things like not wearing metal jewelry or even metal framed glasses.

I imagine that what Israel faced was similar when they were in the presence of God at Mount Sinai or at the Tabernacle with his presence burning in a pillar of smoking fire over the sanctuary.  What they had come near to was not a high voltage, but high holiness in the presence of God.  Leviticus 16 gave specific and detailed instructions on how Israel was to approach the presence of God in his most holy place in the sanctuary.  

“The LORD spoke to Moses after the death of the two sons of Aaron, when they drew near before the LORD and died, 2 and the LORD said to Moses, “Tell Aaron your brother not to come at any time into the Holy Place inside the veil, before the mercy seat that is on the ark, so that he may not die. For I will appear in the cloud over the mercy seat. 3 But in this way Aaron shall come into the Holy Place: …” (Lev 16:1-3).

What follows are very detailed instructions on the protocol for entering into the Holy place.  There were very specific kinds of offerings for specific purposes that had to be made in preparation to enter.  It was only to be on the designated day once a year.  Even though Aaron’s two sons were priests, they were previously struck down by fire because they did not honor God by following the detailed instruction he had given on approaching him in his Holy Place (Lev 10:1-11).  The holiness of God that filled the Holy Place was much more than 20,000 volts.  It wasn’t metal jewelry that was the issue for Aaron’s sons who had been struck down, but the “strange/unauthorized fire” that they offered which the Lord had not commanded.

Due to our sin and impurity, it is a dangerous thing to approach divine holiness.  But God wanted his people to come near to him.  He wanted to come down from his holy mountain to live in a tabernacle in the midst of his people.  He wanted them to worship and love him with all their heart, soul, and mind.  Because sin and impurity made it a precarious thing, God provided a holiness protocol by which the priest could purify himself and the people to be near God as his people.

This should help us Christians to appreciate the privilege of being near to God with thankful humility.  Since God is too holy and we were too impure, Jesus came as our High Priest and gave himself as an offering to purify us and make us holy.  Unlike Israel, which was limited to only the High Priest being able to enter the Holy Place once a year, Jesus paved a way for ALL of us to enter into the presence of God through him (Heb 6:19ff).  This is why the final picture of hope we are giving in the Bible is seeing God face-to-face (Rev 22:4), which was not possible before Jesus performed his atoning work on the cross and at the empty tomb.

God's Choice of Judah vs. Joseph

Sometimes the most memorable thing a person will say are his last words.  I can imagine that the final blessing of Jacob to his sons were etched into their minds.  One of the surprising things about his final blessing is some were short, and most were not the most positive of words.   

 

Of his oldest son, Reuben, he said: 

"Reuben, you are my firstborn,
    my might, and the firstfruits of my strength,
    preeminent in dignity and preeminent in power.
Unstable as water, you shall not have preeminence,
    because you went up to your father's bed;
    then you defiled it—he went up to my couch!" (Gen 49:3-4).

Of Simeon and Levi he said:

"Simeon and Levi are brothers;
    weapons of violence are their swords.
Let my soul come not into their council;
    O my glory, be not joined to their company.
For in their anger they killed men,
    and in their willfulness they hamstrung oxen.
Cursed be their anger, for it is fierce,
    and their wrath, for it is cruel!
I will divide them in Jacob
    and scatter them in Israel" (Gen 49:5-7).

Of his youngest son, Benjamin, he said:

"Benjamin is a ravenous wolf,
    in the morning devouring the prey
    and at evening dividing the spoil"  (Gen 49:27).

Due to the dysfunctional activities in the family over the years, most of Jacob’s final words are either short or negative, or both.

However, this is not true of Joseph’s blessing.  Joseph seemed to be a shining star out of all the sons of Jacob.  He exemplified so many of the characteristics a godly man should have.  Even in the face of extreme difficulties, he lived well and died well in the end.  Here are the final words Jacob passed on for Joseph.

 “Joseph is a fruitful bough,
    a fruitful bough by a spring;
    his branches run over the wall.
 The archers bitterly attacked him,
    shot at him, and harassed him severely,
yet his bow remained unmoved;
    his arms were made agile
by the hands of the Mighty One of Jacob
    (from there is the Shepherd, the Stone of Israel),
by the God of your father who will help you,
    by the Almighty who will bless you
    with blessings of heaven above,
blessings of the deep that crouches beneath,
    blessings of the breasts and of the womb.
The blessings of your father
    are mighty beyond the blessings of my parents,
    up to the bounties of the everlasting hills.
May they be on the head of Joseph,
    and on the brow of him who was set apart from his brothers” (Gen 49:22-26).

Based on this, one would think that God’s seed promise to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob would be fulfilled through Joseph.  However, this is not the case.  The seed promise would be fulfilled through the tribe of Judah, which later produced Jesus, the Messiah.

This is rather interesting.  Not only does Judah not occupy a lot of space in the stories of Genesis, but his portrayal is less than flattering.  In Genesis 37:26-27, it was Judah that concocted the plan to sell Joseph into slavery to get rid of him.  In Genesis 38, Judah’s first two sons were evil enough that God took both of their lives.  This left him with a daughter-in-law that was a widow.  To take care of her, he promised his third son as a husband when he was old enough to marry.  However, he told her to go back home to her father until he grew up!  It became evident that Judah had no intention of keeping his promise to Tamar.  Later, it was Judah that went to what he thought was a prostitute.  It was Judah that had to be backed into a corner by Tamar to keep his word.  Judah was indeed a very different man than his brother, Joseph. 

However, Judah appears to have become a changed man later in his life.  In Genesis 43:8-10, Judah offered himself up personally as a guarantee for Jacob’s favorite son, Benjamin.  In Genesis 44:14-34, Judah had every intention of keeping his word.  When Benjamin was going to be held captive in Egypt, Judah offered to stay in Benjamin’s place.  That Judah did this for his father’s favorite son shows Judah to be a changed man.  He acted in a completely different way concerning Benjamin, Jacob’s favorite son at that time.

Perhaps this is why the only other long and positive blessing Jacob gives is to Judah.  Of Judah, Jacob offered this blessing:

“Judah, your brothers shall praise you;
    your hand shall be on the neck of your enemies;
    your father's sons shall bow down before you.
Judah is a lion's cub;
    from the prey, my son, you have gone up.
He stooped down; he crouched as a lion
    and as a lioness; who dares rouse him?
The scepter shall not depart from Judah,
    nor the ruler's staff from between his feet,
until tribute comes to him;
    and to him shall be the obedience of the peoples.
Binding his foal to the vine
    and his donkey's colt to the choice vine,
he has washed his garments in wine
    and his vesture in the blood of grapes.
His eyes are darker than wine,
    and his teeth whiter than milk” (Gen 49:8-12).  

In this blessing, Jacob referred to Judah as a brave lion’s whelp.  He also declared that the ruler’s staff would not depart from Judah, indicating that a ruler would come from him.  This ruler would be none other than Jesus, the Messiah (Mt 1:3,16), the “Lion of the tribe of Judah” (Rev 5:5).

God’s choice of Judah did not exclude the others from receiving the blessing.  However, only one could have the honor of being the vehicle for fulfilling the seed promise.  Why Judah?  Despite the change in his life, he does not stand out in exemplary character the way Joseph did.  This appears to have changed in Judah’s later life, which is a reminder that a man can choose what kind of man he is going to be.

However, God’s choice is not based on our actions, but his grace and favor.  Romans chapter 9 discusses how God’s choice is based on his grace and mercy, not on how much someone has done right or wrong.  It clearly states, “… it depends not on human will or exertion, but on God, who has mercy” (Rom 9:16).  Whether it is choosing the younger, choosing the least, or even choosing the one who has less than exemplary characteristics, it is always according to God’s grace. 

We are God’s chosen because of his mercy.  Spending time in meditation on this will help to displace the pride that God is so opposed to.  Prayerful reflection on this should cause our pride to deflate and our humble thanksgiving to inflate.  This should increase our patience, compassion, grace and mercy for others. 

Knowing the Name of the LORD

I asked my mother why I was named, “John.” She told me that when she got married and came to this country, the president at the time was Johnson. She wanted to name me Johnson. But my Dad said that is not really a first name, but they could shorten to John. That is how I got my name. This story suggests that my parents had hopes and dreams for their first born son. The name was not chosen haphazardly. There was a story and meaning behind it.

One of the major themes in the Bible is the “name” of the LORD, which also has a story and meaning behind it. His name, “Yahweh” is translated by the word, LORD, with all uppercase letters. When God first revealed his name to Moses, he said, “Say this to the people of Israel: ‘I AM (EHYEH) has sent me to you.’” God also said to Moses, “Say this to the people of Israel: ‘The LORD (YAHWEH), the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you.’ This is my name forever, and thus I am to be remembered throughout all generations” (Ex 3:14-15). 

Yahweh means, “He is,” which is another form of the words, “I am.” This raises the question, “He is what?”

When Moses told Pharaoh that Yahweh said to let his people go, Pharaoh replied, “Who is Yahweh that I should obey his voice? I don’t know Yahweh, and moreover, I will not let Israel go” (Ex 5:2). Even though Pharoah audibly heard the name, he did not know Yahweh. In a sense, Israel did not know yet either. The question, “He is what?” hung in the air. 

When God spoke, he gave this recurring refrain “…and you shall know that I am Yahweh…” (Ex 6:7; 7:5,17; 8:10,22; 9:16; 10:2; 14:4,18; 16:12; 29:46; 31:13). Very soon, the question “He is what?” would be answered not through a set of theological propositions, but through God’s actions. God will demonstrate that he is a God that does not forget his covenant with their ancestor, Abraham, and will therefore deliver his people from bondage by striking mighty Pharaoh and all of Egypt.

The answer to the question, “He is what?” is answered through God’s redemptive actions which leads them through the wilderness to Mount Sinai. At Mount Sinai, God bound himself by a covenant to Israel. This reminds us that a person only gives his name to another because they will be enacting some sort of relationship. This is exactly what God does at the base of Mount Sinai. This is why he begins his covenant not with the Ten Commandments, but with the words, “I am Yahweh…” (Ex 20:2).

In the wilderness, God goes on to demonstrate who he is not through passing down theological formulas, but through his actions. This is simply the way it is in a relationship. We know our children and our spouse not simply because we know their names or a list of propositions about them. We know them through their actions. It is the same with God. His name is attached to the accounts of his redemptive actions on behalf of his people. 

His name, “He is,” is not a stand-alone thought. His name is attached to his actions. The accounts and stories of the Bible are what answer the question, “He is what?” He is the living God. He is the God who provides. He is the God who sees. He is the God who hears. He is our redeemer. There are biblical stories and accounts for each of these statements. This is why it is important to remember and reflect on the stories of God in the whole Bible

God's Love as Phileia

I pulled out my Greek concordance to look up the words for love in the New Testament.  The two most common words for love in the New Testament are agape and phileia.  I used to think of agape as distinctly Christian love, and phileia as a love based on feeling and therefore inferior and not godly.  When I discovered that this was not the case, it was an eye opener for me.  Phileia, or a form of it appears numerous times in relation to God’s love or the love that we are to have for others. 

Titus 3:4-5 says, “But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, he saved us,…”  loving kindness is philanthropia, which literally means love for mankind and is the origin of our English word philanthropy.  God’s love for man, which led to the cross is the ultimate philanthropy.  There is no love for mankind like the love of God.

In John 15:13-14, Jesus said, “Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you.”  Friend is philos.  The greatest love one can show for his philoi is to lay down his life for them, which is what Jesus did.  If his people follow his commands, Jesus calls them philoi.  How amazing is that that the creator and Lord calls human beings friends!  This indicates the type of love that our Lord has for his people.

Romans 12:10 says, “Love to one another with brotherly affection.  Outdo one another in showing honor.”  Love here is philostorge, a combination of phileia (love/affection) and storge (family love).  Brotherly affection is philadelphia, which means brotherly love.  We are called to have familial affection for one another.  That means that we must get along and like each other.  This may seem impossible, but I can remember siblings who could not stand each other.  The parents’ solution was to make them hold hands for several days and do everything together.  It was not acceptable that they had disdain for each other.  If that is the way it is with a physical family, how much more so would this be for the family of God?  After all we are blood, but it is blood that goes for beyond this life.  We are related by the blood of the Son of God who shed it in order to adopt us into God’s family. 

Romans 12:13 says to “Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality.”  Hospitality is philoxenia, which literally means, “strangerly love.”  Not only are we to show brotherly love to our brethren, we are also to show strangerly love to the stranger.  This implies a level of kindness and compassion that we see demonstrated in Jesus as he welcomed people from all walks of life, whether they tax collectors or pharisees.   

Several passages tell us to greet each other with a holy kiss (Rom 16:16; 2 Cor 13:12; 1 Thess 5:26; 1 Pet 5:14).  Kiss is philema, which is in the same class of words as phileia.  As I reflect on this, it occurs to me that this expression seems to be much more intimate than our typical handshake.  But even though this was a typical cultural expression for that time, the word, “holy” indicates that this is not just the typical kiss of greeting, but is special.  Our relationship with each other in the family of God is different than associations we have with those outside.  We greet each other with holy tokens of affection because we have been sanctified and adopted by God to be his family.

Looking at these uses of phileia alongside the description of agape in 1 Corinthians 13 seems to indicate a lot of overlap between agape and phileia.  I am reminded of the conversation between Jesus and Peter at the end of the Gospel of John.  When Jesus asked Peter, “Do you love (agapao) me?”  Peter responded with “Yes I dearly love (phileo) you!”  Peter wanted to use a stronger word of affection when he responded to Jesus.  The text says that Peter was grieved when Jesus asked a third time, “Peter, do you love (phileo) me?”  Phileia and agape do not seem to have a sharp difference in meaning from each other. 

This has caused me to reflect on the nature of love.  I remember a time when I used to think, “I have to love you, but that doesn’t mean I have to like you!”  This came from the mistaken idea that love, specifically agape, had nothing to do with emotion or liking someone.  I now see the ludicrous nature of trying to love without any kind of affection.  The instructions to love in the passages above seem to indicate just the opposite.  We are not called to like someone, but are called to love, which is much deeper than like. 

Those Who Challenged God

Our God is an all-powerful, holy, holy, holy God. It is not unusual for someone who encounters God in his holy splendor to prostrate himself flat on his or her face in fearful reverence. The call of Isaiah in Isaiah 6 is a classic example of this. The covenant people of God at the base of mount Sinai had a similar reaction. The holy presence of God covered the top of Mount Sinai with smoke, thunder and lightning along with his great voice. They were so fearful that they wanted to hear the voice of the Lord no more, and asked Moses to be their mediator so they would not have to hear God's voice directly.

Knowing this about our God, many believers would not want to question or challenge God. Few would even dream of implying God might do something too extreme or unwarranted. Yet that is just what Job does in the book of Job. However, Job is not the only one in scripture who is so bold and daring. Maybe it's understandable in Job's case. After all, from a human standpoint he doesn't have much to lose. If God were to smite him, he would die and that would be the end of his suffering. But that is not what Job wants. He wants vindication, but that's another study.

Is it ever okay to challenge God's decisions and actions? Leaving aside the whether there could ever be an appropriate time to do this, there are some illuminating examples of prominent servants of God who boldly challenged the Almighty. 

The first example comes from Genesis 18:22-33. God revealed to Abraham that he would destroy Sodom and Gomorrah because of their wickedness. The Hebrew of the passage emphasizes the greatness of their sin in verse 20. Their sin is great "to the extreme" or to put it in contemporary terms, "to the max."  He refers to the great outcry from Sodom and Gomorrah, which suggest a pattern of grave injustice and cruel wickedness.  The story that follows about the treatment of Lot’s guests shows the sheer depth of the depravity of the people there.   Even after being blinded, the text says that they were still groping to find Lot’s door in order to rape his guests.

God had every right to destroy these cities, and it is likely that anyone who knew anything about these cities would agree. Then Abraham did the unthinkable. It wasn’t that Abraham tried to change God’s mind.  It wasn’t even that he tried to bargain with God to spare the city for a handful of righteous people if they are found in the city.  Rather, it was his bold question which could implicate God - "Far be it from you to do such a thing, to slay the righteous with the wicked, so that the righteous and the wicked are treated alike. Far be it from you! Shall not the judge of all the earth deal justly?" (Gen 18:25).   What was Abraham saying?  Why would he ask such a thing?  Did he really believe God might do a grave injustice by slaying the innocent along with the wicked? Abraham knew he was going out on a limb, so he pled with God not to get angry as he tried to save the city for the sake of the righteous in it.  In the end, Abraham could not save the city, but as someone once put it, "Abraham has saved God." In other words, if there was any doubt about the justice of the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, the encounter between Abraham and God and subsequent salvation of Lot and his family has removed all doubt as to God's justice in destroying every man and woman in the city.

Another case in Moses.  When God made a covenant with the newly formed nation of Israel at Mount Sinai in Exodus 19. Israel responded with, "All that the Lord has spoken we will do" (Ex 19:8).  But just over a month later, they built an idol and had a feast to the Lord. In response, "⁹ The Lord said to Moses, “I have seen this people, and behold, they are an obstinate people. ¹⁰ Now then let Me alone, that My anger may burn against them and that I may destroy them; and I will make of you a great nation.” (Ex 32:9-10). There is no doubt that the people are guilty. God redeemed them out of Egyptian bondage to be his own people, and they have already rebelled. There is no doubt that God would be justified when he carries out his intent to destroy these people.

What is curious is God’s words to Moses, “Let me alone so that…”  What is that supposed to mean?  Can Moses really stop God from unleashing his wrath?  In saying this, God practically invited Moses to intervene. Just as God revealed to Abraham what he was going to do to Sodom and Gomorrah, thereby allowing Abraham to respond, God appears to do the same with Moses.  Moses responded to try and save Israel.  However, unlike Abraham, Moses cannot appeal to God’s justice to try and save them.  There was no doubt that they had sinned and dishonored God even though they could look up and see the presence of God that had enveloped the top of Mount Sinai.  God would have been justified in destroying Israel and starting over again with Moses and make of him a great nation.  This would also been in keeping with the promise God made to Abraham, since Moses was of the seed of Abraham.  Instead, Moses responded with, “O Lord, why does Your anger burn against Your people whom You have brought out from the land of Egypt with great power and with a mighty hand? ¹² Why should the Egyptians speak, saying, ‘With evil intent He brought them out to kill them in the mountains and to destroy them from the face of the earth’? Turn from Your burning anger and change Your mind about doing harm to Your people. ¹³ Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, Your servants to whom You swore by Yourself, and said to them, ‘I will multiply your descendants as the stars of the heavens, and all this land of which I have spoken I will give to your descendants, and they shall inherit it forever.” (Ex 32:11-13)

God had called them "this" people when he wanted to destroy them, but Moses continues to call them "your" people.  Moses appeals to what the Egyptians might say if God destroyed them in the wilderness, and the promise God made to Abraham to multiply his descendants and reminded God that this is “your” people.  Moses simply asks God to relent and change his mind, and the text goes on to say, “So the Lord changed His mind about the harm which He said He would do to His people” (Ex 32:14).

Unlike Abraham, Moses was able to get God to relent, which was because of the covenant that God had made with theses people.

Another example comes from Amos 7:1-7.

7 Thus the Lord God showed me, and behold, He was forming a locust-swarm when the spring crop began to sprout. And behold, the spring crop was after the king’s mowing. ² And it came about, when it had finished eating the vegetation of the land, that I said,  “Lord God, please pardon!
How can Jacob stand, For he is small?” ³ The Lord changed His mind about this. “It shall not be,” said the Lord. ⁴ Thus the Lord God showed me, and behold, the Lord God was calling to contend with them by fire, and it consumed the great deep and began to consume the farm land. ⁵ Then I said, “Lord God, please stop!
How can Jacob stand, for he is small?” ⁶ The Lord changed His mind about this. “This too shall not be,” said the Lord God.”

Twice, God announces judgement on Israel in two visions. Twice, Amos pleads with God, and twice God changed his mind.

The picture Amos paints of the nation and her sins in the previous six chapters of Amos makes it clear that God is justified in unleashing his wrath against Israel. God had caused the nation to become prosperous. However, many were getting rich at the expense of the poor, so God decides to withdraw his blessing and unleash his judgement.  These include judges taking bribes and perverting justice, exploitation of the poor and needy, idolatry, incest, violence against the helpless, etc.  There was do doubt that Israel deserved the justice God planned to bring.  However, when God showed Amos what he would going to do, Amos managed to swerve the nature of God’s judgment.     

There are other examples of men challenging God and/or changing God’s mind However, there is something unique about the examples above. What is amazing is that God intentionally involves men in his decisions.  Moses could have consented and said, "I'm just your slave, I can't stop you. Besides, you're the boss, do what you see is best". Instead, Moses boldly tells God it would be better if God were to spare Israel so that Egypt would not think that God brought Israel out to the wilderness with the evil intention of destroying them. So Moses boldly gives God what he perceives to be a better option, and God takes it! The same could be said of Abraham and Amos.

This demonstrates something about God’s character.  God’s righteous anger is aroused by wickedness and rebellion.  However, his compassions are also kindled by the pleads for mercy.  Here is what God said about himself to Moses when he revealed himself to him in the cleft of the rock:

“⁶ Then the Lord passed by in front of him and proclaimed, “The Lord, the Lord God, compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in lovingkindness and truth; ⁷ who keeps lovingkindness for thousands, who forgives iniquity, transgression and sin; yet He will by no means leave the guilty unpunished, visiting the iniquity of fathers on the children and on the grandchildren to the third and fourth generations.” (Ex 34:6-7)

This passage from the New American Standard translates the Hebrew word, “hesed” as lovingkindness.  The word, which has no English equivalent, is sometimes rendered, steadfast love, unfailing love, loyalty, or even kindness/mercy.  An acceptable translation would be, “covenant love.”  This word refers to love by covenant.  In other words, love that is a choice.   I can’t help but notice the contrast of God visiting the iniquities of the fathers to the third and fourth generations, but covenant love to thousands. 

This self revelation of God and his character became the basis of Moses pleading to God for Israel once again.  After rebelling and making a short-lived plan to elect a new leader and return to Egypt,  “¹¹ The Lord said to Moses, “How long will this people spurn Me? And how long will they not believe in Me, despite all the signs which I have performed in their midst? ¹² I will smite them with pestilence and dispossess them, and I will make you into a nation greater and mightier than they” (Num 14:11-12).

Once again, God wanted to stary over again with Moses,  Israel had a pattern of grumbling and rebellion against God.

^“13 But Moses said to the Lord, “Then the Egyptians will hear of it, for by Your strength You brought up this people from their midst, ¹⁴ and they will tell it to the inhabitants of this land. They have heard that You, O Lord, are in the midst of this people, for You, O Lord, are seen eye to eye, while Your cloud stands over them; and You go before them in a pillar of cloud by day and in a pillar of fire by night. ¹⁵ Now if You slay this people as one man, then the nations who have heard of Your fame will say, ¹⁶ ‘Because the Lord could not bring this people into the land which He promised them by oath, therefore He slaughtered them in the wilderness.’ ¹⁷ But now, I pray, let the power of the Lord be great, just as You have declared, ¹⁸ ‘The Lord is slow to anger and abundant in lovingkindness, forgiving iniquity and transgression; but He will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and the fourth generations.’ ¹⁹ Pardon, I pray, the iniquity of this people according to the greatness of Your lovingkindness, just as You also have forgiven this people, from Egypt even until now” (Numb 14:13-19).

Moses once again pled with God to forgive Israel.  This time, he repeats God’s own words about the kind of God he is: “slow to anger and abundant in covenant love.”  Based on this, he prayed that God pardon them “according to the greatness of your covenant love.”

“So the Lord said, “I have pardoned them according to your word” (Num 14:20).

It occurs to me that all of this demonstrates that God is eager to forgive.  Indeed, the Psalmist wrote,

⁵ For You, Lord, are good, and ready to forgive,
And abundant in lovingkindness to all who call upon You” (Ps 86:5).

God is ready to forgive.  He is eager to forgive.  He is so eager that he has at times invited the righteous to pray for and plead of behalf of his people.  Based on the greatness of his unfailing love and the pleading of someone to advocate for his people, God changes his mind and relents. 

I know there may be those who might claim this is heresy because it attacks the doctrine of God’s sovereignty and the immutability of God.  However, instead of starting with doctrinal statements and looking for scripture to support them, one should simply read the scriptures and allow them to speak for themselves as to the kind of God we serve. God does not reveal himself in theological propositions, logical deductions, and doctrinal formulas. To reduce God to a proposition does him injustice. God reveals himself through his actions, which are preserved for us in scripture. The Biblical authors do not make the attempt to minimize God to the lowest common denominator. The closest thing you have to this are the statements made about God in various Psalms in the Psalter and Psalms sprinkled throughout the rest of the Old Testament. However, these are not mere abstractions, but are often connected with a story. Even the law given at Sinai is inseparable from the history connected to it. To separate law from the story leads to legalism. God is our Father who has come to live among us, not an abstract theological deduction.

God is holy, but he is not so sensitive that his people cannot question him. God is much bigger than we are. He can take it.  As uncomfortable as this may be at times, it can be considered a great act of faith and is often the time of the greatest spiritual growth. 

Bible Reading Reflection (Exodus 26): God's Covering

God’s meticulous instruction concerning the tabernacle included instructions on how to construct the holy of holies.  God’s presence would symbolically sit enthroned above the cherubim of the Ark, which was hidden behind the inner veil, which was further hidden inside the Tabernacle.  It occurs to me that God has covered himself since Genesis 3.  Adam and Even covered themselves us trying to hide from God, probably due to the shame and fear that came from their guilt.  God has also covered himself up for a completely different reason.  It is for our safety.  God is holy, and we are tainted by sin.  For sinful man to be face to face with a holy God would mean his death.  So, when God came down to meet with the people, he was hidden in the thick smoke of Mount Sinai.  When Moses and the elders came up to the mountain, they saw God’s feet, but apparently saw no more of God than this.  I imagine that the glory of God above his feet was hidden in the smoke of the mountain.  The text remarks that they were able to be this close to God and eat in his presence without dying.  When God invites Moses to come up higher, Moses still could not see God face to face.  I am reminded of the instruction that will come later for the High Priest on the Day of Atonement.  Before entering the holy of holies, one of the tasks God instructed him to perform was to burn incense on the incense altar which stood in front of the veil so that smoke would fill the holy of holies.  Even on the Day of Atonement, God’s symbolic presence in the Holy of Holies would be enveloped in smoke.  I am also reminded of Isaiah’s traumatic experience of seeing God in his heavenly temple.  He did not see God directly, because he was covered by seraphs as they called out, “Holy! Holy! Holy! Is the LORD of Hosts!”  Isaiah may have thought he was going to die, but God sent one of the seraphs to purify Isaiah.

This helps to more appreciate our Lord’s atoning work through Christ.  God came out of the holy of holies and into a human body.  God came near, but covered himself this time in human flesh.  He shared in our flesh and blood to provide a permanent solution for sin by offering up his own blood.  He entered into the human experience so that he could sympathize with us in mercy and faithfulness.  He has come near in such a way so that we can refer to him not only as our God, but also our Abba, our Papa, our Father.    

Thank you for being faithful and not giving up on us. You have drawn near to us, may we draw near to you.

Bible Reading Reflection (Exodus 10-12): Hardened Heart and God's Name

I still remember having difficulty with the claim by skeptics that God is a manipulative and vengeful God.  After all, didn't he harden Pharoah's heart and not allow him to repent so that God could inflict all kinds of plagues on him and Egypt?  Only after reading the text carefully did I realize that this difficulty only came from an ignorance of the events that led up to this and a possible misunderstanding of justice.  No one would have an issue with God doing the same sort of thing to Hitler, Stalin, or Mao.  Pharoah fits in the same category with other despots in history who are responsible for mass murder.  

It occurs to me that the text does not give the same amount of space to Pharoah’s genocide probably because the focus of the story is the living God’s judgment on Pharoah and Egypt for their brutal oppression of God’s people and murder of their babies in the Nile.  The text gives more space to how God came down and delivered his people from them while demonstrating his righteous wrath and judgment on Egypt.  Pharoah and the Egyptians are not innocent sufferers at the hands of a vengeful God.  They rightly become the objects of God’s righteous justice for their heinous wickedness against the Hebrews.  

I have reflected on why God artificially prolonged the conflict.  Sometimes Pharaoh hardened his own heart but most of the time the text says God hardened his heart.  Several times throughout the text, God says he does so to make his name known.  In chapter 6, God said, “You will know that I am Yahweh your God when I bring you out from the burdens of the Egyptians.”  In chapter 7, God said “The Egyptians shall know that I am the Yahweh, when I stretch out my hand against Egypt and bring out the people of Israel from among them.”  He also told Pharoah, “By this you shall know that I am Yahweh: behold, with the staff that is in my hand I will strike the water that is in the Nile, and it shall turn into blood.”  This is a marvelous answer to Pharoah’s disdainful question in chapter 5, “Who is Yahweh that I should listen to him and let Israel go?”  When God removed the plague of frogs, he did it “so that you may know that there is no one like the Yahweh our God.”

However, God prolongs the conflict.  A few times Pharaoh hardened his heart, or the text simply says that his heart “was hardened” without specifying who hardened it.  However, the majority of the time, it says that God hardened Pharaoh’s heart, especially when the plagues began to intensify.  The conflict could have been over long before it ended, but God artificially prolonged the conflict.  God’s purpose was not merely to punish Egypt and redeem Egypt from bondage, but to make this a learning lesson as well.  In chapter nine, God explains why he prolonged the conflict.  He said to Pharaoh, “For this time I will send all my plagues on you yourself, and on your servants and your people, so that you may know that there is none like me in all the earth. For by now I could have put out my hand and struck you and your people with pestilence, and you would have been cut off from the earth. But for this purpose I have raised you up, to show you my power, so that my name may be proclaimed in all the earth.”  

Not only did God want his name to be known to the Egyptians and to Israel, but he wants his name to be proclaimed in all the earth.  God’s name comes with a history that reveals who he is and what kind of God he is. 

To further make his name known, God set apart the land of Goshen after the third plague.  God’s people, who were living in Goshen, did not suffer any more plagues that God afflicted Egypt with.  God communicated that he did this “that you may know that I am the Yahweh in the midst of the earth.”  Not only did God make known his power over Pharaoh and the impotent gods of Egypt, but God made his favor toward the Hebrews known as well.  He demonstrated his faithfulness to his covenant with Abraham and his ability to keep it in the midst of danger and opposition.  He made his name known as the living and faithful God who is present for his people that he make covenant with.

What a fantastic contrast between the name of Yahweh and the name of Pharaoh.  Unlike the name of the Pharaoh in Exodus 1, whose name we are not sure of, we know the name of our living God who is righteous, just, and all powerful.  God demonstrated the truth of Psalm 148:13 –“Let them praise the name of the Lord, for his name alone is exalted; his majesty is above earth and heaven,” and Proverbs 18:10 – “The name of Yahweh is a strong tower; the righteous man runs into it and is safe.”

God, whose name we know, also gives his people a name.  I am reminded of this when I consider the contrast between Pharaoh and the midwives of Exodus 1.  We are not sure of the name of the Pharoah, but we know the names of the midwives, Shiphrah and Puah.  God gave them families for doing what they could to protect the Hebrew newborn sons.  In that sense, they were given a “name.”  But more significant is the name that God gives to all of his people.  In Revelation 3:12, the Lord said that, he will write on the faithful the name of God and his own name.  Nothing is more precious than the name that is above all names.

Bible Reading Reflection (Gen 19-21)

So many questions about the bizarre  incident with Lot and the men of Sodom.  Did Lot know that these men were from God? Does that explain his actions in regard to his daughters? And after so forcefully defending them against the perpetrators who tried to break down his door, why did Lot practically have to be pulled by the hand out of the city even after their warning that it was going to be destroyed and he along with it if he did not leave?  After the men of the city were struck blind, how could they be so depraved as to wear themselves out still looking for Lot's door?  Can depravity be so deep that being struck by divine judgment such as blindness has no effect? Knowing the character of this place, why did Lot's wife look back?   Why was she turned into a pillar of salt?  How was her look at the destruction different from the look of Abraham who saw the destruction in the morning? 

Maybe I am asking the wrong questions. Perhaps the controlling focus of all of this is simply that God is fulfilling his promise to bless Abraham and to bless those who bless Abraham while cursing those who lightly esteem him.  This would also help make sense of the whole Abimelech affair as well.  Abraham seems to be making a habit of saying that Sarah is his sister so that people will not kill him in order to steal his coveted wife.  God told him not to fear, but God does not criticize Abraham, but apparently strikes Abimelech and all who are his was some sort of pestilence that keeps them from having children, at least until he returned Sarah back to Abraham.  Perhaps this is more of the same focus, which is God blessing Abraham just as he had promised, and cursing those who lightly esteem him.

Perhaps the message, then, is that God keeps his promises.  Even if one does not act it the most exemplary manner, God continues to be faithful to his promises.  This should remind me to be humble and thankful because it is about God's faithfulness and not my own weak righteousness.