Numbers 15; Psalm 51; Isaiah 5; Hebrews 12

As my children grow older and wiser (or maybe just more crafty), I find it entertaining to sit in the front seat of the car and listen to them reason things out in the back. These conversations often lead to some of the best teachable moments, opportunities to help them connect the dots and gain a deeper understanding of why things work the way they do.  One of our recurring lessons is about how the economy works.  As you would expect, the conversation almost always begins or ends with the statement, “nothing in life is really free” or “if the deal sounds too good to be true, it probably is (too good to be true)”.

We serve an incredibly gracious God. His goodness knows no end.  His faithfulness has been proven through generations.  This sounds too good to be true, is it?  Let’s review God’s plan for salvation:

• God’s invitation is open to all – Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest (Matthew 11:28).
• We all need it – for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23). For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord (Romans 6:23).
• We can’t earn it – For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast (Ephesians 2:8-9).
• Jesus paid the price for us – For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life (John 3:16).
• Here’s the hook…it requires us to take action – If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness (I John 1:9).

Following Jesus requires us to change, to repent and to turn from our sinful ways. Our reading in Psalm 51 today walks us through how King David repented of his sins to gain forgiveness.  David was Israel’s greatest King, he was known as a man after God’s own heart.  But he, like us, was sinful and needed to take action to make himself right with God.

The backdrop for Psalm 51 is the story of King David and Bathsheba (II Samuel 11). If you aren’t familiar with the story, here are the basic facts – from the palace rooftop, King David lustfully looked upon Bathsheba, a neighbor woman, bathing.  Bathsheba’s husband Uriah was away at war.   King David, after having sinful relations with her, learned Bathsheba was pregnant.  He set up a plot to cover up the sinful relationship.  The plan involved bringing Uriah home from war and having him reunite with his wife, in order to keep King David’s paternal relationship with Bathsheba’s baby a secret.  However, when Uriah refused the privilege of sleeping at home with his wife during his leave, King David had to take his plot to the next level.  He sent orders to have Uriah moved to the front line, where Uriah was soon killed in battle.

In II Samuel 12, God sent the Prophet Nathan to King David. Through Nathan’s conversation, King David became acutely aware of his sin and God’s displeasure with it.  He was filled with remorse.  This brings us to Psalm 51, a deeply moving picture of King David’s repentance and restoration.

Studying Matthew Henry’s text commentary this week helped me break Psalm 51 down into the five main themes of King David’s prayer. Notice each of these themes start with a verb.  Again, an action King David took to make himself right with God:

• Confessed his sin (verses 3-6)
• Prayed for God to pardon his sin (verses 1, 2, 7, 9)
• Prayed for peace of conscience (verses 8 and 12)
• Prayed for grace to sin no more (verses 10, 11, 14)
• Promised to do good for others and for the glory of God (verses 13, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19)

When I was in high school youth group, we used to sing an old Keith Green song – Create in Me a Clean Heart. The lyrics were simply the words of Psalm 51:10-12.  More than 25 years later, I sometimes find myself singing this prayer to God, asking for him to walk by my side, help me rid my heart of selfish desires and yield to his ways over mine.

http://www.lyricsmode.com/lyrics/k/keith_green/create_in_me_a_clean_heart.html

Create in me a clean heart, oh God, and renew a right spirit within me

Create in me a clean heart, oh God, and renew a right spirit within me

Cast me not away from Thy presence, oh Lord

Take not Thy holy spirit from me

Restore unto me the joy of Thy salvation

And renew a right spirit within me

Today’s Readings: Numbers 9; Psalm 45; Song of Solomon 7; Hebrews 7

I’m writing tonight from our car. We are on a very long journey with our three children in the back of the van on our way home from Omaha, NE. We went to Omaha to baptize our youngest. Our surprise baby knitted within me by His hand and revealed to us like a flash of heat lightning on a summer evening. For our family, a baptism is a ritual that is sacred. One that represents our commitment to our faith in Jesus Christ and our intention to plant the seeds of a life with Him in our children. The church we return to in Omaha is a home for my husband and I. Although my faith tradition is evolving and changing in a way that puts Jesus at the center, I find that this particular ritual is deeply rooted within me. I wish that I could say that I have my faith journey all figured out. I envy those that are unshakable in their knowledge of scripture and convictions on all things biblical. Instead, I’m the middle school phase of my spiritual growth. I’ve got zits, a bad haircut and I’m just trying to sort out who I am and where I fit in.

Today’s first reading is from Numbers 9. I wish I had wireless in the car so I could look up why they call this book Numbers. Anyway, chapter 9 offers a beautiful description of the Lord commanding Moses and the Israelites to keep Passover. The instructions are as usual in the Old Testament, very prescriptive:

“In the second month on the fourteenth day at twilight they shall keep it. They shall eat it with unleavened bread and bitter herbs. They shall leave not of it until the morning, nor break any of its bones; according to all the statute for the Passover they shall keep it. “ (Numbers 9:11)

It goes on to say that the man that is not traveling and is considered clean or as I would say “eligible” for Passover, if that man does not keep Passover he shall be cut off from the rest of the group. So, what I hear in this passage is God telling us, “hey guys, you need to take time out of your big old busy job, social media, soccer practice, PTA meeting lives to honor me.” I hear and feel the Holy Spirit in my life inviting me to stop and raise my eyes to be in His presence. The next part of Numbers 9 is probably my favorite. We see the Israelites build a tabernacle and then a cloud covers that tent of the testimony. By day the cloud is there and by night it is replaced with fire. When the cloud lifted the people of Israel knew to set out and when it stopped they made camp again beneath it. They went on like that, allowing the Holy Spirit to be their guide. The most beautiful part of the chapter comes at the end:

“Whether it was two days, or a month, or a longer time, that the cloud continued over the tabernacle, abiding there, the people of Israel remained in camp and did not set out, but when it lifted they set out. At the command of the Lord they camped, and at the command of the Lord they set out. They kept the charge of the Lord, at the command of the Lord by Moses.” (Numbers 9:22-23)

 For the people of Israel, it was enough to just follow the cloud and remain in their tent under the flame. If I look for my clouds and fire will I find them? When I stepped into Sacred Heart church this morning I was safely under the cloud. I laid a foundation there ten years ago and now my house stands tall. I planted a seed of obedience and commitment to Jesus there, in that place. Today, my fellow Israelites welcomed me back into their Omaha tent. They celebrated the wonder of this beautiful new life with us. All along I’ve been struggling to reconcile my transition from the Catholic tent to a more Christ centered Christian tent. I’ve spent a few years trying to clear up my spiritual acne and get a better biblical look. I anticipated a real feeling of dichotomy, a feeling of separation and the discomfort of being non-commital. What I experienced was grace. The power of the Holy Spirit is here and surprisingly it was also there. I’ve spent so much time worrying about my role in my spiritual maturation but Moses gave me a little nudge today. I got to celebrate a Passover, a ritual, a sign of obedience to our Heavenly Father. It wasn’t a drudgery. I didn’t check my watch to see when it would be over. It sounds like the Israelites didn’t either. They “abide-ed”, they were content to rest in the promise of guidance and protection. Are we too busy to abide? Can I trust the Lord enough to guide me on his time with the rest of my Israelites? Lord, give us patient hearts and minds this week. Help us to hear and see you this week.

 

 

Numbers 7; Psalms 42–43; Song of Solomon 5; Hebrews 5

I am a numbers person. This is really no surprise given my educational background.  We called ourselves “accounting dorks” back at the IWU Kappa Kappa Gamma sorority house in 1994.  There were 4 of us.

Here are my numbers on Numbers 7:

• With 89 verses, Numbers 7 seems like the longest chapter in the Bible.
• Psalm 119 is actually the longest chapter in the Bible, it has almost double the number of verses – 176 in total.
• Our 2016 biblejournal.net schedule (following the McCheyene plan) will get us to Psalm 119 on June 22.
• Don’t worry though, we have an entire week allocated to Psalm 119 (7 days, June 22-28).
• Seventy-three of the verses (7:12-7:83) in Numbers 7 say the exact same thing, just with different names.

Truth be known, it isn’t really the numbers themselves that I love. Don’t get me wrong, solving the math problem or getting the financial statements to balance gives me a sense of fulfillment, but that isn’t really where my energy comes from.  Rather, it’s how I can use the numbers to tell a story, to make my case, and to influence my audience.  That’s why I love the MD&A (Management Discussion & Analysis) section of an annual report.  It’s the story behind the numbers.  Investors beware, this is an UNAUDITED section of the financial statements.  It is full of management spin, which is why it’s so fun!  Yes, 22 years later I am still an accounting dork.

When it comes to the book of Numbers (and Leviticus for that matter), are you like me? I’ve found this reading to be pretty hard.  It has a ton of historical details and, frankly, isn’t overly inspiring.  Yet from reading 2 Timothy last week, we know God included these scriptures in the Bible for a reason.

All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work (2 Timothy 3:16-17).

In the book of Numbers so far, God’s people have:

• Taken a census
• Arranged their camp
• Assigned serving duties to men of each tribe
• Outlined rules for unclean people, confession and restitution
• Established the Nazarite vow

All were these actions were taken in accordance with instructions God gave them through Moses. The Lord blessed them.

The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, “Speak to Aaron and his sons, saying, Thus you shall bless the people of Israel: you shall say to them,

The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you; the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace.

“So shall they put my name upon the people of Israel, and I will bless them.” (Numbers 6:22-27)

This brings us to Numbers 7. In response to God’s blessings, each tribe brought offerings before the Lord.  Seventy-three verses in Numbers 7 explain exactly what each tribe brought.  Twenty-six sacrifices by my count (3 serving pieces of precious metal, flour/oil mixture, incense, 21 animals), which are explained in the same painstaking detail 12 times.  What is God trying to tell us?  A few ideas to consider:

• God’s people are obedient to his instructions. Did you notice, the sacrifices each tribe brought align with God’s detailed instructions from Leviticus (grain offering, burnt offering, sin offering, peace offering and redemption values)? As Christ followers, we are called to be obedient (John 14:23, James 1:22).
• We each matter to God. The sacrifices offered by each tribe were recognized, individually, by God. This approach affirms that God values people. There is power in numbers (Matthew 18:20), but God also cares deeply about each one of us (Luke 12:7).
• All gifts/roles/responsibilities in the kingdom of God are equally important.  Each tribe had a different number of people and a different role for serving in the tabernacle, but all were equally important and valued.  Likewise, it takes a variety of roles in the Church today to accomplish God’s objectives. All matter (Romans 12:4-5).

There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus (Galatians 3:28).