Striking the Rock

I’ve been reading in Numbers where Moses strikes the rock. From all outward appearances this was a success - a miracle happened, all the people were provided for… But Moses himself was punished for the incident.

This concerns me because it means you can do ministry and be praised by everyone around but still do wrong and be on God’s bad side. Yes, feedback by the people around you is important but it’s not everything. A parallel Jesus verse would be “What good is it to gain the whole world but lose your soul?” It’s entirely possible to do miracles and cast out demons in God’s name but never know him.

It’s a difficult time here for us. Our projects are praised and the way we train up leaders, and we have a solid staff. But people die, needs go unmet, and we don’t have responses. Are we too focused on ministry and not on the people? Is that protecting the acorn or losing sight of the greater goal? As I told Carla, if I knew I was doing something wrong I’d instantly change it; if I knew I was doing right I would be able to trust in God, but when I’m not sure I’m doing the right thing my trust flounders.

I think this goes into being a good listener. Moses went to God but left understanding the wrong thing. We need to spend time understanding God’s perspective, slowly digesting His words, and not shoe-honing what He tells us into simple yes-nos of how we see the situation. I can so easily see this happen to me - I go to God with a problem, He says He’ll solve it with a rock so I jump up and go about obeying, not paying attention to exactly what He’s told me. Just like I can often miss what people are really saying because I haven’t really thought about it or it’s so different than what I am expecting.

Like Friday, when someone asked to go to church with me but in a Mozambican way. I only understood looking back on it, and only understood when I was already sitting in church. It happens often, particularly with Mozambicans. “Yes” and “...yes” mean the opposite so I can’t just pay attention to the words but the tone of voice and speed too - that it difficult for me.

 

God was Never Rule-Based

I'm reading through Numbers 18 today. God in the Old Testament has a number of extremely specific laws and guidelines. I can see why cults form on  the basis of a couple verses that mainstream Christianity doesn’t obey… The forceful way God says it makes it sounds like this is a law that is very close to His heart.

I think the OT and its very specific laws give us a couple options relating to God:

 

1. God was very specific and rule-based but isn’t anymore. However, this doesn’t fit with the Bible’s assertion that God is the same yesterday today and forever.
   
2. God was very specific and rule-based and still is but the rules are different. This mindset is common and leads us to think that God is specifically looking for obedience. It leads to churches that are technically correct but people’s hearts are far from God and mercy towards one another is absent.
   
3. God was never rule-based but the Israelites angered Him to the point of greatly specifying all rules. I could buy into this one. The only problem is that, while you could possibly see this in the story, the Bible never comes out and says this. Additionally, the Bible is very clear as to what are God’s original intentions (for example, going directly into the promised land) and what parts of Israel’s story happened because of their disobedience (the 40 years in the desert). Taken as a whole, the Bible describes the law as a necessary part of God’s plan.
4. Lastly, that the God was never rule-based but He used rules to teach His people until they could truly understand worship in spirit and truth. I think this is an important place to get to. 

I believe this last option is clear in scriptures for the following reasons:

God had friends that didn’t follow or obey the law and He didn’t try to force the law on them (Adam, Enoch, Job). The absolute vagueness of many of the laws of the New Testament. “as often as you do this” about communion; most of the laws are internal, fulfilling Jeremiah 33:31 about writing the law on their hearts. Jesus’s principle complaints weren’t about people not following the law; rather, they were about not following the principle of the law. The pharisees did very well at obeying the law but they weren’t friends of God and Jesus often opposed them.

I am not sure why, but it seems rule-following is deeply ingrained in religious folk, much more than the standard population. It may be because it’s easy to judge who is doing right and who is doing wrong, or it may be something completely different.

As an aside, I find our lives in Mozambique are much more on the rule-breaking side than the rule-following. Our lives in the US are 100% kosher to your standard church. Here, we only go to church once a week (and have a small group), we spend more time in individual time with God than corporately, because we’re not as animated in worship people think we are less spiritual, the way we pray appears that it doesn’t have power, and our obsession with unity in the body of Christ makes it appear that we are rebellious. But it’s interesting to be on the fringe here, I think it gives me more compassion for those whose lives aren’t by-the-book, both here and in the US.

 

Obedience at the Wrong Time isn't Obedience

It’s a free day here in Beira - Armed Forces Day. Usually on free days I take the time to learn something new. Today I read the rest of the Power of Habit and in Numbers 14.

Numbers 14:39-45 is a stark example of how obedience at the wrong time isn’t obedience. After the Israelites sinned against God and didn’t want to go to the promised land, God told them to wander the desert for 40 years. After God told them that, they decided to obey - marching into the promised land, but without Moses and without the Ark. There are always two battlefronts to every fight; the physical battle and the battle of the heart. If you don’t win the battle for the heart, you won’t win the physical battle.

God offered to be with the Israelites when they were conquering the promised land. He promised the Israelites a good land and a land of milk and honey - whoever, the people of Israel were shocked that there were giants in the land. God’s promises to us don’t come without a fight. However, God always tells us that he will be there with us and we can fight the giants together.

The Israelites saw the giants as greater than God and started wailing and complaining. They lost the heart battle and God said they could try again in 40 years. After they heard the alternative, they decided they were sorry but you can tell their heart didn’t change - it was still in the wrong place or they would have refused to fight without the ark or without Moses.

In what ways do God and I want to conquer the same thing but I’m not doing things in His way or His timing?

What kind of battles do I fight without the ark of the covenant or my spiritual leaders?

In what ways has God disciplined me and I responded the same way the Israelites did - without the correct change in heart but with a surface-level change in attitude only?