Month: June 2010

Deuteronomy 8-9

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The Danger of Disregarding God.

“After the LORD your God has done this for you, don’t say to yourselves, ‘The LORD has given us this land because we are so righteous!’ No, it is because of the wickedness of the other nations that he is doing it.” – Deuteronomy 9:4 NLT

Excessive self-reliance and self-importance can destroy our concept of God. We can become so self-consumed that we turn God into a caricature of Himself. He becomes less the all-powerful, Holy God than a personal valet who meets our desires and rewards us for our good deeds. This is a risk the Israelites faced and it is one that confronts us today. In chapters eight and nine, Moses covers two themes with the people: remembering/forgetting and wilderness/Promised Land. He warns them to remember all that God has done for them during their years in the wilderness. He led them, fed them, humbled them, tested them, taught them, and disciplined them. Then he warns them not to forget all that God has done for them once they arrive in the Promised Land. Moses knew that they would have a tendency to think they somehow deserved all they are getting because of their own righteousness. In spite of their track record of rebellion and sinfulness. They would develop short-term memory loss and forget what the incident of the golden calf and their habit of grumbling and complaining against God. Instead, they would falsely think of themselves as righteous and somehow deserving of all the blessings found in the land of promise. They would wrongly conclude that all this was all because of THEM. So Moses wants to remind them of their own sin, so they would understand God’s mercy and grace.

While there is an extreme form of pride that completely leaves God out of the picture and tends to attribute success and prosperity self-effort, there is another kind of pride that is more insidious and dangerous. It comes disguised as a false sense of humility expressing gratitude to God for all His blessings. But hidden behind the veneer of gratefulness and admissions of God undeserved goodness is a subtle belief that we somehow deserve what we are getting. His blessings are somehow proof of our own righteousness. Like the Israelites we say, “Because of my righteousness the Lord has given me this land.” In other words, we can acknowledge God’s goodness while basing it on our own righteousness. God is good to us because we are good!

This kind of thinking tends to distort and disregard the true nature of God. He was a sovereign God who had chosen them, not because of anything special about them, but because He chose to do so. They were no more deserving of His goodness than any other nation. He was displacing the Canaanites and other people groups because of their own rebellion and sinfulness, not because of the righteousness of Israel. Whenever we begin to think that we somehow deserve or have in any way earned God’s favor, we diminish God. He devalue His grace and mercy. We make ourselves the hero and God the dispenser of rewards for our righteousness. And in doing so we fail to remember the truth: We are sinners saved by grace. We are rebels who deserved death, but have been given life and righteousness. We are a stubborn and stiff-necked people whom God has chosen to redeem, in spite of us, not because of us.

Father, we are so prone to take credit for all You have done for us. We want to somehow think we deserve Your blessings. We want to believe that we have earned Your good favor by our good actions. But we are a stubborn and stiff-necked people. We suffer from short-term memory loss and a false sense of self-worth. Forgive me for devaluing all You have done by wrongly valuing what I have done. You get all the credit all the time. Amen

Ken Miller
Grow Pastor & Minister to Men
kenm@christchapelbc.org

Deuteronomy 7

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Slow and Steady.

“No, do not be afraid of those nations, for the LORD your God is among you, and he is a great and awesome God. The LORD your God will drive those nations out ahead of you little by little. You will not clear them away all at once, for if you did, the wild animals would multiply too quickly for you.” – Deuteronomy 7:21-22 NLT

Transformation takes time. But we live in a quick-fix society that wants everything to happen instantaneously. Whether it’s losing weight or gaining wealth, we don’t want to wait. TV shows like The Biggest Loser give us glimpses into the lives of individuals attempting to lose significant amounts of weight, but collapse the entire process into a single season of 30-minute shows. We love before-and-after images of people who have been transformed. We like stories about people who have gone from rags to riches, obscurity to fame – seemingly overnight. Every day millions of people waste their hard-earned money playing the  lottery in the hopes of winning big and getting rich quick. And if we’re honest, many of us as Christians approach our spiritual transformation with the same results-while-you-wait mentality. We are in a hurry to get where we think we need to be. But God doesn’t seem to be in a rush. He is in no hurry. Instead He seems willing to slowly and methodically work out His plan of spiritual transformation in our lives.

We see the same no-hurry mentality when it comes to God’s plan for the people of Israel possessing the land of Canaan. Moses reminds the people that their God is great and awesome. He is powerful and fully capable of doing whatever He sets His mind to do. But that same powerful God was NOT going to give the instant access to the land and immediate victory over all their enemies. No, this was going to be a slow and steady process. God was going to clear away the nations little by little – one step at a time. When it comes to the renovation of our lives, we can sometimes get intimidated by the sheet size of the task ahead of us. There seems to be so many things we need to work on. We have so many flaws and faults that stand in the way of our transformation. It can be easy to get overwhelmed and lose heart. God knows this about us. He knew it about the people of Israel. He also knew that giving them instantaneous victory would have been disastrous. They wouldn’t have been able to handle the success. And neither can we. So God works slowly and methodically. He gives us small victories and steady glimpses of growth taking place. He wants us to move forward one step at a time. He wants us to be faithful and to face our fears knowing that He is with us. He chose us. He loves us. And He is going to change us. On His time frame and in His own unique way. We can count on it.

Father, You are transforming me daily. Forgive me for the many times I get impatient or even upset that You are not working fast enough. Your plan is perfect and Your timing is impeccable. Help me to rest in You and wait on You. Help me to recognize the change that is taking place each and every day. Amen

Ken Miller
Grow Pastor & Minister to Men
kenm@christchapelbc.org

Deuteronomy 6

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The Great Commandment.

“And you must love the LORD your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your strength.” – Deuteronomy 6:5 NLT

Sounds a bit familiar doesn’t it? Here in chapter six of the book of Deuteronomy, we have the words that Jesus quoted in answer to the question, “Which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” Jesus replied, “You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment” (Matthew 22:37-38 NLT). But the love of God must include obedience to God. That is what Deuteronomy chapter six is all about. Here Moses unpacks the first commandment to love the Lord your God. He expands on it and gives the Israelites a more in-depth understanding of just what that love must include. It must include a healthy fear of God. The fear of God is the respect that comes from an appreciation of His character. He is holy, righteous, just, pure, and yet faithful, constant, consistent, loving, and forgiving. As we have seen, God is a covenant-keeping God. He follows through on His promises. He can be trusted. The love of God also includes fidelity on our part. We must remain faithful and true. We must not have any other gods, or worship anything other than God Himself. The love of God includes obedience. To love Him is to obey Him. Even Jesus said, “If you love me, obey my commandments” (John 14:15 NLT). He went on to say, “Those who obey my commandments are the ones who love me. And because they love me, my Father will love them, and I will love them. And I will reveal myself to each one of them” (John 14:15 NLT).

Loving God also includes bragging about God. Moses told the people of Israel to tell their children all the wonderful things God had done for them. When their sons and daughters asked them about the meaning behind all the laws and commandments, the people were to respond, “We were Pharaoh’s slaves in Egypt, but the LORD brought us out of Egypt with amazing power. Before our eyes the LORD did miraculous signs and wonders, dealing terrifying blows against Egypt and Pharaoh and all his people. He brought us out of Egypt so he could give us this land he had solemnly promised to give our ancestors. And the LORD our God commanded us to obey all these laws and to fear him for our own prosperity and well–being, as is now the case” (Deuteronomy 6:21-24 NLT). And in the same way, we’re to tell our kids about the incredible things God has done in our lives. We obey Him because He delivered us. We obey Him out of delight, not duty.

We are to love the Lord our God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength. Nothing has changed. That is still the expectation. It is still the Great Commandment. But it is so easy to love other things. It is so easy to give our affections to someone or something else. It is so easy to disobey and to fail to fear God, refusing to show Him the proper respect His character deserves. We can easily become complacent and forgetful of all He has done. We can become self-sufficient and self-satisfied. But He has called us to express our love to Him through obedience, fear, faithfulness, and a desire to talk about Him constantly because of all He has done.

Father, I want to continue to learn what it means to love You with all my heart, soul, mind, and strength. I want to show that love to You in tangible ways. I want to express my love for You in a life of obedience, faith, and fear, telling others of Your powerful presence in my life. Amen

Ken Miller
Grow Pastor & Minister to Men
kenm@christchapelbc.org

Deuteronomy 4-5

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A Covenant Breaking People.

“What I wouldn’t give if they’d always feel this way, continuing to revere me and always keep all my commands; they’d have a good life forever, they and their children!” – Deuteronomy 5:29 MSG

As we saw yesterday, the theme of the book of Deuteronomy seems to be the covenant-keeping aspect of God. The covenant is mentioned over and over again. It comes up again in our two chapters for today. Moses reminds the people once again of the covenant God had made with them. He had promised to give them the land of Canaan – the Promised Land. But His covenant with them had a clause that required them to obey. As part of His covenant, He provided them with the Ten Commandments, as a set of rules or regulations for them to keep. Moses reiterates the requirements at the beginning of chapter four. “And now, Israel, listen carefully to these laws and regulations that I am about to teach you. Obey them so that you may live, so you may enter and occupy the land the LORD, the God of your ancestors, is giving you. Do not add to or subtract from these commands I am giving you from the LORD your God. Just obey them” (Deuteronomy 4:1-2 NLT). Then at the beginning of chapter five, he goes back over the original Ten Commandments again.

Moses repeatedly tells the people to keep, to obey, to do them, to beware, to watch themselves, and to remember. He reminds them of God’s faithfulness and His compassion. But he also warns them that their failure to obey will result in their destruction and ultimate captivity. What is amazing is that God is predicting through Moses exactly what was going to happen. God knew the people were going to fail to keep His commandments. He knew they were going to be unfaithful and rebel against Him. He knew He was going to have to follow through on His threat to send the into captivity. But in spite of all this, God was going to prove His unfailing faithfulness yet again. “From there you will search again for the LORD your God. And if you search for him with all your heart and soul, you will find him. When those bitter days have come upon you far in the future, you will finally return to the LORD your God and listen to what he tells you. For the LORD your God is merciful––he will not abandon you or destroy you or forget the solemn covenant he made with your ancestors” (Deuteronomy 4:29-31 NLT). Even in the midst of the punishment for their rebellion, God would make Himself known to them. He would not abandon them or destroy them. Instead He would show compassion and mercy. He would remember the covenant He had made and keep it.

God didn’t want to bring destruction on His people. He didn’t want to send them into captivity. He longed that His people would have a heart for Him. “Oh that they had such a heart in them, that they would fear Me and keep all My commandments always, that it may be well with them and with their sons forever! (Deuteronomy 4:29 NASB). God knew His people would break the covenant. He knew they would rebel. He knew they did not have the capacity or capability to hold up their end of the covenant. But it did not change His commitment to them. In fact, God would eventually provide a way for all mankind to keep His law and fulfill His commands – through the provision of His own Son. He knew we were incapable of keeping His law. So He sent His Son to do it for us, and to pay the price for our sin. He is the covenant-keeping God. He is faithful, even when we are not.

Father, I would not be here if not for You. I would not even have chosen to have a relationship with You if not for Your Holy Spirit drawingme to You. I can’t thank You enough for Your faithfulness and mercy. Amen

Ken Miller
Grow Pastor & Minister to Men
kenm@christchapelbc.org

Deuteronomy 2-3

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Our Covenant Keeping God.

“The LORD your God has blessed everything you have done and has watched your every step through this great wilderness. During these forty years, the LORD your God has been with you and provided for your every need so that you lacked nothing.” – Deuteronomy 2:7 NLT

The first few chapters of the book of Deuteronomy are a recap of the events of the past 40 years. In an effort to set up the real theme of this book, Moses recounts everything that has happened in the lives of the Israelites up until this point. In chapters two and three we have a review of the early days of the conquest of the land. But at the heart of the story is God Himself. He is the hero. It is all about Him and His faithfulness to fulfill and complete what He began all those years ago in His call of Abram out of Ur. He made a covenant with Abram and He has been fulfilling it all along. He made a promise and He was keeping it. God had promised Abram a land, a seed, and a blessing. He had already given him a seed in the form of a great multitude, now He was going to give the descendants of Abram the land He had promised.

God had taken care of them all those years they had wandered in the wilderness. They had not lacked a thing, except the ability to be obedient and to not complain. But in spite of their unfaithfulness, God had remained faithful. And now He was giving them the very land He had promised to their father Abraham all those years ago. Their conquest of Canaan was going to be God-directed and God-blessed. “Beginning today I will make all people throughout the earth terrified of you. When they hear reports about you, they will tremble with dread and fear” (Deuteronomy 2:25 NLT). God was not leaving it up to chance. He was going to complete what He began and fulfill what He promised. Because He is a covenant keeping God.  The Hebrew word translated “take possession” (v. 21), is used more than 50 times in Deuteronomy.  It always refers to the Promised Land and expresses God’s great desire for His people that they possess what He had promised them. God wanted them to take possession of the promised land. He had promised it, now they must possess it. “The LORD your God has given you this land to possess it…” (Deuteronomy 3:18 NASB).

We can’t look past all that had taken place to get the people of God to this point. The call of Abraham. The betrayal of Joseph by his brothers. Joseph’s ultimate elevation to prominence in Egypt. The relocation of Jacob and his family to Egypt. The blessing of God on the descendants of Jacob and their miraculous proliferation in the land of Egypt. The subsequent abuse of the Israelites at the hands of the Egyptians. The birth and rescue of Moses. His exile and ultimate call by God. The redemption of the people of God by God. The passover. The exodus. The wilderness wanderings. And now, the conquest of the land. The common theme throughout this entire time line is the covenant-keeping ability of our God. He was responsible for it all. He is faithful. He will do what He promises to do – whether we hold up our end of the bargain or not.

Father, You are the covenant-keeping God. You are faithful and true. You do what You promise. You finish what You start. You complete what you begin. Thank You for reminding me of that fact. Because there is another promise You are going to fulfill – the return of Your Son and the restoration of all things. I can trust You to do what You said You would do. In spite of what I see happening all around me. Thanks for that word of encouragement. Amen

Ken Miller
Grow Pastor & Minister to Men
kenm@christchapelbc.org

Deuteronomy 1

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An Ignorance of God.

“But even after all he did, you refused to trust the LORD your God.“Deuteronomy 1:32 NLT

How well do you know God? As we begin reading through the book of Deuteronomy, let me challenge you to read it with new eyes. The danger is that you will read it with a familiarity that can breed a kind of contempt or spiritual laziness. After all, you’ve read through Exodus and Numbers, and this book contains a lot of the same stories. But this time, try to read with your eyes focused on God. Look for Him in these passages. See what you can discover about Him as you read these familiar stories from the lives of the Israelites. These people had been delivered, led and fed by God, yet even as early as chapter one we see that they really didn’t know Him. Chapter one recaps their unwllingness to go into the very land God had promised. Verse 32 puts it bluntly. They refused to trust Him. And they refused to trust Him because they really didn’t know Him.

Take a look at verse 27. “You complained among yourselves privately and said, ‘Because the Lord hates us he brought us from Egypt to deliver us over to the Amorites so they could destroy us!'” (Deuteronomy 1:27 NET). Do you see what these verse reveals about their knowledge and understanding of God? They had determined that God hated them and had brought them out of Egypt for the sole purpose of destroying them. What a warped view of God. We read that and think, “What is wrong with these people? What are they thinking?” But the truth is, we tend to have the same distorted view of God in our own lives. We take a look at our circumstances and we determine that God must be angry at us, because things have not turned out quite the way we think they should. We tend to view our God through the lens of our circumstances, rather than the other way around. When things are not going well, it is easy to conclude that our God is angry, vengeful, and out to get us. We can end up denying the very goodness of God. We can lose sight of His big picture plan for us. We forget that He has already delivered us and falsely conclude that he is out to destroy us. The truth is, we always fail to trust what we do not understand. Our lack of understanding of who God is leads us to trust Him for who He is. So we disobey Him. We rebel against Him. We refuse to do what He tells us to do. Because we don’t understand or trust Him.

As we read through Deuteronomy together, let’s look for God. Let’s try and see His character on display and learn more about Him. Because as we grow in our knowledge of Him, we will grow in our dependency on and trust in Him. We will learn to believe Him when He says, “Don’t be afraid! The LORD your God is going before you. He will fight for you, just as you saw him do in Egypt” (Deuteronomy 1:29-30 NLT).

Father, I want to know You better so that I might trust You more. Open my eyes and help me see You in the pages of the book of Deuteronomy. Show me Your love, faithfulness, goodness, greatness, power, trustworthiness, and providential plan for my life. Amen

Ken Miller
Grow Pastor & Minister to Men
kenm@christchapelbc.org

Numbers 36

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A Future Perspective and A Corporate Concern.

“Just as the LORD had commanded Moses, so the daughters of Zelophehad did.“ – Numbers 36:10 NLT

The book of Numbers ends on a seemingly strange note with the story of the five daughters of Zelophehad. According to the law of inheritance, these women would be given the land of their father Zelophehad, since they had no brothers. But the tribe of Manasseh brought up a potential problem to Moses. Since these women were going to inherit the land of their father upon his death, what would prevent them from marrying a man from another tribe and the land then transferring ownership from one tribe to another? In other words, what would happen if the heiress to her father’s property married someone from a different tribe? In that case the land of their father would become the property of another tribe and the tribal allotments would become
intermixed and confused.

God had a solution to this problem, but this chapter raises another interesting question: Why did God have Moses end the book of Numbers with this story? Why was the entire book concluded with a story about the daughters of Zelophehad? I think it has to do with a couple of things. First of all, the book of Numbers is about the future. From the very outset, it has been a history of the people of Israel and their journey from Egypt to the Promised Land, but the real focus was not on the past or the present, but the future. As the book closes, the concern behind the question that the tribe of Manasseh raises has to do with the future. They seem to understand that this is a long-term situation. The land they are all inheriting is not just for those who are living at that time, but for future generations. There is a future aspect to this matter that causes them to be concerned and speak up.

The other issue is that this is not about the individual. While it was wonderful that these daughters were going to be able to inherit the land of their father, it ultimately was not about them. It was not even just about their tribe. It was about the people of God. And God’s concern was for the corporate well-being of His people. If these women had been left free to marry whoever they wanted to, the allotment of the land could have been potentially altered with dramatic consequences for the future. One tribe could have ended up with more land than another. Jealousy and fighting between the tribes could have resulted. So God comes up with a plan by which the daughters are free to marry, but within certain constraints. They had to marry someone from within their own tribe.

In our world of independence and self-centered philosophy, this concern for the corporate good is foreign to us. It’s all about me! I have to do what is best for me. The thought of sacrificing for the team is unheard of these days. Even our sports stars are all about themselves. Self-promotion and self-preservation are the norm. But God reminds us that it isn’t all about us. It is about the family of God. And while we are to live in the moment, we are to keep our eyes focused on the future. If not, we can develop a live-for-the-moment mentality that sacrifices the future for pleasures of today. The daughters of Zelophehad weren’t willing to do that. They did just as Moses directed them. They obeyed. They understood that God had their best interests and the interests of the people of God in mind. And they lived with their eyes on the future. Which is what each of us is called to do as children of God. It isn’t all about me and my happiness. This is about the people of God. This is about the future. Any sacrifice God calls me to make is for the good of the team.

Father, it has always been about the future for You. You have the end in mind. I can get caught up in the here and now and lose sight of the finished work You have in mind. I can also become so self-focused that I forget that You have a plan for the people of God as a whole. It is not all about me. Give me a future perspective and a corporate concern that allows me to listen to You instead of my own selfish desires. Amen

Ken Miller
Grow Pastor & Minister to Men
kenm@christchapelbc.org

Numbers 35

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A Place of Refuge.

“These cities are for the protection of Israelites, resident foreigners, and traveling merchants. Anyone who accidentally kills someone may flee there for safety.“ – Numbers 35:15 NLT

The cities of refuge. God instructed Moses to set aside six different cities, spread throughout the land of Canaan, and designate them as cities of refuge. Occupied by Levites, these cities were strategically placed and easily accessible from all parts of the land. Their purpose was to provide a safe-haven to anyone who had accidently committed murder.  In other words, if an Israelite inadvertently and unintentionally caused the death of a fellow Israelite, he could flee to one of these cities and seek refuge from the avenger. It was up to the relatives of a murdered individual to seek vengeance. This “blood avenger” (Numbers 35:19) was not just free to kill the murdered, he was obligated to do so (Numbers 35:19, 21). It was his duty. He was called the “avenger of blood.”

But in order to prevent the blood avenger from taking the life of an innocent man, the cities of refuge were established. If a man accidently killed someone else, he could run to one of these cities and hide. As long as he was there, he was protected from the blood avenger. It was up to the residents of the city (mostly Levites) to help determine whether this individual was a manslayer or murderer. If it was determined that he had killed the other premeditatedly and intentionally, he was to be handed over to the blood avenger who could seek retribution. But if it was determined that the death was unintentional and accidental, then the “manslayer” would be allowed to stay in the city of refuge until the high priest died. In essence, the city became his prison. If he ever left, he would be guilty of violating his sentence and the blood avenger could seek his death. All of this sounds very barbaric to us, but you have to remember that Israel had no police force for carrying out justice or enforcing laws. Murder was wrong and justice must be served. Killing someone accidently also had to be dealt with, but in a different manner. So that is why these cities were established. God was protecting the innocent.

So what does all this have to do with us? What lessons can we learn from this chapter? Well, the cities of refuge are a picture of Christ. He provides shelter for the sinner from judgment. We all stand guilty before God. We are condemned sinners, and as such, we deserve judgment. Yet God has provided a place of refuge, a place where we can run and seek shelter and protection from the blood avenger. Rather than having to fear condemnation, we find protection in Christ. “So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus” (Romans 8:1 NLT).

In the case of someone seeking refuge in one of these cities, if they remained there until the high priest died, they were forgiven for their sin. They walked away free and clear. The death of the high priest had atoning value just as Jesus death for us atones for our sins. No one could accuse this person once the high priest had died. And we stand as unaccused and uncondemned because of what Christ has done for us. “Who dares accuse us whom God has chosen for his own? Will God? No! He is the one who has given us right standing with himself. Who then will condemn us? Will Christ Jesus? No, for he is the one who died for us and was raised to life for us and is sitting at the place of highest honor next to God, pleading for us” (Romans 8:33-34 NLT).

We can take refuge in Christ. He is our high priest and He has died for us. His death has set us free once and for all. “God also bound himself with an oath, so that those who received the promise could be perfectly sure that he would never change his mind. So God has given us both his promise and his oath. These two things are unchangeable because it is impossible for God to lie. Therefore, we who have fled to him for refuge can take new courage, for we can hold on to his promise with confidence. This confidence is like a strong and trustworthy anchor for our souls. It leads us through the curtain of heaven into God’s inner sanctuary. Jesus has already gone in there for us. He has become our eternal High Priest in the line of Melchizedek” (Hebrews 6:17-20 NLT).

Father, You have provided Your Son as my city of refuge. I have run to Him and He has died in my place. His death atoned for my sins and as a result, I stand uncondemned before You. I was once guilty, but now I am forgiven. Thank You. Amen

Ken Miller
Grow Pastor & Minister to Men
kenm@christchapelbc.org

Numbers 33-34

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Occupy the Land!

“…you must drive out all the people living there. You must destroy all their carved and molten images and demolish all their pagan shrines. Take possession of the land and settle in it, because I have given it to you to occupy.“ – Numbers 33:52-53 NLT

They’re almost there. The day they’ve been waiting for so long is about to arrive. The people of God stand on the edge of the Promised Land and are just days away from entering it. It has been a long time in coming. There has been a lengthy (40 year) delay, but now it’s time to enjoy what God had promised so long ago, way back in the land of Egypt. But as with most things associated with God, the blessing is tied to a requirement. He has one last instruction to give them before they enter and occupy the land. And it is a pretty significant requirement. They must drive out all the people who are living there. On top of that they have to destroy all their idols and pagan shrines erected to the gods of the land. They’ve got to smash every idol they find. In other words, they’ve got to clean house before they set up house. Sounds simple enough doesn’t it? But if you’re the least bit familiar with the story of the Israelites, they didn’t exactly follow God’s instructions to the letter. They took a few liberties. It’s almost as if the enemy (Satan) was standing there just like he was in the garden of Eden, asking the question, “Surely, God has not said…”

I can just hear Satan whispering in their ears, “You don’t have to get rid of ALL the idols, just most of them.” Or maybe he worded his temptation this way, “You might want to leave one of the pagan shrines intact, just in case Yahweh doesn’t come through for you.” And as far as ridding the land of all its occupants, Satan probably did his best to convince the people of God just how politically incorrect and insensitive this kind of thing could come across to the rest of the people in the region. “You don’t want to get off on the wrong foot with your neighbors, do you?”

And God seemed to know that the people would have second thoughts about His command, so He warned them what would happen if they failed to obey.”But if you fail to drive out the people who live in the land, those who remain will be like splinters in your eyes and thorns in your sides. They will harass you in the land where you live. And I will do to you what I had planned to do to them” (Numbers 33:55-56 NLT). Disobey me, God says, and you will live to regret it. This is not a suggestion, but a command. God expects them to do what He says. He has a good reason for what He is asking them to do. He knows exactly what will happen if they choose to disobey Him. And its not good. If they fail to remove the land’s occupants, they will become a constant threat and a thorn in their side. They will not learn to live amicably together. Cleansing was critical for spiritual survival.

In his commentary on the book of Numbers, Dr. Thomas Constable has this to say, “The repetition of ‘all’ (Numbers 33:52) stresses the importance of completely clearing the land of its inhabitants and their religious paraphernalia. God wanted to clean up the land spiritually and to make it a ‘holy land.’ The land was a gift from God to His first-born son, Israel (Numbers 33:53). God warned the Israelites what would happen to them if they were not completely obedient (Numbers 333:55-56). The Canaanites would be a constant source of irritation to them, and God would deal with His people as He planned to deal with the Canaanites.”

God wanted to clean up the land spiritually and make it a holy land. That reminds me of what God wants to do with my life. He wants to clean it up spiritually and make it holy. He is about removing anything and everything in my life that would defile or defeat me. He wants to clean house. But I tend to want to hang on to certain remnants of my past. I want to give the enemy some footholds in my life where he can live at peace. I want to keep some of the idols that were there before God came to occupy the land. I find the idols comforting. They bring me a little bit of peace and assurance. But God wants to purge my life of any vestiges of the past. He wants to make all things new. To receive all the blessings the Promised Land had to offer, the people had to obey God fully. The same thing is true for us today. To enjoy all the blessings out new life in Christ offers, we must obey God fully. God makes this clear in His Word.

“…throw off your old evil nature and your former way of life, which is rotten through and through, full of lust and deception.” – Ephesians 4:22 NLT

“Don’t lie to one another. You’re done with that old life. It’s like a filthy set of ill-fitting clothes you’ve stripped off and put in the fire.” – Colossians 3:9 MSG

“The night is almost gone; the day of salvation will soon be here. So don’t live in darkness. Get rid of your evil deeds. Shed them like dirty clothes. Clothe yourselves with the armor of right living, as those who live in the light. We should be decent and true in everything we do, so that everyone can approve of our behavior. Don’t participate in wild parties and getting drunk, or in adultery and immoral living, or in fighting and jealousy. But let the Lord Jesus Christ take control of you, and don’t think of ways to indulge your evil desires.” – Romans 13:12-14 NLT

God is looking for change. He wants us to purge and purify. To rid the landscape of our lives from any and all vestiges of the past. If we do, we will be blessed. If we don’t, we will always find ourselves doing battle with past enemies and tempted to worship former idols. Cleansing is the key to blessing.

Father, show me the idols in my life that I have left up. Open my eyes and help me see any enemies I have left occupying the landscape of my life. I want to clean house. I want to enter the land of Your promise and enjoy all the blessings You have in store for me. But I know I have some house cleaning to do. Amen

Ken Miller
Grow Pastor & Minister to Men
kenm@christchapelbc.org

Numbers 32

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Be Sure Your Sins Will Find You Out

“But if you fail to keep your word, then you will have sinned against the LORD, and you may be sure that your sin will find you out.“ – Numbers 32:23 NLT

This chapter contains one of those verses we’ve all heard before, but probably never knew where it came from. We’ve probably found ourselves using part of the verse without even knowing the context or the real meaning behind it. “Be sure your sins will find you out!,” are words that have probably flowed from our lips in one form or another. And if we’re parents, they were more than likely directed at one of our kids. So this morning as I read through chapter 32 of Numbers, I was a little surprised to see these familiar words in their original context. I had forgotten (if I had ever known) just why these words were first spoken by Moses. As the people of God prepared to enter the Promised Land, the land of Canaan, Moses is approached by the tribes of Reuben and Gad. They have a lot of flocks and have noticed that the land east of the Jordan has some great pastureland. So they make a request to Moses asking him for permission to remain on the east side of the river instead of crossing over with everyone else to the actual land of promise. Moses is flabbergasted by their request. It is eerily reminiscent of the time 40 years earlier when the people refused to enter the land, but instead listened to the bad report from the spies. That decision resulted in God’s wrath and punishment. Now 40 years later, that generation has died off and their descendants stand on the brink of entering the land. When Moses hears their request to settle outside the land of promise he is incensed. “Are you trying to discourage the rest of the people of Israel from going across to the land the LORD has given them? This is what your ancestors did when I sent them from Kadesh–barnea to explore the land” (Numbers 32:7-8 NLT). For Moses, this is deja vu all over again. He reminds them what happened to the last group of people who made this kind of decision.

But the Reubenites and Gadites assure Moses that they are not abandoning the people of God or attempting to persuade them from entering the land. They simply want to take advantage of the better pastureland on the east side of the river. They are willing to fight alongside their brothers and assist them in conquering the land of Canaan until every tribe has a possession in the land. They will not settle east of the Jordan until that happens. This assurance calms Moses’ fears, but he still issues them a warning, “But if you don’t do what you say, you will be sinning against GOD; you can be sure that your sin will track you down” (Numbers 32:23 MSG). Moses expects them to keep their word and reminds them that if they don’t, their sin will be against God, not the people. And God will remember their sin. God would deal with them severely if they broke their commitment.

In the end, these tribes did hold up their end of the bargain (Joshua 4:12-13, 22), but their plan was not necessarily God’s plan. It was motivated by greed and self-interest that overshadowed the promise that God had made to provide them with an abundant land on the west side of the Jordan.  Like Lot, they were attracted to what looked good physically and materially. Rather than wait for what God had promised, they chose what they could see with their own eyes. There seems to be an assumption on their part that there might not be any land on the west side of the Jordan useful for raising flocks. So they selfishly put their dibs on the land outside of Canaan. This decision, while approved by Moses, would prove to be a problem in the years to come. Distance from the other tribes would end up producing misunderstanding and disunity later (Joshua 22). It also created a hole in the defensive lines of the Israelites. This area was often the first to experience invasion, and Israel would lose control of it several times in her later history (2 Kings 15:29).

So what’s the point for me? First, that there is truth to the adage that my sins will find me out. They will track me down. They will ultimately come back to haunt me. I need to take my commitments and my sins seriously because God does. Also, I need to look closely at the motivation behind my decisions. Why am I doing what I am about to do? Am I being motivated out of selfishness and greed? What will be the long-term ramifications of my decision if it is wrongly motivated. My sins will find me out. So will my selfish decisions. And both can have a tremendous impact on others.

Father, I know that my sins are forgiven because of Christ’s work on the cross, but it does not change the fact that my sins have ramifications. So do my decisions. Help me to see the motivation behind my decisions. Am I being motivated by greed and selfishness? If so, expose it and help me to see it. I want to continue to learn to trust you instead of just relying on what I can see. Amen

Ken Miller
Grow Pastor & Minister to Men
kenm@christchapelbc.org