The God-Given Gift of Love and Sexuality

March 8, 2024March 9, 2024 / kdmiller55 / Leave a comment

She

¹Oh that you were like a brother to me
    who nursed at my mother’s breasts!
If I found you outside, I would kiss you,
    and none would despise me.
²I would lead you and bring you
    into the house of my mother—
    she who used to teach me.
I would give you spiced wine to drink,
    the juice of my pomegranate.
³His left hand is under my head,
    and his right hand embraces me!
⁴I adjure you, O daughters of Jerusalem,
    that you not stir up or awaken love
    until it pleases.

⁵Who is that coming up from the wilderness,
leaning on her beloved?

Under the apple tree I awakened you.
There your mother was in labor with you;
there she who bore you was in labor.

⁶Set me as a seal upon your heart,
    as a seal upon your arm,
for love is strong as death,
    jealousy is fierce as the grave.
Its flashes are flashes of fire,
    the very flame of the Lord.
⁷Many waters cannot quench love,
    neither can floods drown it.
If a man offered for love
    all the wealth of his house,
    he would be utterly despised. – Song of Solomon 8:1-7 ESV

As this epic poem begins to wrap up, the rhetoric within it amps up. It seems that the further along in the dialogue we get, the more shocking the language and imagery becomes. But I don’t think this is all for the shock value. These words are penned by two people who are expressing their deep and abiding affection for one another. Nothing is hidden. There are no subjects that are off-limits or taboo. While this book was divinely inspired like all the other books in the canon of Scripture, when Solomon wrote it, he had no idea it would become part of the Bible, the world’s most popular and widely read book of all time.

So, the imagery and language contained within the Song of Solomon have always confused and disturbed its readers. It seems out of place among all the other books of the Bible. Its content is too controversial and even considered X-rated by some. There are those who avoid this book like the plague. Others, in an attempt to resolve its shocking use of sexual imagery and language, have spiritualized its content to the point where it no longer makes much sense. That is not to say there is no underlying spiritual message contained within the pages of the Song of Solomon but that the graphic and sometimes lurid nature of its content should not be dismissed as nothing more than one lengthy metaphor.

Those who approach this book with a puritanical zeal, wishing to reinterpret its language as nothing more than a symbol of God’s love for His chosen people or Christ’s love for His bride, the Church, end up dehumanizing and diminishing its message. In some sense, their attempt to de-sexualize its content ended up devaluing much of its message. It’s amazing that even today, in our highly sexualized culture, this book still comes across as inappropriate and offensive. There is still a sense in which Christians believe that any talk about the human body or sexuality is inappropriate for polite conversation. But the content in this book is difficult to ignore because it confronts our prudish sensibilities and makes us squirm. All its talk of intimate body parts and passionate love-making makes us uncomfortable.

Yet, the Song of Solomon is as much a part of the canon of Scripture as the Psalms or the four Gospels. It too was “breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness” (2 Timothy 3:16 ESV). So the question becomes, what is this book attempting to teach us? In what ways could it be trying to reprove and correct us? How could its content be used to train us in righteousness?

The answers to these questions must be found in the prevailing message of the book. It is impossible to completely dismiss the fact that this is a love poem. It is blatantly and sometimes embarrassingly about the love between a man and a woman. But that should not make us uncomfortable. Love is of God because God is love, and the sexual union between one man and one woman was His idea. But like all of God’s good and gracious gifts, this one was irreparably damaged by the entrance of sin into the world. Satan has taken what God intended for good and turned it into a self-seeking, soul-destroying weapon in his battle against humanity.

Jesus stated, “The thief’s purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life” (John 10:10 NLT). God created man and woman and endowed them with the capacity for procreation, but He also blessed them with the ability to love and enjoy the intimacy and physicality of the sexual relationship. It was not to be some primal act of hormonal urges designed to propagate the species. God equipped Adam and Eve with the physiological and psychological tools they would need to make more of their kind and to enjoy themselves in the process. That is what the Song of Solomon is all about.

Even in Solomon’s day, prudishness reigned supreme. There was certain actions that were inappropriate and deemed unacceptable in public. His love-struck wife makes that painfully clear when she bluntly states, “Oh, I wish you were my brother, who nursed at my mother’s breasts. Then I could kiss you no matter who was watching, and no one would criticize me” (Song of Solomon 8:1 NLT). This woman couldn’t keep her hands off of her husband. Even in public, she had a difficult time controlling her urge to kiss him. Her rather strange-sounding wish for him to be her brother is just her way of venting her frustration. In her culture, it was fully acceptable for a sister to show affection to her male sibling, even in public. But if she dared to display any signs of affection to her husband while others were watching, she would be considered sex-crazed and lacking in discretion.

She goes on to describe her and her “brother” engaging in intimate activities in their childhood home. The language she uses is blunt and highly suggestive, no matter how much you try to couch it in metaphorical terms. She wants everyone to know just how much she loves her husband. Her discussion of public displays of affection may make us uncomfortable but it should also convict us. The longer her marriage lasts, the more intense her love for her husband grows, and she wants to shout their love from the rooftops. She is proud of and pleased with the love of her life.

This is not a woman for whom marital love has run out of steam. Her sexual desire has not diminished over time. Her husband’s aging body has not lost its appeal for her. The passion of her youth has not gone away and she has spent it on someone else. She remains totally committed to her marriage and deeply in love with her husband.

In a world driven by casual sex, no-fault divorce, and short-term commitments, this woman is a breath of fresh air, and her take on love has never been more timely and needed.

For love is as strong as death,
    its jealousy as enduring as the grave.
Love flashes like fire,
    the brightest kind of flame.
Many waters cannot quench love,
    nor can rivers drown it. – Song of Solomon 8:6-7 NLT

For some reason, we want to separate love from sex. Even Christians can end up viewing sex as somehow tainted and stained by its close association with our fallen human bodies. This dualistic mindset causes us to view love as some kind of separate and distinct characteristic that operates independently from our physical desires and passions. Ever since the fall, mankind has ended up associating sex with lust rather than love. Instead of seeing the sexual act as a gift from God, we have demonized and devalued it to the point of sacrilege. Human sexuality is a gift from God. To view it as somehow dirty or damaged is to question the goodness of God. True love, which includes the physical intimacy between a man and a woman, is a remarkable gift from our Creator-God. It is not to be despised. It is not to be treated with disdain or disgust. Love, as designed by God in the marriage relationship, is priceless value and cannot be bought or sold.

If a man tried to buy love
with all his wealth,
his offer would be utterly scorned. – Song of Solomon 8:7 NLT

But it is to be enjoyed and protected at all costs – for a lifetime.

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

A Well-Rounded, Fully Satisfying Marriage – For Life

March 7, 2024 / kdmiller55 / Leave a comment

¹How beautiful are your feet in sandals,
    O noble daughter!
Your rounded thighs are like jewels,
    the work of a master hand.
²Your navel is a rounded bowl
    that never lacks mixed wine.
Your belly is a heap of wheat,
    encircled with lilies.
³Your two breasts are like two fawns,
    twins of a gazelle.
⁴Your neck is like an ivory tower.
Your eyes are pools in Heshbon,
    by the gate of Bath-rabbim.
Your nose is like a tower of Lebanon,
    which looks toward Damascus.
⁵Your head crowns you like Carmel,
    and your flowing locks are like purple;
    a king is held captive in the tresses.

⁶How beautiful and pleasant you are,
    O loved one, with all your delights!
⁷Your stature is like a palm tree,
    and your breasts are like its clusters.
⁸I say I will climb the palm tree
    and lay hold of its fruit.
Oh may your breasts be like clusters of the vine,
    and the scent of your breath like apples,
⁹and your mouth like the best wine.

She

It goes down smoothly for my beloved,
gliding over lips and teeth.

¹⁰I am my beloved’s,
and his desire is for me.

¹¹Come, my beloved,
    let us go out into the fields
    and lodge in the villages;
¹²let us go out early to the vineyards
    and see whether the vines have budded,
whether the grape blossoms have opened
    and the pomegranates are in bloom.
There I will give you my love.
¹³The mandrakes give forth fragrance,
    and beside our doors are all choice fruits,
new as well as old,
    which I have laid up for you, O my beloved. – Song of Solomon 7:1-13 ESV

There is no reference to time in this passage but it would appear that Solomon and his bride have moved beyond the innocent days of marital bliss that surrounded their wedding night into a more substantive relationship in which their attraction for one another has deepened and matured. Their strong sexual desires have not diminished over time but have only grown stronger. They are no less verbose and over-the-top in their descriptions of one another’s bodies but there is a sense in which their words convey a more rich and satisfying love that goes well beyond mere physical attraction.

As he has done before, Solomon waxes eloquently about his wife’s physical attributes, making his way from her feet all the way to the top of her head. While his intimate description of his wife’s body can be a bit off-putting to the reader, it is balanced by his rather strange choice of imagery to convey his point. He describes her belly as “a heap of wheat, encircled with lilies” (Song of Solomon 7:2 ESV). In his eyes, her nose is like “a tower of Lebanon” (Song of Solomon 7:4 ESV). Her breasts are like the clusters of a stately palm tree (Song of Solomon 7:7 ESV).

These lovingly worded descriptions, while well-intentioned and backed by a deep affection for his wife, conjure up an image that only Salvador Dali or Picasso could put on canvas. Frankly, his choice of words paints an appalling rather than appealing image of his beloved. She comes across as some kind of Frankenstein-like monstrosity that is anything but attractive or inviting.

But we know by now that both Solomon and his bride are prone to an overuse of hyperbole and metaphors. He means well and what he says makes all the sense in the world to him. They say love is blind and this just might be an example of that truism. It’s not that Solomon’s wife was unattractive but that he was viewing her through eyes that looked far beneath the surface. He found this woman captivating – both inside and out – and all he can say is, “Oh, how beautiful you are!” (Song of Solomon 7:6 NLT).

The imagery sugggests intimacy and love-making. He is not only admiring her inner and outer beauty, he is relishing the physical pleasure she brings him. Their relationship is a complete package that satisfies all his longings.

“Whereas the wedding night focused on the purpose of sex as the consummation of marriage, this night focuses on the purpose of sex as the nourishment of marriage… As they fell asleep the last kiss lingered in each other’s minds like the aftertaste of good wine. What an enchanting picture of the sleeping couple!” – S. Craig Glickman, A Song for Lovers

The closing verses of this chapter appear to be from the lips of Solomon’s adoring bride. She has heard his words and is responding with an invitation to join her on a day-trip to the country where they will will enjoy one another’s company. But she tops it off with a not-so-veiled promise of a night of love-making.

Come, my love, let us go out to the fields
    and spend the night among the wildflowers.
Let us get up early and go to the vineyards
    to see if the grapevines have budded,
if the blossoms have opened,
    and if the pomegranates have bloomed.
    There I will give you my love. – Song of Solomon 7:11-12 NLT

This is quite a departure from her earlier refusal to open to him the door to her chamber because she was ready to go to bed. She is now inviting him on an unplanned excursion into the countryside that will feature an unexpected but not undesirable ending.

To a certain degree, this chapter illustrates the concept of keeping the spark alive in a marriage. Spontaneity and surprise can go a long way in maintaining the vibrancy of a relationship that has grown stale or stagnant. A healthy growing marriage requires work and a bit of ingenuity. There is no place for the status quo or business as usual. Predictability and routine have their place but can end up sucking the life out of a relationship. This woman was willing to operate outside the normal boundaries of daily life just to ensure that her husband didn’t lose interest or take her for granted. And that street goes both ways.

The apostle Paul gave couples who were members of the church in Corinth the following advice about sex in marriage:

The husband should fulfill his wife’s sexual needs, and the wife should fulfill her husband’s needs. The wife gives authority over her body to her husband, and the husband gives authority over his body to his wife. Do not deprive each other of sexual relations… – 1 Corinthians 7:3-5 NLT

Whether we want to admit it or not, sex is a significant part of the marriage relationship, and it doesn’t necessarily diminish over time. Busyness and self-centeredness can force a couple to put their sexual relationship on the back burner, where it can languish for long periods of time. This can lead to resentment, disappointment, anger, hurt, feelings of rejection, and, ultimately, the temptation to seek satisfaction outside the bounds of the marriage.

As Solomon and his wife aged and their marriage matured, they were going to remain diligent and determined to protect the physical dimension of their relationship. Over time, the call to procreate would be replaced with the invitation to appreciate the wonderful nature of human sexuality within the bonds of matrimony. It is a gift from God and is meant to be enjoyed for a lifetime.

More Than Skin Deep

February 28, 2024 / kdmiller55 / Leave a comment

She

¹²While the king was on his couch,
    my nard gave forth its fragrance.
¹³My beloved is to me a sachet of myrrh
    that lies between my breasts.
¹⁴My beloved is to me a cluster of henna blossoms
    in the vineyards of Engedi.

¹⁵Behold, you are beautiful, my love;
behold, you are beautiful;
your eyes are doves.

She

¹⁶Behold, you are beautiful, my beloved, truly delightful.
Our couch is green;
¹⁷ the beams of our house are cedar;
our rafters are pine. – Song of Solomon 1:12-17 ESV

There is much debate as to whether this poem is in chronological order or if it is a collection of smaller poems that fail to share a common time sequence. If they are meant to follow one another in sequential order, there appear to be some fairly large gaps in the narrative. The dialogue seems to take a fast leap forward between the first 11 verses of chapter one and the remaining six verses.

The relationship between the two lovers deepens in significance and their rhetoric intensifies, describing what seems to suggest is a much more physical and intimate aspect of their growing love for one another. The young Shulammite maiden describes seeing her lover reclining on his dining couch. As she gazes at him she can’t help but feel a deep attraction to him, comparing him to the fragrant blossoms of the henna plant found in the vineyards of Engeddi.

She reveals her hope that the attraction between them is mutual and that her perfume is having its desired effect. She has adorned herself with a necklace featuring a sachet of aromatic myrrh that hands strategically between her breasts. All of this language suggests that she was trying to seduce her lover. She has spared no expense, having anointed her body with costly nard, a fragrant oil that would have filled the room in which they sat. This is the same type of oil that was used to anoint the head of Jesus.

And while he [Jesus] was at Bethany in the house of Simon the leper, as he was reclining at table, a woman came with an alabaster flask of ointment of pure nard, very costly, and she broke the flask and poured it over his head. There were some who said to themselves indignantly, “Why was the ointment wasted like that? For this ointment could have been sold for more than three hundred denarii and given to the poor.” – Mark 14:3-5 ESV

This young woman has gone to great expense to gain the attention of her beloved and her efforts produced the intended result. Despite the strategically placed necklace and the aromatic perfume, his gaze is drawn to her eyes.

“How beautiful you are, my darling,
how beautiful!
Your eyes are like doves.” – Song of Solomon 1:15 NLT

They say the eyes are the window to the soul. Looking into someone’s eyes can reveal a lot about their character and their intentions. Jesus described them as lamps that provide light for the body. In a sense, they are portals that control what enters into your heart and reveal its condition to all those around you.

“Your eye is like a lamp that provides light for your body. When your eye is healthy, your whole body is filled with light. But when your eye is unhealthy, your whole body is filled with darkness. And if the light you think you have is actually darkness, how deep that darkness is!” – Matthew 6:22-23 NLT

In praising the beauty of her eyes, Solomon is looking beneath the surface and complimenting her inner character; she is beautiful inside and out. She has adorned herself with jewelry and expensive perfume, but his gaze is attracted to that which lies within. It is not unlike the earlier compliment she gave to him.

“…your name is like the spreading fragrance of scented oils…” – Song of Solomon 1:3 NLT

His name, which is synonymous with his character, is like a well-pleasing aroma that follows him wherever he goes. In other words, his reputation precedes him, but in a good way. There is little doubt that this couple shares a mutual attraction to one another but it is more than skin deep. Their emphasis on one another’s inner character is refreshing and provides a wonderful glimpse into a missing ingredient in many relationships today. With our modern-day obsession with externals, it is so easy to overlook the condition of the heart. Social media allows us to create the perfect persona by providing a means of carefully curating only those images that reflect our preferred identity. Few people post unflattering images of themselves online. The increasing availability of software that can enhance or dramatically alter our visage makes it possible to portray ourselves in a way that is more wishful thinking than reality.

Yet, this couple was anything but lovestruck and blinded by passion. They appear to be fully aware of each other’s inner qualities and that knowledge only enhanced their love for one another.

But there is little doubt that this young woman was infatuated with her lover’s outer appearance. She makes that point embarrassingly clear when she states, “You are so handsome, my love, pleasing beyond words!” (Song of Solomon 1:16 NLT). He was good-looking as well as being of good character, and those two traits made him all the more appealing to her. The old adage, “Love is blind,” is meant to convey the idea that outer beauty is not the only factor considered when two people fall in love. There is far more to the equation than simply good looks, and yet, it never hurts to fall in love with someone who is easy on the eyes. That is clearly the case with her beloved.

Just being out in nature with her significant other brings her great joy and pleasure. She describes the great outdoors as if it is their private sanctuary.

“The soft grass is our bed;
fragrant cedar branches are the beams of our house,
and pleasant smelling firs are the rafters.” – Song of Solomon 1:17 NLT

This should not be taken as a description of sexual intercourse or an inference that this couple was involved in any kind of immorality. She simply describes a carefree afternoon with the love of her life as they share the beauty of God’s creation and one another’s company. Just being together brought her great joy. While they were not yet married and didn’t share a home together, they were able to turn every moment into an opportunity to live as if they were already one.

This relationship was being built on a foundation of mutual respect, shared admiration, unwavering love, and a commitment to the long haul. They were in this for the duration, and while their words reflect a somewhat innocent and inexperienced outlook on love, it is clear that there is more to this relationship than meets the eye.

Love Beyond Degree

February 27, 2024 / kdmiller55 / Leave a comment

The Bride Confesses Her Love

She

²Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth!
For your love is better than wine;
³    your anointing oils are fragrant;
your name is oil poured out;
    therefore virgins love you.
⁴Draw me after you; let us run.
    The king has brought me into his chambers.

Others

We will exult and rejoice in you;
we will extol your love more than wine;
rightly do they love you.

She

⁵I am very dark, but lovely,
    O daughters of Jerusalem,
like the tents of Kedar,
    like the curtains of Solomon.
⁶Do not gaze at me because I am dark,
    because the sun has looked upon me.
My mother’s sons were angry with me;
    they made me keeper of the vineyards,
    but my own vineyard I have not kept!
⁷Tell me, you whom my soul loves,
    where you pasture your flock,
    where you make it lie down at noon;
for why should I be like one who veils herself
    beside the flocks of your companions?

Solomon and His Bride Delight in Each Other

⁸If you do not know,
    O most beautiful among women,
follow in the tracks of the flock,
    and pasture your young goats
    beside the shepherds’ tents.

⁹I compare you, my love,
to a mare among Pharaoh’s chariots.
¹⁰Your cheeks are lovely with ornaments,
your neck with strings of jewels.

Others

¹¹We will make for you ornaments of gold,
studded with silver. – Song of Solomon 1:2-11 ESV

For many, this is a controversial book because of its somewhat lurid and scandalous content. Some think it has no place in the canon of Scripture. Even Origen of Alexandria, an early Christian scholar, ascetic, and theologian, had reservations about the book and its content.

“I advise and counsel everyone who is not yet rid of vexations of the flesh and blood, and has not ceased to feel the passions of this bodily nature, to refrain from reading the book and the things that will be said about it.” – Origen (c.185-c.254)

The book opens with the statement, “The Song of Songs, which is Solomon’s” (Song of Solomon 1:1 ESV). This would seem to indicate that what follows is from the pen of the great king of Israel, Solomon the son of David. Renowned as a poet, Solomon penned more than 1,005 songs or poems (1 King 4;32), and this one is considered to be one of his best. Some view it as a single poem, while others argue it is a collection of similar but distinctive poetic musings. But few would disagree that this lengthy sonnet is an intimate exchange of affectionate words between two lovers.

To make the text easier to read, the translators of the English Standard Version provided helpful descriptors that determine who is speaking at any given moment. Without them, it would be quite difficult to determine the exact identity of the speakers.

The text opens with a word from the young Shulamite maiden, who expresses her deep affection and desire for the man of her dreams. She invites him to embrace and kiss her over and over again because his love is “sweeter than wine” (Song of Solomon 1:2 NLT). Reading this text can be more than a bit uncomfortable because it’s like reading a letter that was not meant for your eyes. This is intimate stuff that leaves the reader feeling awkward; as if they are overhearing a private conversation. The very language of these verses is intended to convey the idea that the speakers are unaware that their words are being read by an unseen audience. The young woman shows no signs of reservation or embarrassment. Her love drives her choice of words and they are meant to reflect her deep and abiding affection for the man of her dreams.

The Shulamite maiden may be young but she is anything but shy. Her words are almost brazen in nature, reflecting a boldness that borders on shamelessness. She describes his love for her as more intoxicating than wine; leaving her mental faculties compromised as if she is no longer in control of her senses. These are the words of a woman who is more than in love; she is infatuated.

She even lets her lover know that the mere scent of him drives her crazy. His anointing oils make her head swoon. But more important than the smell of his cologne is the character of his name.

“…your name is like the spreading fragrance of scented oils.” – Song of Solomon 1:3 NLT

In essence, she’s saying that he has a “sweet-smelling” reputation. In fact, this young man is so well thought of that all the other young maidens are jealous of her relationship with him. This man wasn’t just good-looking; he had a good reputation. He was the complete package; handsome, loving, and a well-respected member of society. This guy was from superficial or an empty suit. He was the real deal with a quality of character that more than matched his outer appearance.

In verse four, the maiden expresses her deep desire for her lover to seize the initiative and take her away. She wants him to make the next move and reveal his love for her through action. She reveals her admiration for him by referring to him as her king.

Verse four could be translated, “O king, bring me into your chambers!” She is anxious to consummate the relationship and is unashamed to admit it. But she knows that the two of them must follow societal customs and protocols. Her lover needed to be the one to take the next step in their relationship. But she wasn’t above providing a bit of enthusiastic encouragement.

But her words are interrupted by a response from the other maidens in the community. They have been listening and watching, and now express their joy over the prospect of her marriage to this one-of-a-kind find.

“How happy we are for you, O king.
We praise your love even more than wine.” – Song of Solomon 1:4 NLT

They address their excited words of congratulations to Solomon, the king, and echo the words of the Shulamite maiden in praising the superiority of his love. There is a sense in which these young women are eager to see what happens with this match made in heaven. Rather than jealousy, these maidens exhibit joy and excitement at the good fortune of their friend.

In verses 5-8, the young maiden responds to the kind words of her peers, but in doing so, she reveals her own struggle with a low sense of self-worth. She describes her skin as being dark in appearance, a trait she believes to be unattractive for the future wife of a king.

“I am dark but beautiful,
    O women of Jerusalem—
dark as the tents of Kedar,
    dark as the curtains of Solomon’s tents.
Don’t stare at me because I am dark—
    the sun has darkened my skin.” – Song of Solomon 1;5-6 NLT

She recognizes her own natural beauty but fears that her long days spent caring for her brothers’ vineyards in the hot Middle Eastern sun, had left her skin uncharacteristically darkened. It appears that her brothers forced her to serve as their own personal slave, tending their grapes while having to neglect her own “vineyard” or body. She is deeply in love but questions her own attractiveness and worthiness to be loved by the king.

But her love for him makes her long to be in his presence. She lets him know that she desires to be where he pastures his flocks. This description of the king as a shepherd was common in that day, as they believed the sovereign was responsible for caring for the flock of God. In a rather obscure statement, the maiden expresses her reluctance to “be like one who veils herself” (Song of Solomon 1:7 ESV). This is most likely a reference to the actions of a prostitute. In that day, it was common for women of ill repute to cover their faces so their true identity could be hidden from the general public. This young love-struck woman is anxious to see her lover but doesn’t want to chase after him and be mistaken as a “loose woman.” So, she asks for the best time of day to meet with him; at a time that would guarantee their union without a lot of prying eyes.

Her beloved responds with an invitation for her to “follow in the tracks of the flock” (Song of Solomon 1:8 ESV). She will find it easy to discover his location by simply looking for the fruits of his labor. He describes himself as a shepherd by cares for all those under his care. Wherever the “flock” of his kingdom is enjoying the blessings of his leadership, she will find him.

Anxious to see this beautiful young maiden, the king vocalizes his admiration for and attraction to her beauty.

“You are as exciting, my darling,
    as a mare among Pharaoh’s stallions.
How lovely are your cheeks;
    your earrings set them afire!
How lovely is your neck,
    enhanced by a string of jewels.” – Song of Solomon 1:9-10 NLT

He is equally taken by her beauty as she is by his and makes it clear that he is not alone; other men (Pharaoh’s stallions) share his admiration. This rather crass-sounding statement is intended to let her know that her beauty has attracted the eyes of many men, and he counts himself lucky to be the one she longs to be with.

To this declaration of his affection and infatuation, the other maidens share their intent to provide gifts to further accentuate her natural beauty.

“We will make for you earrings of gold
and beads of silver.” – Song of Solomon 1:11

They are willing to provide the earrings and necklace that the king will reward to his future wife; their willing gift to help seal the deal between these two young lovers.

This entire section is designed to describe the depth of love shared between the king and the Shulamite maiden. They are young and in love and their affection for one another is difficult to hide or contain. This mutual love is unbridled and almost impossible to contain. It provides a wonderful illustration of the kind of love that God had for the people of Israel and that which Christ shared with His bride, the Church. But that same selfless love should be met with a reciprocal passion from the heart of the one upon whom that love is poured out. These two young people are meant to be a vivid illustration of the love between the Almighty and His people. They are unashamed and unwilling to hide their love for one another and understand the one-of-a-kind nature of their God-ordained affection.

Love on God’s Terms

February 26, 2024February 26, 2024 / kdmiller55 / Leave a comment

The Song of Songs, which is Solomon’s. – Song of Solomon 1:1 ESV

This is probably one of the most hotly debated books in the Bible. The interpretations of its meaning are countless and questions regarding its purpose are endless. Some see it as an allegory that carries deeper spiritual meaning. Others read it as an actual autobiographical story featuring events from the life of Solomon himself.

There is little debate that it is a love poem. That is clear from a cursory reading of its eight short chapters. But why is it in the Bible? If all Scripture is profitable for teaching, reproof, and training in righteousness, why is this book included? What is it attempting to teach us? As I read through it this morning I was struck by how many times it caused me to reflect on the love of God. It seems to reveal the kind of love God has for His people and that He longs for them to have for Him. It is the same kind of love that Christ has for His bride, the Church, and that He desires to receive in return. Finally, it is the kind of love that any husband should feel for his wife and she willingly returns to Him.

It is indeed a book about love. Whether it is about real people and real events, I can’t say. But it is about love; a faithful, eyes-for-you-only kind of love that God illustrates in His love for those He calls His own. It is the kind of love that caused Christ to take on human flesh and die a sinner’s death in our place on the cross. This kind of love is selfless and sacrificial. It is passionate and powerful. It is intimate and intense. I can’t help but read this book and be reminded of the Father’s love for me. I am blown away by how Christ expresses His love for me each and every day. God the Father and God the Son call out to me daily, longing to have a love relationship with me that is two-way, not one-way. But so often I am more than willing to accept their love but refuse to return it.

The Song of Solomon shows love that is given and received. Neither character can live without the other. There is a level of infatuation in the poem that will leave the reader a bit embarrassed. The dialogue between the two anonymous lovers are syrupy and saccharine. They almost feel a little bit over the top and uncomfortable to read – like you’re looking at someone’s private love letters. But the love expressed here is genuine and sincere. It is intimate and personal. There is a sense of infatuation and focused quality behind the love expressed in these eight chapters that reflect the way we are loved by God and how we should return that love to Him.

Yet, the book doesn’t mention the name of God a single time. His name is nowhere to be found but His presence is unmistakingly felt as one considers the deep and abiding nature of the love described on the book’s pages.

“God’s name is absent from the entire setting. But who would deny that his presence is strongly felt? From whom come such purity and passion? Whose creative touch can ignite hearts and bodies with such a capacity to bring unsullied delight to another? Who kindled the senses that savor every sight, touch, scent, taste, and sound of a loved one? Whose very character is comprised of the love that is the central subject of the Song? None of this is to allegorize either the minute details or the main sense of the book. It is about human love at its best. But behind it, above it, and through it, the Song, as part of the divinely ordered repertoire of Scripture, is a paean of praise to the Lord of creation who makes possible such exquisite love and to the Lord of redemption who demonstrated love’s fullness on a cross.” – David A. Hubbard, Ecclesiastes, Song of Solomon

In terms of the authorship of the book, the debate has been long and intense and continues to this day. Due to the number of times Solomon’s name is mentioned in the poem, many have concluded that he is its author. Others have ruled him out because of his well-chronicled practice of polygamy. The Book of 1 Kings details Solomon’s over-the-top love affair with the opposite sex by revealing that at one time his harem consisted of 700 wives and 300 concubines (1 Kings 11:3). This unbridled predilection for the opposite sex would end up driving a wedge between Solomon and his God because it was in direct violation of the will of God. This prohibition against kings accumulating wives for themselves had been given long before Israel had a king.

The king must not take many wives for himself, because they will turn his heart away from the LORD. – Deuteronomy 17:17 NLT

Yet, Solomon ignored God’s command, in a big way. The Book of 1 Kings elaborates on the egregious nature of Solomon’s disobedience.

Now King Solomon loved many foreign women, along with the daughter of Pharaoh: Moabite, Ammonite, Edomite, Sidonian, and Hittite women, from the nations concerning which the Lord had said to the people of Israel, “You shall not enter into marriage with them, neither shall they with you, for surely they will turn away your heart after their gods.” Solomon clung to these in love. He had 700 wives, who were princesses, and 300 concubines. And his wives turned away his heart. For when Solomon was old his wives turned away his heart after other gods, and his heart was not wholly true to the Lord his God, as was the heart of David his father. For Solomon went after Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians, and after Milcom the abomination of the Ammonites. So Solomon did what was evil in the sight of the Lord and did not wholly follow the Lord, as David his father had done. – 1 Kings 11:1-6 ESV

Some scholars argue that Solomon could have written this poem earlier in his life, long before his penchant for accumulating wives got the better of him. According to the Book of Ecclesiastes, also attributed to Solomon, the latter years of his life were marked by an obsessive-compulsive need to hoard.

I bought male and female slaves, and had slaves who were born in my house. I had also great possessions of herds and flocks, more than any who had been before me in Jerusalem. I also gathered for myself silver and gold and the treasure of kings and provinces. I got singers, both men and women, and many concubines, the delight of the sons of man. – Ecclesiastes 2:7-8 ESV

This less-than-flattering self-disclosure has led many scholars to reject Solomon as the author of the Book of the Song Solomon. Others get around Solomon’s sexual indiscretions by assuming he wrote this epic poem earlier in life, long before old age and affluence damaged his reasoning and tarnished his reputation.

While the debate about authorship continues unabated, another unresolved conflict concerns how this book should be interpreted. Over the years, a majority of commentators and biblical scholars have argued that its content is meant to be read allegorically. Yet, there is nothing in the book’s content that suggests this is the appropriate interpretative model. It is presented as a series of love poems between Solomon and a woman who is identified as Shulamite.

Return, return, O Shulammite,
return, return, that we may look upon you.

Why should you look upon the Shulammite,
as upon a dance before two armies? – Song of Solomon 6:13 ESV

The term “Shulamite” is believed to be derived from the Hebrew word, shulammit, which can be translated as “woman of Jerusalem.” Once again, there has been much debate as to the exact identity of this woman, but no one can deny that she plays a significant role in the poem.

It seems best to take a literal approach when interpreting this book, treating the characters and the content as historical and not figurative. This approach does not eliminate the typological nature of the book. The two individuals whose deep love for one another is on display throughout the book are intended to illustrate something far greater than the relationship between two infatuated lovers. Over the years, scholars have speculated that the content of this book is meant to illustrate the love of Yahweh for the people of Israel. Others have determined that the two characters represent Jesus and His bride, the Church.

“The shepherd is a picture of Christ, that great Shepherd of the sheep. The Shulamite mirrors the Church or the individual believer devoted to Him. Solomon represents the prince of this world armed with all worldly pomp, power, and magnificence. The court women are those who admire him and who look askance at those who turn their backs upon the world, its system, and all that it has to offer in favor of an absent and, to them, unknown Beloved.” – John Phillips, Exploring the Song of Solomon

The one thing that is not up for debate is that this is a love story. The words exchanged between the two characters are intimate and unabashedly intense. Reading the dialogue can feel awkward and intrusive. It is like listening in on a private phone call between a husband and his wife. But the unashamed openness of the two lovers is meant to convey a degree of love and desire that borders on the obsessive. Their shockingly candid expressions of love are intended to make the reader blush but are also meant to stir up a desire to experience such unbridled desire for another.

The intimate language found in this book will be offputting to some. They will find it too strong and inappropriate for consumption. But if God divinely inspired its content, then this book is also “profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness” (2 Timothy:16 ESV). May we read it with eyes wide open and our hearts prepared to hear what God has to teach about love – love between a woman and a man, and love between a God and His people.

Cleansing Is Always the Key to Blessing

February 21, 2024 / kdmiller55 / Leave a comment

¹These are the stages of the people of Israel, when they went out of the land of Egypt by their companies under the leadership of Moses and Aaron. ²Moses wrote down their starting places, stage by stage, by command of the Lord, and these are their stages according to their starting places. ³They set out from Rameses in the first month, on the fifteenth day of the first month. On the day after the Passover, the people of Israel went out triumphantly in the sight of all the Egyptians, ⁴while the Egyptians were burying all their firstborn, whom the Lord had struck down among them. On their gods also the Lord executed judgments.

⁵So the people of Israel set out from Rameses and camped at Succoth. ⁶And they set out from Succoth and camped at Etham, which is on the edge of the wilderness. ⁷And they set out from Etham and turned back to Pi-hahiroth, which is east of Baal-zephon, and they camped before Migdol. ⁸And they set out from before Hahiroth and passed through the midst of the sea into the wilderness, and they went a three days’ journey in the wilderness of Etham and camped at Marah. ⁹And they set out from Marah and came to Elim; at Elim there were twelve springs of water and seventy palm trees, and they camped there. ¹⁰And they set out from Elim and camped by the Red Sea. ¹¹And they set out from the Red Sea and camped in the wilderness of Sin. ¹²And they set out from the wilderness of Sin and camped at Dophkah. ¹³And they set out from Dophkah and camped at Alush. ¹⁴And they set out from Alush and camped at Rephidim, where there was no water for the people to drink. ¹⁵And they set out from Rephidim and camped in the wilderness of Sinai. ¹⁶And they set out from the wilderness of Sinai and camped at Kibroth-hattaavah. ¹⁷And they set out from Kibroth-hattaavah and camped at Hazeroth. ¹⁸And they set out from Hazeroth and camped at Rithmah. ¹⁹And they set out from Rithmah and camped at Rimmon-perez. ²⁰And they set out from Rimmon-perez and camped at Libnah. ²¹And they set out from Libnah and camped at Rissah. ²²And they set out from Rissah and camped at Kehelathah. ²³And they set out from Kehelathah and camped at Mount Shepher. ²⁴And they set out from Mount Shepher and camped at Haradah. ²⁵And they set out from Haradah and camped at Makheloth. ²⁶And they set out from Makheloth and camped at Tahath. ²⁷And they set out from Tahath and camped at Terah. ²⁸And they set out from Terah and camped at Mithkah. ²⁹And they set out from Mithkah and camped at Hashmonah. ³⁰And they set out from Hashmonah and camped at Moseroth. ³¹And they set out from Moseroth and camped at Bene-jaakan. ³²And they set out from Bene-jaakan and camped at Hor-haggidgad. ³³And they set out from Hor-haggidgad and camped at Jotbathah. ³⁴And they set out from Jotbathah and camped at Abronah. ³⁵And they set out from Abronah and camped at Ezion-geber. ³⁶And they set out from Ezion-geber and camped in the wilderness of Zin (that is, Kadesh). ³⁷And they set out from Kadesh and camped at Mount Hor, on the edge of the land of Edom.

³⁸And Aaron the priest went up Mount Hor at the command of the Lord and died there, in the fortieth year after the people of Israel had come out of the land of Egypt, on the first day of the fifth month. ³⁹And Aaron was 123 years old when he died on Mount Hor.

⁴⁰And the Canaanite, the king of Arad, who lived in the Negeb in the land of Canaan, heard of the coming of the people of Israel.

⁴¹And they set out from Mount Hor and camped at Zalmonah. ⁴²And they set out from Zalmonah and camped at Punon. ⁴³And they set out from Punon and camped at Oboth. ⁴⁴And they set out from Oboth and camped at Iye-abarim, in the territory of Moab. ⁴⁵And they set out from Iyim and camped at Dibon-gad. ⁴⁶And they set out from Dibon-gad and camped at Almon-diblathaim. ⁴⁷And they set out from Almon-diblathaim and camped in the mountains of Abarim, before Nebo. ⁴⁸And they set out from the mountains of Abarim and camped in the plains of Moab by the Jordan at Jericho; ⁴⁹they camped by the Jordan from Beth-jeshimoth as far as Abel-shittim in the plains of Moab.

⁵⁰And the Lord spoke to Moses in the plains of Moab by the Jordan at Jericho, saying, ⁵¹“Speak to the people of Israel and say to them, When you pass over the Jordan into the land of Canaan, ⁵²then you shall drive out all the inhabitants of the land from before you and destroy all their figured stones and destroy all their metal images and demolish all their high places. ⁵³And you shall take possession of the land and settle in it, for I have given the land to you to possess it. ⁵⁴You shall inherit the land by lot according to your clans. To a large tribe you shall give a large inheritance, and to a small tribe you shall give a small inheritance. Wherever the lot falls for anyone, that shall be his. According to the tribes of your fathers you shall inherit. ⁵⁵But if you do not drive out the inhabitants of the land from before you, then those of them whom you let remain shall be as barbs in your eyes and thorns in your sides, and they shall trouble you in the land where you dwell. ⁵⁶And I will do to you as I thought to do to them.” – Numbers 33:1-56 ESV

After doing to rapid-fire recounting of Israel’s trek from Egypt to the banks of the Jordan River, Moses prepares the people of God for their next big task. They are almost at the end of their four-decade-long journey, but they are far from done. After more than 40 years in the wilderness, they stand on the eastern bank of the Jordan River waiting for God’s command to cross over and begin their conquest and occupation of the land of promise. The day they had long been waiting for had finally arrived. There had been a lengthy delay, but now it was time to enjoy what God had promised so long ago.

But as with most things associated with God, the blessing was tied to a requirement. He had one last instruction to give them before they took possession of the land, and it was a fairly significant one. They must drive out all the people who were living there. On top of that, they had to destroy all the idols and pagan shrines erected to the gods of the land. They were to smash every vestige of idol worship they found. In other words, God expected them to clean up before they settled down.

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 as he had been 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.”

As far as God’s command to rid the land of all its occupants, Satan probably did his best to convince the Israelites just how politically incorrect and insensitive this might appear to the rest of the people in the region. They probably thought to themselves, “We don’t want to get off on the wrong foot with our new neighbors, do we?”

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 was not a suggestion, but a command. God expected them to follow His requirements without delay or deviation. He had a good reason for what He was asking them to do, and He knew exactly what would happen if they chose to disobey Him. If the Israelites failed to remove the land’s occupants, their enemies would become a constant threat and a thorn in their side. They would never learn to live amicably together. So, cleansing was critical for spiritual survival.

In his commentary on the Book of Numbers, Dr. Thomas Constable writes, “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 purify the land spiritually and make it holy. That reminds me of what God wants to do with my life. He wants to clean it up spiritually and set it apart for His use. He is about removing anything in my life that might defile or defeat me. In essence, He wants to clean house.

But I tend to hang on to certain remnants of my past. I want to give the enemy some footholds in my life where he can live in peace. I want to maintain some of the idols that were there before God came to occupy the land because I find them 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 were going to have to obey God fully. The same thing is true for us today. To enjoy all the blessings our 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 was looking for a change in the lives of the Israelites. He wanted to purge and purify them, and that process began with a thorough cleansing of the land. His desire was to rid the landscape of their lives of any and all vestiges of the past.

Like the Israelites, we must take our set-apart status seriously. We must remove all the idols and false gods that might draw us away from full reliance upon Him. 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 the false gods of our former life. Cleansing is always the key to blessing.

Refusing to Do God’s Will God’s Way

February 20, 2024 / kdmiller55 / Leave a comment

²⁸So Moses gave command concerning them to Eleazar the priest and to Joshua the son of Nun and to the heads of the fathers’ houses of the tribes of the people of Israel. ²⁹And Moses said to them, “If the people of Gad and the people of Reuben, every man who is armed to battle before the Lord, will pass with you over the Jordan and the land shall be subdued before you, then you shall give them the land of Gilead for a possession. ³⁰However, if they will not pass over with you armed, they shall have possessions among you in the land of Canaan.” ³¹And the people of Gad and the people of Reuben answered, “What the Lord has said to your servants, we will do. ³²We will pass over armed before the Lord into the land of Canaan, and the possession of our inheritance shall remain with us beyond the Jordan.”

³³And Moses gave to them, to the people of Gad and to the people of Reuben and to the half-tribe of Manasseh the son of Joseph, the kingdom of Sihon king of the Amorites and the kingdom of Og king of Bashan, the land and its cities with their territories, the cities of the land throughout the country. ³⁴And the people of Gad built Dibon, Ataroth, Aroer, ³⁵Atroth-shophan, Jazer, Jogbehah, ³⁶Beth-nimrah and Beth-haran, fortified cities, and folds for sheep. ³⁷And the people of Reuben built Heshbon, Elealeh, Kiriathaim, ³⁸Nebo, and Baal-meon (their names were changed), and Sibmah. And they gave other names to the cities that they built. ³⁹And the sons of Machir the son of Manasseh went to Gilead and captured it, and dispossessed the Amorites who were in it. ⁴⁰And Moses gave Gilead to Machir the son of Manasseh, and he settled in it. ⁴¹And Jair the son of Manasseh went and captured their villages, and called them Havvoth-jair. ⁴²And Nobah went and captured Kenath and its villages, and called it Nobah, after his own name. – Numbers 32:28-42 ESV

After listening to the proposal from the tribes of Gad and Reuben, Moses agreed to allow them to settle in land on the eastern side of the Jordan River, just outside the borders of Canaan. But he required them to swear an oath of fealty to the ten remaining tribes, agreeing to assist them in their conquest of the land of Canaan.

Moses then communicated the terms of the agreement to all the tribes of Israel, ensuring that everyone understood what was expected and what was to be done if those terms were not met. He wanted there to be no confusion or disagreement as to what this concession entailed for both parties.

“The men of Gad and Reuben who are armed for battle must cross the Jordan with you to fight for the Lord. If they do, give them the land of Gilead as their property when the land is conquered. But if they refuse to arm themselves and cross over with you, then they must accept land with the rest of you in the land of Canaan.” – Numbers 32:29-30 NLT

Notice that the terms of the agreement included the full participation of the Gadites and Reubenites until the land of Canaan was fully conquered. This would not be a short-term commitment that entailed a single battle or a few short weeks of military service; the two tribes were obligated to fight alongside their brothers for the foreseeable future. These two tribes were committing a sizeable number of their male population to fight for land that they would never occupy. In fact, the census Moses had taken revealed that between the tribes of Gad and Reuben, they fielded 84,230 soldiers. That comprised 14 percent of the entire Israelite force. So, their involvement in the conquest of Canaan would be vitally necessary to Israel’s success.

The two tribes committed themselves to the terms of the agreement, assuring Moses and the rest of the leaders that they would follow through on their part of the agreement.

“We are your servants, and we will do as the Lord has commanded! We will cross the Jordan into Canaan fully armed to fight for the Lord, but our property will be here on this side of the Jordan.” – Numbers 32:31-32 NLT

For however long it took, the Gadites and Reubenites would fight alongside their brothers and help ensure that every one of the ten tribes had successfully conquered and occupied their portion of the inheritance. That was a huge commitment on their part.

At this point in the narrative, it becomes clear that there was a third tribe that decided to get in on the action. This was the tribe of Manasseh, one of the two sons of Joseph.

So Moses assigned land to the tribes of Gad, Reuben, and half the tribe of Manasseh son of Joseph. He gave them the territory of King Sihon of the Amorites and the land of King Og of Bashan—the whole land with its cities and surrounding lands. – Numbers 32:33 NLT

Half of this tribe also decided to take advantage of the prime real estate on the eastern side of the Jordan River, and Moses gave them his approval.

The rest of the chapter outlines how the three tribes began their conquest of the area known as the Transjordan. Long before the Israelites crossed over the Jordan River and began to do battle with the Canaanites, the tribes of Gad, Reuben, and Manasseh were gaining invaluable fighting experience against the enemies of Israel. The battles they undertook east of the Jordan would provide them with much-needed expertise in warfare strategy. It seems likely that their fellow Israelites assisted in many of these battles, assuring that the three tribes were able to capture and occupy enough land to meet the needs of their people.

God was sovereignly preparing the entire nation to enter the land of promise and carry out His divine plan. By the time came for them to cross the Jordan and conduct their first military campaign, they would have the confidence and experience they needed to succeed.

However, it is important to note that the plan of these three tribes to occupy the Transjordan was not what God had intended. Interestingly enough, Got had promised Abraham that this very region would one day belong to his descendants.

On that day the Lord made a covenant with Abram, saying, “To your offspring I give this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the river Euphrates, the land of the Kenites, the Kenizzites, the Kadmonites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Rephaim, the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Girgashites and the Jebusites.” – Genesis 15:18-21 ESV

God had given His word that the future territory of His chosen people would be vast and encompass land all the way to the Euphrates River. But God’s instructions to Moses were to conquer the land west of the Jordan River. That was to be the initial portion of the inheritance God would give to His people. By demanding a share of the land east of the Jordan, the three tribes were demanding that God act according to their terms and timeline. While Yahweh had demanded that all 12 tribes conquer and occupy the land of the Canaanites, these three tribes decided that they knew better. It is impossible to say what would have happened had the tribes of Gad, Reuben, and Manasseh never made their request. How would the outcome have differed if they had been willing to accept God’s original terms and trusted His gracious gift of land in Canaan?

This episode in the long history of Israel’s tenure in the land of Canaan is just one more example of God’s patience with His people’s stubbornness and ongoing resistance to His will. Their decision to occupy the land east of the Jordan was not against His revealed will but it was in conflict with His timing. Had they waited and willingly obeyed God’s directive, the entire region promised to Abraham would have eventually come under the possession of Israel. But as the story continues and the roller-coaster history of the Israelites unfolds, it will become increasingly clear that disobedience and unfaithfulness will darken any hopes of God’s people enjoying all that He had planned for them. Even the battle for the land of Canaan would be hard-fought, and their attempts to expel the land’s occupants would be unsuccessful and incomplete.

The land deal east of Jordan would prove to be just one more sign of Israel’s unwillingness to trust God and walk according to His will.

The Grass Is Always Greener…

February 19, 2024 / kdmiller55 / Leave a comment

¹Now the people of Reuben and the people of Gad had a very great number of livestock. And they saw the land of Jazer and the land of Gilead, and behold, the place was a place for livestock. ²So the people of Gad and the people of Reuben came and said to Moses and to Eleazar the priest and to the chiefs of the congregation, ³“Ataroth, Dibon, Jazer, Nimrah, Heshbon, Elealeh, Sebam, Nebo, and Beon, ⁴the land that the Lord struck down before the congregation of Israel, is a land for livestock, and your servants have livestock.” ⁵And they said, “If we have found favor in your sight, let this land be given to your servants for a possession. Do not take us across the Jordan.”

⁶But Moses said to the people of Gad and to the people of Reuben, “Shall your brothers go to the war while you sit here? ⁷Why will you discourage the heart of the people of Israel from going over into the land that the Lord has given them? ⁸Your fathers did this, when I sent them from Kadesh-barnea to see the land. ⁹For when they went up to the Valley of Eshcol and saw the land, they discouraged the heart of the people of Israel from going into the land that the Lord had given them. ¹⁰And the Lord‘s anger was kindled on that day, and he swore, saying, ¹¹‘Surely none of the men who came up out of Egypt, from twenty years old and upward, shall see the land that I swore to give to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, because they have not wholly followed me, ¹²none except Caleb the son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite and Joshua the son of Nun, for they have wholly followed the Lord.’ ¹³And the Lord‘s anger was kindled against Israel, and he made them wander in the wilderness forty years, until all the generation that had done evil in the sight of the Lord was gone. ¹⁴And behold, you have risen in your fathers’ place, a brood of sinful men, to increase still more the fierce anger of the Lord against Israel! ¹⁵For if you turn away from following him, he will again abandon them in the wilderness, and you will destroy all this people.”

¹⁶Then they came near to him and said, “We will build sheepfolds here for our livestock, and cities for our little ones, ¹⁷but we will take up arms, ready to go before the people of Israel, until we have brought them to their place. And our little ones shall live in the fortified cities because of the inhabitants of the land. ¹⁸We will not return to our homes until each of the people of Israel has gained his inheritance. ¹⁹For we will not inherit with them on the other side of the Jordan and beyond, because our inheritance has come to us on this side of the Jordan to the east.” ²⁰So Moses said to them, “If you will do this, if you will take up arms to go before the Lord for the war, ²¹and every armed man of you will pass over the Jordan before the Lord, until he has driven out his enemies from before him ²²and the land is subdued before the Lord; then after that you shall return and be free of obligation to the Lord and to Israel, and this land shall be your possession before the Lord. ²³But if you will not do so, behold, you have sinned against the Lord, and be sure your sin will find you out. ²⁴Build cities for your little ones and folds for your sheep, and do what you have promised.” ²⁵And the people of Gad and the people of Reuben said to Moses, “Your servants will do as my lord commands. ²⁶Our little ones, our wives, our livestock, and all our cattle shall remain there in the cities of Gilead, ²⁷but your servants will pass over, every man who is armed for war, before the Lord to battle, as my lord orders.” – Numbers 32:1-27 ESV

This chapter contains one of those familiar and oft-quoted verses that are often taken out of context and hastily applied to all kinds of situations. Moses’ line, “Be sure your sin will find you out” (verse 23) has become a clichéd catchphrase that has been used as both a threat and a word of encouragement over the centuries, but few who quote it realize its original context or meaning. We’ve all heard before it, but probably never knew where it came from.

“Be sure your sins will find you out!” are words that have flowed from the lips of many a parent and usually in the direction of a disobedient child. But it may surprise you to see these familiar words in their original context. Many of us have forgotten or never known just why Moses spoke them in the first place.

As the people of God prepared to begin their conquest of the land of Canaan, Moses was approached by leaders of the tribes of Reuben and Gad. These two tribes possessed a lot of flocks and had taken note that the land east of the Jordan had abundant pastureland. Having recently defeated the Midianites in battle, this territory was up for grabs, so the tribes of Reuben and Gad asked Moses for permission to settle their tribes on the east side of the river instead of crossing over with everyone else into Canaan.

Moses was dumbstruck by their request and quickly aired his opinion. While four decades had passed since the previous generation of Israelites had refused to enter the land of Canaan, Moses couldn’t help but view this request as another sign of rebellion among the people of God. That earlier event was still a sore spot for Moses because it had resulted in the deaths of an entire generation of Israelites. To dissuade the Reubenites and Gadites from repeating the same mistake, Moses reminded them what had happened 40 years earlier.

“Why do you want to discourage the rest of the people of Israel from going across to the land the Lord has given them? Your ancestors did the same thing when I sent them from Kadesh-barnea to explore the land. After they went up to the valley of Eshcol and explored the land, they discouraged the people of Israel from entering the land the Lord was giving them. Then the Lord was very angry with them…” – Numbers 32:7-10 NLT

On that occasion, Moses had sent spies into the land of Canaan to bring back news of its fruitfulness and the military strength of its occupants. But upon their return, ten of the 12 spies gave a mixed review; the land was rich and plentiful, but its occupants were powerful and unconquerable. This negative news led the people to refuse to enter the land, choosing instead to disobey God and plot a return to Egypt. But that decision resulted in God’s wrath and punishment.

Now, 40 years later, that generation had died off and their descendants stood on the edge of Canaan, preparing to enter the land again. So, when Moses heard the request of the tribes of Reuben and Gad to settle outside the land of promise, he was naturally 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 was déjà vu all over again. He saw their request as selfish and short-sighted, and another instance of disobedience. But the Reubenites and Gadites assured Moses that they were not abandoning the people of God or attempting to dissuade them from entering the land; they simply wanted to take advantage of better pastureland on the east side of the river. They expressed their willingness to fight alongside their brothers and assist them in conquering the land of Canaan until every tribe had gained their portion of the inheritance promised to Abraham.

To convince Moses of their intentions, they made a vow not to settle east of the Jordan until the land of Canaan was conquered and the other ten tribes had received their inheritance. This assurance calmed Moses’ fears, but he still issued his familiar, yet stern 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 expected them to keep their word and reminded them that if they failed to do so, their sin would be against God, and He would hold them accountable. Jehovah would deal with them severely if they broke their commitment.

The Book of Joshua records that, in the end, these tribes held up their end of the bargain.

The armed warriors from the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh led the Israelites across the Jordan, just as Moses had directed. These armed men—about 40,000 strong—were ready for battle, and the Lord was with them as they crossed over to the plains of Jericho. – Joshua 4:12-13

But despite their willingness to keep their word, their plan was not necessarily what God had in mind. It would appear that they were motivated by greed and self-interest and their decision to settle east of the Jordan overshadowed the promise that God had made to provide them with abundant land on the west side of the Jordan. The vacant Midianite territory was readily available and had everything they were looking for. In other words, it looked good physically and materially. So rather than wait for the land that God had promised them on the other side of the Jordan, they chose what they could see with their eyes. They allowed the temptation of immediate gratification to keep them from waiting on God’s will.

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 chose to settle outside the land of “promise.” Their decision, while approved by Moses, would prove to be a problem in the years to come. Physical distance from the other tribes would end up producing a spirit of misunderstanding and disunity (Joshua 22). It would also create a hole in the defensive lines of the Israelites. This region east of the Jordan was often the first to experience invasion, and Israel would lose control of it several times in its later history (2 Kings 15:29).

So what’s the point? First, there is truth to the adage, “Be sure your sins will find you out.” Sin has a way of tracking down the perpetrator and coming back to haunt them. That’s why we need to take our commitments and our sins seriously – because God certainly does. We also need to look closely at the motivation behind our decisions. We must constantly ask ourselves, “Why am I doing what I am about to do?” We must assess whether greed and selfishness lie behind our decisions, and we must determine the long-term ramifications of our decisions if they are wrongly motivated.

Moses was right; our sins will find us out. They will come back to haunt us, but so will those decisions that are motivated by instant gratification and a lack of trust in the will of God. These two tribes had been offered their share of the inheritance promised by God but they had a different plan in mind. They decided that they knew better, and God decided to let them have their way, and both decisions would have long-term ramifications.

There’s No Need To Bargain With God

February 16, 2024 / kdmiller55 / Leave a comment

¹Moses spoke to the heads of the tribes of the people of Israel, saying, “This is what the Lord has commanded. ²If a man vows a vow to the Lord, or swears an oath to bind himself by a pledge, he shall not break his word. He shall do according to all that proceeds out of his mouth.

³“If a woman vows a vow to the Lord and binds herself by a pledge, while within her father’s house in her youth, ⁴and her father hears of her vow and of her pledge by which she has bound herself and says nothing to her, then all her vows shall stand, and every pledge by which she has bound herself shall stand. ⁵But if her father opposes her on the day that he hears of it, no vow of hers, no pledge by which she has bound herself shall stand. And the Lord will forgive her, because her father opposed her.

⁶“If she marries a husband, while under her vows or any thoughtless utterance of her lips by which she has bound herself, ⁷and her husband hears of it and says nothing to her on the day that he hears, then her vows shall stand, and her pledges by which she has bound herself shall stand. ⁸But if, on the day that her husband comes to hear of it, he opposes her, then he makes void her vow that was on her, and the thoughtless utterance of her lips by which she bound herself. And the Lord will forgive her. ⁹(But any vow of a widow or of a divorced woman, anything by which she has bound herself, shall stand against her.) ¹⁰And if she vowed in her husband’s house or bound herself by a pledge with an oath, ¹¹and her husband heard of it and said nothing to her and did not oppose her, then all her vows shall stand, and every pledge by which she bound herself shall stand. ¹²But if her husband makes them null and void on the day that he hears them, then whatever proceeds out of her lips concerning her vows or concerning her pledge of herself shall not stand. Her husband has made them void, and the Lord will forgive her. ¹³Any vow and any binding oath to afflict herself, her husband may establish, or her husband may make void. ¹⁴But if her husband says nothing to her from day to day, then he establishes all her vows or all her pledges that are upon her. He has established them, because he said nothing to her on the day that he heard of them. ¹⁵But if he makes them null and void after he has heard of them, then he shall bear her iniquity.”

¹⁶These are the statutes that the Lord commanded Moses about a man and his wife and about a father and his daughter while she is in her youth within her father’s house. – Numbers 30:1-16 ESV

The people of Israel are encamped near the border of the land of Canaan, and Moses is attempting to prepare them for the fast-approaching day when they will have to cross over that border and begin their conquest of the land promised to them by God. Much of what Moses has communicated to them has been practical advice concerning matters of worship and sacrifice.

When they finally enter the land, their lives will be consumed by fighting and attempting to create new lives for themselves. Their old way of life will be over as they transform from wanderers to conquerors. Rather than living in tents as nomads, they will find themselves enjoying the comforts of home in houses and cities they didn’t build.

With all the changes they will face in the days ahead, Moses stressed their need to maintain the religious rites and rituals that God had given them at Sinai. They were to keep all the commands regarding sacrifices and offerings. Just because they were entering a time marked by military conquest, they were not to abandon their relationship with and commitment to God.

Now, in chapter 30, Moses addresses a rather strange topic that is unfamiliar to the modern Western mindset. Suddenly, as if out of nowhere, Moses brings up the issue of making vows. This is not a reference to wedding vows, but to the making of verbal commitments and, in most cases, commitments made to God. They are sometimes referred to as oaths.

Now, why would Moses be bringing up this topic at this particular point? It sounds a bit out of place, but it makes sense when one considers that the Israelites were preparing to enter a strange new land where they would face a host of unexpected and unfamiliar situations. As they found themselves going into battles against much larger and more skilled armies, it would be tempting to make vows to God in an effort to secure success. A vow could be a promise made to God in exchange for His blessing or a guarantee of safety. It might go something like this: “God, if you will bring me back safely from this battle, I will dedicate my firstborn child to Your service.”

We see just such a conversation in the book of Judges. Jephthah, one of the judges of Israel found himself facing a battle against the Ammonites. In an attempt to garner God’s assistance in defeating his enemy, Jephthah made a bargain with the Almighty.

And Jephthah made a vow to the Lord. He said, “If you give me victory over the Ammonites, I will give to the Lord whatever comes out of my house to meet me when I return in triumph. I will sacrifice it as a burnt offering.” – Judges 1130-31 NLT

Jephthah meant well, but his vow would come back to haunt him. The text goes on to indicate that “Jephthah led his army against the Ammonites, and the Lord gave him victory” (Judges 11:32 NLT). But then it adds this unexpected note:

When Jephthah returned home to Mizpah, his daughter came out to meet him, playing on a tambourine and dancing for joy. She was his one and only child; he had no other sons or daughters. When he saw her, he tore his clothes in anguish. “Oh, my daughter!” he cried out. “You have completely destroyed me! You’ve brought disaster on me! For I have made a vow to the Lord, and I cannot take it back.” – Judges 11:34-35 NLT

According to the book of Judges, Jephthah kept the vow that he had made. But the whole point of the story is the danger of making rash or hasty vows. God takes the swearing of oaths and the making of vows seriously.

When you make a promise to God, don’t delay in following through, for God takes no pleasure in fools. Keep all the promises you make to him. It is better to say nothing than to make a promise and not keep it. Don’t let your mouth make you sin. And don’t defend yourself by telling the Temple messenger that the promise you made was a mistake. That would make God angry, and he might wipe out everything you have achieved. – Ecclesiastes 4:4-6 NLT

“When you make a vow to the Lord your God, be prompt in fulfilling whatever you promised him. For the Lord your God demands that you promptly fulfill all your vows, or you will be guilty of sin. However, it is not a sin to refrain from making a vow. But once you have voluntarily made a vow, be careful to fulfill your promise to the Lord your God.” – Deuteronomy 23:21-23 NLT

Notice the last part of that Deuteronomy passage. “It is not a sin to refrain from making a vow.” In other words, vows should be made circumspectly and cautiously. As the Ecclesiastes passage puts it: “It is better to say nothing than to make a promise and not keep it.”

In chapter 30 of Numbers, Moses addresses this potentially dangerous issue of oath-making because he knows the people will soon encounter difficult situations that will tempt them to make unwise commitments to God in an effort to guarantee a particular outcome. So, he reminds them to do so with caution.

A man who makes a vow to the Lord or makes a pledge under oath must never break it. He must do exactly what he said he would do. – Numbers 30:2 NLT

But then, Moses adds a few important exceptions or exclusions to this rule. He addresses the vows made by women, particularly married women and single young women who are still living under their father’s authority. He begins with those who are unmarried. If one of these young ladies was to make a vow to God, it would be binding, unless her father overheard it and determined to disavow or dismiss it. As the head of the household, he had that right and authority.

“Vows were voluntary promises to do or not do specified things if God would or would not do something else. They also expressed thanks when God had done something special. They usually involved fasting or abstaining from other lawful things or giving God some special gift or offering. Moses explained the basic principles governing vows first (v. 2). The Israelites were to take their promises to God seriously and not brake them (cf. Eccles, 5:4-5).” – Dr. Thomas L. Constable, Notes on Numbers

If a father became aware of his daughter’s vow and deemed it unacceptable, he could annul it, and she would be bound by her father’s decision. His annulment of her vow would release the young lady from her commitment to God.

The same thing would be true for a married woman. If she made a vow to God and her husband determined it to be unacceptable, she would be obligated to submit to his decision. His disavowal would free her from any obligation to God.

…if her husband refuses to accept her vow or impulsive pledge on the day he hears of it, he nullifies her commitments, and the Lord will forgive her. – Numbers 30:8 NLT

This all hinges on the issue of headship. A young woman, while unmarried, remained under his father’s protection and authority. As soon as she married, she came under the headship of her husband. And both the father and the husband answered directly to God. The test does not address whether God would hold the father or husband responsible for the breaking of the vow. There could be a case in which a father forced his daughter to break her vow but, in doing so, he violated the will of God. This authority given to the father and husband was not to be taken lightly, and Moses makes it clear that if the father or husband failed to dismiss the woman’s vow, she remained obligated to God.

In the case of widows or divorcees, they were directly answerable to God. With no husband to watch over them, God acted as their protector and provider. So, if they made a vow to God, they would be held responsible for keeping it.

If, however, a woman is a widow or is divorced, she must fulfill all her vows and pledges. – Numbers 30:9 NLT

This admonition was intended to make these women think twice before making vows to God. But it also suggests that God would be watching over them and protecting them from doing anything rash or thoughtless.

As the psalmist later attested, vows were to be taken seriously and made soberly.

Make vows to the Lord your God, and keep them.
Let everyone bring tribute to the Awesome One. – Psalm 76:11 NLT

Once the Israelites entered the land, they were to refrain from making bargains with God. If they attempted to buy God off by making vows they never intended to keep, they would pay dearly for it. This entire section of the Book of Numbers seems to be advocating for a simple trust in God’s sovereignty and providential care. There was no need to make deals by offering God something in exchange for His blessings. He had already promised to go before them and pave the way for their success. His faithfulness guaranteed His presence and provision for all their needs. Vows would be unnecessary and, yet, once made, they were to be taken seriously. God would hold His people accountable. But He was also gracious and provided a means by which rash vows could be disavowed.

A Problem In Need of a Permanent Solution

February 15, 2024 / kdmiller55 / Leave a comment

¹²“On the fifteenth day of the seventh month you shall have a holy convocation. You shall not do any ordinary work, and you shall keep a feast to the Lord seven days. ¹³And you shall offer a burnt offering, a food offering, with a pleasing aroma to the Lord, thirteen bulls from the herd, two rams, fourteen male lambs a year old; they shall be without blemish; ¹⁴and their grain offering of fine flour mixed with oil, three tenths of an ephah for each of the thirteen bulls, two tenths for each of the two rams, ¹⁵and a tenth for each of the fourteen lambs; ¹⁶also one male goat for a sin offering, besides the regular burnt offering, its grain offering and its drink offering.

¹⁷“On the second day twelve bulls from the herd, two rams, fourteen male lambs a year old without blemish, ¹⁸with the grain offering and the drink offerings for the bulls, for the rams, and for the lambs, in the prescribed quantities; ¹⁹also one male goat for a sin offering, besides the regular burnt offering and its grain offering, and their drink offerings.

²⁰“On the third day eleven bulls, two rams, fourteen male lambs a year old without blemish, ²¹with the grain offering and the drink offerings for the bulls, for the rams, and for the lambs, in the prescribed quantities; ²²also one male goat for a sin offering, besides the regular burnt offering and its grain offering and its drink offering.

²³“On the fourth day ten bulls, two rams, fourteen male lambs a year old without blemish, ²⁴with the grain offering and the drink offerings for the bulls, for the rams, and for the lambs, in the prescribed quantities; ²⁵also one male goat for a sin offering, besides the regular burnt offering, its grain offering and its drink offering.

²⁶“On the fifth day nine bulls, two rams, fourteen male lambs a year old without blemish, ²⁷with the grain offering and the drink offerings for the bulls, for the rams, and for the lambs, in the prescribed quantities; ²⁸also one male goat for a sin offering; besides the regular burnt offering and its grain offering and its drink offering.

²⁹“On the sixth day eight bulls, two rams, fourteen male lambs a year old without blemish, ³⁰with the grain offering and the drink offerings for the bulls, for the rams, and for the lambs, in the prescribed quantities; ³¹also one male goat for a sin offering; besides the regular burnt offering, its grain offering, and its drink offerings.

³²“On the seventh day seven bulls, two rams, fourteen male lambs a year old without blemish, ³³with the grain offering and the drink offerings for the bulls, for the rams, and for the lambs, in the prescribed quantities; ³⁴also one male goat for a sin offering; besides the regular burnt offering, its grain offering, and its drink offering.

³⁵“On the eighth day you shall have a solemn assembly. You shall not do any ordinary work, ³⁶but you shall offer a burnt offering, a food offering, with a pleasing aroma to the Lord: one bull, one ram, seven male lambs a year old without blemish, ³⁷and the grain offering and the drink offerings for the bull, for the ram, and for the lambs, in the prescribed quantities; ³⁸also one male goat for a sin offering; besides the regular burnt offering and its grain offering and its drink offering.

³⁹“These you shall offer to the Lord at your appointed feasts, in addition to your vow offerings and your freewill offerings, for your burnt offerings, and for your grain offerings, and for your drink offerings, and for your peace offerings.”

⁴⁰ So Moses told the people of Israel everything just as the Lord had commanded Moses. – Numbers 29:12-40 ESV

Reading through chapter 29, it’s impossible not to be staggered by the sheer number of offerings God required the people of Israel to make. This chapter only covers the seventh month of the ecclesiastical year, which was the first month of the civil year. When the people came into the land this would be the time of year when they had the most leisure time, because it would fall between the harvest and the next planting. So, God seemed to fill it with a wider array of sacrifices and solemn occasions.

But this one chapter alone outlines the observances for the Feast of Trumpets on the first day of the month, the Day of Atonement on the tenth day, and the Feast of Booths on the fifteenth day. In that one month alone the people were required to sacrifice 73 bulls, 17 rams, 120 male lambs, and 10 male goats. That doesn’t include all the other sacrifices that were to be made on various days of the month on an annual basis. In fact, if you look at chapters 28 and 29, it would appear that the yearly offerings, made at the peoples’ expense, would have added up to 15 goats, 21 kids, 72 rams, 132 bulls, and 1,101 lambs, without taking into account a vast number of voluntary vow and trespass offerings.

So, the total of animals sacrificed at public cost would have been an incredible 1,241. Then if you take into account the huge quantity of lambs slain at Passover each year, the number goes out the roof. According to Josephus, the 1st-Century Jewish historian, the number of lambs sacrificed at Passover in a single year would have been in the vicinity of 255,600. That is an incredible amount of animals.

Think of the cost to the people. These were not the runts of the litter they were sacrificing, but the very best they had to offer. They were sacrificing their breeding stock;, all those animals who were free from disease or disfigurement. Any animal they offered to God had to be the best of their flocks and herds. In an agriculturally based society, this was an expensive proposition, and it was mandatory. No options. No excuses. So what’s the point? What does all this blood and sacrifice have to do with us? In The Expositors Bible Commentary, Ronald Allen says this:

“As we, the modern readers of Numbers, think scripturally, this overwhelming emphasis on sacrificial worship has one intent: to cause each reader to think of the enormity of the offense of our sin against the holiness of God, thus driving the repentant sinner to the foot of the Cross. All sacrifices—whether of the morning or evening, of Sabbath or New Moon—have their ultimate meaning in the death the Savior died. Apart from his death, these sacrifices were just the killing of animals and the burning of their flesh with attendant ceremonies. After his death, sacrifices such as these are redundant—indeed, offensive—for they would suggest that something was needed in addition to the Savior’s death. But before his death, these sacrifices were the very means God gave his people in love to help them face the enormity of their sin, the reality of their need for his grace, and—in some mysterious way—to point them to the coming cross of Savior Jesus.”

Thousands of lambs could never add up to the one sacrifice that Jesus Christ made for us. But they can reveal the incredible cost of sin, and that sin required a payment. The shedding of blood.

In fact, we can say that according to the law of Moses, nearly everything was purified by sprinkling with blood. Without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness of sins. – Hebrews 9:22 NLT

Every one of the sacrifices God required the Israelites to make was meant to foreshadow and point to the final sacrifice of the unblemished Lamb of God who would take away the sins of the world (John 1:20). They were intended to be a temporary solution to mankind’s ongoing problem with sin and the penalty of death that accompanied it. The author of Hebrews points out the temporary and imperfect nature of the sacrificial system.

The old system under the law of Moses was only a shadow, a dim preview of the good things to come, not the good things themselves. The sacrifices under that system were repeated again and again, year after year, but they were never able to provide perfect cleansing for those who came to worship. – Hebrews 10:1 NLT

He went on to reveal the built-in limitations of animal sacrifices. While they could offer a temporary means of atonement, all they could really do was remind people of their ongoing struggle with sin. And he pointed out the reason for their ineffectiveness.

For it is not possible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins. – Hebrews 10:4 NLT

The sacrificial system was never intended to be a permanent solution to the problem of sin. The very fact that the offerings were required on a repetitive and perpetual basis reveals that they were like treating a terminal disease with a bandaid. The whole reason Jesus Christ came to earth was to bring about a permanent solution to the death sentence hanging over the heads of sinful humanity.

Christ said, “You did not want animal sacrifices or sin offerings or burnt offerings or other offerings for sin, nor were you pleased with them” (though they are required by the law of Moses). – Hebrews 10:8 NLT

Yes, God had been the one to institute the whole sacrificial system, but it was never meant to be the final solution. Jesus was always intended to be the one true sacrifice that would fully atone for the sins of the world.

God’s will was for us to be made holy by the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ, once for all time. – Hebrews 10:10 NLT

That holy sacrifice was presented by God Himself, and it cost Him dearly.

For you know that God paid a ransom to save you from the empty life you inherited from your ancestors. And it was not paid with mere gold or silver, which lose their value. It was the precious blood of Christ, the sinless, spotless Lamb of God. – 1 Peter 1:18-19 NLT

He sacrificed His precious Son on mankind’s behalf. He gave the best He had to atone for the sins of humanity. As a result, those of us who have placed our faith in Jesus’ sacrificial and substitutionary death, have forgiveness of sin, and we do not need to offer any more sacrifices. Jesus Christ accomplished it all with the sacrifice of His life in our place. No more blood needs to be shed. No more lives need to be lost. Once again, the author of Hebrews points out the remarkable nature of this once-for-all-time gift.

Under the old covenant, the priest stands and ministers before the altar day after day, offering the same sacrifices again and again, which can never take away sins. But our High Priest offered himself to God as a single sacrifice for sins, good for all time. – Hebrews 10:11-12 NLT

No more sacrifices are needed. Why? Because Jesus’ death paid the death we owed and now God has forgiven and forgotten our sins.

“I will never again remember
their sins and lawless deeds.” – Hebrews 10:17 NLT

The Israelites, who were destined to keep on sinning, were also required to keep on sacrificing so that they might receive a temporary reprieve from their well-deserved judgment. But for all those who are in Christ, “when sins have been forgiven, there is no need to offer any more sacrifices” (Hebrews 10:18 NLT).

Devotionary

The Bible Made Accessible and Applicable

Old Testament

The God-Given Gift of Love and Sexuality

A Well-Rounded, Fully Satisfying Marriage – For Life

More Than Skin Deep

Love Beyond Degree

The Bride Confesses Her Love

Love on God’s Terms

Cleansing Is Always the Key to Blessing

Refusing to Do God’s Will God’s Way

The Grass Is Always Greener…

There’s No Need To Bargain With God

A Problem In Need of a Permanent Solution