Just another tid bit that I have been learning as I read through the Bible 🙂
In Numbers chapter 14, the Lord says
(v. 11) how long will these people treat me with contempt? How long
will these people treat me with contempt? How long will they refuse
to believe in me, in spite of all the miraculous signs I have
preformed among them?
The Lord was beginning to get
frustrated with the disbelief and mistreatment from the Isrealites.
After all, the Lord had just delivered them from Egypt, out of
slavery. The Lord has led them to safety and provided them with food.
Yet time and time again the Isrealites questioned, rebelled, and even
despised all that had been done for them. It’s so easy to sit and
read about their stories now and think “You fools, don’t you know
how great you had it. Don’t you know how wonderful the Lord was going
to make your life. Why don’t you just trust Him?” Why is it that we
think we can cast such judgment? Likely because we know the ending of
the story. We know without a doubt what God’s desire and plan was.
Though, we can argue that the Isrealites knew what God’s plan was
too; because He was telling His plan to Moses. What we often fail to
remember while reading these stories is how much trust that would
have taken for the Isrealites. Not only did they need to trust God
(that He existed) but they also needed to trust that Moses was
accurate in what he was hearing from God and relaying to them.
Nonetheless we can continue to make arguments of how God had
previously shown up, confirmed Himself and His words to the
Isrealites.
Yet, how often does the Lord tell us
something today that we slush off. That we argue, that we still try
to fight. Even when we have seen Him move in our life previously,
even when He has just delivered us from the pit of despair, even when
we know that He is providing for us, etc, etc; we still doubt who God
is and treat Him with contempt. Isn’t it funny: we can sit here and
cast judgment on the Isrealites for not having faith in God only to
turn around and do the same to God.
The judgment and doubt from the
Isrealites is evident throughout the book of Numbers and is even more
prominent in many of our lives today. The hypocrisy and doubt is
astounding. Yet, to me, what is even more astounding is God’s
response. Despite how many times there was doubt or hypocrisy from
His children, God was still there for His children. Regardless of how
many times He was belittled, God still loved His children. As any
good parent, God acts out of love for His children; even when He
doesn’t like what His children do.
This, I feel, is one of the most
important lessons that is also carried over into the New Testament,
the new covenant that we now live under. That no matter what we have
done, are doing or will do, God loves us and accepts us just as we
are. When Jesus died on the cross and bore our sins (past, present
and future) God bestowed His grace and mercy upon each of us. “In
order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches
of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus,. For
it is by grace you have been saved, though faith – and this not
from yourselves, it is the gift of God -not by works” Ephesians
2:7-9. There are countless stories in the gospels that also tell of
God’s love, demonstrated through Jesus. The woman at the well that
Jesus forgave despite her unfaithfulness. The prodigal son whose
father took him back in after running away and spending all his money
on prostitutes and drunkenness. Inviting tax collectors, the most
deceptive & corrupted people of that time, to have dinner with
him. In every story Jesus never condemns them for what they have
done, nor does he sentence them to eternal Hell, nor does he pass
them by and ignore their existence. Rather, he takes the time to sit
with them and pour His love out to people who had doubted Him, shown
Him contempt, and shown disgrace to His name.
It just amazes me time and time again.
God is never changing. The same God who gave up His son for us to
live, who showed love to the unlovable, who helped those in need, who
met people where they were at, who hung out with the prostitutes and
who sought after the lost sheep is the same God that I serve today.
His character is unfailing and never changing. How refreshing.
