In October I heard the fall of mankind described in a new way. It was vivid and emotional. I was drawn into the place of Shalom that was shattered. The depths of agony from this event were felt down to the core of the earth. every. single. thing. was affected. There was so much more to it than the picture of Adam sweating with a shovel that I picture from my children’s Bible.
For years people were in brokenness and darkness, struggling to survive, disconnected from God and without purpose in life. Generations of hopelessness. The Bible doesn’t say it, but I’m thinking a legacy of depression and suicide.
Finally, God makes the first move.
Because it’s Valentines day and love is in the air, I’m viewing the story through rose colored glasses (yeah. pun intended). So please humor me with this little game as I compare God’s story to the story of “boy meets girl”.
God approaches and pursues Abraham. He picks Abraham out of the crowd. Abraham was not the bravest, biggest, brainiest or best but that’s what makes it a true love story. God had been watching and waiting as time passed and this was the moment! God makes big promises to Abraham for a future together – a better life. Here is the first step towards redeeming the entire world.
Fast forward to the people of Israel, post-Egypt. Again God goes after them. He protects them, leads them and cleans them up. He tells them good things to eat and ways to not die of diseases (Leviticus 11-14). They have fun and party together (Leviticus 23-25). He’s a good guy. The Israelites are smitten. And basically God and the Israelites begin to define their relationship (the big DTR).
So I’ve reached this point in Numbers where God seems pretty touchy, telling the Israelites things like “Aaron and his sons must always go in with [the Kohathite clans] and assign a specific duty or load to each person. The Kohathites must never enter the sanctuary to look at the sacred objects for even a moment, or they will die.”
God doesn’t seem into just hanging out with the Israelites…
But in the rosy light of Valentines day it’s starting to make sense to me. Just like with any new relationship there have to be ground rules. This is who I am, this is what I like, and this is what I don’t like, when you do that it makes me really angry, etc. Also, time spent together is more scheduled and planned at the beginning. These boundaries and rules aren’t there to take the excitement out of the relationship. They are laid down like the foundation of a house so that the relationship can be solid enough to last a long time and still be fun and exciting. And because God was thinking in “eternity time”, there was a lot of foundation to be laid with the Israelites. Even though He loved them, they really didn’t know Him much at all!
Now, thousands of years later, it’s no wonder the relationship between God and man (me!) feels a little bit different. The dating is over.
When Jesus died He made the ultimate, eternal commitment to people. His wedding vows were:
I love you so much I would do anything so that you could be with me.
I know you’ll never love me the way I love you, but if you just accept my love then that is enough.
I’ve already done everything else that needs to happen for us to be together forever.
You need me and I want you.
Do you believe that?
I do.
Looking back at the relationship dynamics in Numbers feels strange because I’m so used to coming to God through Jesus. Because of Jesus I am welcome before God and I do not have to please Him with what I do. I can just receive intimacy and relationship. I can ask Him anything. I can say anything to Him. I can come to Him in the morning before I get dressed, in PJs and socks with my hair on the fritz and He calls me beautiful.
Because of Jesus my relationship with God is kind of like a marriage.
But by viewing Numbers as the early history of my relationship today it can be a sweet and treasured reminder that my covenant relationship with God is built for eternity.
