Tag: the purpose of God

Lessons from Moses of Faith, the Lack Thereof and the Purposes of God

Moses knew better, but his own emotions got the best of him.

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Egypt, Sinai, Mount Moses: view from road on which pilgrims climb the mountain of Moses

The passage in Numbers 20:1‭-‬13, which I quote below (in the NIV), has puzzled me in the past. I have been unsure that I understand it well, and it has bothered me, perhaps, as a result.

As with many things I don’t understand well, I often “shelve” them for later consideration. Later is now, as I have just read through the passage again in my yearly journey through the Bible. This is the setting:

“In the first month the whole Israelite community arrived at the Desert of Zin, and they stayed at Kadesh. There Miriam died and was buried.”

Miriam, the sister of Moses and Aaron, had just died. Not much is said about her death, but Moses and Aaron must have been grieving. That grief on top of the contention of the Israelites they were trying to lead according to God’s direction, and the harsh circumstances of the desert must have weighed heavily on them.

“Now there was no water for the community, and the people gathered in opposition to Moses and Aaron. They quarreled with Moses and said, ‘If only we had died when our brothers fell dead before the Lord!'”

I believe their “brothers” who “fell before the Lord” is a reference to Korah who led a rebellion against Moses. (Numbers 16) Korah challenged Moses and his right to lead the Israelites. Korah was not happy with his clan’s roll in caring for the Tent of Meeting, and he was basically saying, “Who put you in charge?!”

Moses set up a demonstration before the people for God to identify who was in charge. When Korah and his clan burned incense, the ground rumbled. Moses told the people to back away from Korah and his tribe of rebels, and the ground swallowed them up.

Not long afterward the wanderings of the Israelites brought them to the Desert of Zin. These Israelites were so angry and distraught about the conditions in the desert that they wished they had died with Korah in rebellion against God.

The desert conditions must have been pretty inhospitable! Moses was losing the hearts of the people, and they were turning against him… again! The people said:

“‘Why did you bring the Lord’s community into this wilderness, that we and our livestock should die here? Why did you bring us up out of Egypt to this terrible place? It has no grain or figs, grapevines or pomegranates. And there is no water to drink!’” 

Of course, Moses was God’s man, as was demonstrated graphically in the Korah situation, but the continued to take their dissatisfaction over their circumstances out on Moses. Instead of seeing God at work in their midst, they saw only Moses, and they blamed him for their situation.

“Moses and Aaron went from the assembly to the entrance to the tent of meeting and fell facedown, and the glory of the Lord appeared to them.”

Moses and Aaron knew the real story. They knew that the people were really finding fault with God, not Moses or Aaron. They were intimate with God and knew well that God was not to be trifled with.

The glory of God appeared to them. God’s presence should have given them boldness to stand resolute on their confidence in God’s direction. They should have not have had no doubt that God was with them. Right?

At the same time, the Israelites should have had no doubt that God was with them, as well. God’s presence went with them also, going before them in a pillar of cloud by day and fire by night. They had seen the demonstrations of the power and holiness of God at the Red Sea, at Mount Sinai and in the ground swallowing up Korah and his band of rebels.

What more did they need to see to understand that God was with them?

Yet, they did not trust that God had their back. God had given them manna every morning, and God gave them so much meat when they demanded meat that it came out of their nostrils. Yet, they continually grumbled and complained and wished they were back in Egypt.

Something had to be done to put down the unrest!

“The Lord said to Moses, ‘Take the staff, and you and your brother Aaron gather the assembly together. Speak to that rock before their eyes and it will pour out its water. You will bring water out of the rock for the community so they and their livestock can drink.’” (Emphasis added)

God told Moses to take the staff and speak to the rock. The instructions were simple and pretty clear.

“So Moses took the staff from the Lord’s presence, just as he commanded him. He and Aaron gathered the assembly together in front of the rock and Moses said to them, ‘Listen, you rebels, must we bring you water out of this rock?’” 

Moses started out all right. He took the staff as he was commanded, but things begin to go off the rails after that. Moses was obviously perplexed that the people were so angry, and he was taking it personally. Instead of speaking to the rock, Moses turned to the people and spoke to them, and he was full of the wrath he felt for them in that moment.

It’s hard for me to blame Moses for feeling this way. I am sure I would take it personally also. It was personal! The people were obstinate. What more could Moses do to demonstrate that God put him in charge?! Yet, they continued to challenge Moses and blame him for their unsatisfactory conditions.

Moses knew better, but his own emotions got the best of him. He took their opposition personally, and his anger led him to forget God’s instructions to him:

“Then Moses raised his arm and struck the rock twice with his staff. Water gushed out, and the community and their livestock drank.”

The result was good, right? But, Moses didn’t do what God commanded him. God told him to speak to the rock. Instead, Moses spoke to the people, and he struck the rock with his staff. Thus, God responded accordingly:

“But the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, ‘Because you did not trust in me enough to honor me as holy in the sight of the Israelites, you will not bring this community into the land I give them.'”

I don’t completely understand the significance of these things. God’s response seems a bit harsh in light of the faithfulness of Moses before Pharaoh, in receiving the delivering the Ten Commandments, and in putting up with the grumbling, and complaining, and the obstinance, and waywardness of the Israelites.

Keep in mind that Moses grew up in luxury and privilege in Pharaoh’s household. The Israelites were “his people”, but only by genetics. Moses put up with a lot with these people he didn’t grow up with and didn’t even know very well, but clearly, his disobedience to God was more significant than I have appreciated.

Continue reading “Lessons from Moses of Faith, the Lack Thereof and the Purposes of God” →

The Plans God Has for Us – Part I

‘For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.’

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“’For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.’” (Jeremiah 29:11)

This is a popular verse often quoted to provide people hope in their personal circumstances in life. It’s also a verse about which people have written many critiques and admonitions not to take verses out of context.

On its face, this verse seems to say that God has plans for us, and by “us” I believe most people assume it means for each one of us. God has plans for you… and for me. His plans are to prosper us, not to cause us harm. His plans include hope and a future. That is exactly what this verse says, right?

I’m going to go out on a limb and says, “Yes!” It means what it says. But I think we tend to jump to the conclusion that it’s all about us. And here, I have to admit that the application of this verse to modern individuals in the 21st Century is not the primary meaning.

I don’t think that means that we shouldn’t find application of the verse relevant to our modern lives. “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.”  (2 Timothy 3:16-17) This verse seems to suggest that all Scripture, not just some verses, are applicable and relevant to “the man of God” (each one of us).

But that being so doesn’t suggest that the context isn’t important. While God may speak to us, as I believe He does sometimes, personally through isolated verses and passages, there is a broader context. That broader context is itself, “profitable” to us. In fact, the broader context often provides insights we would fail to see any other way.

To be perfectly frank, we tend to view our lives, Scripture and even God in very myopic and provincial ways. We focus heavily on our immediate circumstances and our immediate future. Even when we are thinking beyond our immediate circumstances and future, our focus tends to be this worldly.

We are, at a basic level, finite beings. Our vision is finite. Our focus naturally gravitates toward the finite. But God is infinite, and He offers to us his infinite love and an infinite destiny.

When we think about Jeremiah 29:11 in the context of an infinite God who, therefore, has infinite plans for us, that perspective changes everything.

St. Augustine, I understand, emphasized the multi-layered meanings of Scripture. From the literal to the figurative, the present to the future, and so on, Scripture can be understood at different levels, and each level of understanding is “true” and is profitable, has application, to our lives.

In that vein, we should always be mindful of the big picture. The big picture is God’s grand design, His overarching plan for us and all humankind. And these plans are being worked out in the history of the world and in our collective and individual histories.

With that said, let’s look more closely at Jeremiah 29:11 in the context of the period in history in which it was written and in the greater scheme of God in the history of His dealings with mankind. We will do that in Part II of this series on The Plans God Has for Us. And then we will come back to its relevance and application to us today.

Plans, Paths and Choices on the Way

We can live our lives on our own, going our own ways or we can live life in harmony with God and His ways.

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positphotos Image ID:: 76630903 Copyright: Aitormmfoto

The plans of the heart belong to man,
but the answer of the tongue is from the Lord. Prov. 16:1

God expects us to make our plans. The ability to plan, to exercise choice, was given to us by God, who created us in His own image. But we do not control the outcomes. On the one hand, we do not control our own destinies. On the other hand, we are not left to our own devices.

The heart of man plans his way, but the LORD establishes his steps. Prov. 16:9

We have the responsibility to plan our ways, but God determines the outcomes. We can spend our entire lives planning our ways without any thought to God, who determines our outcomes. We have the ability to live as if God does not even exist, but we do not escape the One who establishes the course we actually take. We may have no choice in the outcomes, but we have choice in our planning.

To that extent, we could plan our ways with God in mind, seeking God’s wisdom, God’s purposes and God’s plans. Or we can choose to plan our ways without regard to God at all. God gives us that choice.

A man’s steps are from the LORD; how then can man understand his way? Prov. 20:24

The actual courses we take, however, are affected by the “circumstances” of our lives, the opportunities and obstacles that come our way, and the almost unlimited variety of influences, happenings and factors that ultimately determine the “steps” we take. This is just another way of saying that God establishes our steps.

Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit”— yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.” As it is, you boast in your arrogance.  James 4:13-16

We don’t control our own way though we often think (presume) and act as if we do.  God doesn’t frown on our plans. He made us with the capacity to plan our own ways, but we err (sin) if we fail to understand that we are not in control of the outcome of our plans. Our ability to freely plan our ways creates an illusion that we are the captains of our own destinies, but thinking and acting as if we actually do captain our own destinies is arrogance of the first order.

What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. James 4:14

Our lives are but a breath. (Job 7:7) Our lives are like clouds that appear and then vanish into thin air. (Job 7:9) Our days on earth are just a shadow. (Job 8:9) Our days are like the runner, fleeing away. (Job 9:25) Our days pass on like grass boats slipping downstream. (Job 9:26) Our lives are like a wind that passes and never returns. (Psalm 78:39) We are like flowers that bloom and quickly wither. (Job 14:2)

LORD, make me to know my end and what is the extent of my days; Let me know how transient I am. Psalm 34:9

Don’t presume about your life. Be mindful that life is short. Be aware that God is ultimately in control. God has his purposes.  Pray and seek God and to understand His purposes. Make plans, but always be mindful of God and his plans and purposes. Invite God into your plans; seek for your plans to be harmonious with God’s plans.

We can live our lives on our own, going our own ways or we can live life in harmony with God and His ways. God gives us that choice, and we are responsible for the way we exercise that choice. At the end of our short days, as the bloom withers, what will be the outcome of our lives if we lived them our own ways?

The creed of this world lived our own way, apart from God, is I Did It My Way. We can do that. We can boast we did it our way. But, to what end?

As for me, when I think of the alternatives, when I consider the temptation to be the captain of my own soul, come hell or high water (as it is said), I think of the disciples complaining of the words of Jesus spoken to the crowds:

“This is a hard saying; who can listen to it?” (John 6:60)

Jesus didn’t change His message to accommodate His followers, and, as a result, “many of his disciples turned back and no longer walked with him”. (John 6:66)

In this context, Jesus turned to the twelve disciples and asked,

“Do you want to go away as well?” (John 6:67)

This is the question we all must face. This is point to which we all have or will arrive, either in this life, or when our days are done. How we respond to it is the ultimate choice we make or will make.

We don’t control when the light that is our life will go out. Our days are numbered, and they are in God’s hands. We don’t control when the choice to accept and follow Him can be made.

The plans of the heart belong to man,
but the answer of the tongue is from the Lord. Prov. 16:1

We make our choices, but God is the determining factor in our destiny. Will we choose to submit our selves, our plans, our destinies to God? Or will we go our own way.

When Jesus asked his disciples whether they wanted to go away too, as the others followers did when the message got difficult for them, Simon Peter answered for the group:

“Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life, and we have believed, and have come to know, that you are the Holy One of God.”

This, too, is my response. Though I often stumble, there is no other path for me. There is nothing else for me. There is nowhere else I want to be.

How about you?

Aiming for Eternity

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God is from everlasting to everlasting. He sets eternity in the hearts of men (Ecc. 3.11), but our glimpse of eternity and our sense of God is often obscured by the every day realities of our lives.

That God set eternity into the hearts of men should tell us something. It should urge us to look beyond ourselves, to look to God for His purpose in our lives. Yet we are often given to walking with our heads down, driven with blinders on chasing after self-fulfillment or prone to obsessive self-reflection with eyes turned inward. We have a hard time seeing past our own noses, much less focusing on an eternal God  We have a hard time, wherever our gazes are set, letting go of self-direction.

The Bible calls that sin.

Take the morality out of sin, and sin is simply missing the mark. The mark is God, His character and His purpose. When our focus is on other things, when we are pursuing other things to the exclusion of God, we are missing the mark. We are missing the purpose of God in our lives.

God, of course, is the very reason for our existence. Continue reading “Aiming for Eternity” →

Olympic Gold and Everlasting to Everlasting

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(c) Can Stock Photo

(c) Can Stock Photo

I tend to think that life revolves around me.  From my perspective, it does.  I see the world through my eyes.  My understanding of the world starts with me, but it cannot end there.

That myopic beginning is part of my lot in life. That is where my challenge starts.

I am finite.  My view of the world is limited. My view is not just limited; it is utterly infinitesimal.

Science tells us that the world began with a “bang” about 14 billion years ago.  All of known history is less than 10,000 years.  My life began only 56 years ago, and I might only have another 30 years or so if I am fortunate. In comparison to the age of the universe, I am barely a mist. Continue reading “Olympic Gold and Everlasting to Everlasting” →