Leviticus: rules or heart?

In Leviticus 10, there are two stories about ignoring God’s commands – one results in death and the other is blessed.

Nadab and Abihu took unauthorized incense into the sanctuary. The result was “fire came out from the Lord and consumed them”. The same fire that just consumed sacrifices in approval, consumed priests in disapproval. Then Aaron refused to eat consecrated meat but Moses – and God - accepted his actions.

We don’t know what was in the heart of Nadab and Abihu. Why did they disobey the commands? Was it from neglect, arrogance or something else? We will never know. Yet with Aaron, it was on purpose. He refused to obey the command because of his grief. The sacrificial meat was to be eaten in celebration but his heart could not rejoice after losing his sons. Thus he ignored the commands because his heart could not fulfill the command to rejoice. In these stories I find the balance of law and grace. When God’s law is violated without reason – or for poor reasons – there are consequences. When the spirit of God’s law is honored – even though the superficial action might actually be a violation – there is grace. 

Our God is an eternal Father. He knows his children and takes into account the heart behind the action. The question is do I? Or do I get so caught up in rule keeping that I only judge by actions? Would I have condemned Aaron that day? He disobeyed and he did it on purpose. How would I have responded? More importantly, how will I respond to the next Aaron in my life?

Genesis: Angry God?

In the second century, Marcion proposed that the Jewish God of the Old Testament and the God represented by Jesus were not the same god. Marcion did not stay in favor with the church for long - he was excommunicated. Yet his idea lives on in many of us. In the past month I have heard church leaders refer to the "harsh Old Testament" and give thanks for the mercy now available to us through Jesus.

But if Jesus is God, then Jesus is also the God of the Old Testament. Either he changed - which scripture says he does not - or I missed something. And I think the "something missed" is an unbiased - or at least less biased - reading of the Old Testament. After years of confronting this in myself and starting over once again reading through the OT for the New Year, I am struck by the mercy of the Old Testament God.

Consider this -
EDEN: Rather than come down in anger at the first sign of sin, God comes walking in the garden, asking questions, clothes the offenders and does not end their lives physically.
CAIN: God gives him advice ahead of time, comes asking questions and marks him so that others will not kill him.
FLOOD: Instead of total annihilation and starting from zero, God delays for years and saves a family who found favor in his eyes.
SODOM: God appears to Abraham ahead of time, explains that he has come in response to outcries, allows Abraham to bargain with him, rescues Abraham's family in Sodom, and even allows them to bargain for a different escape route.

If Jesus per John 1, John 17, and Colossians 1 and the Holy Spirit per Genesis 1:2 were per-existent to creation, then prior to creation our God was relational. It is his nature to come seeking, asking, connecting and showing mercy. Its what relationships are all about.

If this is who God is and if scripture has not changed for thousands of years, then the real question here is not about God but about me. Why do I come to scripture and fail to see mercy? How can I look at a series of events where mercy is lavished on people and be blind to it? Why do justice and punishment jump off the page while mercy can go completely overlooked? What does it say about my outlook on life? What does it say about my heart?

When I practiced veterinary medicine, an older doctor once told me, "I look for today, what I diagnosed yesterday." Perhaps we can't see what we don't look for. And we don't look for that which is not significant or valued. So when I look but do not see the mercy of God, I am confessing my values. Thus in the revelation of a merciful and relational God, I find reflected a revelation of my own heart.

And I do not always like what I see.

Joshua 20; Intent

There is a bumper sticker that reads "God said it. I believe it. That settles it." I don't see it as often as I used to; maybe we have grown wiser. God doesn't have as black and white a vision as we like to project upon him. On the other hand, he does set law and expect compliance. Somewhere in-between black & white harshness and technicolor tolerance lies his perspective.

If a murder was accidental, refuge was to be afforded to the perpetrator. His case was handled differently than someone who murdered intentionally. The intent was the determining factor; the heart was the key. In the life of Jesus, both Peter and Judas wronged him. Peter and Judas, however, had different hearts and were treated differently.

This challenges our outlook. I used to think all prostitutes were bad people until I spent time in Bolivia and discovered that most of these young girls were sold into prostitution as children. They have no desire or intent to be there; they are enslaved. Likewise, society tells me that the homeless guy on the corner needs to quit being lazy and take a job. After visiting with some I discovered that their PTSD from defending this society in war prevented that.

Life happens to us all, whether good or bad. External appearances and quick judgments are not as reliable as we like to think. Proper understanding takes time and a willingness to admit gray zones exist. Maybe I'll print a bumper sticker that reads, "God said it. I believe it. Now tell me your story."

Romans 9:1-18; Shaped by Mercy

Two thoughts seem to wrestle in my mind for preeminence when I read this section.

First, the question comes to me of "do I care this deeply for the people around me?" Paul was willing to be cursed so that others might know Christ. Do I feel the same? Do I have this depth of mercy and concern for others, especially others that I do not know personally? I stand convicted before the text.

Second, I'm back to the issue of working again. My right to stand justified before God and claim sonship is not based upon my effort or desire; my "being fit enough" to stand before God is totally a gift from him. What right do I have to pride? What right do I have to think that I have achieved anything?

So between those two thoughts, I start this day humbled. I am very blessed to be who I am and that should shape me into a man of mercy.

Romans 4:9-17; Who is really "in"?

Paul struggled to help the "in group" (Jewish community) realize that they would never be "in" because of their Jewishness. He was preaching against nearly two millennium of different understanding. Yet his words are so timely for the hear and now. Here is what it sounds like to substitute the words "church / unchurched" for "circumcised / uncircumcised".

Romans 4: 9Is this blessedness only for the churched, or also for the unchurched? We have been saying that Abraham's faith was credited to him as righteousness. 10Under what circumstances was it credited? Was it after he was churched, or before? It was not after, but before! 11And he received the sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness that he had by faith while he was still unchurched. So then, he is the father of all who believe but have not been churched, in order that righteousness might be credited to them. 12And he is also the father of the churched who not only are churched but who also walk in the footsteps of the faith that our father Abraham had before he was churched.

How hard it is to not think that we are acceptable because we are churched. We have the rules down, we know how we are supposed to act and we have confirmation from God that he established this community. Those are the exact same things that the Jews once said about themselves.

It produces a "we've got it right" attitude that is a turn-off to every unChristian person seeking God by faith. Perhaps when it is all said and done, God will have to demonstrate more mercy to the "in crowd" than we, the "in crowd", believe he must show to those who are outside.