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?

Exodus: picky stuff.

I think its about the time we hit the instructions for the tabernacle that all hope of reading through the Bible in a year grind to a halt. There are details about yarn color, how many clasps to use on the curtains, what to make pegs out of, how many posts to use, etc. It is an amazing amount of details. In fact, it just feels downright picky and trivial.

At least we can all agree that when God wants to give details, he knows how to do it. This is not a vague revelation with a lot of guesswork on the part of Moses and the people. This is an amazing amount of minutiae. If something is critical to him, he
can get the point across.

So when did we shift to making mountains from molehills? I have been raised to answer vague questions by taking potential references and developing them into doctrines. In some cases, two verses suffice for church division and hurt feelings. Yet, if God is good enough at details to give pages of information on curtains and pegs, then I imagine he would give more than two verses of information if something was important to him. So if the details are not there, maybe the doctrine was never supposed to be there either.

Exodus: That was the easy part?

When Moses and the people arrived at Sinai, God told them, "You yourselves have seen what I did to Egypt and how I carried you on eagles' wings and brought you to myself." On eagles' wings? That sounds so easy. Reality check - didn't they find themselves trapped between an angry army and the sea, run out of water, march across barren land, then find only bitter water and run out of food for a while? That doesn't sound like riding on eagles' wings to me.

But, if from God's perspective that really is riding on eagles' wings, then what I am supposed to learn from this? Maybe its a matter of trust. Maybe its the same situation I often had with my children when they were small. To my children it didn't feel like they were being taken care of when the big dog came barking from next door or loud explosions went off at New Years. It surely seemed inexplicably frustrating that they couldn't reach the cereal or juice - hence concluding that they were starving. Yet they never were outside of my care and protection. 

Maybe from a heavenly Father's point of view, Israel never was outside of his care and protection even when they saw the army coming or ran out of water. Maybe today I can remember that and live like my disasters, fears and worries will not put me outside of my Father's care.

Exodus: What's in your heart?

As the Egyptian army bore down on Israel pushing them towards the sea, the people were terrified. All they could see was sure death. Yet Moses saw something else and calmly spoke of the Lord's deliverance. Two groups looked at the same situation but did not see the same thing. All saw the chariots and spears but only one saw an opportunity for God. Most were ruled by the "concerns of men" while one was ruled by the "concerns of God."

Jesus rebuked Peter for mixing up his concerns. When Peter didn't want Jesus to die, Jesus rebuked him saying, "You don't have in mind the concerns of God but merely human concerns."

So today, when a city floods, do I see loss of buildings, money, materials? Or do I see how this might shape the soul and spirit of a people? When my car is hit, do I see financial loss, time spent on paperwork and tremendous inconvenience? Or do I see a window of opportunity to enter into the personal story of others that I would otherwise never meet? When I am sick, do I moan and make everyone else as miserable as me? Or do I rest in the opportunity to spend time refocusing my life?

Concerns of God versus concerns of men. Which one rules my heart? Which one sets my worldview?

Exodus: Why is this so hard anyway?

Robert Reid is a former missionary to Portugal. He is an exceptional man whose ministry was very blessed. Robert has cerebral palsy and needs help with most daily functions. Due to his external deficiencies, many people were not inclined to support his ministry. Often people questioned his desire to be a missionary. One day when we were talking, Robert said, "When I get to heaven, I want to ask God, 'why was it so hard to do what you wanted us to do anyway'"?

Great question. Why is it hard to get church committees to trust Jesus more than the budget? Why is it hard for Christian institutions to accept Christian norms rather than societal norms? Why is it so hard to help people walk closer to the Father even after they said they want to do so? Basically, when there is a clear vision for what is good, why does it seem that God doesn't jump in to clear away the obstacles? Closer to home, why is it so hard for me to walk faithfully when times are hard?

Surely Moses thought the same thing. He had a clear call from God, was given the needed resources for success, and was sent to liberate God's people. The next thing you know, everything went wrong. Pharaoh made the Israelite's life miserable and they turned on Moses. In Exodus 5 they told him, “May the Lord look on you and judge you!” Then in chapter 6 when he passed on an encouraging word from God, "they did not listen to him because of their discouragement and harsh labor." And very likely the first three plagues affected both Egyptians and Israelites alike. Not exactly the greatest start to a ministry.


In the one year reading plan I'm following, today's reference in the New Testament was Jesus and Peter walking on the water in Matthew 14. I wonder if Jesus purposefully sent the apostles onto the sea knowing that the storm would hit them squarely in the face? Did he want them to have to struggle all night before he showed up? Was it part of his plan?

It seems that the Father uses storms - human, political, natural - to stack the odds and make it clear who is really at work. The issue then becomes how do I respond to storms - especially those that stop us from doing what God asked us to do anyway? Do I see them as moments when the Father may show up? Do I stay the course? Or do I become like the other Jewish leaders who complained and actually turned against Moses - and therefore against God.

Genesis: 1991

In 1991, the Cold War ended, a U.N. coalition fought the Gulf War (Operation Desert Storm), Jeffrey Dahmer was arrested in Milwaukee, Rodney King was beaten, the 911 system was being tested, Centel was advertising a revolutionary idea called a cell phone the size of a brick, a gallon of gasoline cost $1.12, I returned to graduate school and my first son was born. I wonder what I prayed about then? I wonder how the Father responded?

Twenty-two years later, 1991 seems like a blip on the radar. There was so much going on at the moment that I believed would be unforgettable. Now, I struggle to remember. The importance of yesterday is overshadowed by the urgency of today. Of the perpetual prayers and special spiritual moments, what do I remember now? What was profound enough that even today I am shaped by its memory? Can I remember?

Those are the questions that come to me when I think of Joseph. From the time he was given a promise by God to the time it was fulfilled, twenty-two years passed. Twenty-two amazing years of abandonment, slavery, false accusations, and prison followed by rising to the office of Prime Minister. Through tragedy and triumph he could trace the fulfillment of those words spoken two decades earlier.

It makes me question how much attention am I paying to life? To God? What promise spoken to me twenty-two years ago still shapes my worldview? What words or prayers lifted up twenty-two years ago influence how I live today? What from today will shape my world in 2026? Am I paying close attention in the moment or just hurrying through life believing the American lie that he who runs through life at the fastest pace wins?

Perhaps the prayer that should shape my life is, "Lord, help me pay more attention to the important and less to the urgent." Something will shape my life in 2026; why not let it be a relationship with the Father from today?

Genesis: Wrestling with hard times

Jacob is an amazing person. He deceives his brother twice, his father once and tries to cut a deal with God after seeing a vision. I've always wondered how God felt when he promised to give Jacob thousands of descendants and all the land he could see only for Jacob to respond with "I'll give you 10% back." Seems a little anticlimactic to me; yet the Father didn't give up on him. Rather God led Jacob to Laban who conned the young con. Imagine working seven years for a bride only to have the dad switch daughters at the last minute. Is it any wonder that the relationship between Jacob and Laban was a little strained?

So when Laban caught up with the fleeing Jacob (Genesis 31), a rather interesting conversation followed. Jacob complained that he suffered heat by day, cold by night, worked 14 years for his wives, 6 for his flocks, had his wages changed 10 times and would have been poor if God had not intervened. Laban responded that all the wives, children and flocks were technically his anyway. The next chapter is the famous scene of Jacob wrestling all night with what turns out to be an angel - an angel powerful enough that he could have beaten Jacob at any moment. Jacob finally realized what  happened when he proclaimed, "I saw God face to face and yet my life was spared."

My question is whether these are indeed the same story? Not chronologically but metaphorically. What does it look like today when we wrestle God? Maybe it looks like frustrating life conditions, unfair treatment and the feeling that only by God's mercy are we not totally depraved. Maybe Jacob's life with Laban was really a prolonged wrestling match with God. Was God trying to teach Jacob something? Temper him? Grow him?

So what do my wrestling matches look like? Is frustration on my job or hard times in my family actually God at work, wrestling to get through my defenses and teach me something? Is unfair treatment his attempt to grow me? Is frustration for my benefit? And what will it take for me to realize this? To come to my senses and understand what the Father is doing to, in and for me?

Jacob limped away a new person from the wrestling match; he entered the fight as Jacob but left as Israel. Surely I will wrestle with God and/or life again, the question is will I leave as a new person or simply with a limp to add to my list of complaints?