Unfortunately, Sandy has strep again (or still!), so I'm doing her post for her.
I read a few interesting sermons on these OT passages by Rev Rayburn.
In his sermon on the beginning of Chapter 9, Rayburn shows how there are two seemingly opposite truths being taught by this scripture, that are sometimes hard for us to put together.
The Bible does this fairly often, like we've seen with God's sovereignty and the freewill of man. Both doctrines are true, but they seem to be opposite to our human viewpoint, and we're not given a way to get from one to the other. Same with the concept of the Trinity - both the doctrine of One True God, and the doctrine of the godhead existing in three persons, are true. But it is really hard for our human minds to grasp how they can both be true at the same time.
Rayburn indicates that there are two doctrinal truths being taught in this passage that are also hard for us to reconcile, if we believe in both of them wholeheartedly.
They are...
- In the first place we have God’s law as demand and requirement to be strictly obeyed...The point is: there are laws and regulations that we are obliged to observe; obliged because God has laid them down in his Law. We are not free to alter that law no matter the reason.....
And lest anyone think that this strictness in demand and the threat of judgment for disobedience is peculiar to the OT, as if the Lord were harsher in the ancient epoch than he is today ... the same emphasis is found in the NT. There are a great many texts I could cite, but since we are talking about the sacraments let me remind you of 1 Cor. 11:27 and 30 where Paul tells the Corinthian church that some among them had already suffered the judgment of the Lord because they had profaned the sacrament. Some were sick and some were dead because they had not carefully observed the requirements the Lord had laid down for the proper observance of the sacrament – sickness and death just as in Numbers 9. They also had been cut off from the people.
But that is not the whole story. There is another pole on the continuum of the Bible’s teaching about the law. The Bible tells us something else about God’s law that is not easily reconciled with this emphasis on its strict and inflexible demand, the requirements that cannot be broken, and the forbidding of all deviations.
- In the second place there is in God’s Law a wonderful accommodation and concern to meet the real-life situations of human beings. Requirements are tailored to help, not to hinder the life of God’s people....And, while we might have supposed that the Lord would simply have said that the Passover, being a commemoration of an actual historical event had to be observed on its proper date, the Lord in fact bends to meet the need of his people to ensure they would not miss his blessing. He doesn’t want anyone left out. He wants everyone to have the blessing of the feast. Before this, of course, the Lord in effect had as much as said that if his people could not participate because they were providentially hindered, he would not hold it against them. There is a great deal of difference between the person who doesn’t go to church because he doesn’t want to and the person who can’t because he is sick or infirm, or a soldier in the field, or, like Robinson Crusoe, marooned on a desert island. The Lord knows the difference! Some, for no fault of their own would not be able to participate but the Lord would not for that reason accuse them of a fault. But he goes still further. He makes an accommodation for those who couldn’t participate.
He allows this group of people – and all subsequent folk like them – to take the Passover a month later. That is a remarkable concession when you think about it; when you think about what Passover commemorated and about how strictly it was to be observed according to the regulations laid down, one of which stipulated the date on which it was to be observed. But the law is an expression of God’s goodness and his love and so it should not really surprise us that he makes even his law to accommodate the difficulties of his people’s lives....
The Lord was happy to accommodate real life situations. The Lord by his Law was after something in us and didn’t necessarily care how that thing was got if only it was got. There is a spirit to these laws, a basic interest, and it is this spirit that matters most...
the law is both firm and flexible, both demanding and understanding, both hard and gentle, both the expression of God’s holiness and of his love and tender affection for his people. The law said that Passover must be held on the fourteenth day of the first month because it was on that day the event itself occurred that the feast was created to commemorate. But the law also said that if someone couldn’t make that date, he or she could observe it on another. Remarkable and so important to a true understanding of the very nature of God’s law. True as it is that unbelievers need to hear about the blessing of living under God’s law, of having reliable direction for our lives, and knowing that that direction comes from the heart of a God who loves us so much he gave his Son for our salvation; I say, as important as it is for unbelievers to know this, it is also important for Christians – who can also chafe against God’s law, for they have the spirit of rebellion still living in them – to remember themselves how blessed are the people who love God’s law. (emphasis in bold mine)
He indicates that we are wanting a pillar of fire or cloud to obviously direct our paths, like God did for the Israelites, but that we really do not need it. We have the Word of God, and we have our own personal "Hobabs" (Moses bil upon whose desert expertise he relied) to guide us in our journey.
And for the most part, I agree with that. We have the Word (which, when read and applied to our lives, will take care of a lot of our decisions) and we do have godly mentors and leaders who can give us wise advice.
But he doesn't seem to be allowing for the work of the Holy Spirit. I do believe that the Holy Spirit does work to lead and guide us when we are praying with the right motives (I do believe that we are sometimes guilty of doing the slanted fleece thing and "blaming" the Holy Spirit for our decisions too). I do believe that the Holy Spirit can call individuals to certain ministry work, or to certain jobs, or to marry certain people. But where is that fine line? I think it comes down to our own personal motives, our heart - and nobody but God can judge its purity. What are your thoughts on this?
He also had some very convicting words to say about grumbling in his sermon on Chapter 11. This has gotten really long, so I need to cut this short. But I have always read this coming section with a haughty attitude. Oh, I've tried to say "I'm sure I would've been no better" because it's the Christian thing to say, but I really thought I would've been better! (can you say firstborn anyone?! OK, and pride issues too apparently) However, I've also never taken grumbling nearly as seriously as God obviously does and this sermon really stepped on my toes.
He says that grumbling is evidence of unbelief; it is forgetting (or not appreciating, or taking for granted) God, His love and His power; it is a denial of God's providence; and it occurs when present trials triumph over the future rewards.
He makes the obvious (well, now it's obvious, but it wasn't to me before this) parallel between the Israelites journey through the wilderness while pressing on to the Promised Land, and our journey here on earth as we press on towards heaven. Suddenly I'm not feeling to prideful anymore. I'd encourage you to read it, if you have the time.
Tomorrow's passage: Numbers 12-14 - Mark 14:27-53
7 comments:
Very interesting thoughts here. I am in agreement with you on everything. I do think that there are times where we "put out the fleece" and test for an answer, particularly if we feel we are supposed to do something we don't really want to do. I don't agree with Rev. Dr. Rayburn on everything (I did read a portion of that sermon). Basically he's saying the only way we can know what God wants us to do is by reading the Bible and seeking advice of a knowledgeable advisor.
Perhaps there are times where we rely on our feelings about a subject too much, rather than seeking an answer in the Bible or advice from someone knowledgeable about the subject, and assume that this was guidance from the Holy Spirit. However, there are times where I believe we are directed, or we see or hear something we wouldn't otherwise have noticed, and I believe we are guided in these ways at times.
It is also possible that our motivation is a part of the equation as well. Are we truly seeking God's will because we want to do it, whatever it may be, or are we asking permission for something we want to do but aren't sure if it's His will or not?
You could argue that I "put out the fleece" when I started a home daycare. Basically, I prayed about it quite a bit, and I decided that if this was what God wanted me to do, I would get the children I needed to earn the income for what we require. Guess what? We have what we need, and sometimes extra. Do I take this as a sign of guidance? Yes, I do. I believe that because I am seeking to follow God's will, and stepped out in faith to try something I was hesitant to do, He has assured me that I am on the correct path by meeting our needs.
I believe we need to read the Bible and follow carefully God's laws. I also believe it is good to seek advice from people who know what they're talking about in the area we're seeking guidance about, but I also believe that there is a "still, small voice", a nudge, a quiet noticing of something we might have otherwise missed, and sometimes a "HEY, PAY ATTENTION!" in the form of some huge, life-altering occurrence, such as perhaps an accident. I believe those things to be guidance from God, in some cases. Just my opinion.
Good points, ladies ~ both of you! I tend to agree with Miriam, I think, on the direction of the Holy Spirit. I think the part that frustrates me most is so often there seems to be NO direction!! No matter how much I pray, no matter how many wise people you talk to, no matter how much searching I do in my Bible, there is just no indication on some matters. I guess that's where the "leap of faith" comes into play, as long as we're committed to serving and glorifying God with whatever outcome results.
Oh, AND I've downloaded the grumbling sermon on my mp3, so I will be listening to that later while I clean my house. Without grumbling, of course!! ;)
Oh dang, forgot to sign out after updating the church's site. Sorry, those two comments were ME!!
I agree with Miriam that if I step out, after praying and feeling that God wants me in that direction, and then my needs are met, I believe that God is leading me to that path. But I also agree with Tammi that it is frustrating when there does not seem to be an answer.
What stood out for me from today's readings was that God bowed to the needs of the people. I thought that was interesting because God doesn't HAVE to do anything for us much less give us quail when he already meeting all of our needs. But yet he does. Amazing.
I get what you're saying, Pam, but I looked at it from a slightly different perspective. I remember this passage from last year, too, and I remember thinking of it kind of like a father finding his kid smoking and then saying "OK, you want to smoke? Go for it. Smoke the whole pack! And don't stop until you're done! Oh, you feel sick? Too bad. You should have thought of that before."
God did give them quail, but he also said 'Now the LORD will give you meat, and you will eat it. You will not eat it for just one day, or two days, or five, ten or twenty days, but for a whole month—until it comes out of your nostrils and you loathe it—because you have rejected the LORD, who is among you, and have wailed before him, saying, “Why did we ever leave Egypt?”’
Yeah, I think this experience with quail was NOT a positive one! Not only were they going to get literally sick of it, but many also died from a plague after eating it.
Actually, I always find it a little curious that it almost seems like God changed His mind about how He was going to punish them for whining. First He says they'll eat quail for a month, till it's oozing out of their pores, but as soon as the quail arrives, a bunch of them die of plague and there's no further mention of them eating quail for a month yet after that and getting tired of it.
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