Faith and life meet in a story
Then Moses stood in the entrance of the camp, and said, “Whoever is on the LORD’S side—come to me!” And all the sons of Levi gathered themselves together to him. Exodus 32:26
Notice three things about Moses’s call.
It is personal. No one can make the decision for you.
It is public. The challenge is issued in front of the entire nation.
It is active. It requires that we separate ourselves.
Today and every day, you and I face that same challenge.
Am I, are you, on the LORD’S side?
Exodus 6:9 “When Moses told this to the Israelites, they were too discouraged and mistreated to believe him.” (CEV)
Moses told them God had heard.
He was marshaling His mighty power on their behalf, fulfilling His promises, pouring out His grace.
And they couldn’t see it.
All they knew was their situation and how it left them.
Discouraged.
Despondent.
Beaten down.
Broken.
They couldn’t see His hand in their circumstances,
and yet, He was doing far more than they asked.
Is He working on my behalf in ways I can’t see?
Is He working on your behalf in ways you can’t see?
Yes.
Don’t believe me – pray like Elisha 2 Kings 6:17 “Open my eyes that I may see.”
And the LORD’s anger was kindled against Israel, and he made them wander in the wilderness forty years, until all the generation that had done evil in the sight of the LORD was gone. Numbers 32:13
The dictionary defines a wilderness as uncultivated, uninhabited or undisturbed by human activity. A wilderness is also pathless. Metaphorically it is a bewildering situation.
No doubt many of us have had our own wilderness experiences- or have that to look forward to. As it turns out, Scripture has a lot to say about the wilderness and what happens there. We are most familiar with wandering, and we’ll look at that shortly.
But the wilderness is also a place of transition, restoration, instruction, temptation and communion. Over the next few weeks we’ll take a closer look at what happens when we go into the wilderness.
We know the story of Israel’s rebellion in the desert. God brought to the very edge of the Promised Land but they refused to cross over and take it. Because of that fateful decision, God turned them back to the desert of Sinai for forty years until the entire generation died off.
It is easy to focus on the tragedy of Israel’s disobedience and loss. Yes, it was a time of judgment. Yes, God’s anger was roused against His people. But God was doing so much more.
He sustained them – Nehemiah explains, “Forty years You sustained them in the wilderness, They lacked nothing; Their clothes did not wear out And their feet did not swell.” Nehemiah 9:21 The judgment did not fall without a provision for how God was going to take care of His people through it. This was an important reminder for the generation returning from Babylonian captivity, a seventy-year judgment. God sustained His people in the wilderness and He sustained them in Babylon.
We can also take heart. When our rebellion and sin pushes us out of God’s will, He does not abandon us. No, even then He sustains us.
He did miracles – In Deuteronomy 8, Moses recounts how God provided water from a rock and manna. Their crowd of former slaves defeated sizable armies. When the fiery serpents came in another judgment, God granted miraculous relief. There was the cloud and the fire. The Jordan River parted, and on and on. God never ceased working on behalf of His people.
Even when we feel distant from God, He continues to work in mercy and grace all around us.
He proved them – “And you shall remember the whole way that the LORD your God has led you these forty years in the wilderness, that he might humble you, testing you to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep his commandments or not” (Deuteronomy 8:2). This is not to say that God didn’t already know, but after their time in the wilderness, Israel knew that the big promises they made back in Exodus 19:8 (“All that the LORD has spoken we will do.”) couldn’t be half-hearted lip service. We see this in the New Testament as followers of Jesus walked away when the reality of discipleship became clear.
During our days in the wilderness we learn if we are following God or our version of Him, and what our motivation is.
He restored them – The promises of a land flowing with milk and honey were not forfeited because of Israel’s failures. The realization of those promises was delayed. Israel remained God’s chosen people and He restored them to Himself once His anger had been satisfied.
No matter what, a wilderness experience is never permanent. God is always ready and willing to restore us.
Several of the psalms celebrate God’s care for Israel while they were in the wilderness. It is a testimony to His patience and His grace toward His people. However, we must never presume upon that grace and choose to transgress against Him. Paul breaks down that argument in Romans 6.
Not every wilderness experience is a result of our rebellion. Next week we’ll see how time away is sometimes necessary for a transition to the next thing God has for us.
Want to read more about the Wilderness?
The Wilderness
Hearing the Voice in the Wilderness
[A]nd while my glory passes by I will put you in a cleft of the rock, and I will cover you with my hand until I have passed by. Exodus 33:22
God is responding to a desperate heart cry from Moses.
Show me your glory.
Show me your kabod
Glory is a good translation,
But it’s one that doesn’t quite capture all that the Hebrew is.
It is honor.
It is splendor.
It is riches and reputation.
It is something we give great weight to.
It is presence and position.
It is fullness and significance.
And that kind of glory belongs to God alone.
The psalms tell us God’s glory is above the heavens.
And the heavens, in turn, declare it.
There is glory is His name.
But Isaiah tells us it will be revealed
And the earth will be full of the glory of the Lord.
Like Moses, Isaiah saw the glory.
So did Solomon.
So did John.
And it was too much.
But what if we all earnestly prayed,
“Lord, show me Your glory.”
Entering the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother, and falling to their knees, they worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts: gold, frankincense, and myrrh. Matthew 2:11
We’re thinking about the three gifts the wise men brought to Jesus. Matthew calls them treasures which implies the value of the gifts. Last week we opened up the gold.
Why frankincense?
For over 6,000 years frankincense has been traded throughout the Near East. It is dried sap from one particular kind of tree, the Boswellia sacra, that grows in remote locations in places like Oman, Yemen, Ethiopia, and Somalia. The best frankincense is silvery-white in color and was usually reserved for sultans. In fact, pound for pound, the frankincense was probably worth more than the gold. Ancient people valued it because it was thought to have medicinal properties and it could ward off snakes (and evil spirits). But it most noted because it smelled terrific.
The ancient world, the world even a hundred years ago could be a pretty stinky place, and not just from livestock. Trades like leatherwork and fishing were smelly. Burning trash is smelly. Disease and death also have odors. And in a time without deodorant and mouthwash, people were smelly.
Even more important, in Exodus 30:34, frankincense is listed as one of the ingredients in the holy incense to be used in the Tabernacle and later in the Temple. However, the recipe came with a warning that it was for worship only. The incense was a powerful sensory reminder of prayer, constant prayer, that was lifted to God and received as a wonderful aroma.
Last week, we mentioned that if we wanted to be wise, we would follow the wise men’s example. First, we should do everything we can to get ourselves into the presence of Jesus. The next step is to recognize that He is king. The third step is to fall down and worship Him. Last, open our treasures.
What if we haven’t been to Oman lately for a fresh supply of frankincense?
Make this season one of prayer. Prayers of thanksgiving. Prayers of praise and adoration. Prayers of intercession. Paul encouraged the believers in Thessalonica to pray without ceasing. Jesus also encouraged His followers to be faithful in prayer. In fact, Luke 18 begins, “Now he told them a parable on the need for them to pray always and not give up.”
God is honored by our prayers because each one acknowledges Him as the One able to meet our needs and intervene in the situations we lay before Him. Seeking Him in prayer identifies Him as we praise and worship. It attests that we recognize our limits and His complete sufficiency. Prayers are a treasure fit for our Savior and king.
But here’s another treasure. Paul says in 2 Corinthians 2:14-15 that God spreads the aroma of the knowledge of Christ everywhere through us. We are the fragrance of Christ.
So this week as you celebrate Christmas, what sweet fragrance of prayer can you offer? Where can you bring the aroma of the knowledge of Christ? Don’t keep the treasures to yourself.
Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, “I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.” John 8:12
Last week, we began a look at the seven emphatic I AM statements Jesus makes in the Gospel of John. Each statement employs a metaphor to describe His salvation work. But in each of the conversations or discourses, He also exposes us.
We have to go back to John 7 to get the context of this statement. It is the Feast of the Tabernacles, the time when the Jews commemorated and celebrated God’s provision and presence with them in the desert. As part of that celebration, the lit huge lamps in the Temple court to recall the pillar of fire, God’s manifest presence.
In that setting, Jesus declares, “I am the light of the world.”
Then, Jesus presents a stark contrast for His followers. They do not walk in darkness but have the light of life.
We don’t walk in darkness. Right? Darkness is evil. We aren’t evil. In the big picture, no. If we’ve accepted Jesus Christ then we have that light of eternal life and that can’t be lost or taken away from us. But considering the timing of Jesus’s declaration, I think He was calling us to more than just salvation.
In Exodus 14:19, the pillar of fire moves between the children of Israel and the armies of Egypt, clearly dividing the two. There was no question which side of the fire you were on.
By choosing this moment to make this pronouncement, Jesus is issuing a pointed, convicting challenge to His hearers. That includes His hearers today.
There has to be a choice. A clear, definitive choice. And you have to go all in. In fact, Jesus spells this out multiple times. If you put your hand to the plow but look back, you aren’t fit for the Kingdom (Luke 9:62). If you are unwilling to forsake all that you have, you can’t be My disciple (Luke 14:26).
Jesus didn’t stutter when He said it, either.
If you want to play the “follow Jesus on Sunday but the other six days are mine” game, then you are choosing to walk in darkness rather than the Light of the World. Jesus says His followers aren’t like that. They don’t choose the far side of the fire. They choose light. They choose to live every day in His presence and under His protection. But that means saying no to everything else.
He is the Light of the World. Are you His follower?
Last week: I am the Bread of Life
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