The Peril of Misrepresentation

Sometimes the biblical knowledge of a Christian can inhibit growth.  This may seem strange, but it is a common malady.  Our familiarity with a passage may lead us to gloss over key details which could greatly broaden our understanding.  For instance, I have heard people describe God's love with the word "unconditional."  Whilst it is true God's love is freely given according to His grace - no one deserves or could earn such love extended to all - I believe people can love unconditionally without God.  I suggest there are people in the world who are die-hard, loyal until death supporters of sports teams which have never won!  If our understanding of God's love is merely as "unconditional", we miss the richness of the depths of the knowledge of how deep God's love goes.  I remember well my attempts to find the word "unconditional" in the Bible and was surprised I could not.  I discovered God's "agapao" and "agape" love is unconditional, but that is an incomplete definition.  Agapao is "the active love of God for His Son and His people, and the active love His people are to have for God, each other, and even enemies" (Strong's Concordance).  1 Corininthians 13 contains a great passage which describes God's love in detail.  It is unconditional, but much more still!

Last night I read the passage where Moses struck the rock in Meribah.  I thought about times I heard people limit their interpretation and application to how Moses "misrepresented" God.  Because that is what some have taught, perhaps this is also what you think too.  Did Moses "misrepresent" God?  Frankly, I don't know that Moses ever intended to be a "representation" of God to the people.  He was God's representative, but there is a difference.  Anyways, I have always scratched my head over that interpretation of his actions because God lists several faults of Moses as reasons for him and Aaron being denied entrance to the Promised Land - and "misrepresentation" is not one of them.  Moses was not denied the Promised Land because of losing his temper.  As convenient as this application may be, the scriptures do not support it.  I assure you my aim is not to take shots at anyone who has taught this (for no doubt I did at one time too) but to encourage all to be good students of scripture.  We should not bring our oversimplifications, generalisations, or neatly bundled theology to the Bible and miss what the Bible says!  If the Bible only exists to confirm our prior beliefs, we will not learn anything.  Generalisations can be comfortable or convenient, but they are not always accurate.

Numbers 20 tells of how the people complained and murmured against God for their lack of water.  They claimed they had been misled, expressed their distrust, and questioned God's wisdom.  Moses and Aaron went to the tabernacle, fell on their faces, and God spoke with them.  Numbers 20:7-12 reads, "Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, ⁸ "Take the rod; you and your brother Aaron gather the congregation together. Speak to the rock before their eyes, and it will yield its water; thus you shall bring water for them out of the rock, and give drink to the congregation and their animals." ⁹ So Moses took the rod from before the LORD as He commanded him. ¹⁰ And Moses and Aaron gathered the assembly together before the rock; and he said to them, "Hear now, you rebels! Must we bring water for you out of this rock?" ¹¹ Then Moses lifted his hand and struck the rock twice with his rod; and water came out abundantly, and the congregation and their animals drank. ¹² Then the LORD spoke to Moses and Aaron, "Because you did not believe Me, to hallow Me in the eyes of the children of Israel, therefore you shall not bring this assembly into the land which I have given them."  Moses disobeyed God by striking the rock as he had once before (Exodus 17:6).  His disobedience was a product of unbelief, as God said in verse 12.  In addition to unbelief, God rebuked Moses and Aaron because they did not "hallow Me in the eyes of the children of Israel."  If we look Exodus 17:6-7 passage at Massah, water from the rock was undeniable evidence God was among the people.  In the Numbers 20 passage, Moses did not hallow God.  He did not even mention God directly.  One might think the power was within him:  "Must we (Moses and Aaron) bring water for you out of this rock?"  It would be preposterous to suggest Moses included God in "we."

If you were to read in other portions of scripture, more light is shed on the specific reasons God refused to allow Moses and Aaron to enter the Promised Land.  Numbers 20:23-24 says, "And the LORD spoke to Moses and Aaron in Mount Hor by the border of the land of Edom, saying: ²⁴ "Aaron shall be gathered to his people, for he shall not enter the land which I have given to the children of Israel, because you rebelled against My word at the water of Meribah."  This is the third reason given for Moses and Aaron being denied entrance:  rebellion and disobedience.  God repeated this to Moses when he was told of his death by God in Numbers 27:12-14:  "Now the LORD said to Moses: "Go up into this Mount Abarim, and see the land which I have given to the children of Israel. ¹³ And when you have seen it, you also shall be gathered to your people, as Aaron your brother was gathered. ¹⁴ For in the Wilderness of Zin, during the strife of the congregation, you rebelled against My command to hallow Me at the waters before their eyes." (These are the waters of Meribah, at Kadesh in the Wilderness of Zin.)"  Again, the rebellion of Moses was the issue God cited - not misrepresentation.  The Bible never says God punished Moses because he messed up His typology.  Moses affirmed in Deuteronomy 1:37 and 4:21 that God was angry with him for the sake of the people and he would die and not cross over the Jordan.  God deserves glory, and Moses did not sanctify Him in the eyes of the people.

Moses was a faithful servant of God, but to whom much is given much is required.  In Hebrews 11, Moses was not remembered by his faults but according to his faith in God.  In Acts 7, Stephen compared Moses with Christ in his statement before the Jewish rulers and high priest.  The grave of Moses has never been found, but God spelled out his offense clearly for us:  unbelief, he did not sanctify God in the eyes of the people, and rebellion.  God made Moses great and used him mightily, despite his flaws.  In this I find great comfort.  Should we relegate the sins of Moses to misrepresentation, we generalise something God clearly spelled out again and again.  Let us be cautious to ensure we open the scriptures with minds ready to be changed, hearts willing to be confronted, and theology longing to grow.  Instead of the sweet candy of catchphrases or oversimplification, let us feed on the milk and meat of the word.  The Bible ought to be our authority, not a means of bias confirmation!

Help for Cast Souls

"Why are you cast down, O my soul? And why are you disquieted within me? Hope in God; for I shall yet praise Him, the help of my countenance and my God."

 Psalm 43:5

Have you ever wondered why a good shepherd will leave 99 sheep in the wilderness to seek one sheep that is lost?  In Philip Keller's classic, A Shepherd Looks at Psalm 23, this is explained in detail.  A sheep missing from the flock could be lost, injured, trapped, or cast.  A cast sheep is one that has fallen over and is unable to stand back up.  All sheep are susceptible to being cast, and factors such as heavy wool, uneven terrain, and pregnancy can play a role.  What looks funny or pathetic to us is a dire condition for a sheep!  When a sheep is cast and wildly struggles to regain its footing, gasses quickly build in the stomach which cuts off the blood supply to the limbs.  A cast sheep can die in a matter of hours.

A good shepherd, seeing a sheep he loves is missing from the flock, will set out on an urgent search to find the wayward sheep.  Should he discover the sheep is cast, he will roll the sheep to its stomach and gently lift from the ground.  Because the blood supply is cut off to the legs and rendered them useless, he is patient to massage the legs, support the sheep, and wait until the sheep can stand on its own.  Before too long the sheep will be feeling good and grazing, likely not even realising minutes before it was perilously close to death.  Jesus spoke of how a shepherd would gather his friends and urge them to rejoice, for he had found the sheep that was lost.

The Bible compares people to sheep.  All we like sheep have gone astray, and the LORD has laid on Jesus the iniquity of us all (Is. 53:6).  Jesus came to seek and save the lost, and rejoiced to redeem our lost souls from hell.  Jesus has promised us fullness of joy and peace that passes understanding, but like sheep there are many factors which can easily lay us low.  We can be depressed and down, physically drained and without the spiritual ability to lift ourselves up.  Sickness, circumstances, trials, persecution, sin, and our fleshly nature can throw us off our feet.  A sheep needs a shepherd to keep watch over him to be healthy and strong, and Christians are those who have answered the call for Jesus Christ to be their good shepherd.  David was a man who experienced perilous trouble and severe tests of faith, but God was with him.  There were many days where David resembled a cast sheep in spirit, flailing around and becoming increasingly numb.  Always the Good Shepherd found Him, put him on his feet again, and saved him from his enemies - even when that enemy was himself.

After David fled from Absalom his usurping son, he penned Psalm 3:1-8:  "LORD, how they have increased who trouble me! Many are they who rise up against me. ² Many are they who say of me, "There is no help for him in God." Selah ³ But You, O LORD, are a shield for me, my glory and the One who lifts up my head. ⁴ I cried to the LORD with my voice, and He heard me from His holy hill. Selah ⁵ I lay down and slept; I awoke, for the LORD sustained me. ⁶ I will not be afraid of ten thousands of people who have set themselves against me all around. ⁷ Arise, O LORD; save me, O my God! For You have struck all my enemies on the cheekbone; You have broken the teeth of the ungodly. ⁸ Salvation belongs to the LORD. Your blessing is upon Your people. Selah."  God is the lifter of our heads when we cry out to Him.  When our souls are cast He will support us and lead us into good pasture.  Even when we walk through the valley of the shadow of death we will fear no evil, for He will remain with us.  Surely goodness and mercy will follow God's people all the days of their lives, and they will dwell in the house of the LORD forever!

Joy in Death?

Last night I turned on a random music mix as our family washed up after dinner.  As a song by the band Third Day played, I was reminded of a friend named Mark Peters who has already passed into eternity.  Thinking of Mark caused me to think of Mark Rawn who also has gone been to be with the LORD while I have been living in Australia.  We used to attend Calvary Chapel El Cajon together, and I was always blessed to serve alongside them.

It was a unique experience as I washed dishes and listened to the song.  It was like Mark Peters and Mark Rawn were together, and they were laughing.  Try as I might, in my mind I could only see them smiling broadly in supreme comfort.  They were rejoicing!  Could I mourn for them now, seeing they had entered into the presence of the LORD for eternity?  In a strange way I almost envied them.  "You don't need to cry for me when my body dies," I told my son who was in the room.  Thinking about it now, that's a strange thing to say out of the blue, but I suppose my kids are fairly used to such things!  He wasn't worried at all.  I kept going.  "I am looking forward to it.  It will be my coronation day, my boy."  And according to God's grace, it will be the greatest day I will have ever experienced or imagined.

Thinking about the day of my death is an emotionally moving experience for me, but perhaps not in the way you might think.  There is not a shred of fear or uncertainty in my soul, but sheer joy wells up within me.  I tremble not in fear but in ecstatic anticipation!  Whether the day of my decease comes unexpectedly or with warning, regardless if I am in a hospital or by myself somewhere, I know I will not be alone in that moment.  God will be with me, and I need not fear.  Jesus is my Good Shepherd, and He is able to present me faultless before the Father with exceeding joy.  He holds the keys to death and hell.  It was fear of death which caused John Wesley to realise he had never been born again.  It is complete rest in the prospect of death - knowing both heaven and hell are real and an eternity in hell is what I deserve - that is strong evidence of the genuineness of my salvation.  Fear of God has swallowed up fear of death, for God has conquered death and given me victory through Jesus Christ.  The resurrection of Jesus Christ provides ample evidence of this reality.

Are you afraid to die?  Is there any niggle of doubt in your heart or mind faced with the prospect of passing into eternity today?  If you are in Christ, you need not fear.  I am blessed to know God's work shall continue without me, and His provision for my family does not depend upon me either.  All our needs are met in Him, and what peace and rest are available in Jesus Christ.  Moses wrote in Psalm 90:12, "So teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom."  We only have so many days left, so may we use every one of them wisely:  hearing God's Word and putting it into practice!

Run to Win

Jesus told a parable about servants who were given a portion of money by their master before he left on a journey.  They were entrusted to invest and use what their master entrusted to them wisely.  Luke 19:15-17 reads, "And it came to pass, that when he was returned, having received the kingdom, then he commanded these servants to be called unto him, to whom he had given the money, that he might know how much every man had gained by trading. ¹⁶ Then came the first, saying, Lord, thy pound hath gained ten pounds. ¹⁷ And he said unto him, Well, thou good servant: because thou hast been faithful in a very little, have thou authority over ten cities."  Jesus is coming quickly, and His reward is with Him to give to every servant according to their work (Rev. 22:12).  It is God's good pleasure to give us the kingdom, and He graciously has rewards reserved for us.  Should we show ourselves faithful in this life on earth, God has eternal rewards He will delight to bestow.

The thought occurred to me:  if it is God's will to graciously give us rewards according to our works, it would be sinful not to earnestly desire and labour for them.  We pray, "Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven."  It is God's will to give, and our negligence could deny Him this glory.  God is a generous, gracious Giver.  Should we be slack and slothful concerning His business, we will miss out on eternal reward God would have joyfully given.  Our obedience, sacrifices, and labours of love for Christ and the Gospel will never be forgotten by God, even if ignored or despised by men.  Hebrews 6:10-12 tells us, "For God is not unjust to forget your work and labor of love which you have shown toward His name, in that you have ministered to the saints, and do minister. ¹¹ And we desire that each one of you show the same diligence to the full assurance of hope until the end, ¹² that you do not become sluggish, but imitate those who through faith and patience inherit the promises."

Warren Wiersbe said that heaven is not only a destination, but a motivation.  Christians are beyond blessed to receive the gift of salvation through faith in Jesus Christ.  Yet there is also promised eternal rewards for every believer who runs the race set before them with faithful tenacity as led by the Holy Spirit.  Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 9:24, "Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may obtain it."  We should not care for a participation award, but run to win the reward.  It is good to start the race, but let's finish well!  For most of us the finish line is closer than we think!