Unexpected Blessing

As Israel's life drew to a close, he asked Joseph to bring his two sons to his bedside so he could bless them.   Joseph intentionally placed the older son Manasseh on the right hand of his father and younger Ephraim on the left.  Joseph was displeased when Israel suddenly crossed his arms and placed his hands opposite of Joseph's preference.  Joseph protested as he reached out and grabbed his father's hand to physically remove his right hand from Ephraim and place it upon Manasseh.  Israel refused to yield to Joseph's demands and blessed both of them, by faith in God revealing the younger would become a greater people than the elder.

Joseph was initially humbled and most pleased his sons were blessed by his father Israel, yet he was displeased in the manner the blessing was given.  The dual blessing was the same spoken over both of them, but Joseph was irked the younger would have the greater blessing that ought to be reserved his older son.  It is ironic Joseph complained because this blessing from the LORD was all of grace, for Reuben was Israel's firstborn son, and Israel adopted Ephraim and Manasseh into his line.  Isn't it strange how even unbelievers won't refuse blessing from God if it means they can have things their way?  Joseph preferred Israel bless his sons the way he thought best, and believers today can do the same thing with God.

One of the difficulties lies in the vagueness and arbitrary nature of what we commonly call "blessing."  We would be incorrect to believe the word means whatever we want it to.  The Hebrew conveys "to praise, to fill with strength" and can be a gift, benefit, advantage or wish of happiness.  Wouldn't it be true to say if something is "of the LORD" it is a blessing regardless if we asked for it or if we feel privileged to have it or not?  The blessing of the LORD upon Ephraim and Manasseh was good for both of them--even though the younger was set before the older.  There are many things that God has allowed in my life that did not feel or seem good at the time, yet now with hindsight I can recognise they were gracious blessings from His hand.  When Jesus died on the cross it was all bad to His disciples, yet in time they came to understand it was the means of imparting blessings of forgiveness, salvation and adoption for lost sinners provided by the Gospel.

Since God is good and His ways are higher than ours, the trial or unexpected difficulty we face right now in time we may look back upon with eyes of faith and count it among the greatest blessings from God we have received.  The unexpected blessings provided by God's grace are just as lovely and priceless as the blessings we beg for.  Praise the LORD He delights to bless us, and without a doubt He Himself is our greatest blessing.  We ought to expect these unexpected blessings continually and receive them gladly by faith in Him.

Death of the High Priest

It was a most tragic day when king Saul commanded Doeg the Edomite to take up a sword and slay the priests of Nob because the high priest Ahimelech helped David.  When David came and said he was on secret business from the king, there was no reason to question this champion of Israel.  Yet at the command of his king Doeg butchered everyone and every animal in Nob, save Abiathar the son of the high priest who escaped to tell David the awful news.  1 Samuel 22:22-23 reads, "So David said to Abiathar, "I knew that day, when Doeg the Edomite was there, that he would surely tell Saul. I have caused the death of all the persons of your father's house. ²³ Stay with me; do not fear. For he who seeks my life seeks your life, but with me you shall be safe."

The only gleam of light from this horrible situation was there was one priest who escaped the sword and bloodshed.  Abiathar went on to serve as the high priest of the almighty God David feared and followed.  But as I was reading a portion of the Law of Moses the other day, it occurred to me how this news would have hit different to a small group of Israelites at that time.  In Numbers 35, Moses established 6 cities of refuge throughout Israel, 3 on the west and 3 on the east of the Jordan river, so anyone who killed someone accidentally and without malice could flee from the avenger of blood and be given a fair trial.  If it was determined by the elders and congregation of the city it was indeed an accident and not premeditated murder, the one who shed blood would be permitted to live--with the caveat he was required to remain in the city of refuge until the death of the high priest.

Numbers 35:25-28 says, "So the congregation shall deliver the manslayer from the hand of the avenger of blood, and the congregation shall return him to the city of refuge where he had fled, and he shall remain there until the death of the high priest who was anointed with the holy oil. ²⁶ But if the manslayer at any time goes outside the limits of the city of refuge where he fled, ²⁷ and the avenger of blood finds him outside the limits of his city of refuge, and the avenger of blood kills the manslayer, he shall not be guilty of blood, ²⁸ because he should have remained in his city of refuge until the death of the high priest. But after the death of the high priest the manslayer may return to the land of his possession."  Think of all the people guilty of manslaughter who were living in cities of refuge when they receive the awful news the high priest Ahimelech had been executed.  Undoubtedly there was great mourning and sorrow over his untimely and unjust death.  At the same time this meant manslayers could legally and safely return to their home, family and friends they had not seen for a long while.  The death of the high priest released them from the requirement to remain in the city of refuge.

Jesus is referred to as our great High Priest, and He died on the cross to atone for sin.  Rather than being in a city of refuge as innocent of murder, we were in a prison guilty as sin awaiting eternal punishment.  There was no escape for us possible from sin and death until Jesus died in our place and rose from the dead.  This is one reason how the crucifixion of Jesus hits differently for those who have been born again through the Gospel, for we have been set free by His sacrifice.  He has freed us from the penalty of our sins because He paid the price to purchase us and redeem us from death so we can live in freedom, serving Him with joy and gladness.  We are called now to find refuge and abide in Jesus Christ who is our life, and He is faithful to guide, provide and help us continually.  Praise the LORD He was willing to die so we could live, to be wounded so we can be healed, broken so all who trust in Him can be made whole.

Faith and Feelings

When searching D.L. Moody's book Arrows and Anecdotes for a quote, I came across this interaction recorded by the evangelist:

"One night, when preaching in Philadelphia, right down by the side of the pulpit there was a young lady, whose eyes were riveted on me, as if she were drinking in every word.  It is precious to preach to people like that; they generally get good, even if the sermon be poor.  I got interested in her, and after I had done talking I went and spoke to her.  "Are you a Christian?"  "No; I wish I was; I have been seeking Jesus for three years."  I said, "There must be some mistake."  She looked strangely at me, and said, "Don't you believe me?"  "Well, no doubt you thought you were seeking Jesus; but it don't take an anxious sinner three years to meet a willing Saviour."  "What am I to do then?"  "The matter is, you are trying to do something; you must just believe on the Lord Jesus Christ."  "Oh, I am sick and tired of the word, 'Believe, believe, believe!  I don't know what it is."  "Well," I said, "we'll change the word; take 'trust.'"  "If I say, "I'll trust him,' will he save me"  "No; I don't say that; you may say a thousand things, but he will if you do trust him."  "Well," she said, "I do trust him; but," she added in the same breath, "I don't feel any better."  "Ah, I've got it now!  You've been looking for feelings for three years, instead of Jesus.  Faith is up above, not down here."  People are always looking for feelings.  They are getting up a new translation of the Bible here, and if the men who are translating it would only put in feelings, instead of faith, what a rush there would be for that Bible.  But if you look from Genesis to Revelation you cannot find feelings attached to salvation.  We must rise above feelings.  So I said to this lady, "You cannot control your feelings; if you could, what a time you'd have!  I know I would never have the toothache or the headache." (MOODY, Dwight Lyman, and John LOBB. Arrows and Anecdotes of D.L. Moody. Henry Gurley, 1877. Pages 149-150)

Moody is spot on in saying our salvation is by faith in Jesus:  it is not by our works or seeking we are saved but by trusting in Him who has done all for our salvation and redemption.  It is also true that many people seek an arbitrary feeling (or one that matches the experience of someone else they have heard about) for conversion, forgiveness or baptism with the Holy Spirit.  It is faith in God and His word that enables us to consciously lay aside sinful or improper feelings and to choose to believe God despite how we currently feel.  We can choose to love and forgive others because God has commanded us to, not because we feel like doing it.  As Corrie Ten Boom said in an anecdote about her own struggle to forgive others, feelings of love can follow obedience by faith.

It seems to me the feelings the seeking woman experienced were quite different from the feeling of a toothache or headache.  She had been feeling spiritually lost and emotionally frustrated by not experiencing a physical feeling that proved elusive.  It is true we cannot control whether we feel the pain of a toothache or headache, but there can be things we can practically do to prevent and relieve them.  The same is true concerning all manner of feelings that we have--even those that seem stubbornly part of who we are.  When God asked Jonah, "Is it right for you to be angry?" it reveals the way we feel can be right or indicate a fleshly and sinful perspective that requires correction.  The psalmist asked when overwhelmed, "Why are you cast down, O my soul?  Hope in God."  The main reason for even asking this questions is because such a one has already been made aware of God's goodness and power to save.  Anyone else would have justified feelings of hopelessness and despair because of circumstances.

Praise the LORD He has given us feelings, for our feelings have been the impetus from the LORD to  prompt us to desperately seek Him, to repent, to cease from doing wickedly and do what is right.  How many times has gratitude and thanksgiving been accompanied by feelings of happiness and a profound sense of joy.  Instead of rejecting feelings, we ought to embrace them and keep them in their proper place.  Seeking feelings rather than the LORD Jesus is a snare, but a walk of faith with our Saviour involves processing many feelings and experiences He allows us to have.  He that redeems our souls from destruction is able to redeem even bad feelings or lack of feelings for good, like in the case of this young seeker in Moody's day.  Praise the LORD we serve a willing Saviour who makes us new creations by His grace.

The Sanctification Struggle

People are complex creatures, and we only see a fraction of what is really going on with anyone.  We cannot know someone's past by observing them today, nor can we fully appreciate what challenges people are facing in the present.  They may not even realise what they are going through.  When we encounter people who are troubled or struggling, we can find ourselves facing struggles we never knew existed that the situation suddenly brought to light inside of us.  Being married, having children, working with others, being a deeply flawed person and seeking to follow Jesus combines to profoundly impact our daily lives.

The word of God and personal experiences have exposed the ugliness of my own self-righteousness, pride and hypocrisy, and praise the LORD for this.  By His grace He convicts us of sin that works to ruin us and destroys fellowship with Him and others.  He has revealed the folly of a self-centred worldview that viewed the behaviour of my children as a good or bad reflection of me.  I have also been part of a church culture where it was not particularly "safe" to admit you were struggling in some area.  It was easier to pretend the struggle did not exist than to be vulnerable and show weakness.  It reminds me a bit of the king of Israel who, when he tore his clothes at the report of infanticide and cannibalism in Samaria, it exposed sackcloth underneath.  He had been grieving and mourning during the siege of the capital city, but covered his sackcloth with royal robes lest he show weakness before the people--and perhaps lose their respect.  His emotional outburst revealed his hypocrisy.

I'm reading a useful book by Preston Sprinkle titled Embodied.  There was a paragraph that resonated with me on this subject of fostering a culture in the church that allows people to struggle and continuing to love them--whether they are struggling with gender or otherwise.  Sprinkle writes:

"Christians should want trans people--whether non-transitioned or transitioned--to flood our churches.  The more the merrier, I say.  It'll create loads of beautifully complex pastoral opportunities, and some Christians will get uncomfortable and leave.  So be it.  I don't think church should be limited to squeaky-clean Christians who (think they) have all their stuff together or keep their porn, their greed, their pride, and their lack of concern for the poor hidden behind dusty hymnals.  I want churches filled with those who know their brokenness, who don't hide their pain, who ask very hard questions.  If a trans person who has transitioned is coming to your church, praise God.  I hope they are treated with the utmost kindness and respect.  All the difficult questions about what to do now are secondary to creating communities that embody God's kindness which draws people to himself (Romans 2:4)--especially those who've been marginalized by the church." (Sprinkle, Preston M. Embodied: Transgender Identities, The Church & What the Bible Has to Say. David C Cook, 2021. Page 194)

As someone involved in pastoral ministry, I am not personally on a quest for "beautifully complex pastoral opportunities."  My preference would be people wouldn't struggle with anything, and in this and countless ways God proves Himself wiser than me.  When an earthquake or disaster occurs, emergency workers go looking for signs of struggle--for people who are crying out, banging on a pipe or clawing through debris.  The struggles are there in every person who is being sanctified by God's grace, and these will persist over the course of our lives.  Seasons come and go, but people stay the same:  always needing help from God and support from one another to walk wisely in love, grace and goodness towards all.  It will not do to be callous over people who are struggling with sin in the church, nor be cavalier over people who leave the church.  The Pharisees worked to maintain a squeaky-clean image but were dead inside.  The proverb goes a living dog is better than a dead lion (Ecclesiastes 9:4):  better to wrestle with sin and cry, "God be merciful to me a sinner!" and go home justified than to pray to ourselves, proud we don't sin like others and have our sin remain--and stay blind to it.

It can be trendy to almost rejoice in our brokenness--not in the sense of humility or contrition--but to bask in the glow of our sinful struggles together.  It used to be people sharing their Christian testimony would go into great detail about their sinful lives before Christ, and the more extreme the better.  Very little if any time was spent sharing what God had done in them since their conversion, what they were experiencing presently on their journey of sanctification, and how He was leading them.  Our current sinfulness or the devastation it has wreaked in our lives ought not to be the common ground we share with other believers but our Saviour who has found, forgiven and redeemed us.  The truth of God's word, the fellowship of believers and being Christlike is to mark our lives as we deny ourselves, take up our cross daily and follow Jesus as His disciples.  Embracing our sanctification can be a struggle to endure with joy, but what is impossible with man is possible with God.  By faith in Him we can praise God despite the toil, and thank God He is our Life who strengthens us.