It'll catch up with us... trust me.

"But if you do not do this, you have sinned against the LORD; and be sure your sin will find you out.  Build towns for your little ones, and folds for your flocks; but do what you have promised."
(Numbers 32:23-24)

The 12 tribes of Israel were about to embark on a long military campaign as they settled into the "Promised Land" they believed was given them by God.  All were expected to participate.  Land would be divided equitably afterwards.

The Reubenites & Gadites were cattle ranchers.  They surveyed the land of Gilead as prime cattle-raising country.  The only problem was that Gilead wasn't int he official "Promised Land" area of Canaan they were going to be living.  So they asked Moses if they could remain on this side of the Jordan River in Gilead.  Simple request, right?  Not like you'd think...

Moses, being the "brains of the unit" could immediately see a problem.  Anytime one moves into a new place, one's immediate foreseeable future will be bound up with "settling in."  Moses was afraid they'd be too busy to help the rest of the tribes int eh upcoming battle(s).  So he made a deal: they could take the land of Gilead (and get their flocks & family "comfy"), but they themselves couldn't settle in until AFTER they fought with their brothers in battle.  The tribes of Reuben & Gad wholeheartedly agreed.

Moses then set before them an oath, which they willingly took.  And he said he'd hold them to their word.  Then he concluded with this caveat: "But if you do not do this, you have sinned against the LORD; and be sure your sin will find you out" (v.23).

How true.  Our sins will find us out.  Maybe not immediately (though it often happens that way)... maybe not in this lifetime (though often it happens this way)... but ultimately, our sins will find us out.  And as Moses implied, all sin is sin against God.  We may think it's only against another, but it's so much more. 

So be forewarned...

But thanks be to God that we have a remedy for our sin... Grace, forgiveness, & reconciliation is available 100% of the time - if we seek it!  Jesus stands ready to forgive us when our sins find us out.  Over, and over, and over, and over...

Their "share"

"Then the LORD said to Aaron, 'You shall have no allotment in their land, nor shall you have any share among them; I am your share and your possession among the Israelites.'"

(Numbers 18:20)

"Everyone gets their fair share!"  When God divided up the land that the Israelites had moved into (aka "The Promised Land"), all the tribe got their fair share.  All, that is, except the tribe of Levi.  The Levites became the priests & "official church staff."  They worked with the sacred objects & worship life of the people. They were spread out throughout the country, and given a place in various cities, but no land ownership like everyone else.  Why?  I'm guessing God wanted them free to "move about the country" (to borrow a slogan from Southwest Airlines). They weren't to become attached to places or things like the rest of the people.  GOD WOULD BE THEIR 'SHARE!'

As a card-carrying member of the modern-day priesthood, this is a challenging passage to me.  I like having my own stuff.  Sure, I live in a church-owned parsonage... but Jody & I also have a house we've bought for our retirement (her parents are living in it right now).  I hear that more and more of us UMC clergy are reluctant to move & participate in our "itinerant system."  Could it be that we're too comfortable?  That we have a hard time trusting that God is our share?

How might my life & ministry change if I truly trusted God for everything?  I know there's a fine line between trust and foolishness (meaning God calls us to be wise & plan accordingly, rather than just expect others to provide for us).  But we clergy seem to want to hold on to the "control" side of the equation.  Maybe God has something even better in store for us... if we'll let him be our share!

That kind of different

"...But my servant Caleb, because he has a different spirit and has followed me wholeheartedly, I will bring into the land into which he went, and his descendants shall possess it."

(Numbers 14:24)

12 spies.  10 pessimists & only 2 optimists.  They went into the land God had promised them.  They completed their "scouting objective."  They made their majority report: "NO WAY!"  In fact, they stirred up the people to rebel against Moses & tried to return to Egypt!  Only Caleb & Joshua offered a 2nd opinion: "WITH GOD'S HELP, WE SURELY CAN!"

God decided none of the whiners would enter the promised land he had for them.  None.  Only Caleb (and also Joshua, though not mentioned in this passage) would see it come to fruition.  Everyone else in his generation would not.  Why?  "Because he has a different spirit," says God.  Different from the masses.  Different from fear.  Different from mistrust.  Different from being swayed by faithless leaders.  That kind of "different."

I want to be that kind of "different."  How awesome to have God say that about me... about my family... about our church!  To follow God wholeheartedly.  To live in faith, not fear.  To trust the Lord more than I trust myself.  To not listen to those leaders who seem adrift from their spiritual moorings.  That kind of different.

We need more of "that kind of different" people.

Talk vs. Power

"For the kingdom of God depends not on talk but on power."

(1 Corinthians 4:20)

I'm sure Paul was a bit frustrated.  He had started the church in Corinth.  It began well.  Then somewhere down the line, after he left, it got off track.  The letter he wrote to encourage them (and correct them) is the book of 1 Corinthians.

One of the criticisms he had was some in the church had become quite arrogant.  Paul wanted to move beyond mere talk and get to the power of God at work.  That's what we, as the church, need to be about, says Paul.

Too often we get sidetracked by "talk" within the church.  Whether we're arguing over theology, denominationalism, or structure... the bigger issue should be how is God manifest in our ministry?  What deeds of power & life transformation are present among us?  Ultimately, people won't come to church because we've made the clearest argument.  I take that back.  Maybe people will initially be drawn to a church because of the "talk."  But they'll only stay if God's power is manifest... if lives are changed and God is made known in our midst.

May we be known more for God's power than our words!

The CENTER

"The tent of meeting, with the camp of the Levites, shall set out in the center of the camps; they shall set out just as they camp, each in position, by their regiments."

(Numbers 2:17)

One could make the case that the first two chapters of the book of Numbers are actually quite boring.  Chapter one lists the census taken by the twelve tribes of Israel - tribe by tribe.  Chapter two lists where each tribe was to set up camp: east, south, west or north.  Oh joy.

But stuck in the middle (literally & figuratively) are the Levites.  They are the one group that was not required to be counted in the census.  They were in charge of the "tabernacle of the covenant" - the holy objects... the worship life of the community.  When Moses set out the camping arrangements, the Levites were put in the middle, along with the Tent of Meeting (aka "worship space").  They even listed them in the middle of the assignments: tribes in the east... followed by tribes in the south... followed by the Levites in the middle... followed by the tribes in the west... followed by the tribes in the north.  How organized!

So what, you say?  Maybe it's nothing more than just a thorough list.  Maybe their place in the middle is solely a move for their best protection.  Maybe.  Then again, maybe there's a deeper truth here.  Maybe worship MUST be the center of our lives?!  Maybe we should do more to "protect" our worship life... guarding our time spent with God and other believers in regular worship... rather than it simply being "something we do when we have the time."

How close to the center is worship to my life?  Good question.

A Great Idea... never practiced!

"The land shall not be sold in perpetuity, for the land is mine; with me you are but aliens & tenants."

(Leviticus 25:23)

It was called the Jubliee... and it was unprecedented!  It originated in the concept of Sabbath rest.  We were not made to be machines who work every day without stop.  God knew we needed rest, so He gave us the Sabbath.  One day of rest and rejuvenation.  Our Jewish brothers & sisters have continued that tradition over the centuries (while many of us Christians often fall short of taking the time to rest that we truly need!).

Then God expanded the concept of Sabbath to the LAND.  The land needed to rest, too.  Nutrients needed to be replaced.  Ground that lies fallow for a year yields greater harvests in the future.  So every 7 years, God decrees, the land gets a Sabbath rest, too.  You can eat whatever is produced, but don't "work the land" that 7th year.  This, too, was practiced over the centuries.

But then came the JUBILEE.  After 7 sets of 7 years (49 years total), God declared a GIANT SABBATH REST.  In this 50th year, "You shall proclaim liberty throughout the land to all its inhabitants.  It shall be a jubilee for you; you shall return, every one of you, to your property & everyone to your family" (Lev. 25:10).  What a revolutionary decree!  Everything and everyone is returned.  Families who met hard times and had to sell their home to survive... get their home back!  People who believed going into slavery was their only way out... are freed!  What an amazing plan!  It's all founded on the idea that ultimately, everything belongs to God.  We are merely tenants & care-takers.

Historians tell us, however, that there is NO evidence that this Jubilee year was ever carried out.  Not one record of one!  Amazing.  And sad.  We humans have a hard time letting go of control, power, & ownership, don't we?  Despite the fact that we've been given so much from above, we tighten the grip on our grubby little fists and refuse to let go.  How sad.  It truly was a great idea... never practiced.

Overlooked

"While GOd has overlooked the times of human ignorance, now he commands all people everywhere to repent, because he has fixed a day on which he will have the world judged in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed, and of this he has given assurance to all by raising him from the dead."

(Acts 17:30-31)

Paul is in Athens, speaking to an enthusiastic crowd eager to hear "something new."  They are an extremely religious people, with tons of shrines all over the city.  Paul capitalizes on this spiritual hunger, and tells them of Jesus.  Amidst his teaching, he mentions that God has "overlooked times of human ignorance" in the past, before calling all to repentance.

I love that phrase.  TIMES OF HUMAN IGNORANCE.  How true!  We've all had them, haven't we?  Whether it be ignorance about God, current events, things happening in the lives of those closest to us, etc.  Even John Wesley, the great English pastor, theologian, and the founder of Methodism, commented on how we, as humans, are wrong about some things and ignorant about much!  What a blessing that God can overlook that in our lives.

Nevertheless, He calls us to repentance.  We cannot stay ignorant forever.  Jesus came to make it easy to know God and God's love.  It's a love that demands a response.  Let us not overlook that opportunity!