LIBERATED OR NOT (Numbers 5)

Today is another test of my commitment to write about what I read, no matter how hard: the test for an unfaithful wife.

My objections are purely social and egalatarian in nature, the product of being an American woman, "liberated," in the sense that while I recognize the difference between the sexes (viva la difference!), I don't feel held back or rated as a second class citizen because of my gender.

So, as I said, a test where a husband can prove his wife's guilt or innocence in cases of adultery, without a similar provision for a jealous wife, offends my sensibilities.

I did something I very rarely to: I read the commentaries, and it did give me some new things to think about. So here are my thoughts on this unusual chapter.

• Faithfulness in marriage is central to God's will. 
• The Jewish commentaries say the husband must have some reason for suspicion; not proof, however, or else his wife would be stoned.
• The Jewish commentaries also say that if the husband is guilty of the same sin, his belly will swell at the same time his wife's does.
• -----So my concerns about fairness were apparently felt by minds who studied the law before the birth of Christ.
• The woman stands "in the presence of God" during the trial. All of our sins are uncovered in God's presence; His light reveals them all.
• The test provides a way to prove her innocence. The wife doesn't have to bear her husband's unjust suspicions.
• God called Israel His lover who had gone whoring after other gods. Marriage infidelity is a "type", or a picture, of God's relationship with His people; He is our husband, and believers today are the Bride of Christ.  God is never unfaithful; but we often are. Perhaps this test is restricted to the wife because of the role of marriage in describing our relationship to God.

As a footnote--in my fiction writing this week, I had to decide whether a male mentor would counsel a female. The answer is no; the temptation is real, innuendo and sin do exist; and the best strategy is to avoid the appearance of evil.

WORD OF GOD (Numbers 3)

A very familiar phrase crept into today's reading: Moses turned over the redemption money to Aaron and his sons, as he was commanded by the word of God. (Numbers 3:51, MSG)

I did a quick search, and the only earlier reference to the "word of God" comes in Genesis 15, where the word of God said, "Don't be afraid, Abram. I am your shield. Your reward will be grand!"

In addition to the fact that God inspired the Bible, the word of God, God dictated much of the Pentateuch word-for-word. In some ways, I'm surprised that I haven't run across the phrase "the word of God" before now. I ask myself, why here? why in connection with this command? what does it mean? 

The redemption money referred to is the tax the people of Israel had to pay, to make up the difference between the total number of first-born males and the total number of Levites. The Levites as a tribe took the place of the first-borns, but there was a slight imbalance.

In the New Testament, believers are redeemed, bought with the blood of Jesus Christ--the other Word of God.

So does the word of God in Numbers refer to another command and nothing more?
Does it foreshadow the Word which would pay the redemption price?
Did the Word of God Himself speak the command to Moses?

Or all three?

THINK FOR YOURSELF (Numbers 1-2_

Surprise, surprise, yesterday was the end of Leviticus! So today we dive into Numbers.

I have a looming deadline, so I am going to encourage you to think through the nibbles today. These are the verses that jumped out at me today. As usual, I made a note of the verse, and my initial reaction. 

I look forward to your comments!  Even if you don't comment, I hope they will start you thinking and salivating for more of God's truth.

• Numbers 1:1-5  "writing down the names of every male."  Comment: writing down 600,000 names? On clay tablets or on papyrus?  That would have taken a lot of supplies!
• Numbers 1:4-5  "Pick one man from each tribe who is head of his family to help you. These are the names of the men who will help you."  Comment: First God says, you pick, then He tells them the names.
• Numbers 1:52-53  "The Levites are responsible for the security of The Dwelling of The Testimony."  Comment: The original Swiss Guard
• Numbers 2:9  "The total number of men assigned to Judah, troop by troop, is 186,400. They will lead the march."  Comment: Men assigned to Judah included the men of Judah AND the men of Issachar and Zebulon. The other three leading tribes were Reuben, Ephraim, and Dan.

I invite you to inspire me and feed my soul today!  And thank you.

FIGHT OR FLIGHT (Leviticus 26_

 When you've watched as many cop and detective shows as I have, you know one thing: flight is the surest sign of guilt. 

What I didn't know was that the Bible said the same thing. You'll run scared even when no one is chasing you. (Leviticus 26:17) God was describing the behavior of people when they broke the law. 

On Saturday, the nurse scolded me. She said I make too many demands about unimportant things, that prevent the aides from taking of real problems. Like people who fall when they get up--but insist on standing anyway. 

Scold me, and I freeze. I don't runaway; I try to hide. When I've done wrong, I'm more likely to try to hide my misdoing. I guess that's one way to run scared, before anyone is aware of my misdeeds. Instead of looking innocent, I make myself look guilty.

Others, when reprimanded, don't accept the reprimand; they don't believe they are guilty. They're likely to repeat the behavior, more outrageously next time. Of course, that doesn't work either.

The class fight or flight reaction to danger.

Pretending we don't sin only brings heartache.

God's solution? 

"If they confess their sins. . .I will remember my covenant."  

When we sin--don't run away. Don't fight.  Just confess our sin to God, and move on. 

GOD'S TENANT FARMERS (Leviticus 25)

Make no mistake about it.  In God's economy, God owns us. He bought us with a price. Jesus traded His death for ours. The only choice we have is whether we accept the purchase or not; we can refuse it.

That thought came to me in reading Leviticus 25 this morning. In it, God says, "The land cannot be sold permanently because the land is mine and you are foreigners—you’re my tenants."  Later He says, "Treat him as a hired hand," in prohibiting slave trading between Israelites.

Every fifty years, Israel celebrated the year of jubilee.  Land was returned to ancestral owners, and slaves were set free. 

I am God's tenant. What on earth does that mean? A few thoughts:

• God provides what I need to work. 
• I should hold onto things lightly. They don't really belong to me, in any case.
• God expects us to maintain and improve what He gives to us.
• I should treat others as fellow tenants--I am no better nor worse than they are. We have an equal position before God. 
• God expects a return on His investment. He expects farmers to sow seeds and harvest. He expects teachers to teach. He expects writers--gulp--to write and share what they have written. 

As God's tenant, what do you feel He is asking you to do today?

NO ESCAPE (Leviticus 23)

Wherever you live, it is a Sabbath to God. (Leviticus 23:3) 

We can't get away from God.  He is the Omni of all omnis, omnipresent (everywhere), omniscient (all-knowing) and omnipotent (all-powerful). 

God's presence is a two-edged sword. He travels with us whatever road we venture on. When we find ourselves in the deepest pit (whether our own fault or not), He is there with is. I cling to that faith as I sense I am about to undergo another valley.

The other side is--we can't find someplace private to sin. We can't go into our rooms, lock our doors, shut the blinds, and hope that God won't see us. 

The point God makes in this passage is simple: wherever you live, you still must obey Me. My rules don't change when your address does.

God wants me to be light and salt, a witness, a servant, here in this nursing home. 

I should be the same person at church, at home, in my bed and in the kitchen, in front of the television set or writing a devotional. Consistency.

Purity is a word the Bible uses to describe it: 100% commitment. No pretense when it comes to our faith. No change or alteration. 

Does this mean God demands perfection? Not really. John's letter says that is we say we have no sin, we're lying.  

What God does want is a heart after God, like David had.  He was a murderer and an adulterer - but he loved God with all his heart. 

That's what God wants from us. Not our perfection but our love, our focus. 

Holiness grows out of that relationship.

SPECIAL TREATMENT (Leviticus 21-22)

Today I finally realized something about Leviticus. The theme of the book is, obviously, "Be holy for I am holy."

The whole book--all of the regulations concerning offerings and food and sex and behavior--boils down to one thing: This is what being holy looks like. It's not an exhaustive list. Maybe that's where the 613 rules of the New Testament came from; they wanted to be sure they acted in a holy manner, as God commanded.

Today chapters 21-22 offered a number of interesting discussions on holiness, but this one especially caught my eye. Treat him as holy.

The "him" is a priest, and the reference is sandwiched between a prohibition against marrying a divorced or widowed woman and punishment for a daughter who turns to prostitution.

Under the new covenant, all Christians are priests, and the principle applies to our treatment of each other: we are to treat each other as holy.

And by the way, the priest is also to treat the offerings of the people as holy. It goes both ways.

So it begs the question, how do we treat someone as holy?

I looked up the definition for "treat" in the dictionary.

• Write or talk about
• Present artistically
• Bear oneself towards
• Deal with in a specified manner
• Deal with medically or surgically. 

Wow, I like those ideas.

Writing about and presenting artistically has a lot to say about the call of Christian writers, especially novelists like me!  In our books, we present a whole range of holy actions by holy people.

When I look at the context, the regulations here seem designed to keep temptation away from a priest.  Don't tempt him with food or sex or false worship.

Holiness extends to the family and impacts parents, inlaws, children.

And when there is a problem, with unclean acts or sin, intervene with the necessary surgery.