Someone should make a movie about the startling action in Chapter 16 of Numbers – arguments, fires, earthquakes, plagues. It’s a freaky, flaming feast.

There is conflict galore. Moses and Aaron had gotten into it a few chapters previously; they seemed to have patched up their differences, but there could still be some animosity there. The Levite Korah accused Moses, Aaron and his sons of “lording” it over the others in their role as priests. Korah pulled together his gang of 250 chiefs from all the tribes to back him up. The 250 all wanted in on the sacrificial system action. Dathan and Abiram, sons of Reuben, were complaining about the living conditions; “this ain’t no land of milk and honey here in the wilderness, and it’s all your fault, Moses!”  Moses is understandably ticked off at being the middle man in all this – he sees the rebels’ anger as inappropriately directed at the messenger rather than the Law Giver – and he lets God know about it.

A battle scene is set up reminiscent of the gunfight at the OK Corral. Moses tells all the complainers to show up at the Tent of Meeting the next day: “Fill your censers with fire, boys, and show up at the tent. We’ll see whose fire God likes!” The 250 are sure of their cause and promise to be there, but Dathan and Abiram proclaim, “You go ahead; we’re not coming to your little party.”

The battle has a false start when the combatants arrive. God tells Moses to step aside so He can wipe out all the people. Moses falls on his face and pleads with God not to destroy everyone for the sins of a few. God relents but then starts the retribution, telling everyone to back away from the ringleaders – insolent Dathan and Abiram as well as jealous Korah. The people move slowly away from the bad guys.

Some would say that then all hell breaks loose, but really God’s justice breaks out; this is a different fearsomeness. The movie viewer would have to be alert to keep all the activity in focus:  The earth splits apart, swallows Korah, Dathan and Abiram; their families; and all their possessions, then closes back up on top of them! And, a REAL fire blazes out from the Tent of Meeting and consumes the 250 chiefs holding their censers.

There is a brief interlude where the LORD tells Moses to gather up the censers. “These men were not supposed to bring the offerings, but they did. They sinned, they are dead, but their censers are now holy because they brought them before the LORD.” The metal was reshaped into holy plates to cover the holy altar.

Just when you thought it was safe to go back into the camp, all the people start grumbling against Moses and Aaron the next day: “You killed our friends and leaders yesterday!” Once again the LORD wants to wipe them all out (this time they clearly deserve it) and He sends a plague through the congregation. Moses yells instructions to Aaron, who fills his God-ordained censer with holy fire from the altar and dashes to the middle of the people, just in time: “So Aaron took it as Moses said and ran into the midst of the assembly. And behold, the plague had already begun among the people. And he put on the incense and made atonement for the people. And he stood between the dead and the living, and the plague was stopped. Now those who died in the plague were 14,700, besides those who died in the affair of Korah.”

The screenwriters would need to be careful when painting good guys and bad guys in this movie. Clearly the leaders of the rebellion were deserving of punishment. Moses and Aaron appear to be good guys, but they had their flaws just like today’s superheroes. And ALL the people were grumbling against the one true and holy God of the universe; all deserved punishment. The real hero is God, who twice relents from destroying all the people and provides the saving holy fire of forgiveness and atonement.

Crown Him With Many Crowns is one of those rousing hymns that seem to demand an organ accompaniment. It is an echo of the praise directed even now in heaven to our Lord and Savior. Written by Matthew Bridges in 1851, the fourth stanza has two great phrases: ‘Potentate of time,’ meaning ruler of all eternity, and ‘ineffably sublime,’ expressing the indescribable supremacy of God.

The gospel is clear as praise for the ‘one who died for thee’ and the ‘Redeemer’; all of creation worships him – angels, flowers, souls of mankind. And he is acknowledged as the ruler of all creation.

Crown him with many crowns, the Lamb upon his throne;

hark! How the heav’nly anthem drowns all music but its own:

awake my soul and sing of him who died for thee,

and hail him as they matchless King through all eternity.

 

Crown him the Lord of love; behold his hands and side,

rich wounds, yet visible above, in beauty glorified:

no angel in the sky can fully bear that sight,

but downward bends his burning eye at mysteries so bright.

 

Crown him the Lord of peace; whose pow’r a scepter sways

from pole to pole, that wars may cease, absorbed in prayer and praise:

his reign shall know no end; and round his pierced feet

fair flow’rs of paradise extend their fragrance ever sweet.

 

Crown him the Lord of years, the Potentate of time;

Creator of the rolling spheres, ineffably sublime:

all hail, Redeemer, hail! For thou hast died for me:

thy praise shall never, never fail throughout eternity.

Leviticus chapter 22.17-25 discusses the animals that can be sacrificed, particularly the unallowable ‘blemishes’ that disqualify any offered beast. Not blind, disabled, mutilated, having a discharge or itch or scab; no scars, wounds, or bruised, crushed, or torn testicles. Physically perfect animals were required because God is holy.

The sacrifices were required to temporarily atone for man’s sin. Because of his inability to satisfy God’s commandments, man is sinful and morally imperfect, especially because God is holy. But the animal sacrifices could only go so far, since the perceived physical perfection of the animals did not cover the moral imperfections of man.

Jesus, on the other hand, had definite physical blemishes. He was not much to look at, according to Isaiah 53.2. And when crucified, he had been whipped, beaten, spit on. He was a mess physically. But morally, he was perfect. No sins. He even asked his father, in a very un-human-nature way, to forgive his persecutors because they didn’t know what they were doing.

Remember, God is holy. His holy justice demanded, and He provided, a morally perfect sacrifice to once and for all take care of man’s inability to satisfy the law. He sent his only begotten Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life (John 3.16).  For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord (Romans 6.23).

There are many historical events and miracles (God breaking in on “natural” events) in the Bible that may be troublesome or hard to believe – the Flood, the virgin birth, the shadow going back in 2 Kings 20. But the future miracle of Jesus’ return is somewhat neglected.

We can understand why. It’s been nearly two thousand years since he went away, and we know we won’t know when it will happen. Science fiction writers and recent electromagnetic thruster discoveries are full of the possibilities of life on other planets and easy trips to Mars and beyond. For many people, the future does not include an ending point.

But 1 Thessalonians 4 makes a big deal about the return of Jesus. The Thessalonians were concerned about their friends who had died – would they be part of the resurrection? Paul assures his friends that even though the Lord’s return will be loud and awesome, there will be an orderly process for the dead in Christ and the elect who are alive to “meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord.”

The phrase Maranantha, meaning “The Lord is coming” or ”Come, O Lord,” replaced the traditional Jewish greeting “Shalom” partly because there would be little peace for early Christians. The thought of Jesus’ return was a comfort and assurance for them.

Fortunately the way for twenty-first century Christians to show we believe in the promised arrival is to continue in the faith – grow in sanctification, study scriptures, pray, be part of a good fellowship, tell the good news to those around us; these are just the things Jesus told his disciples to do when he left.

Dr. Sinclair Ferguson, in his book, In Christ Alone, shows the broad reach of God’s historical salvation plan.  He describes five “exchanges” delineated in the book of Romans that encompass mankind’s relationship with the creator God.

First, humanity has sinned, having exchanged the glory of God for images and idols, exchanged the truth about God for a lie, and exchanged natural use for what is against nature (vs 1.23-26).

Second, as a direct consequence, “God exchanged the privilege of mans’ communion-knowledge of Him for His righteous wrath against man” (vs 18).  This exchange is evident all around us as God is ignored.  The mockers “cannot see that the conscience-hardening and body-destroying effects of their rebellion are the judgement of God.”

Third, God provides the grace-filled redemption of the cross (vs 3.21-26).  God became man in order to exchange places with Adam, to trade His obedience for our disobedience (8.3).

Fourth, the gospel good news is offered to sinners, to exchange Christ’s righteousness and justification for unrighteousness and condemnation.  Dr. Ferguson emphasizes the beauty of God’s plan – that this exchange is consistent with the absolute righteousness of God (3.21-26), is consistent with the Old Testament law and prophets (1.1-4; 3.21), and we contribute nothing to our salvation.

Fifth, as faith in Jesus Christ grows, our unbelief is exchanged for trust.

Man’s contribution in these five exchanges is to be a sinner! God does all the rest; praise be to God!

Recent superhero and spy movies and news releases of Defense Department plans highlight the latest and greatest weapons of mass destruction – blasters, bombs, power orbs, heat-seeking missiles, and countless tricky little destroyers.  Compared to all that arsenal, the armor of God (Ephesians 6.10-20) may seem sort of puny.

But the Ephesians passage brings into perspective the real war being waged: “For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places” (vs 12).  The armor we are given in this important battle are not for destruction of others, but to allow us to “withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm” (vs 13).  The weapons portion is God himself, which is pretty powerful!

The two most recognizable armaments are Prayer and the Word of God.  Prayer is shown to be very powerful when it pulls in God to keep his bountiful promises. The Lord’s Prayer (Matthew 6.9-13) asks for temptation avoidance, deliverance from evil, and the Lord’s kingdom coming as well as daily bread and forgiveness.  Paul’s prayer for the Colossians brings God’s judicious viewpoint to the fray when it asks that they would be “filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding” (Colossians 1.9).

The Word of God is also described as the Sword of the Spirit, the one who will “guide you into all the truth” (John 16.13). Truth is the first part of the armor; the Word of God, used by the Holy Spirit, distinguishes God’s truth from Satan’s lies and half-truths.

The gospel of peace, the most important information the church has (1 Corinthians 15.3-11), is on our feet, giving us a solid foundation for standing firm. The gospel of Jesus Christ is indeed all about the free gift of the other armor parts we have – righteousness, faith, and salvation.

So, our not-so-puny spiritual weapon strategy is to trust God, using the Word and Prayer to stay grounded in the truth of the gospel, continuing in righteousness, faith, and salvation as part of our ongoing sanctification. Stand Firm!

There is a sentence, found in Luke 11.20 and Matthew 12.28, worth adding to the list of cool phrases:  “The kingdom of God has come upon you.”  It has the ring of a great Tolkien-like adventure.

The background story is familiar to many.  Jesus has been traveling Galilee, healing the sick and casting out demons.  After healing a mute man (who is also blind in the Matthew version) by casting out a demon, doubters dismissed the event as sorcery: “It is only by Beelzebul, the prince of demons, that this man casts out demons.”

Jesus pushes back with the famous line, echoed in an 1856 speech by Abraham Lincoln, that a kingdom divided against itself cannot stand.  If Jesus’ power is from Satan, and he is casting out Satan’s minions, then Satan’s house will be weakened.  He asks the doubters, “If I cast out demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your sons (probably associates) cast out demons? “ And then he forces them to face the key question of Jesus’ true identify:

“But if it is by the Spirit of God that I cast out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.”

Like Jesus’ audacious claims to fulfill the scriptures (Luke 4.21), to forgive sins (Mark 2.5), to be the Son of God (Luke 22.70), this phrase sounded like blasphemy to many.  But, IF he is God, then he is simply teaching the truth, and doubters then and now  need to understand and listen to what Jesus  has to say.

This song title is a hard, hard thing for independent people to swallow.  It is a frank, bold statement of the sovereignty and providence of God. The song writer, Samuel Rodigast, not only acknowledges what the title says, but also that he will leave all troubles to Him, he will patiently wait for Him, and God’s love and truth are great comfort.

Whate’er my God ordains is right: His holy will abideth; I will be still whate’er He doth; And follow where He guideth; He is my God; though dark my road, He holds me that I shall not fall: Wherefore to Him I leave it all.

Whate’er my God ordains is right: He never will deceive me; He leads me by the proper path: I know He will not leave me. I take, content, what He hath sent; His hand can turn my griefs away, And patiently I wait His day.

Whate’er my God ordains is right: His loving thought attends me; No poison can be in the cup That my Physician sends me. My God is true; each morn anew I’ll trust His grace unending, My life to Him commending.

Whate’er my God ordains is right: He is my Friend and Father; He suffers naught to do me harm, Though many storms may gather, Now I may know both joy and woe, Some day I shall see clearly That He hath loved me dearly.

Whate’er my God ordains is right: Though now this cup, in drinking, May bitter seem to my faint heart, I take it, all unshrinking. My God is true; each morn anew Sweet comfort yet shall fill my heart, And pain and sorrow shall depart.

Whate’er my God ordains is right: Here shall my stand be taken; Though sorrow, need, or death be mine, Yet I am not forsaken. My Father’s care is round me there; He holds me that I shall not fall: And so to Him I leave it all.

Two miracle babies are promised in the first chapter of Luke. Zechariah, the father of John the Baptist, and Mary, the mother of Jesus, have mostly similar experiences with one big difference.  Both are visited by the angel Gabriel.  Both are afraid and are told not to fear.  Both are given similar news that a baby is in their future and they are told the name of the baby even before conception.  Both have questions for the angel.  The big difference is that Mary believed Gabriel and Zechariah didn’t.

Zechariah asks the angel in verse 18: “How shall I know this?  For I am an old man and my wife is advanced in years.”  Mary asks a comparable question in verse 34: “How will this be, since I am a virgin?”  But the old man is struck dumb “because you did not believe my words” (verse 20) while Mary is commended by her cousin Elizabeth: “Blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her” (verse 45).

Mary believed two things:  She was not going to be with a man (she was not married and was not going to sin), and she was going to conceive (the angel said so).  Her question was a wondering how this was going to happen.  The tone is reminiscent of Abraham’s willingness to sacrifice his son Isaac.  He knew two things:  He would sacrifice Isaac (God told him to) and Isaac was to be his heir (God promised).  “He considered that God was able even to raise him from the dead, from which, figuratively speaking, he did receive him back.” (Hebrews 11.19).

Zechariah, in the earlier episode, was asking for a sign.  His unbelief is like that of Gideon who actually asked for two “fleece” signals in Judges 6. Or like the Pharisees who asked Jesus for a “sign” of his divinity.  Zechariah’s faith was full when his son John was born, and he blessed God in the prophecy in verses 68-79.  But he was not convinced by the mighty angel’s initial announcement, and it was reckoned to him as temporary unbelief.

So faith and belief are internal and not immediately discerned by statements or actions.  As Hebrews, says, they are “an assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen” (Heb 11.1). Our hard, natural, worldly, sinful hearts do not want to believe.  It takes a miracle to soften and save our whole being so that a believer can see, hear, understand, and know the truth of Jesus Christ and Him crucified.  And from the examples of Zechariah and Mary, such belief does not always happen at the same pace.

“For God, who said, ‘Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ” (2 Corinthians 4.6).   But, Paul goes on to say, this awesome light and knowledge are put into our weak earthly bodies so that all may know the “surpassing power belongs to God and not to us.” Paul experienced multiple troubles but he knew where the power source was, so in verses 4.8-10, he could say that he was

• Afflicted in every way, but not crushed
• Perplexed, but not driven to despair
• Persecuted, but not forsaken
• Struck down, but not destroyed
• Always knowing the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus could be manifested.

For Paul, his ministry was about sharing the good news of Jesus Christ.  Since the essence of the gospel is the Son’s death for our sins and his resurrection on the third day -all done according to the scriptures as noted in 1 Corinthians 15.3-5 – Paul had great hope in the worst of times that God would “raise” him.  He would not be crushed, despairing, forsaken or destroyed because God would bring him through affliction, perplexity, and persecution the same way he raised Jesus from the dead.

The sacrifice of Jesus meant giving His life so that many would have eternal life.  Paul sought to imitate, in a human way, making a sacrifice in order to present the life-giving message of salvation.  This same sacrificial attitude is what powers many believers to minister to the poor, the grieving, the persecuted, and the unbelieving in such a way that any complicating indignities are borne faithfully, knowing the power source for true change.