As I have been reading through the Bible this year, the Lord has opened my eyes to see more of His glory and more of the beauty of His Word. Yesterday, part of my reading was Numbers 15 and was particularly full. I will deal with 15:22-41.
Verses 22-29 deal with unintentional sins for the nation and the individual. It is revealed that unintentional sins can be atoned for by offerings so that those committing the sin may be forgiven. Special emphasis is made within these verses on the term "mistake." That is, these sins are atoned for so easily (a simple offering) because they were not committed purposefully.
In verse 30, the thrust of the command is shifted toward those who sin intentionally. Such sins are not considered "mistakes," but are done with a "high hand," having severe consequences for those in rebellion: "Because he has despised the word of the Lord and has broken his commandment, that person shall be utterly cut off; his iniquity shall be on him" (v. 31). There is a purposeful separation in the text between sinners with hearts desiring to please God in submitting to His word, and sinners with hearts in rebellion against God who fail to submit to His word. In the proceeding section, Moses follows up these commandments by revealing what a rebellious heart kicking against God's commands looks like.
A certain man decided to gather sticks on the Sabbath, intentionally breaking God's commandments and despising His word. Being brought before Moses and ultimately God, this man was rightfully stoned to death according to God's command: "The man shall be put to death" (v. 34).
Ending the chapter is the command for all to make a tassel on the corner of one's garment for the following purposes: "And it shall be a tassel for you to look at and remember all the commandments of the LORD, to do them, not to follow after you own heart and your own eyes, which you are inclined to whore after" (v. 39). The chapter ends with the foundation for following God's commandments, "I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt to be your God: I am the Lord your God."
When reading this passage of Scripture through, it can be really easy to practice a surface level reading and get caught up on why the man was stoned to death. As I have done, you may think, "Really? Stoned for gathering sticks?" But in reading carefully, grasping the flow of the text, it becomes clear that God is after our hearts and rightfully so. For the Israelites, their trust in God and obedience to His commandments was in light of His redemption from Egyptian slavery. They were to trust in Him because of His proven character. He was and is the great I AM. Thus, as vessels of His mercy, they were to show forth His glory in being agents of His grace (redemption) and in reflecting His character (sanctification...or "be holy to your God"--v. 40) .
This was not done by the man who broke the Sabbath. He followed "his own heart," and thus "despised the word of the Lord." He was not grateful for the sovereign grace of God in being freed from the land of Egypt. He had no interest in taking part God's mercy, freely extended to him for his good and God's glory. And so, his sin was not atoned for. It was not, however, the physical act of picking up sticks on the Sabbath that sentenced him to death. For if he unintentionally sinned it would've been forgiven. Rather, it was the self-seeking, intentional act of despising God that gave just cause for his death.
Likewise, we are confronted today with the same "heart" issues. Like this man, God's grace is extended to us. Through the saving work of Jesus Christ on the cross we can proclaim, "For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God" (2 Cor. 5:21). As salvation from slavery came to the nation of Israel through God's providence, slavation from sin is available to all through the providential sacrifice of Jesus for all who will trust in him.
So what shall we do? Shall we go on living self-seeking lives that are devoid of reflecting the character of God? By no means! Rather, we ought to, by God's grace, incline our hearts to Jesus in humble submission to His will. Only then will we (as Israel) follow God's commandments and "be holy to our God."
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Hey Zach I appreciate your writing, I really do. My question comes from what seems to be the application of your writing. Your last paragraph you say,
ReplyDelete"So what shall we do? Shall we go on living self-seeking lives that are devoid of reflecting the character of God? By no means! Rather, we ought to, by God's grace, incline our hearts to Jesus in humble submission to His will. Only then will we (as Israel) follow God's commandments and "be holy to our God."
It seems that you are saying that if we humbly submit to His will, we then will be able to follow God's commandments, meaning His law. My question comes from Romans 3:20,
"Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in His sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin."
Now God is talking about being justified and how that does not come by the law. Which from your writing I think you would agree with. However as Romans continues and our sanctification is being dealt with starting in chapter 6, God says in verse 14,
"For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace."
God seems to be saying that in order to not be under the dominion of sin we are not to put ourselves under the law, nor try to keep the law. He then of course says well the law is spiritual, yet we are carnal in chapter 7:12-14. It seems as though you would not agree with this according to your last statement, "Only then will we (as Israel) follow God's commandments and "be holy to our God." Now I do realize that after one is justified by faith without the works of the law, that we do receive the Holy Spirit. But in order to keep the law? Does the Holy Spirit enable us to keep the law and is that God's design for the Spirit to work in our lives?
It seems as though according to what God says that we are not under law, but under grace that, that is not the case. God says in Gal. 3:22-25,
"But the scripture hath concluded all under sin, that the promise by faith of Jesus Christ might be given to them that believe. But before faith came, we were kept under the law, shut up unto the faith which should afterwards be revealed. WHEREFORE THE LAW WAS OUR SCHOOLMASTER TO BRING US UNTO CHRIST, THAT WE MIGHT BE JUSTIFIED BY FAITH. BUT AFTER THAT FAITH IS COME, WE ARE NO LONGER UNDER A SCHOOLMASTER."
God says, that the law was a schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ. So then another question is, why if the law was a teacher to bring us unto Christ would one who is in Christ subject themselves again to the commandments (law of Moses)? It seems to be a circle of death, like Israel when they just circled the mountain in the wilderness for 40 years. Now this may be an absurd thinking, for then one's response would be, "so should we go and murder?" Of course not, but I do suggest and reckon with God that the law no longer teaches those who are in Christ, for the purpose of the law was to bring us unto Christ, but after that it is GRACE. Titus 2:11-13,
"For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, TEACHING US THAT, DENYING UNGODLINESS AND WORLDLY LUSTS, WE SHOULD LIVE SOBERLY, RIGHTEOUSLY, AND GODLY, IN THIS PRESENT WORLD; looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ."
Granted the knowledge of sin comes from the law, however to live holy unto God is not to try and obey the commandments for we are still carnal, but by grace we learn and are taught to live holy unto God, it is only by His grace that we can walk holy and without blame before Him.
It seems according to what God says, that law and grace to not mix and it seems that you are saying that God's grace enables us to keep the law. I suggest that the law will only lead us unto Christ and after that one is not to be following commandments, but learning about God's grace which will work in such a way that the law could not. Gal. 3-4, speaks about those under a schoolmaster (law) are children, but that God does not want to treat us like children, but to receive and take our position in Christ as a SON, not a child. The law keeps those who put themselves under it as children, they are "shut up" from being a "Son" who is one given liberty, but does not use it to sin, but to serve one another (Gal. 5:1,13) What are your thoughts?
Josh Strelecki
Love you, Zach! Great post. We are so prone to follow our own way and despise the word of the Lord. Thank you for the great reminder of God's grace for sinners.
ReplyDeleteJosh,
ReplyDeleteIt appears that we butt-heads on what we perceive as the purpose of the law and the function of grace. The initial purpose of the law was to show Israel how to live as God’s redeemed people (Leviticus 19). There is never, however, any proclamation that any individual could receive spiritual atonement and eternal redemption by following the law—that was not its intended purpose. The law was a reflection of God’s character and how He desires His people to be conformed to His character.
In Jesus, we too are God’s chosen people, who have been set apart for eternal life with the deposit of the Holy Spirit. This entails having faith in obedience (Rom. 1:6), for God will render to each one according to his deeds (Romans 2:6). It is the one who is a doer of the law who will be justified, not a hearer only (Romans 2:13)—for the doer of the law has a circumcised heart by the Spirit (Romans 2:29).
Romans 9:30-32 reveals that the Jews attempted to attain righteousness by their works and were therefore to receive wrath, whereas Gentiles were attaining the righteousness because they did not pursue it by works, but by faith. They trusted in God instead of relying on their striving. Thus, the fundamental issue is not that the law should not to be followed, but that it should not be followed for the purpose of attaining some self-made righteousness. The law, as a reflection of God’s holiness, shows us that we don’t measure up, so we must turn to Jesus as the only one who kept the law perfectly and then died as our sacrificial lamb. We then, by the grace of God, have been given the Spirit, who dwells in us and makes us more like Jesus.
Although we do fail, Spirit-filled Christians love the things Jesus loves and hates the things Jesus hates. This must happen if Christ lives in us. So, by God’s grace, we no longer are identified by worldliness, but by righteousness.
When Paul says “God will render to each one according to his works” (Romans 2:6) and then, “no one does good, not even one” (Romans 3:12), he is not contradicting himself. For Paul knows that Jesus is the “author and finisher of our faith” (Hebrews 12:2) and that it is “God who works in us, both to will and to work for his good pleasure” (Philippians 2:13). So on judgment day, God will judge believers by two things: (1)The death of Jesus as the atonement for our sins; (2) The life of Jesus lived out in us by the Spirit of God. So we, as Christians, strive to be like Christ, knowing that is only by the grace of God that we are redeemed and can do anything good.
Zach