Redemption in the Face of Rebellion

36 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 37 “Tell Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest to take up the censers out of the blaze. Then scatter the fire far and wide, for they have become holy. 38 As for the censers of these men who have sinned at the cost of their lives, let them be made into hammered plates as a covering for the altar, for they offered them before the Lord, and they became holy. Thus they shall be a sign to the people of Israel.” 39 So Eleazar the priest took the bronze censers, which those who were burned had offered, and they were hammered out as a covering for the altar, 40 to be a reminder to the people of Israel, so that no outsider, who is not of the descendants of Aaron, should draw near to burn incense before the Lord, lest he become like Korah and his company—as the Lord said to him through Moses.

41 But on the next day all the congregation of the people of Israel grumbled against Moses and against Aaron, saying, “You have killed the people of the Lord.” 42 And when the congregation had assembled against Moses and against Aaron, they turned toward the tent of meeting. And behold, the cloud covered it, and the glory of the Lord appeared. 43 And Moses and Aaron came to the front of the tent of meeting, 44 and the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 45 “Get away from the midst of this congregation, that I may consume them in a moment.” And they fell on their faces. 46 And Moses said to Aaron, “Take your censer, and put fire on it from off the altar and lay incense on it and carry it quickly to the congregation and make atonement for them, for wrath has gone out from the Lord; the plague has begun.” 47 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. 48 And he stood between the dead and the living, and the plague was stopped. 49 Now those who died in the plague were 14,700, besides those who died in the affair of Korah. 50 And Aaron returned to Moses at the entrance of the tent of meeting, when the plague was stopped. – Numbers 16:36-50 ESV

God cleaned house. He purged the wickedness from the midst of the camp of Israel by swallowing the households of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram. Then He consumed the 250 co-conspirators with fire as they attempted to offer unacceptable sacrifices to Him. When the smoke had lifted, all that was left were their bronze censers lying among the ashes with their charred bones.

This macabre scene was the result of a test that Moses had arranged to determine who among the Israelites was truly holy to the Lord.

“Korah, you and all your followers must prepare your incense burners. Light fires in them tomorrow, and burn incense before the Lord. Then we will see whom the Lord chooses as his holy one.” – Numbers 16:6-7 NLT

God had declared the outcome of the test in no uncertain terms; the guilty and unholy had been punished. Yet, their destruction produced a rather strange result. The incense burners these rebels had been carrying at the time of their destruction had been purified in the process. The Lord ordered Moses to have them gathered and hammered into a covering for the altar.

“Tell Eleazar son of Aaron the priest to pull all the incense burners from the fire, for they are holy. Also tell him to scatter the burning coals. Take the incense burners of these men who have sinned at the cost of their lives, and hammer the metal into a thin sheet to overlay the altar. Since these burners were used in the Lord’s presence, they have become holy. Let them serve as a warning to the people of Israel.” – Numbers 16:37-38 NLT

Those men had presented their censers filled with burning incense to the Lord, but He had consumed them with flames because they were guilty of rebelling against Him. But because their incense burners had been presented to God, they had become holy or set apart for His use.

“As we think about the notion of the ‘holy,’ we recognize that things are made holy in Scripture, not because people are holy, but because the things are presented to the Lord, who is holy. Since these wicked men presented their censers to the Lord, the censers are holy, despite the men’s own wickedness.” – Ronald B. Allen, “Numbers.” In Genesis—Numbers. Vol. 2 of The Expositor’s Bible Commentary

This entire story provides a powerful reminder of the ever-present danger of doubt in the life of the follower of God. Doubt has a way of turning into disobedience, and disobedience against God is nothing more than rebellion against His Word and His will.

In chapter eight of Numbers, this pattern was lived out in the lives of Korah, Dathan, Abiram, and On. These men were descendants of Levi and, as such, they were responsible for the care and upkeep of the tabernacle of God. God had set them apart as His servants and their jobs were essential to the spiritual well-being of the people of Israel. However, they were dissatisfied with God’s plan and wanted to debate His distribution of roles and responsibilities; they wanted more authority and a recognition of their own importance.

“You take too much upon yourselves, seeing that the whole community is holy, every one of them, and the Lord is among them. Why then do you exalt yourselves above the community of the Lord?” – Numbers 16:3 NLT

Korah’s thinly veiled expression of care for the entire community was nothing more than a ruse to cover his own desire for a greater role in the affairs of Israel. He and his companions aspired to supplant Moses and Aaron as the designated leaders of the nation. In their estimation, those two men were no better than they were. As citizens of the nation of Israel and members of the tribe of Levi, they felt they were just as qualified for leadership as Moses and his brother.

They doubted God's order of things and demanded a restructuring of responsibilities and duties. Like Miriam in chapter 12, these men expressed their doubt in God's preordained order of things and it led to their open disobedience and rebellion.

As a holy, righteous King, God was unwilling to tolerate the blatant actions of these men. While the actions of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram were more pronounced and worthy of God’s wrath, the truth is that the entire congregation was guilty of turning against God. They had allowed the inflammatory words of Korah to sway their thinking and turn them against Moses and Aaron.

Korah assembled the whole community against them at the entrance of the tent of meeting… – Numbers 16:19 NLT

In response to this open display of communal solidarity and insurrection, God swore to pour out His divine judgment, telling Moses, “Separate yourselves from among this community, that I may consume them in an instant” (Numbers 16:21 NLT). But Moses and Aaron interceded and begged God to spare the congregation and punish only the ring leaders. Yet God would not tolerate rebellion among His people because He knew it was like cancer that, if left unchecked, would spread and infect the entire community. So He set out to eradicate it but, in keeping with Moses’ request, He chose to spare the people.

But despite Moses’ intercession and God’s gracious acquittal of the people, the text reveals that “on the next day all the congregation of the people of Israel grumbled against Moses and against Aaron, saying, ‘You have killed the people of the Lord’” (Numbers 16:41 ESV). Unwilling to express gratitude for God’s sparing of their lives, they once again display their ignorance of God’s ways. Refusing to believe that the previous day’s events had been God's will, they openly rebelled against God's representatives and accused them of murder.

Once again, God warned Moses and Aaron to separate themselves from the people because He was about to destroy them. But Moses interceded yet again, telling Aaron to take his censer and “carry it quickly to the congregation and make atonement for them, for wrath has gone out from the Lord; the plague has begun” (Numbers 16:36 ESV).

The judgment of God had already begun, and Moses' quick thinking and Aarons' immediate response spared the lives of many. Despite the brothers’ rapid response, 14,700 people died that day – at the hand of God. Yet, the number would have been much higher had Moses and Aaron not taken immediate steps to intercede. The rebellion of the people had been a sin against God, and only the atoning work of Aaron, the high priest, had been able to satisfy the righteous judgment of God against them.

Doubt is inevitable and, if left unchecked, it will always result in disobedience and rebellion against God. Mankind is prone to unfaithfulness, even those who call themselves followers of God. Disobedience is in our nature and the risk of rebellion is a constant threat for each of us.

In the gospel of Luke, there is another story of the people of God rebelling against the will of God. He had sent His Son as the Savior of the world but Jesus didn't come in the form the Israelites had expected. He failed to measure up to the standards they had set for their long-awaited Messiah. Rather than appearing as a conquering king on a white horse leading a powerful army, Jesus had shown up as a carpenter from the small hamlet of Nazareth, accompanied by a rag-tag group of disciples. Instead of revering Jesus as their long-awaited Messiah, the religious leaders of Israel responded with revulsion. As His popularity spread, their desire to eliminate Him grew stronger; they longed to rid themselves of His presence. Eventually, they had Him arrested and dragged before Pilate, the Roman governor. Their goal was to convince Pilate that Jesus was a potential threat to Roman rule by portraying Him as an insurrectionist and troublemaker. Their hope was for a speedy trial and the execution of this upstart Rabbi from Nazareth. But much to their surprise and disappointment, Pilate found Jesus to be innocent of any wrongdoing. He tried repeatedly to release Him, but the Jewish leaders convinced the people to demand His crucifixion. Out of fear that the people would stage a riot, Pilate gave in to their demands.

Their doubt led to disobedience, which resulted in rebellion, and led to the death of the One whom God had sent. They doubted God's Word and rejected His will. Writing more than 750 years before the events of the crucifixion, the prophet Isaiah predicted, “But he was pierced for our rebellion, crushed for our sins. He was beaten so we could be whole. He was whipped so we could be healed” (Isaiah 53:5 NLT).

God sent His Son to deal with the rebellion of mankind. Yet, Jesus did not come to pour out the wrath of His Father on sinful humanity. In fact, He declared, “I did not come to judge the world but to save the world” (John 12:47 ESV). His incarnation was the first step in God’s grand redemptive plan to restore humanity to a right relationship with Himself. Jesus provided a means by which sinful men and women could be healed and made whole. He paid the debt that humanity’s sin had incurred. He suffered the death that was the penalty for mankind’s rebellion against His Father. He took on the penalty for our rebellion against God.

It’s interesting to note that Aaron was able to atone for the sins of the people by taking fire from the altar of God and using it to ignite incense in a censer. The same fire that had consumed the 250 leaders who had rejected God’s will was used to atone for and spare the rebellious Israelites. An incense burner in the hand of God’s anointed was how God redeemed the unholy and undeserving. The all-consuming fire of God actually averted the deaths of tens of thousands of Israelites who had been deserving of God’s judgment. The plague was averted and the people were spared.

In much the same way, Jesus, the Son of God and the second person of the Trinity provides healing and atonement for sinful humanity. The Light of the world did not come to condemn and consume but to enlighten the darkness and provide life to those living under the penalty of death. As Jesus told the woman accused of adultery, “…neither do I condemn you,” Jesus declared. “Now go and sin no more.” Once again, Jesus spoke to the people and said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows Me will never walk in the darkness, but will have the light of life” (John 8:11-12 BSB).

Even in the face of man’s ongoing rebellion, God is gracious to provide a way of redemption.

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

God’s Hatred for Hidden Sin

11 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 12 “Speak to the people of Israel, If any man’s wife goes astray and breaks faith with him, 13 if a man lies with her sexually, and it is hidden from the eyes of her husband, and she is undetected though she has defiled herself, and there is no witness against her, since she was not taken in the act, 14 and if the spirit of jealousy comes over him and he is jealous of his wife who has defiled herself, or if the spirit of jealousy comes over him and he is jealous of his wife, though she has not defiled herself, 15 then the man shall bring his wife to the priest and bring the offering required of her, a tenth of an ephah of barley flour. He shall pour no oil on it and put no frankincense on it, for it is a grain offering of jealousy, a grain offering of remembrance, bringing iniquity to remembrance.

16 “And the priest shall bring her near and set her before the Lord. 17 And the priest shall take holy water in an earthenware vessel and take some of the dust that is on the floor of the tabernacle and put it into the water. 18 And the priest shall set the woman before the Lord and unbind the hair of the woman’s head and place in her hands the grain offering of remembrance, which is the grain offering of jealousy. And in his hand the priest shall have the water of bitterness that brings the curse. 19 Then the priest shall make her take an oath, saying, ‘If no man has lain with you, and if you have not turned aside to uncleanness while you were under your husband’s authority, be free from this water of bitterness that brings the curse. 20 But if you have gone astray, though you are under your husband’s authority, and if you have defiled yourself, and some man other than your husband has lain with you, 21 then’ (let the priest make the woman take the oath of the curse, and say to the woman) ‘the Lord make you a curse and an oath among your people, when the Lord makes your thigh fall away and your body swell. 22 May this water that brings the curse pass into your bowels and make your womb swell and your thigh fall away.’ And the woman shall say, ‘Amen, Amen.’

23 “Then the priest shall write these curses in a book and wash them off into the water of bitterness. 24 And he shall make the woman drink the water of bitterness that brings the curse, and the water that brings the curse shall enter into her and cause bitter pain. 25 And the priest shall take the grain offering of jealousy out of the woman’s hand and shall wave the grain offering before the Lord and bring it to the altar. 26 And the priest shall take a handful of the grain offering, as its memorial portion, and burn it on the altar, and afterward shall make the woman drink the water. 27 And when he has made her drink the water, then, if she has defiled herself and has broken faith with her husband, the water that brings the curse shall enter into her and cause bitter pain, and her womb shall swell, and her thigh shall fall away, and the woman shall become a curse among her people. 28 But if the woman has not defiled herself and is clean, then she shall be free and shall conceive children.

29 “This is the law in cases of jealousy, when a wife, though under her husband’s authority, goes astray and defiles herself, 30 or when the spirit of jealousy comes over a man and he is jealous of his wife. Then he shall set the woman before the Lord, and the priest shall carry out for her all this law. 31 The man shall be free from iniquity, but the woman shall bear her iniquity.” – Numbers 5:11-31 ESV

It was literally impossible for the Israelites to maintain their holiness and purity before God. Sin and sickness, both inevitable outcomes of living in a fallen world, were going to be a constant part of their lives. And because God dwelt in their midst, the ramifications of their sinfulness and sickness were serious. Disease and disobedience both separated the people from God. The very existence of disease was a direct result of sin’s entrance into the world.

Ultimately, disease and disobedience both lead to death. God gave Moses strict instructions about what to do with those who found themselves suffering from potentially contagious diseases; they were to be removed from the camp. This was not an indication that their illness was due to a specific sin they had committed, but a recognition that sickness was the inevitable byproduct of sin’s presence in the world. God expected His people to remain pure, both spiritually and physically, if they wanted to enter into His presence. But as always, God provided a means by which they could be restored to a right relationship with Him, despite sickness or sin.

In today’s passage, we see that God even expected the marriages of His people to be pure and above reproach. To our modern sensibilities, these verses contain some rather bizarre and somewhat disturbing counsel concerning marital unfaithfulness. But while it may be easy to fixate on the almost cultic nature of God’s instructions, it’s important that we not miss the motivation behind them.

God provided Moses with detailed instructions for determining whether a man’s wife was guilty of adultery. It’s interesting to note that in the “test” God provided, the hidden sin of the woman when revealed, would result in sickness. In this case, her sickness would be proof of her sin. It’s no coincidence that the resulting sickness attacked the very organs that had been used to commit the sin in the first place. There is much about this passage that is difficult to understand, but it is clear that God was dealing with sin among His chosen people in a powerful and pronounced way. This “test,” when witnessed by others, would prove to be an effective deterrent to further adultery in the camp.

In the closing part of chapter 6, God gave Moses a blessing to pronounce over the people.

The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you; the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace. – Numbers 6:24-26 ESV

This simple, yet profound blessing reminds us that it was God’s ultimate desire to bless His people and one of the greatest blessings He could bestow on them was the guarantee of His abiding presence. But for God to remain within their midst, He had to deal justly and firmly with the sins committed by them. It was up to God to provide them with peace when their repeated sins and inevitable exposures to disease would leave them alienated from Him.

God alone is the instigator, arbiter, and maintainer of the relationship He has with mankind. It is He who seeks us and not the other way around. Left to our own devices, we will always seek a god of our own choosing, and we will tend to measure our relationship with that god based on our own performance and acts of self-righteousness.

Humanity has always lived under the delusion that life can be lived apart from the one true God. Even those who long for God, believe that He is little more than an objective to be pursued; a giver of gifts whose favor must be earned. They make God the means rather than the end. He becomes little more than a resource to get what they really want: peace, prosperity, contentment, happiness, fulfillment, and significance. This is why men tend to make gods out of anything that might offer them the hope of happiness or a better life.

But we can’t earn favor with God, and we can’t turn Him into some kind of divine lottery ticket that we hope will grant us our heart’s wildest desires. It was impossible for the people of Israel to live up to God’s exacting standards. They would and did continually fail. But God had provided a means of atoning for their inevitable sins and dealing with the inescapable reality of sickness. Sickness is difficult to hide. Skin disorders and diseases would inevitably reveal themselves to the rest of the faith community and, as soon as the sickness became apparent, it had to be dealt with. But sin can remain hidden for a long time, where it is unobserved and invisible to everyone around us. Sin is like cancer that can go undetected among the people of God, slowly spreading and infecting the body over time.

The passage in Numbers 6 contains some rather disturbing and difficult-to-understand directives for dealing with marital unfaithfulness. What God commands almost sounds like a form of witchcraft. It involves the mixing of strange potions and the incantation of curses. There are offerings made and mystical symptoms to be observed.

The whole thing comes across as something the pagan nations might practice. But this was the will of God for His people. It was a divinely ordained process for exposing sin in a marriage that could easily infect the entire faith community.

“Marital deceit is a matter of such seriousness that the truth must be discovered. It is harmful to the sanctity of the community at large, and destructive of one of the bases of community life.” – Philip J. Budd, Numbers

God takes sin seriously and He expected His children to do the same. There was no place for sinful activity among the people of God and yet He knew it would inevitably take place. That is why He established strict guidelines for exposing sin so that the people might continue to enjoy His abiding presence and power in their midst.

“. . . this particular case law is included here because it gives another illustration of God’s personal involvement in the restitution for the sin of the nation. Within God’s covenant with Israel, there could be no hidden sin among God’s people nor any hidden suspicion of sin.

“The law of jealousy shows that through the role of the priest, God was actively at work in the nation and that no sin of any sort could be tolerated among God’s holy people.” – John H. Sailhamer, “The Mosaic Law and the Theology of the Pentateuch.” Westminster Theological Journal 53 (Fall 1991):241-61.

Sin carries a cost. It promises joy and fulfillment but rarely delivers, and hidden sin is the most egregious and dangerous of all. It may lie undetected but its influence continues to spread throughout the body of Christ. We may fool all those around us, but our all-knowing, all-seeing God cannot be deceived or duped. And because He cares for His people, He will see that sin is exposed and expunged. Out of His deep desire to bless His children, God lovingly purifies their lives from the damaging effects of sin.

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Love One Another

9 “When you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not reap your field right up to its edge, neither shall you gather the gleanings after your harvest. 10 And you shall not strip your vineyard bare, neither shall you gather the fallen grapes of your vineyard. You shall leave them for the poor and for the sojourner: I am the Lord your God.

11 “You shall not steal; you shall not deal falsely; you shall not lie to one another. 12 You shall not swear by my name falsely, and so profane the name of your God: I am the Lord.

13 “You shall not oppress your neighbor or rob him. The wages of a hired worker shall not remain with you all night until the morning. 14 You shall not curse the deaf or put a stumbling block before the blind, but you shall fear your God: I am the Lord.

15 “You shall do no injustice in court. You shall not be partial to the poor or defer to the great, but in righteousness shall you judge your neighbor. 16 You shall not go around as a slanderer among your people, and you shall not stand up against the life of your neighbor: I am the Lord.

17 “You shall not hate your brother in your heart, but you shall reason frankly with your neighbor, lest you incur sin because of him. 18 You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against the sons of your own people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the Lord.” – Leviticus 19:9-18 ESV

This chapter opens with the following statement from Yahweh: “You shall be holy, for I the Lord your God am holy” (Leviticus 19:2 ESV), and Moses is commanded to deliver this message from the Lord to “the congregation of the people of Israel” (Leviticus 19:2 ESV). This was a corporate call to a life of holiness and just to ensure that His audience knew who was issuing the call, God repeatedly states, “I am the Lord” (Leviticus 19:4, 10, 12, 14, 16, 18). As God emphasized His laws regulating human interactions, He wanted His people to know that He placed a high priority on their relationships with one another.

It was not enough to keep His laws concerning the Sabbath and the sacrificial system. Their outward displays of devotion to Him would be insufficient if they failed to obey His rules that governed life within the faith community. Individual piety did not take precedence over the interpersonal relationships of God’s people. So, in this chapter, God stresses those laws that were intended to guide and guard the daily interactions between His covenant people. They were in this together. God viewed them as a collective, a unified whole made up of distinct and disparate individuals who, together, formed His “kingdom of priests and a holy nation” (Exodus 19:6 ESV).

In verses 9-18, Moses records God’s message regarding holiness as expressed in the Israelite’s daily interactions with one another. Every one of the laws God highlights in this passage was intended to regulate the interpersonal relationships of His people. And love was to be the motivating factor behind obedience to each of these laws.

“…you shall love your neighbor as yourself…” – Leviticus 19:18 ESV 

This was the commandment that Jesus placed on equal standing with a sold-out love for God. When asked by the Pharisees which of the commandments of God was the greatest, Jesus surprised them by combining a love for others and love for God into one inseparable and binding commandment.

“You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.” – Matthew 22:37-40 ESV

These two admonitions were not mutually exclusive but had to coincide side by side. It is impossible to love God without having a healthy love for those whom God has made. The apostle John put it this way:

If someone says, “I love God,” but hates a fellow believer, that person is a liar; for if we don’t love people we can see, how can we love God, whom we cannot see? – 1 John 4:20 NLT

God had made a covenant with the nation of Israel. He had set them apart as a people, not just as individuals. And His laws were meant to regulate their relationship with Him as well as with one another. What the apostle John points out is that God pours out His love on each individual so that they might share that love with someone else.

…since God loved us that much, we surely ought to love each other. No one has ever seen God. But if we love each other, God lives in us, and his love is brought to full expression in us. – 1 John 4:12 NLT

As God’s people love one another in the same way He has loved them, His love becomes magnified and increasingly more visible to a lost world. No one can see God, but they can witness the reality of His love as it manifests itself among His covenant people. The very fact that God’s people can love one another selflessly and sacrificially is proof that God exists.

So, as God reiterated His laws governing human relationships, He was encouraging His people to display His love through their daily interactions with one another. Each of the laws highlighted in this passage is intended to produce practical expressions of love. The Israelites were commanded to leave the edges of their fields unharvested and any grain that was dropped in the process of harvesting was to be left right where it was. Why? So that the poor and the needy would have food to eat. Keep in mind that many of these regulations were not applicable yet. The Israelites were still encamped at the base of Mount Sinai and did not yet own fields or vineyards. These laws would not go into effect until they entered the land of Canaan. But the principle behind the law was to be implemented immediately. God cared for the poor and so should they.

The next set of commands covers such things as stealing, lying, cheating, and fraud. These kinds of behaviors were unacceptable among God’s people because they exhibited a lack of love for the other person. These actions are harmful and not helpful. They do damage rather than good, and they convey a lack of respect for those whom God has made in His own likeness.

God knew that the Israelites would struggle with everything from greed and lust to unjustified feelings of superiority. That is why He warned them to treat the deaf and the blind with respect and honor. No one was to look down their nose at anyone else. The poor, weak, and disenfranchised were no less members of the family of God than anyone else. They had not chosen their lot in life, and the more affluent and socially acceptable Israelites were not free to judge these less-fortunate members of the faith community.

The practice of favoritism and cronyism was unacceptable among God’s people. Whether in the community or the courts, no Israelite was to practice discrimination. And this temptation to show favor to the haves over the have-nots would prove to be a problem in the New Testament church. James dealt with it forcefully and bluntly.

My dear brothers and sisters, how can you claim to have faith in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ if you favor some people over others?

For example, suppose someone comes into your meeting dressed in fancy clothes and expensive jewelry, and another comes in who is poor and dressed in dirty clothes. If you give special attention and a good seat to the rich person, but you say to the poor one, “You can stand over there, or else sit on the floor”—well, doesn’t this discrimination show that your judgments are guided by evil motives? – James 2:1-4 NLT

There was no place for slander, gossip, or impartiality among God’s people. The Israelites had been called to be a holy nation, a royal priesthood that lived pure and undefiled lives. What was acceptable and even respectable among the Canaanites and Egyptians was off-limits to God’s people. Neglect of the poor, abuse of the working class, defrauding of the weak, or failure to help the defenseless were to be viewed as nothing less than hate. To claim to love God while hating your fellow Israelite was a non sequitur and had no place within the covenant community.

Vengeance, payback, and all forms of retaliation were prohibited because they displayed a desire to act as God in the life of another human being. And God made it clear that He alone was

“Vengeance is Mine; I will repay. In due time their foot will slip; for their day of disaster is near, and their doom is coming quickly.” – Deuteronomy 32:35 BSB

The apostle Paul quoted this very verse when writing to the believer living in Rome.

Do not avenge yourselves, beloved, but leave room for God’s wrath. For it is written: “Vengeance is Mine; I will repay, says the Lord.”

On the contrary, “If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him a drink. For in so doing, you will heap burning coals on his head.”

Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. –Romans 12:19-21 BSB

God wraps up this section in Leviticus with a summary statement that emphasizes love. But the kind of love God demands of His people is interesting. He states, “you shall love your neighbor as yourself” (Leviticus 19:18 ESV). But what does this mean? It sounds a bit self-serving. But God is expressing the common ground all human beings share. We each long to be loved, cared for, provided with assistance when needed, treated with dignity and respect, and given the benefit of the doubt. Yet, how easy it is to demand these things from others but fail to reciprocate.

“The point seems to be that they were to see others as people with needs, as they themselves had needs. The expression of love for other people then meant to come to their assistance. Thus, far from exploiting and oppressing people, the covenant member had to help them.…The idea here is clearly that of beneficial action motivated by concern for someone.” – Allen P. Ross, Holiness to the Lord: A Guide to the Exposition of the Book of Leviticus

Jesus picked up on this ancient maxim in His sermon on the mount, paraphrasing it to drive home his point.

“So whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets.” – Matthew 7:12 ESV

This has come to be known as the Golden Rule, and some form of it exists in just about every culture that has ever existed. But its genesis can be found in the book of Leviticus, where God directed His people to love others in the same way they wished to be loved. And Jesus states that this reciprocal form of love forms the foundation of the entire Mosaic Law and the teachings of the prophets. God’s people are to love Him but they are also called to love one another. But what is the basis of that love? They are to love others in the same way that they desire to be loved by God. Selflessly, non-judgmentally, graciously, unwaveringly, consistently, and undeservedly.

Jesus put it this way: “Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other.” (John 13:34 NLT).

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

The Breastpiece of Judgment

15 “You shall make a breastpiece of judgment, in skilled work. In the style of the ephod you shall make it—of gold, blue and purple and scarlet yarns, and fine twined linen shall you make it. 16 It shall be square and doubled, a span its length and a span its breadth. 17 You shall set in it four rows of stones. A row of sardius, topaz, and carbuncle shall be the first row; 18 and the second row an emerald, a sapphire, and a diamond; 19 and the third row a jacinth, an agate, and an amethyst; 20 and the fourth row a beryl, an onyx, and a jasper. They shall be set in gold filigree. 21 There shall be twelve stones with their names according to the names of the sons of Israel. They shall be like signets, each engraved with its name, for the twelve tribes. 22 You shall make for the breastpiece twisted chains like cords, of pure gold. 23 And you shall make for the breastpiece two rings of gold, and put the two rings on the two edges of the breastpiece. 24 And you shall put the two cords of gold in the two rings at the edges of the breastpiece. 25 The two ends of the two cords you shall attach to the two settings of filigree, and so attach it in front to the shoulder pieces of the ephod. 26 You shall make two rings of gold, and put them at the two ends of the breastpiece, on its inside edge next to the ephod. 27 And you shall make two rings of gold, and attach them in front to the lower part of the two shoulder pieces of the ephod, at its seam above the skillfully woven band of the ephod. 28 And they shall bind the breastpiece by its rings to the rings of the ephod with a lace of blue, so that it may lie on the skillfully woven band of the ephod, so that the breastpiece shall not come loose from the ephod. 29 So Aaron shall bear the names of the sons of Israel in the breastpiece of judgment on his heart, when he goes into the Holy Place, to bring them to regular remembrance before the Lord. 30 And in the breastpiece of judgment you shall put the Urim and the Thummim, and they shall be on Aaron's heart, when he goes in before the Lord. Thus Aaron shall bear the judgment of the people of Israel on his heart before the Lord regularly. – Exodus 28:15-30 ESV

The high priest’s sacred garment was to include a second feature: the breastpiece of judgment. This smaller, color-coordinated accessory was also made of fine linen and woven with gold, blue, purple, and scarlet yarns. It hung from two gold chains which were attached to the shoulder straps of the linen ephod. This long piece of handcrafted fabric was folded into a square and stitched on three sides, forming a pocket. Attached to the front of the breastpiece were 12 precious gems, each engraved with the names of the 12 tribes of Israel. The gems were surrounded with gold filigree, accentuating the beauty and worth of each stone. Inside the pocket of the breastpiece were placed the Urim and Thummim, special stones used to discern the will of God.

“The purpose of the breastpiece was ‘for making decisions’ (v. 15). The Urim and Thummim, deposited in the pouch, were sacred lots used as the ‘means of making decisions’ (v. 30). The word ‘Urim’ begins with the first letter of the Hebrew alphabet and ‘Thummim’ begins with the last letter, so the lots were probably restricted to giving either positive or negative responses to questions asked of them. Strengthening that likelihood is the fact that the phrase ‘Urim and Thummim’ is best translated into English as ‘curses and perfections,’ meaning that if ‘Urim’ dominated when the lots were cast the answer would be no but if ‘Thummim’ dominated the answer would be yes.” – Ronald Youngblood, Exodus

Little is known about how the Urim and Thummim were used, but in the book of Numbers, Moses told his successor, Joshua, that these “sacred lots” were to be used to “determine everything” the Israelites were to do.

“When direction from the Lord is needed, Joshua will stand before Eleazar the priest, who will use the Urim—one of the sacred lots cast before the Lord—to determine his will. This is how Joshua and the rest of the community of Israel will determine everything they should do.” – Numbers 27:21 NLT

In the book of Joshua, it appears that the Urim and Thummim were used to determine who among the Israelites was guilty of violating the command of God.

“In the morning therefore you shall be brought near by your tribes. And the tribe that the Lord takes by lot shall come near by clans. And the clan that the Lord takes shall come near by households. And the household that the Lord takes shall come near man by man.” – Joshua 7:14 ESV

Prior to their defeat of the city of Jericho, God had given the Israelites clear instructions regarding what to do with the plunder of the city. 

“Do not take any of the things set apart for destruction, or you yourselves will be completely destroyed, and you will bring trouble on the camp of Israel. Everything made from silver, gold, bronze, or iron is sacred to the Lord and must be brought into his treasury.” – Joshua 6:18-19 ESV

But a man named Achan had violated God’s command, and his son resulted in the Israelites’ failure to conquer the much smaller city of Ai. Apparently, the Urim and Thummim were used to determine the identity of the guilty party. For whatever reason, God chose to use this rather strange system to guide Joshua and the people of Israel. Rather than speaking to Joshua directly, as He had done with Moses, God provided the Urim and Thummim as the primary means for revealing His will. And because the Urim and Thummim were under the care of the high priest, Joshua was required to seek the aid of Eleazar in order to receive direction from God.

This breastpiece worn by the high priest was adorned with the 12 gem stones, signifying the 12 sons of Jacob and the 12 tribes of Israel. Inside the pouch formed by the breastpiece were the Urim and Thummim, which were essential tools for determining God’s will for the 12 tribes. And this vital accessory was worn next to the heart of the high priest, signifying both his role as mediator but also as shepherd of the people of God.

Two additional gold chains hung from the bottom of the breastpiece which attached to two gold rings affixed to the front of the linen ephod.

“This will hold the chestpiece securely to the ephod above the decorative sash. In this way, Aaron will carry the names of the tribes of Israel on the sacred chestpiece over his heart when he goes into the Holy Place.” – Exodus 28:28-29 NLT

Aaron was to hold the people of God close to his heart at all times, especially when serving in his role as the high priest. Every time he entered into the Holy Place to offer atoning sacrifices on behalf of the people, he did so as their representative. He bore the 12 tribes on his shoulders and close to his heart. And between his heart and the 12 stones representing the people of God, were the tools for determining the will of God.

God had made it perfectly clear that in order for the Israelites to remain His treasured possession, they would have to obey His will.

“Now therefore, if you will indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possession among all peoples, for all the earth is mine; and you shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.” – Exodus 19:5-6 ESV

Like priceless gems, the Israelites were of great value to God, and in his role as the high priest, Aaron was to share God’s care and concern for them. By carrying the Urim and Thummim, Aaron would play an important role in determining God’s will. But he would also serve as the agent of atonement, offering up the required blood sacrifices to cover the inevitable sins of the people.

In giving the Decalogue and the Book of the Covenant, God had made His will known. He had disclosed the laws that were to regulate the behavior of the people of Israel. They knew what was expected of them. The apostle Paul summed up God’s expectations of His people when he wrote, “For this is the will of God, your sanctification…” (1 Thessalonians 4:3 ESV). When all is said and done, what God demands of His people is a life of holiness. He expects them to live in keeping with their status as His children. The Israelites didn’t need the Urim and Thummim to determine how to live. God had already revealed that to them. These little-understood stones were to be used in special instances when the Law of God could not be applied. They were not to be used for personal decision making but only for determining the will of God for the entire community of God. In the rare instance that the Law was not applicable, the nation was to seek the will of God through this divinely ordained decision-making system.

Every child of God wrestles with the desire to know God’s will. But as the apostle Paul points out, the will of God is quite clear: He desires our holiness. Yet we tend to want God to be more specific. Who should I marry? What career path should I take? Is this the house you want me to buy? And it is not that God has no opinion about those matters, but it is that He more concerned about your holiness. In most cases, our decision making would be greatly simplified if we learned to ask the question: Will this decision help or hinder my pursuit of holiness? If I marry this individual will they become a partner in my desire to live a holy life? Will that job or career path pave the way to greater sanctification or lead me to a life of self-reliance and a love of the world?

As the high priest for the people of God, Aaron was given the tools to determine God’s will. But from the sparse references to the Urim and Thummim in the Scriptures, it appears that they were infrequently utilized. Aaron knew what God expected of His people. The Decalogue and the Book of the Covenant were quite specific and left little to the imagination. God demanded holiness. And the primary role of the high priest was to help the people of God maintain their holiness by atoning for their sinfulness. Their purity was to be his highest priority.

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Practical Laws For Real Life

1 “Now these are the rules that you shall set before them. 2 When you buy a Hebrew slave, he shall serve six years, and in the seventh he shall go out free, for nothing. 3 If he comes in single, he shall go out single; if he comes in married, then his wife shall go out with him. 4 If his master gives him a wife and she bears him sons or daughters, the wife and her children shall be her master's, and he shall go out alone. 5 But if the slave plainly says, ‘I love my master, my wife, and my children; I will not go out free,’ 6 then his master shall bring him to God, and he shall bring him to the door or the doorpost. And his master shall bore his ear through with an awl, and he shall be his slave forever.” – Exodus 21:1-6 ESV

Beginning with chapter 21 and running through the 19th verse of chapter 23, Moses delivers the expanded version of God’s law to His people. He later refers to it as “the Book of the Covenant” (Exodus 24:7 ESV. This more comprehensive collection of commands was intended to be an extension of the Decalogue. It is “an application of the Decalogue to the specific social context of Israel as a nation” (John D. Currid, A Study Commentary on Exodus).

The Decalogue and the Book of the Covenant were not given in a complete moral or legal vacuum. By the time of the exodus, various ancient societies had developed legal codes to help regulate human behavior and interaction. Many of these codes contain prohibitions similar to those found in the Book of the Covenant. These include the Laws of Esnunna, created by the Akkadian civilization located in Mesopotamia. The Sumerian civilization had the Code of Lipit-Istar. And centuries later, the Babylonians would come up with the more familiar Code of Hammurabi.

It is important to note that the Israelites had not been living in a lawless state. Even in Egypt, their lives had been governed by a series of written and oral legal codes. God created humanity with a basic understanding of His righteous standards. The apostle Paul wrote about how God has placed within all men an instinctive understanding of His law.

Even Gentiles, who do not have God’s written law, show that they know his law when they instinctively obey it, even without having heard it. They demonstrate that God’s law is written in their hearts, for their own conscience and thoughts either accuse them or tell them they are doing right. – Romans 2:13-15 NLT

When Adam and Eve sinned in the garden, they violated a clear command of God.

“You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.” – Genesis 2:16-17 ESV

And their motivation for breaking that command was their desire to “be like God, knowing good and evil” (Genesis 3:5 ESV). As soon as they chose to disobey God’s prohibition, “the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked” (Genesis 3:7 ESV). They gained an immediate awareness of their sinful state. In that moment, their innocence was replaced with guilt, as they considered the ramifications of their actions.

From the very beginning, God’s moral law permeated His creation. And despite the sin of Adam and Eve, mankind maintained a rudimentary understanding of God’s will concerning human behavior. Cain knew murder was wrong, and he understood that there were painful consequences for those who took the life of the innocent.

Cain said to the Lord, “My punishment is greater than I can bear.” – Exodus 4:13 ESV

But all the legal codes in the world could not correct mankind’s moral spiral into disobedience and decadence. By the time we get to chapter six of Genesis, the moral state of human society had hit an all-time low.

The Lord observed the extent of human wickedness on the earth, and he saw that everything they thought or imagined was consistently and totally evil. – Genesis 6:5 NLT

Their problem was not a lack of laws, but a general unwillingness and inability to obey those laws. Things had deteriorated so badly, that the text indicates there was only one righteous man left on the earth.

Noah was a righteous man, the only blameless person living on earth at the time, and he walked in close fellowship with God. – Genesis 6:9 NLT

This led God to begin again, providing Noah and his extended family with a means of escaping His judgment against the rest of human society. And post-flood, God’s unwritten law continued to hold sway, dictating the behavior of all those who descended from Noah’s three sons. But the generations that followed proved to be no different than their pre-flood ancestors. They also willingly and regularly violated God’s righteous standards.

This led God to begin again with a man named Abram, an elderly pagan from the land of Ur in Mesopotamia. God chose this obscure individual to carry out His divine plan for restoring sinful mankind to a right relationship with Himself. And long before Abram and his barren wife, Sarai, had ever conceived their first child, God made a covenant with them. This legal agreement was intended to set apart Abram and his descendants as a special people, who would enjoy a one-of-a-kind relationship with God Almighty.

“As for you, you shall keep my covenant, you and your offspring after you throughout their generations. This is my covenant, which you shall keep, between me and you and your offspring after you: Every male among you shall be circumcised. You shall be circumcised in the flesh of your foreskins, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and you.” – Genesis 17:9-11 ESV

Circumcision was a sign of the covenant. It was a legal requirement mandated by God that was intended to signify their unwavering commitment to their newfound status as His chosen people. God had promised to produce from Abram and his barren wife a great and mighty nation. And that promise was passed down from Abram to his son, Isaac, and then from Isaac to Jacob. And the Israelites whom God redeemed out of captivity in Egypt were the direct descendants of Jacob. They were the great nation that God had promised and they were to be His treasured possession, a kingdom of priests, and a holy nation (Exodus 19:5-6).

But after 400 years of living in Egypt, separated from God and influenced by the idolatry and immorality of that land, the people of Israel needed a more concrete and comprehensive understanding of God’s expectations of them. So, He gave them His law. The Ten Commandments were the summary statement of His moral requirements. The Book of the Covenant provided the application of those “ten words” to everyday life situations. These practical and highly specific laws were given to the people of Israel. They were intended to govern their conduct and set them apart from every other people group on the earth. These laws were not to be universally applied or mandated for all cultures but were designed to differentiate the people of God from everyone else.

In a sense, the Ten Commandments are timeless and universal in their application. But the Book of the Covenant was meant to apply to a specific people group living at a particular time in human history.

“…the Book of the Covenant was never intended to address every possible situation. It was more a guide to cases than a statutory code. Whereas the Ten Commandments were expressed as universal absolutes, the laws in the Book of the Covenant dealt with specific situations. They provided a series of legal precedents that wise elders could use in settling disputes. While these case laws could not possibly cover every new situation that might arise, they illustrated basic legal principles for living in community with the people of God.” – Philip Graham Ryken, Exodus: Saved For God’s Glory

But why does God begin his Book of the Covenant with laws concerning slavery? The answer is found in the prologue that God gave before delivering the Decalogue to Moses.

And God spoke all these words, saying,

“I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.” – Exodus 20:1-2 ESV

The Israelites had just been delivered from slavery in Egypt. They had spent several centuries under the heavy hand of the Pharaohs, toiling as indentured servants and enduring unrelenting persecution and suffering at the hands of their masters. But now, they were free. And God wanted them to use their newfound freedom as an incentive to treat others with greater dignity and respect.

It can’t be overlooked that, in His giving of the law, God does not abolish the practice of slavery. Instead, He provides moral guidelines for the treatment of those who find themselves enslaved. In a world where slavery was ubiquitous and universal, God provided a new way of regulating this institution that was of human origin. Slavery, like adultery, murder, incest, lying, and idolatry, was never God’s intention. They are all the result of sin’s entrance into the world. And slavery, as an institution and practice, became a symbol of mankind’s relationship with sin.

Jesus understood this undeniable link between mankind and sin. He described its vice-like grip on humanity in a statement He made to the Pharisees.

“Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who practices sin is a slave to sin.” – John 8:34 ESV

The apostle Paul would later declare the remarkable significance of Jesus’ death on the cross, which provided the only means of being delivered from slavery to sin.

We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. For one who has died has been set free from sin. – Romans 6:6-7 ESV

God had delivered Israel from their slavery in Egypt. And when they exited that land, they brought with them a “mixed multitude” (Exodus 12:38) that most likely included their own personal slaves. In fact, when God instituted the Passover, He gave strict instructions concerning those slaves.

“…every slave that is bought for money may eat of it after you have circumcised him.” – Exodus 12:44 ESV

God knew that slavery was going to be a permanent part of human society, in one form or another. And it would provide a glaring and ongoing illustration of mankind’s hopeless relationship with sin. Just as there were those who were born into slavery, every human being is born into a state of sin. And just as there were those who sold themselves into slavery to satisfy a debt, there are those who willfully choose a life of sin in the hopes of finding relief from their guilt and shame.

From our current cultural vantage point, it is difficult for us to comprehend these verses. We struggle with the idea of God somehow condoning a practice our society knows to be abhorrent and has worked hard to abolish. But these passages are dealing with a subject that was woven into the social fabric of the times. Indentured servitude was a way of life. Every nation practiced it. And God wanted His people to exhibit a completely different approach to this painful and pervasive part of the human condition. So, He provided His chosen people with binding laws that were to govern their interactions with everyone in their community, including slaves.

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

The Pitiful Plans of Men

8 Now there arose a new king over Egypt, who did not know Joseph. 9 And he said to his people, “Behold, the people of Israel are too many and too mighty for us. 10 Come, let us deal shrewdly with them, lest they multiply, and, if war breaks out, they join our enemies and fight against us and escape from the land.” 11 Therefore they set taskmasters over them to afflict them with heavy burdens. They built for Pharaoh store cities, Pithom and Raamses. 12 But the more they were oppressed, the more they multiplied and the more they spread abroad. And the Egyptians were in dread of the people of Israel. 13 So they ruthlessly made the people of Israel work as slaves 14 and made their lives bitter with hard service, in mortar and brick, and in all kinds of work in the field. In all their work they ruthlessly made them work as slaves.

15 Then the king of Egypt said to the Hebrew midwives, one of whom was named Shiphrah and the other Puah, 16 “When you serve as midwife to the Hebrew women and see them on the birthstool, if it is a son, you shall kill him, but if it is a daughter, she shall live.” 17 But the midwives feared God and did not do as the king of Egypt commanded them, but let the male children live. 18 So the king of Egypt called the midwives and said to them, “Why have you done this, and let the male children live?” 19 The midwives said to Pharaoh, “Because the Hebrew women are not like the Egyptian women, for they are vigorous and give birth before the midwife comes to them.” 20 So God dealt well with the midwives. And the people multiplied and grew very strong. 21 And because the midwives feared God, he gave them families. 22 Then Pharaoh commanded all his people, “Every son that is born to the Hebrews you shall cast into the Nile, but you shall let every daughter live.” – Exodus 1:8-22 ESV

As the story of Exodus begins, approximately 360 years have passed since Jacob’s descendants first arrived in the land of Egypt. During the nearly four centuries they had lived in Goshen, a rich and fertile land located in the Nile delta, their numbers had exploded. Moses explains that “the people of Israel were fruitful and increased greatly; they multiplied and grew exceedingly strong, so that the land was filled with them” (Exodus 1:7 ESV). This statement is intended to prepare the reader for what comes next. It is essential to recognize that the Israelites’ 360-year stay in Egypt had been marked by relative peace and prosperity. They were living in the well-water plains of Lower Egypt and had plenty of pasture lands for their growing flocks and herds. While Jacob’s son, Joseph, was still alive and functioning as Pharaoh’s right-hand man, they enjoyed his patronage and protection. With Pharaoh’s permission, Joseph settled his family in Goshen and provided them food from the storehouses of Egypt.

Joseph settled his father and his brothers and gave them a possession in the land of Egypt, in the best of the land, in the land of Rameses, as Pharaoh had commanded. And Joseph provided his father, his brothers, and all his father's household with food, according to the number of their dependents. – Genesis 47:11-12 ESV

And for 360 years they enjoyed a full and satisfying life in Egypt. This is important to understand because, too often, we operate under the impression that the Israelites lived as slaves in Egypt for 400 years. But the reality is that the vast majority of their time in Egypt had been marked by God’s blessings. He had greatly increased their numbers and had graciously multiplied their flocks and herds. They actually lived better lives than many of the Egyptians from the lower classes who must have resented the prosperity of these Hebrew refugees.

And Moses points out that the burgeoning numbers of the Israelites had gotten the attention of none other than Pharaoh himself.

Now there arose a new king over Egypt, who did not know Joseph. And he said to his people, “Behold, the people of Israel are too many and too mighty for us. Come, let us deal shrewdly with them, lest they multiply, and, if war breaks out, they join our enemies and fight against us and escape from the land.” – Exodus 1:8-10 ESV

Moses does not provide the name of this Pharaoh because it is not relevant to the storyline. There has been much debate and scholarly speculation as to the identity of this “king over Egypt.” Some have identified him as Ahmose, while others have determined him to be Amenhotep I or Thutmose I. It is virtually impossible to know with any certainty which of these men was the Pharaoh mentioned in Exodus 1:8. But, whoever he was, he saw the Hebrews as a threat to his kingdom. From his throne in Zoan, the capital of Egypt at the time, he likely received regular reports that kept him informed about the expansive Hebrew population in Goshen. He describes them as being “too many and too mighty.” For nearly four decades they had lived alongside the Egyptian people and had posed no threat to the nation. But for some reason, this particular Pharaoh became paranoid about their presence and decided to take steps to bring them under control and mitigate their potential for joining forces with one of Egypt’s adversaries.

“…if a war breaks out, they will ally themselves with our enemies and fight against us and leave the country.”

So they put foremen over the Israelites to oppress them with hard labor. As a result they built Pithom and Rameses as store cities for Pharaoh. – Exodus 1:10-11 NLT

This represents the turning point in the Israelites' existence in Egypt. For the next 40 years, things would grow increasingly difficult for the descendants of Jacob. Almost overnight, their prospects in the land of Egypt would take a decidedly negative turn. 

Notice that Pharaoh had no desire for the Israelites to leave the land of Egypt. He was not looking to expel them but was only interested in bringing them under his control. It is likely that the Egyptians benefited from the presence of the Israelites. During the days of Joseph, his brothers had served as shepherds over the royal herds.

Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Your father and your brothers have come to you. The land of Egypt is before you; settle your father and your brothers in the best region of the land. They may live in the land of Goshen. If you know of any highly capable men among them, put them in charge of my livestock.” – Genesis 47:5-6 NLT

It is likely that this arrangement still existed and the new Pharaoh had benefited from shepherding skills of the Hebrews. And the sheer number of Israelites would have made them a powerful trading and economic force in Egypt. So, Pharaoh decided to institute a series of measures that would bring the Israelites under his mastery.

It began with what can only be described as forced enslavement. Pharaoh ordered the conscription of all able-bodied Hebrews and used them as an unpaid labor force to build the cities of Pithom and Rameses. These construction projects would have taken decades and would have subjected the Israelites to grueling conditions designed to crush their morale and beat them into submission. Yet, Moses indicates that “the more the Egyptians oppressed them, the more they multiplied and spread” (Exodus 1:12 NLT).

The resilience of the Hebrews frustrated and enraged the Egyptians, causing them to increase the intensity of their oppression.

They made their lives bitter by hard service with mortar and bricks and by all kinds of service in the fields. Every kind of service the Israelites were required to give was rigorous. – Exodus 1:14 NLT

But despite the brutal conditions placed upon them, the Israelites seemed to prosper. This led Pharaoh to turn up the heat. This time, he ordered a pogrom that utilized infanticide as a means of controlling the ever-increasing numbers of Israelites. If he couldn’t beat them into submission, he would simply eradicate them. 

The king of Egypt said to the Hebrew midwives, one of whom was named Shiphrah and the other Puah, “When you assist the Hebrew women in childbirth, observe at the delivery: If it is a son, kill him, but if it is a daughter, she may live.” But the midwives feared God and did not do what the king of Egypt had told them; they let the boys live. – Exodus 1:15-17 NLT

Pharaoh attempted to lower the birthrates of the Hebrews by ordering the immediate execution of every male infant, and he chose to implement this sadistic strategy by enlisting the services of the Hebrew midwives. These women were ordered to carry out this gruesome plan by using their intimate role as midwives to murder innocent newly-born male babies. But they refused to carry out those orders. Fearing God more than Pharaoh, they risked their own lives by sparing the lives of every baby boy they helped deliver. And when Pharaoh caught wind of what they were doing, he confronted them.

Then the king of Egypt summoned the midwives and said to them, “Why have you done this and let the boys live?” – Exodus 1:18 NLT

These women responded with what appears to be a lie.

“Because the Hebrew women are not like the Egyptian women—for the Hebrew women are vigorous; they give birth before the midwife gets to them!” – Exodus 1:19 NLT

It seems that these two women oversaw a network of midwives who served the large Hebrew population. In an attempt to explain the higher-than-expected number of successful male births, they chalked it up to the “vigor” of the Hebrew women. The labor time of the Hebrews was so fast, that the midwives weren’t able to get there in time to help with the birth. It’s likely that there was an element of truth to Shiphrah and Puah’s statement, but they were also disguising the fact that they had ordered non-compliance to Pharaoh’s edict among their fellow midwives. They were not going to play his sadistic game. And Moses makes it clear that God was pleased with their actions.

God dealt well with the midwives. And the people multiplied and grew very strong. And because the midwives feared God, he gave them families. – Exodus 1:20-21 ESV

God blessed them because their sacrificial efforts resulted in the saving of many lives. As a result, the people of Israel continued to increase in number and God blessed these women with families of their own.

In a final, last-gasp attempt to control the Hebrew population, Pharaoh ordered every Egyptian to play a part in his nationwide infanticide program.

Then Pharaoh commanded all his people, “Every son that is born to the Hebrews you shall cast into the Nile, but you shall let every daughter live.” – Exodus 1:22 ESV

He was not giving up. His fear of and hatred for the Hebrews only intensified with time and with each setback to his plan. But this conflict was going to set the stage for the rest of the story. because God also had a plan. And His plan was bigger and greater than that of Pharaoh. The persecutions and pogrom of Pharaoh were not going to get in the way of what God had in store for His chosen people. As a matter of fact, it was going to be the very thing God would use to set His people free. Slavery and persecution would become the backdrop for His plan of redemption for them. But to set them free, they would have to be enslaved. Had they never been persecuted by the Egyptians, the Israelites would never have wanted to leave. They had nothing to go back to. They had no land, no home, no gardens, and no farms.

They were content living in Egypt. But things were about to change. The situation was about to heat up because God was about to do something unexpected and unprecedented. He had a promise He was going to fulfill.

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

I Am the Lord Their God with Them

25 “I will make with them a covenant of peace and banish wild beasts from the land, so that they may dwell securely in the wilderness and sleep in the woods. 26 And I will make them and the places all around my hill a blessing, and I will send down the showers in their season; they shall be showers of blessing. 27 And the trees of the field shall yield their fruit, and the earth shall yield its increase, and they shall be secure in their land. And they shall know that I am the Lord, when I break the bars of their yoke, and deliver them from the hand of those who enslaved them. 28 They shall no more be a prey to the nations, nor shall the beasts of the land devour them. They shall dwell securely, and none shall make them afraid. 29 And I will provide for them renowned plantations so that they shall no more be consumed with hunger in the land, and no longer suffer the reproach of the nations. 30 And they shall know that I am the Lord their God with them, and that they, the house of Israel, are my people, declares the Lord God. 31 And you are my sheep, human sheep of my pasture, and I am your God, declares the Lord God.” – Ezekiel 34:25-31 ESV

Despite the absence of godly leadership that led to a centuries-long pattern of sin, God had not given up on His rebellious people. Their lack of faithfulness had not diminished His unwavering commitment to His covenant. Early on in this book, Ezekiel recorded Yahweh’s promise to keep His covenant promises.

“I will give you what you deserve, for you have taken your solemn vows lightly by breaking your covenant. Yet I will remember the covenant I made with you when you were young, and I will establish an everlasting covenant with you.” – Ezekiel 16:59-60 NLT

Their failure to hold up their end of the covenant commitment would not deter God from fulfilling His promises. He would do all that He said He would do. That included their judgment, in the form of the Babylonian destruction of Jerusalem, as well as their future restoration. There would be many dark days in the wake of Judah’s fall, but they would be followed by a glorious and bright future.

As Ezekiel addressed the Jews living in forced exile in Babylon, he was dealing with a doubly defeated audience. They had already experienced the pain and degradation of captivity and had lived for years as refugees in a foreign land. But they managed to endure their humiliating circumstances by dreaming of a day when they would return to the land of Canaan. So, when they received the latest news that Jerusalem had fallen and the temple had been destroyed, they were left in a state of abject despair. All was lost. They had no king, no country, no temple, and, therefore, no hope. Yet, God wanted them to know that He was still in control and had great plans for their future. And He will reiterate that plan repeatedly.

“I will make a covenant of peace with them, an everlasting covenant. I will give them their land and increase their numbers, and I will put my Temple among them forever. I will make my home among them. I will be their God, and they will be my people.” – Ezekiel 37:26-27 NLT

Imagine the impact of those words on a people who had just learned that their beloved temple had been destroyed by the Babylonians. They were still reeling from the news that their homeland was now a vassal state of a foreign power and their capital city lie in ruins. The news that God was going to return them to their land and restore their temple would have been music to their ears. And almost as if to silence any doubts they may still have harbored, God stated His intentions yet again.

“I will end the captivity of my people; I will have mercy on all Israel, for I jealously guard my holy reputation! They will accept responsibility for their past shame and unfaithfulness after they come home to live in peace in their own land, with no one to bother them. When I bring them home from the lands of their enemies, I will display my holiness among them for all the nations to see.” – Ezekiel 39:25-27 NLT

To a captive people who hailed from a now-defeated country, this was almost too good to be true. The thought of ever returning to the land would have seemed impossible to them. Even if they could return, how would they ever survive in such abysmal conditions? Yet, God was promising their return to a land of peace and plenty. In the place of the demolished temple, there would stand a glorious new temple. Rather than living as the underlings of the Babylonian king, they would serve the King of kings, Jehovah Himself.

But this divine promise of a bright future has yet to be fulfilled. While a remnant of the Babylonian captives eventually returned to the land of Judah, they did not find it in the glorious state that God described. Some 70 years after the first wave of Jewish citizens arrived in Babylon as captives, Nehemiah would lead a small contingent of Jews back to the land of Judah, arriving sometime in the year 445 B.C. And what they found was far from idyllic or encouraging.

After dark I went out through the Valley Gate, past the Jackal’s Well, and over to the Dung Gate to inspect the broken walls and burned gates. Then I went to the Fountain Gate and to the King’s Pool, but my donkey couldn’t get through the rubble. So, though it was still dark, I went up the Kidron Valley instead, inspecting the wall before I turned back and entered again at the Valley Gate. – Nehemiah 2:13-15 NLT

Nehemiah was appalled by what he saw. Yes, he had returned to the land but he did not find a restored Jerusalem and a rebuilt temple. After his inspection, he reported his findings to the Jewish leaders.

“You know very well what trouble we are in. Jerusalem lies in ruins, and its gates have been destroyed by fire. Let us rebuild the wall of Jerusalem and end this disgrace!” – Nehemiah 2:17 NLT

Thanks to Nehemiah’s organizational skills and the hard work of the people, the walls of the city were eventually restored, the gates rehung, and the temple rebuilt. But when the dust settled, Jerusalem was just a shadow of its former glory. And over the centuries, Judah would never regain its former status as a powerful nation-state. It would remain under the heavy hand of foreign powers, all the way up to the coming of Christ when the Romans ruled over the land of Palestine.

But regardless of Israel’s current conditions, these promises of God remain. Nothing has changed. His commitment to their future restoration has not expired or been abrogated. God speaks of a time when their chains will be removed and their fortunes reversed. The land will provide for all their needs. They will enjoy peace and prosperity.

“They will live in safety, and no one will frighten them.” – Ezekiel 34:28 NLT

They will suffer no more famines or foreign invasions. Instead, they will enjoy the permanent presence of God in their midst. And with God living amongst them, they will receive a new capacity to serve and worship Him alone.

“But this is the new covenant I will make with the people of Israel after those days,” says the Lord. “I will put my instructions deep within them, and I will write them on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. And they will not need to teach their neighbors, nor will they need to teach their relatives, saying, ‘You should know the Lord.’ For everyone, from the least to the greatest, will know me already,” says the Lord. “And I will forgive their wickedness, and I will never again remember their sins.” – Jeremiah 31:33-34 NLT

This unprecedented day lies somewhere in the future. It has yet to occur but comes with a divine guarantee of fulfillment. God has promised it and, therefore, it is as good as done.

The book of Isaiah also speaks of this future day, adding the important aspect of an heir of King David who will come to sit on the royal throne in Jerusalem.

In that day the heir to David’s throne
    will be a banner of salvation to all the world.
The nations will rally to him,
    and the land where he lives will be a glorious place.
In that day the Lord will reach out his hand a second time
    to bring back the remnant of his people—
those who remain in Assyria and northern Egypt;
    in southern Egypt, Ethiopia, and Elam;
    in Babylonia, Hamath, and all the distant coastlands.
He will raise a flag among the nations
    and assemble the exiles of Israel.
He will gather the scattered people of Judah
    from the ends of the earth. – Isaiah 11:10-12 NLT

This heir is none other than Jesus Christ himself.  After His second coming, He will ascend to the throne and rule for a thousand years in the city of David. The end of His millennial reign will usher in the eternal state as He completes God’s plans for man’s redemption and the renewal of all creation. The victorious Christ will willingly relinquish His authority in an act of reverence to His Heavenly Father.

After that the end will come, when he will turn the Kingdom over to God the Father, having destroyed every ruler and authority and power. For Christ must reign until he humbles all his enemies beneath his feet. And the last enemy to be destroyed is death. For the Scriptures say, “God has put all things under his authority.” (Of course, when it says “all things are under his authority,” that does not include God himself, who gave Christ his authority.) Then, when all things are under his authority, the Son will put himself under God’s authority, so that God, who gave his Son authority over all things, will be utterly supreme over everything everywhere. – 1 Corinthians 15:24-28 NLT

In that Millennial Kingdom, Jesus, the son of David, will rule over the restored people of Israel in a revitalized land. He will reign in righteousness and usher in a time of peace and prosperity. Many of the promises found in the book of Ezekiel will be fulfilled at that time. But even that will not be the end. There will be yet another phase to God’s grand redemptive plan that includes a new heaven and a new earth. At the end of the thousand-year reign of Christ, Satan will be defeated and the eternal state will begin, and its arrival will be marked by the New Jerusalem. The apostle John described this epic event in the book of Revelation.

Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the old heaven and the old earth had disappeared. And the sea was also gone. And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven like a bride beautifully dressed for her husband.

I heard a loud shout from the throne, saying, “Look, God’s home is now among his people! He will live with them, and they will be his people. God himself will be with them. He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. All these things are gone forever.”  – Revelation 21:1-4 NLT

God will be with them. The same God who founded them as a nation, set them apart as His own, and eventually punished them for their sins, would restore them to their former place at His side. The covenant-making God would prove Himself to be the covenant-keeping God.

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

The Wisdom of Godly Reliance

16 One who wanders from the way of good sense
    will rest in the assembly of the dead.
17 Whoever loves pleasure will be a poor man;
    he who loves wine and oil will not be rich.
18 The wicked is a ransom for the righteous,
    and the traitor for the upright.
19 It is better to live in a desert land
    than with a quarrelsome and fretful woman.
20 Precious treasure and oil are in a wise man's dwelling,
    but a foolish man devours it.
21 Whoever pursues righteousness and kindness
    will find life, righteousness, and honor.
22 A wise man scales the city of the mighty
    and brings down the stronghold in which they trust.
23 Whoever keeps his mouth and his tongue
    keeps himself out of trouble.
24 “Scoffer” is the name of the arrogant, haughty man
    who acts with arrogant pride.
25 The desire of the sluggard kills him,
    for his hands refuse to labor.
26 All day long he craves and craves,
    but the righteous gives and does not hold back.
27 The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination;
    how much more when he brings it with evil intent.
28 A false witness will perish,
    but the word of a man who hears will endure.
29 A wicked man puts on a bold face,
    but the upright gives thought to his ways.
30 No wisdom, no understanding, no counsel
    can avail against the Lord.
31 The horse is made ready for the day of battle,
    but the victory belongs to the Lord. – Proverbs 21:16-31 ESV

A lack of common sense can have life-threatening consequences. A life characterized by conspicuous consumption and the pursuit of unbridled pleasure will likely end in poverty, not wealth. Those who are hostile toward God or men will receive their just punishment – in time. A quarrelsome and complaining spouse will end up living alone. The greedy will never be satisfied.

These are just a few of the pithy yet powerful truisms contained in the second half of Proverbs 21. Solomon has collected a seemingly endless number of simple one-liners that are intended to contrast the differences between the life habits of the foolish and the wise. These statements are not meant to be taken as prophetic or to be considered true in all cases. A life of foolishness doesn't always end in death. Not all who spend money like it was water end up in poverty. There are plenty of people who pursue a life of hedonism and enjoy both pleasure and wealth.

So, what is the point of Solomon’s endless list of wise sayings? He is simply relaying all the time-proven truisms he has collected in order to provide his readers with a source of reliable and universally accepted principles or rules. These axioms are self-evident truths that are cross-cultural and timeless.

But what Solomon has added to the mix is an emphasis on Yahweh, the God of the Israelites. This is not simply a carefully curated list of universally accepted wisdom sayings; it is a divinely inspired assessment of what it means to live a holy, set-apart life. God has provided His people with the wisdom they need to leave behind their former lives of folly and wickedness. There is no reason for the child of God to continue making unwise decisions. They have no excuse for their lack of discernment. If they wrestle with greed or lust, it is not because they don’t know better. It is because they don’t know God as they should. They have lost their reverence for Him. They have abandoned their commitment to Him. In a sense, they have strayed from the way of the wise and entered the pathway of the foolish that leads to destruction.

Solomon is attempting to provide a stark and difficult-to-refute contrast between the two choices that every person has to make. But his target audience is the people of God. He is addressing those who should know better. Of all people, they should recognize the truth behind these statements because they have experienced them in real life. Ever since God had delivered the people of Israel out of their captivity in Egypt, He had showered them with His covenant blessings and demonstrated His unfailing love and faithfulness. Their forefathers had learned from first-hand experience the truths found in these simple statements.

The wise have wealth and luxury,
    but fools spend whatever they get.

Whoever pursues righteousness and unfailing love
    will find life, righteousness, and honor.

The wise conquer the city of the strong
    and level the fortress in which they trust. – Proverbs 21:20-22 NLT

Over the years, God had transformed the Israelites from a ragtag band of wandering pilgrims into one of the most powerful and prosperous nations on earth. Under the leadership of King David, God had turned the descendants of Abraham into a wealthy and influential nation of great renown.

God had blessed them greatly. And by the time David handed over the kingdom to his son, Solomon, it was a force to be reckoned with. Solomon inherited a kingdom of great power and wealth. David had expanded its borders and ushered in a time of unprecedented peace and prosperity. And all that Solomon had to do was remain faithful to God and lead his people to do the same. On his deathbed, David had conveyed his last words of wisdom and warning to Solomon.

“Take courage and be a man. Observe the requirements of the Lord your God, and follow all his ways. Keep the decrees, commands, regulations, and laws written in the Law of Moses so that you will be successful in all you do and wherever you go. If you do this, then the Lord will keep the promise he made to me. He told me, ‘If your descendants live as they should and follow me faithfully with all their heart and soul, one of them will always sit on the throne of Israel.’” – 1 Kings 1:2-4 NLT

But while Solomon started out strong, he eventually strayed from the path of righteousness. He used his great wealth to satisfy his own lustful desires. He accumulated a harem that consisted of 700 wives and 300 concubines, all in violation of God’s command. He pursued pleasure and personal comfort. And he eventually compromised his faith and convictions by worshiping the false gods of his many wives. Solomon, who was one of the wisest men who ever lived, ended up being the poster boy for foolish and ungodly behavior. Yet, he longed to warn his people about the dangers of abandoning God and walking in the ways of the wicked. He knew from firsthand experience that the destiny of the fool was far from ideal. Those who refused to walk in integrity, humility, and the fear of the Lord would eventually find themselves standing at a dead end with nowhere else to go.

Solomon had learned the hard way that trusting God was the key to a fulfilled life. In fact, he ends this particular Proverb with the following lines:

No human wisdom or understanding or plan
    can stand against the Lord.

The horse is prepared for the day of battle,
    but the victory belongs to the Lord. – Proverbs 21:30-31 NLT

I come from the do-it-yourself generation. We are self-sufficient, independent free agents who don't need anyone or anything in our lives. We have been trained to pick ourselves up by our own bootstraps and deal with our problems on our own. We have been taught to gut it up and get it done. Even as believers we tend to have a lone wolf mentality that discounts our need for others, including God. We even seem to believe that our spiritual formation is our job. It’s all up to us. And some of us have gotten really good at living the Christian life without God. But at the end of the day, we have to learn that the victory belongs to the Lord. It is all up to Him.

Solomon had learned that bearing the title of “King” was not enough. Even possessing great wisdom was an insufficient source of help when dealing with the daily trials and troubles of life. Solomon was the one who wrote, “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight” (Proverbs 9:10 ESV). And he had borrowed this sentiment from one of the Psalms.

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom;
all those who practice it have a good understanding. – Psalm 111:10 ESV

Like Solomon, we must learn that it is impossible to live the Christian life without God’s help or apart from His strength. Even all the pithy proverbs we have been reading are impossible to live out apart from Him. We can't find wisdom without Him. We will never have understanding apart from Him. We will never really experience true success in life without God's help. It is impossible to be godly without God.

But we do have our role to play in all of this. Just as verse 31 says, you have to prepare the horse for battle. You have to get ready for what is headed your way, but you also have to recognize that the outcome is completely up to God. We cannot dictate or determine outcomes. Even our best efforts and careful planning cannot guarantee success. Only God can do that. We can't do it ourselves. We can't live the Christian life alone or on our own.

A big part of living the Christian life is learning to trust God for the outcomes of life. We can do everything we know to do to raise godly children, but we are completely powerless when it comes to guaranteeing that outcome. We don't have what it takes to produce godliness in our children. Only God can do that. But we are to do our part. We are to raise them in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. Then we are to leave the results up to Him. We have to trust Him for the victory. We have to let Him fight our battles. We have to depend on Him, which requires that we stop trying so hard trying to be independent.

The victory is up to God. Do you believe that today or are you still trying to win your own battles in your own strength? God does not need your help. That doesn't mean that God absolves you from all effort or involvement. You have your part to play and your job to do, but the outcome is always up to Him. Rest in that assurance. Prepare for battle knowing that He goes before you and will be behind you. The outcome is in His hands and it is assured.

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

New English Translation (NET)NET Bible® copyright ©1996-2017 by Biblical Studies Press, L.L.C. http://netbible.com All rights reserved.

Revenge, Greed, and Deceit, Oh My!

13 The sons of Jacob answered Shechem and his father Hamor deceitfully, because he had defiled their sister Dinah. 14 They said to them, “We cannot do this thing, to give our sister to one who is uncircumcised, for that would be a disgrace to us. 15 Only on this condition will we agree with you—that you will become as we are by every male among you being circumcised. 16 Then we will give our daughters to you, and we will take your daughters to ourselves, and we will dwell with you and become one people. 17 But if you will not listen to us and be circumcised, then we will take our daughter, and we will be gone.”

18 Their words pleased Hamor and Hamor’s son Shechem. 19 And the young man did not delay to do the thing, because he delighted in Jacob’s daughter. Now he was the most honored of all his father’s house. 20 So Hamor and his son Shechem came to the gate of their city and spoke to the men of their city, saying, 21 “These men are at peace with us; let them dwell in the land and trade in it, for behold, the land is large enough for them. Let us take their daughters as wives, and let us give them our daughters. 22 Only on this condition will the men agree to dwell with us to become one people—when every male among us is circumcised as they are circumcised. 23 Will not their livestock, their property and all their beasts be ours? Only let us agree with them, and they will dwell with us.” 24 And all who went out of the gate of his city listened to Hamor and his son Shechem, and every male was circumcised, all who went out of the gate of his city.

25 On the third day, when they were sore, two of the sons of Jacob, Simeon and Levi, Dinah's brothers, took their swords and came against the city while it felt secure and killed all the males. 26 They killed Hamor and his son Shechem with the sword and took Dinah out of Shechem’s house and went away. 27 The sons of Jacob came upon the slain and plundered the city, because they had defiled their sister. 28 They took their flocks and their herds, their donkeys, and whatever was in the city and in the field. 29 All their wealth, all their little ones and their wives, all that was in the houses, they captured and plundered.

30 Then Jacob said to Simeon and Levi, “You have brought trouble on me by making me stink to the inhabitants of the land, the Canaanites and the Perizzites. My numbers are few, and if they gather themselves against me and attack me, I shall be destroyed, both I and my household.” 31 But they said, “Should he treat our sister like a prostitute?” – Genesis 34:13-31 ESV

One of the things that stands out in this whole affair is the silence of Jacob. As head of his clan, he had a responsibility to defend his daughter’s honor and to manage his sons’ behavior. But he appears to have said little and done nothing. And his silence regarding Dinah’s rape was unacceptable to her two brothers, Simeon and Levi. They were furious with Shechem for his dishonoring of their sister. And they were appalled that Jacob would consider signing a treaty that would sanction the marriage of their sister to her abuser and promote further unions between the two clans. So, they came up with a plan of their own.

As has been evident throughout the story of Jacob’s life, deceit and trickery come into play once again. The sons of Jacob have inherited their father’s deceptive ways and are determined to use them for their advantage. They even pull the wool over Jacob’s eyes, tricking him into believing that their efforts are sincere. Yet, Moses uses very precise language when describing their response to Hamor and Shechem.

The sons of Jacob answered Shechem and his father Hamor deceitfully, because he had defiled their sister Dinah. – Genesis 34:13 ESV

The Hebrew word translated as “deceitfully” is מִרְמָה (mirmâ) and it describes the use of guile, falsehood, or craftiness with the intent to deceive. The practice of deceit is repeatedly condemned in the Scriptures. Even David, a descendant of Jacob, wrote:

But you, O God, will cast them down
    into the pit of destruction;
men of blood and treachery (mirmâ)
    shall not live out half their days.
But I will trust in you. – Psalm 55:23 ESV

Even King Solomon, another descendant of Jacob, penned the following assessment of those who practice deceit.

Whoever speaks the truth gives honest evidence,
    but a false witness utters deceit (mirmâ). – Proverbs 12:17 ESV

Notice that David links treachery or deceit with bloodshed, and that is exactly what takes place in this story. The lies of Jacob’s sons were intentional and, ultimately, deadly. Their plan all along was to deceive so that they might enact revenge. They had no intention of keeping their agreement with Hamor and Shechem. And nobody seems to see through their wicked scheme, including their own father.

Amazingly, Hamor and Shechem agreed to the rather bizarre conditions that Jacob’s sons added to the treaty. All the men of Shechem would be required to undergo the rite of circumcision in order to seal the agreement. And when Hamor and Shechem shared the terms of the treaty with their constituents, they received a unanimous affirmation. 

So all the men in the town council agreed with Hamor and Shechem, and every male in the town was circumcised. – Genesis 34:24 NLT

This was a radical and painful concession on the part of the Shechemites. But it was not unprecedented. The Israelites were not the only nation to practice the rite of circumcision, and it was most commonly performed on male members of the community. There is some evidence that circumcision was practiced as premarital initiation. There is no indication from the text that Jacob’s sons were suggesting the mass conversion of the men of Shechem. They had no intention of welcoming these men into their faith community. It was simply a ploy, a cleverly disguised trick designed to lull the Shechemites into their trap. And it worked.

But it is important to note why the men of Shechem were so willing to endure such a painful procedure and allow themselves to be placed in such a vulnerable condition. Hamor and Shechem had been successful in persuading their countrymen because they had added an important caveat.

“…if we do this, all their livestock and possessions will eventually be ours. Come, let’s agree to their terms and let them settle here among us.” – Genesis 34:23 NLT

Greed was the impetus behind their decision. By agreeing to the terms of the treaty, the men of Shechem believed they would eventually assimilate the clan of Jacob into their own, and gain control over all their possessions. Intermarriage would result in great wealth and circumcision was a small price to pay for such a reward.

But little did these men know that Jacob’s sons had no intention of keeping their word. There would be no marriage between Shechem and Dinah, no blending of the two clans, and no sharing of livestock and possessions. All the Shechemites got out of the agreement was the pain associated with circumcision, followed by the penalty of death. They were slaughtered like helpless, injured animals.

But three days later, when their wounds were still sore, two of Jacob’s sons, Simeon and Levi, who were Dinah’s full brothers, took their swords and entered the town without opposition. Then they slaughtered every male there, including Hamor and his son Shechem. They killed them with their swords, then took Dinah from Shechem’s house and returned to their camp. – Genesis 34:25-26 NLT

Fueled by their anger and vengeance, Simeon and Levi left no man alive. They paid back the Shechemites for the defilement of their sister, delivering a devastating blow that would leave their father shocked and dismayed. And, to make matters worse, their brothers would join in on the action, looting and plundering the defenseless town. They even took the women and children of Shechem as slaves. And having heard the news of what his sons had done, Jacob confronted Simeon and Levi.

“You have ruined me! You’ve made me stink among all the people of this land—among all the Canaanites and Perizzites. We are so few that they will join forces and crush us. I will be ruined, and my entire household will be wiped out!” – Genesis 34:30 NLT

It’s interesting to note that Jacob was worried about his own reputation but never seems to have considered what Dinah’s rape had done to her social standing. Her virginity had been stolen from her, leaving her as little more than a social pariah. Her defilement had left her as “damaged goods” with little hope of ever being married. And Jacob’s willingness to give her to Shechem, the very man who had raped her, seems to indicate that he knew she had no other options. She either married Shechem or remained an unmarried woman the rest of her life.

But Jacob’s failure to deal with the egregious nature of Shechem’s sin left a leadership vacuum in his family, and his sons willingly filled it. And, in response to their father’s reprimand, Simeon and Levi defended their actions by angrily declaring, “But why should we let him treat our sister like a prostitute?” (Genesis 34:31 NLT).

It’s clear from the text that Jacob had already given Dinah to Shechem because the two brothers rescued her from his house. In Jacob’s mind, the deal was done, the treaty had been ratified. But in a single day, his sons had changed all that. And Jacob feared that their actions would end up turning the rest of the nations of Canaan against him. Word would get out and he would become a social pariah in the land of promise. He even feared that their newly acquired reputation for violence would come back to haunt them, resulting in their own eradication. But of all people, Jacob should have known that God had other plans.

He should have never settled outside the city of Shechem and he was wrong for signing an agreement with the citizens of that city. God had set him apart and had promised to make of his descendants a great nation. He and his children were the chosen people of God and the land of Canaan had been promised to them as their inheritance. In a way, Jacob’s sons had done him a favor, albeit by less-than-righteous means. Their spontaneous and anger-fueled response left Jacob with no option but to vacate the region of Shechem. He was no longer safe there. And in the very next chapter, God will direct Jacob to leave Shechem and return to Bethel because, despite Jacob’s fears, his days in Canaan were far from over.

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

New English Translation (NET)NET Bible® copyright ©1996-2017 by Biblical Studies Press, L.L.C. http://netbible.com All rights reserved.

Obedience Proceeds Blessing

7 “Thus says the Lord of hosts: Consider your ways. 8 Go up to the hills and bring wood and build the house, that I may take pleasure in it and that I may be glorified, says the Lord. 9 You looked for much, and behold, it came to little. And when you brought it home, I blew it away. Why? declares the Lord of hosts. Because of my house that lies in ruins, while each of you busies himself with his own house. 10 Therefore the heavens above you have withheld the dew, and the earth has withheld its produce. 11 And I have called for a drought on the land and the hills, on the grain, the new wine, the oil, on what the ground brings forth, on man and beast, and on all their labors.” – Haggai 1:7-11 ESV

God doesn’t mince any words. He had waited 16 years for the returned exiles to do what they were supposed to do. He had prearranged their return from exile in Babylon long ago and one of the main objectives behind their return was the reconstruction of the destroyed temple in Jerusalem. Long before the southern kingdom of Judah had fallen to the Babylonians, God had used the prophet, Isaiah to warn the people of the judgment that was coming for their disobedience. But He also foretold of their eventual return to the land and their task of rebuilding the temple.

Thus says the Lord, your Redeemer,
    who formed you from the womb:
“I am the Lord, who made all things,
    who alone stretched out the heavens,
    who spread out the earth by myself…
who confirms the word of his servant
    and fulfills the counsel of his messengers,
who says of Jerusalem, ‘She shall be inhabited,’
    and of the cities of Judah, ‘They shall be built,
    and I will raise up their ruins’…
who says of Cyrus, ‘He is my shepherd,
    and he shall fulfill all my purpose’;
saying of Jerusalem, ‘She shall be built,’
    and of the temple, ‘Your foundation shall be laid.’” – Isaiah 44:24, 27, 28 ESV

And hundreds of years later, when the people of Judah found themselves living as exiles, just as God had predicted, they were given remarkable news that the Persian king, Cyrus, was going to allow them to return to their homeland. And he was very specific about the purpose behind their return.

“Thus says Cyrus king of Persia: The Lord, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth, and he has charged me to build him a house at Jerusalem, which is in Judah. Whoever is among you of all his people, may his God be with him, and let him go up to Jerusalem, which is in Judah, and rebuild the house of the Lord, the God of Israel—he is the God who is in Jerusalem. And let each survivor, in whatever place he sojourns, be assisted by the men of his place with silver and gold, with goods and with beasts, besides freewill offerings for the house of God that is in Jerusalem.” – Ezra 1:2-4 ESV

God used this pagan king to accomplish His sovereign will concerning Judah. The Almighty divinely inspired this powerful monarch to release a sizeable portion of his nation’s slave labor so they might return to Jerusalem and rebuild the temple. That had always been God’s plan. He had brought about their fall and the destruction of their capital city and its glorious temple. But He had also made plans for their eventual return. God had clearly foretold His intentions to discipline His disobedient and rebellious people, but He had declared His plan to restore them. The prophet, Jeremiah had communicated God’s sovereign plan hundreds of years before it ever came to fruition.

“For thus says the Lord: When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will visit you, and I will fulfill to you my promise and bring you back to this place. For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you. You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you, declares the Lord, and I will restore your fortunes and gather you from all the nations and all the places where I have driven you, declares the Lord, and I will bring you back to the place from which I sent you into exile.” – Jeremiah 29:10-14 ESV

But their return to the land was to be marked by a renewal of their relationship with God. It was to be a time of repentance and a realignment of their priorities. They would be expected to rededicate themselves to God and honor His glory and goodness by rebuilding Jerusalem and its temple. With the completion of the temple, they would be able to reinstitute the sacrificial system and restore their spiritual purity as a people.

Yet, 16 years later, the temple was still a heap of rubble because the people had procrastinated and put off their God-given responsibility to reconstruct His house. And as Ezra makes clear, the king of Persia had made an official proclamation concerning the rebuilding of the temple. He had even funded its construction out of the royal treasury.

“Concerning the house of God at Jerusalem, let the house be rebuilt, the place where sacrifices were offered, and let its foundations be retained. Its height shall be sixty cubits and its breadth sixty cubits, with three layers of great stones and one layer of timber. Let the cost be paid from the royal treasury. And also let the gold and silver vessels of the house of God, which Nebuchadnezzar took out of the temple that is in Jerusalem and brought to Babylon, be restored and brought back to the temple that is in Jerusalem, each to its place. You shall put them in the house of God.” – Ezra 6:3-5 ESV

But despite the royal decree, the financial backing, and the divine mandate from God, the people of Judah had chosen to build their own homes while leaving the house of God in a state of perpetual ruin. So, God responded, “Consider your ways” (Haggai 1:7 ESV). He wanted them to take serious stock of their behavior. What they were doing was unacceptable and He was no longer going to tolerate it. Speaking through His prophet, Haggai, God made His demands known.

“Go up to the hills and bring wood and build the house, that I may take pleasure in it and that I may be glorified, says the Lord.” – Haggai 1:8 ESV

They had the money to fund the construction. They had even set the foundation in place. But now they were going to have to complete the project and it would require effort on their part. And God was very clear about the purpose behind the reconstruction of the temple. They were to accomplish this take for God’s pleasure and glory. This wasn’t going to be about them. It was all about the God who had set them apart as His own and who had graciously returned them to the land. This house was to be a monument to His goodness and glory.

They had missed the whole point of their return to the land. The main reason they had been cast out of the land in the first place was that they had defiled and defamed God’s name. They had failed to live in obedience to their covenant commitment to God. Rather than worship Him alone, they had chosen to commit spiritual adultery by bowing down to the false gods of the nations that surrounded them. But God had chosen to restore the integrity of His name by returning His disobedient people to the land He had given them as their inheritance. But, as the prophet, Ezekiel makes clear, God was not doing this because they deserved it.

“Therefore, give the people of Israel this message from the Sovereign LORD: I am bringing you back, but not because you deserve it. I am doing it to protect my holy name, on which you brought shame while you were scattered among the nations. I will show how holy my great name is—the name on which you brought shame among the nations. And when I reveal my holiness through you before their very eyes, says the Sovereign LORD, then the nations will know that I am the LORD. For I will gather you up from all the nations and bring you home again to your land.” – Ezekiel 36:22-24 NLT

Despite God’s promise, their time back in the land had been far from productive or fruitful. In fact, God pointed out that their efforts to rebuild their former lives had been cursed.

“You hoped for rich harvests, but they were poor. And when you brought your harvest home, I blew it away. Why? Because my house lies in ruins, says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, while all of you are busy building your own fine houses.” – Haggai 1:9 NLT

Their sixteen years of disobedience had resulted in God’s judgment. He had brought drought to the land so that their grain, grapes, and olives withered in the fields. They longed for fruitfulness but reaped misery instead. They had expected to fill their homes with the fruit of the land but found themselves suffering from hunger and starvation. All because they had chosen to disregard the will of God. They wanted His provision but didn’t seem too concerned about building a house for His presence. They wanted God on their side but were far less interested in having Him in their midst. So, they had to be reminded that unless they obeyed the will of God by rebuilding the temple of God, they could forget about enjoying the blessings of God.

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

New English Translation (NET)NET Bible® copyright ©1996-2017 by Biblical Studies Press, L.L.C. http://netbible.com All rights reserved.

The Tables Are Turned.

Now in the twelfth month, which is the month of Adar, on the thirteenth day of the same, when the king’s command and edict were about to be carried out, on the very day when the enemies of the Jews hoped to gain the mastery over them, the reverse occurred: the Jews gained mastery over those who hated them. The Jews gathered in their cities throughout all the provinces of King Ahasuerus to lay hands on those who sought their harm. And no one could stand against them, for the fear of them had fallen on all peoples. All the officials of the provinces and the satraps and the governors and the royal agents also helped the Jews, for the fear of Mordecai had fallen on them. For Mordecai was great in the king’s house, and his fame spread throughout all the provinces, for the man Mordecai grew more and more powerful. The Jews struck all their enemies with the sword, killing and destroying them, and did as they pleased to those who hated them. In Susa the citadel itself the Jews killed and destroyed 500 men, and also killed Parshandatha and Dalphon and Aspatha and Poratha and Adalia and Aridatha and Parmashta and Arisai and Aridai and Vaizatha, the ten sons of Haman the son of Hammedatha, the enemy of the Jews, but they laid no hand on the plunder. – Esther 9:1-9 ESV

When the fateful day arrived, the one for which Haman had planned and the Jews had dreaded for almost a year, the outcome was much different than anyone had anticipated. The 13th day of the month of Adar would be marked by death as Haman had desired. But it would not be the Jews whose lives were taken. It would not be their blood that was spilled. This day would feature a complete reversal of fortunes and the author of the book of Esther makes it quite clear.

The Jews gained mastery over those who hated them.

And no one could stand against them…

…the fear of them had fallen on all the peoples.

…the governors and royal agents also helped the Jews…

…the fear of Mordecai had fallen on them.

…for Mordecai grew more and more powerful.

…the Jews struck all their enemies with the sword…

…the Jews killed and destroyed 500 men…

…and also killed…the ten sons of Haman.

…but they laid no hand on the plunder.

The author tells us, “on the very day when the enemies of the Jews hoped to gain the mastery over them, the reverse occurred” (Esther 9:1b ESV). In the roughly eight months since the issuing of the second decree, Mordecai’s influence in the kingdom had grown. The peoples’ respect for him and for the Jews had increased greatly. And the Jews had been given ample time to prepare themselves for the looming day of slaughter. So when that day arrived, things turned out dramatically different than anticipated. The enemies of the people of God found themselves on the short end of the stick. The playground bully found himself on the receiving end, getting a taste of his own medicine.

Once again, as has been the case throughout the book of Esther, God is no where mentioned in the events of the 13th day of Adar. But this entire reversal of fortune is the clear result of the sovereign will of God. It is important to note that the Jews mentioned in this chapter are made up of those who chose to stay behind in Persia rather than return to the land of Canaan under the leadership of Ezra and Nehemiah. Years earlier, during the reign of King Cyrus, he had decreed the return of the Jews to their land in order to rebuild the city of Jerusalem and the temple.

Whoever is among you of all his people, may his God be with him, and let him go up to Jerusalem, which is in Judah, and rebuild the house of the Lord, the God of Israel—he is the God who is in Jerusalem. And let each survivor, in whatever place he sojourns, be assisted by the men of his place with silver and gold, with goods and with beasts, besides freewill offerings for the house of God that is in Jerusalem. – Ezra 1:3-4 ESV

But not everyone returned. Many of the Jews had chosen to stay in Persia. Perhaps the journey was too risky. The thought of having to return to the scene of so much destruction could have been too much for them to consider. Or maybe some of them had become content in Persia, enjoying their new land and acclimating themselves to their new lifestyle. But whatever the case, Mordecai, Esther and the rest of the Jews living in the capital of Susa and throughout the 127 provinces of Persia, were those who had chosen to remain and not return. But God had not abandoned them. While their fellow Jews were busy rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem and restoring the temple so that the Jews could worship once again, they were living in relative comfort and ease in Persia. That is, until Haman had issued the first decree. Then, their world had become darkened and their hearts had been filled with despair. They had mourned. They had feared. But God had acted on their behalf. Mordecai had confronted Esther. She had boldly approached the king. Haman had been exposed. The second edict had been issued. And when the day arrived, the Jews gained the upper hand on their enemies. This was all an act of God. It was the sovereign, providential work of God Almighty. Even His rebellious children living in the land of Persia would know what it means to experience the faithful love of God and to enjoy His undeserved mercy and grace.

The prophet, Ezekiel, tells us why God would do such a thing. He tells of the day when God will rescue all His people, the Jews, from their exile throughout the world.

Therefore, give the people of Israel this message from the Sovereign Lord: I am bringing you back, but not because you deserve it. I am doing it to protect my holy name, on which you brought shame while you were scattered among the nations. I will show how holy my great name is—the name on which you brought shame among the nations. And when I reveal my holiness through you before their very eyes, says the Sovereign Lord, then the nations will know that I am the Lord. For I will gather you up from all the nations and bring you home again to your land. – Ezekiel 36:22-24 NLT

Why is God going to do this? What would motivate Him to rescue a people who have proven to be unfaithful to Him? The holiness of His own name. God is protective of His own reputation. He has made the Jews His chosen people. He has called them His very own. And while they may have proven unfaithful to Him, rejecting His Son as their Messiah and refusing to accept God’s repeated calls to repent and return to Him, He has remained faithful. He has kept His promises. And He will one day restore them. All one has to do is look at the history of Israel to realize that God has been preserving and protecting them for centuries. Their very existence is the handiwork of God. Despite repeated attempts by dictators, despots, nations and movements to eradicate the Jews, they remain. This is not the result of their own stamina and strength, but because God is not done with them yet. During the days of Mordecai and Esther, God was preserving a remnant in Persia. And God is still protecting His people all across the world. And one day, He will restore them to a right relationship with Him. He will return them to the land of Canaan. He will place His Son on the throne of David where He will rule and reign. The story of Esther is a small glimpse into the story of God’s redemptive plan for Israel and for the world. The tables will be turned. The fortunes of God’s people will be reversed. The righteous will win. The name of God will be revered. The King will reign. 

No God Besides You.

When you did awesome things that we did not look for, you came down, the mountains quaked at your presence. From of old no one has heard or perceived by the ear, no eye has seen a God besides you, who acts for those who wait for him. You meet him who joyfully works righteousness, those who remember you in your ways. – Isaiah 64:3-5a ESV

Isaiah 64

What we know about God greatly influences how we pray to Him. The greater our understanding of God's power, the more likely we are to ask Him to display that power on our behalf. If our knowledge of God includes an awareness of and belief in His grace and mercy, our prayers will contain appeals for Him to extend both to us. But if we don't know God well, it stands to reason that our prayer life will suffer because we will not know what to expect from Him. We can ask Him for things, but we will do so with apprehension, because we aren't familiar with His ways. We can share with Him our burdens, but if we don't know Him well, we'll never even know if He has heard or even cares.

Isaiah prayed to a God he clearly knew. And it was far more than just an academic or historical knowledge. He had a personal awareness and understanding of God. Yes, he knew the stories from Israel's past. He had heard about the appearance of God on Mount Sinai when the people were wandering in the wilderness. He was aware of the thunder, lightning, and earth-shattering signs that accompanied that appearance. He also knew that when God showed up, the people tended to straighten up. He had a way of getting their attention. But Isaiah also knew that there was more to God than just shock and awe. There was more to His appearing among the people of Israel than just to get their attention. He wanted to reveal His power. He wanted to assure them of His presence. He was there among them and He cared greatly for them. Yes, God wanted them to fear Him. But He also wanted them to depend upon Him. The kind of rock-shattering power He displayed before them was available to them, to protect them, provide for them, and to give them an assurance of His ability to do all that He had promised to them.

One of the problems the people of Israel had always had was their seeming inability to see God as personal and loving. They had no trouble fearing God. They just couldn't understand how much He loved them. They tended to keep their distance from God, out of fear that He would kill them. They didn't really trust Him. Which is what led them to seek other gods in place of Him. But Isaiah knew God to be extremely loving, intimate, personal and gracious. Which is why he stated, “You welcome those who gladly do good, who follow godly ways” (Isaiah 64:5a NLT). He understood God to be loving and welcoming to all those who trusted Him enough to obey Him. Isaiah had found God to be approachable and merciful. He feared God, but wasn't afraid of Him. He had an awe and respect for the holiness and majesty of God, but had no trouble approaching Him as his loving Father.

Isaiah found himself ministering among a people who had forgotten just how great God was. Their personal knowledge of God was suspect. Isaiah could speak on His behalf and tell them all that God had to say to them and about them, but they didn't take him seriously. Which is why Isaiah was asking God to make an appearance. He longed for God to show up in might and power, as a form of wake-up call for the people. But what Isaiah really wanted was for the people to know God they way he knew God. He wanted them to understand that the God he knew was simply waiting for them to return to Him with humble, repentant hearts, ready to obey Him, and He would bless them. He would extend mercy and grace to them. He would forgive them. Because there is no God besides Him. They were wasting their time looking for help from any other gods. They were going to be highly disappointed if they continued to reject God's calls to repentance. The Babylonians were not going to show them mercy. The Egyptians were not going to provide them with protection. The gods of all the other nations weren't going to be able to save them. Ignoring God was not going to make Him go away. Rejecting His warnings was not going to keep them from happening. They could either experience the wrath and judgment of God, or they could experience the grace, mercy, love and forgiveness of God. Either way, they were going to learn that there was no other God besides Him.

God will display His power. He prefers to do so in order to bless His children. But if He has to, He will do so to discipline them. The greater our knowledge of God's love for us, the more we will expect Him to reveal His power for our good. We will learn to fear Him less and respect Him more. We will understand His power, but know that it is there to protect and provide for us. We will approach Him expectantly, not hesitantly. We will run to Him, not from Him. Because we will know that there is no God besides Him.

The Need For Godly Leadership.

2 Chronicles 29-30, Titus 1

He must hold firm to the trustworthy word as taught, so that he may be able to give instruction in sound doctrine and also to rebuke those who contradict it. – Titus 1:9 ESV

Hezekiah was a like a breath of fresh air in the stagnant spiritual environment that had so long plagued Judah. The northern kingdom of Israel had already fallen to the Assyrians and the people had been taken into captivity. Hezekiah's father, Ahaz, had closed down the Temple of God, and led the people of Judah in the worship of false gods. He had built high places for the worship of these false gods all over the land of Judah. But then Hezekiah took the throne, and he proved to be a leader of a different sort. One of his first acts as king was to reopen the Temple. He recommissioned the priests, commanding them to consecrate and cleanse themselves so that they could properly care for and cleanse the Temple. Evidently, since the Temple had been shut down, these men had neglected their duties as the spiritual leaders of Judah. But Hezekiah ordered them to take seriously their God-given responsibility and cleanse the Temple. Then they were able to reinstate the sacrificial system and the worship of God. But one of the most amazing acts of spiritual leadership Hezekiah performed was his call to the remnant left in Israel to return to God. He sent messengers all throughout the land of Israel, begging those who had been left to repent and return. “O people of Israel, return to the Lord, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, that he may turn again to the remnant of you who have escaped from the hand of the kings of Assyria” (2 Chronicles 30:6 ESV). He reminded them that “the Lord your God is gracious and merciful and will not turn away his face from you, if you return to him” (2 Chronicles 30:9 ESV). Hezekiah not only had a heart for God, but a heart for God's people – even those who were living in open rebellion to Him.

What does this passage reveal about God?

As Hezekiah had told the people of Israel, God is gracious and merciful. He is always willing to forgive. Even after all that the people had done to offend Him, God was still willing to forgive them. He was even willing to pardon those who ate the Passover meal even though they did so in an unworthy manner. It seems that many of the people showed up for the Passover having not properly consecrated themselves. They were ritually impure or unclean. But Hezekiah prayed, “May the good Lord pardon everyone who sets his heart to seek God, the Lord, the God of his fathers, even though not according to the sanctuary's rules of cleanness” (2 Chronicles 30:18-19 ESV). And God heard Hezekiah's prayer and graciously pardoned the people. His concern was the condition of their hearts. Their heartfelt desire to return to Him and worship Him was far more important than whether they had kept the letter of the law. God has always been concerned about the condition of the heart. He had made it clear that adherence to rules and rituals without the heart was worthless. Through the prophet, Isaiah, God had accused the people of Israel of going through the motions. “Because this people draw near with their mouth and honor me with their lips, while their hearts are far from me, and their fear of me is a commandment taught by men” (Isaiah 29:13 ESV). Many years later, Jesus Himself would say, “For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander. These are what defile a person. But to eat with unwashed hands does not defile anyone” (Matthew 15:19 ESV). God looks at the heart. He knew the heart of Hezekiah. He could see the hearts of the people. He knew they were sincere and desired to worship Him, even though they may have failed to keep the letter of the law.  

What does this passage reveal about man?

Hezekiah was not just a political and military leader. He was a spiritual leader and he took his role seriously. He knew that the health and future well being of the nation was directly linked to their relationship with God. So he lead the people in returning to God. He called them back to a right relationship with the only one who could save them and protect them. But not everyone was willing to follow Hezekiah's leadership. Many of those living in what was left of the kingdom of Israel refused his invitation to return to the Lord. Even though they had suffered greatly at the hands of the Assyrians and watched as their relatives and friends were taken into captivity, when Hezekiah's messengers arrived inviting them to the Passover, “they laughed them to scorn and mocked them” (2 Chronicles 30:10 ESV). But there were those who did accept Hezekiah's offer and returned to the Lord. Not everything a godly leader does will appear successful. Not everyone will follow. The prophets of God are a perfect illustration of that truth. They faithfully followed the commands of God, telling the people the words of God, but the people would refuse to listen. The people would reject their calls to repent and return. They would ignore their warnings of God's impending punishment. But the prophets remained faithful to their God-given commission. Paul would command Titus to appoint elders in all the towns and villages where churches had been established. And he gave Titus clear criteria concerning the qualifications of these men. They were to be above reproach, not arrogant, quick-tempered, prone to drunkenness, or greedy. Instead, they were to be hospitable, lovers of good, self-controlled, upright, holy and disciplined. But more than anything, these men needed to be able to “give instruction in sound doctrine and also to rebuke those who contradict it” (Titus 1:9 ESV). God's people require godly leaders – men who are not afraid to speak the truth of God, boldly and unapologetically. Hezekiah was that kind of man.

How would I apply what I’ve read to my own life?

The church today is in desperate need of godly leaders. It is filled with complacent and casual Christians who have compromised their faith by growing comfortable with the world. There are many who go through the motions, attending church, even going to Bible studies and other seemingly spiritual activities, but their hearts are far from God. They are ignorant of the truth of God. They remain unrepentant of their sins and their hearts are far from Him. There is a need for godly leaders who will step up and speak out. The people of Judah needed Hezekiah. Had he not lead, the people would have continued to live according the example of Ahaz. Without Hezekiah's leadership, the priests and Levites would have remained unconsecrated and, therefore, unqualified to serve the people. The doors of the Temple would have remained shut and the sacrificial system unavailable. It took a godly leader to turn things around. I pray that I might be that kind of leader. I pray that God will raise up more men and women like Hezekiah in our day. We need leaders who are more committed to the cause of Christ and the call of God than the applause men.

Father, raise up more godly leaders in our day. The church is in an unhealthy state. There are many who claim to be Your people, who “profess to know God, but they deny him by their works” (Titus 1:16 ESV). May You raise up leaders who are unafraid to speak Your truth boldly and call Your people back to You. May our greatest desire be to call the people of God back to a sound faith and a firm commitment to You. Amen

Redemption, Not Reform.

 2 Kings 23-24, Ephesians 2

But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved—and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. – Ephesians 2:4-7 ESV

Josiah made a herculean effort to restore and reform the nation of Judah to a right relationship with God. Convicted by what he had read in the book of the Law, he began a series of sweeping reforms, all based on a renewed covenant with God pledging to “walk after the Lord and to keep his commandments and his testimonies and his statutes with all his heart and all his soul, to perform the words of this covenant that were written in this book” (2 Kings 23:3 ESV). And all the people vowed to join him in keeping the covenant. Josiah then began an aggressive and sweeping purging campaign, removing all the vestiges of idol worship from the land. And he had his work cut out for him. The kings of Judah had left a staggering number of idols, high places, altars and shrines to their false gods. Many of them were in the temple itself. There were cult prostitutes actually living in the temple. There were mediums, necromancers and household gods everywhere. There were altars and high places dedicated to a wide range of gods, including Baal, Molech, Ashtoreth, and more. It seems that everywhere he turned, there were shrines, altars, and idols erected to just about every false god imaginable. He even went so far as to remove the false gods erected by Jeroboam in Bethel. In other words, Josiah took pains to enter the land of Israel, which had already fallen to the Assyrians, and he removed the vestiges of idol worship that had led to their downfall. Josiah was thorough in his efforts. He even reinstituted the Passover, which had not been practiced since the time of the Judges. But all his efforts at reform did nothing to assuage the anger of God. It was too little, too late. “Still the Lord did not turn from the burning of his great wrath, by which his anger was kindled against Judah” (2 Kings 23:26 ESV).

What does this passage reveal about God?

God knew the hearts of His people. He knew that these reforms, in spite of all of Josiah's efforts, were merely external changes. Not long after Josiah's death, the wickedness would resurface and the idolatry would continue as before. Josiah's own son, Jehoahaz, “did what was evil in the sight of the Lord” (2 Kings 23:32 ESV). God knew that all the external reforms in the world would not change their hearts. They were addicted to sin and incapable of changing their behavior. The reading of the book of the Law may have convicted them, but it could not transform them. They could remove all the idols, altars, high places, and shrines from the land, but they couldn't remove the idolatry from their own hearts. The fall of Jerusalem and the coming captivity of the people of Judah was necessary. It was all part of God's divine plan. “Surely this came upon Judah at the command of the Lord, to remove them out of his sight, for the sins of Manasseh, according to all that he had done … and the Lord would not pardon” (2 KIngs 24:3-4 ESV).

What does this passage reveal about man?

Man is incapable of truly reforming himself. Any efforts we make at change are always limited and short-lived. Any attempts we make at transforming our behavior in order to comply with God's righteous standards will always fall short, because we can't change our hearts. The prophet Jeremiah spoke of the condition of man's heart and he didn't paint a very pretty picture. “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?” (Jeremiah 17:9 ESV). Jesus Himself echoed these same thoughts when He said, “For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, foolishness. All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person” (Mark 7:21-23 ESV). Josiah meant well. He had every intention of reforming and restoring the land of Judah to faithfulness to God. He sincerely wanted to see every last idol removed and the people of God restored to a right relationship with Him. But God knew that nothing was really going to change. Their hearts were wicked. They didn't truly love Him. He had warned them and pleaded with them to return to Him. He had sent His prophets over and over again, calling them to repentance, but they would not listen. They refused to change. Because they couldn't. And God was not surprised.

How would I apply what I’ve read to my own life?

Rather than stand back and criticize the Israelites for their stubbornness and stupidity, I must constantly remind myself that I am no different than they were. I would have done the same thing if I had been in their sandals. I would have proven to be just as unfaithful and disobedient. The Bible makes it clear that all men stand guilty before God. “Surely there is not a righteous man on earth who does good and never sins” (Ecclesiastes 7:20 ESV). “They are corrupt, doing abominable iniquity; there is none who does good” (Psalm 53:1 ESV). “None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God. All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one” (Romans 3:10-12 ESV). Paul reminds me that even I was once “dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is not at work in the sons of disobedience” (Ephesians 2:1-2 ESV). Even those of us who are believers in Jesus Christ, used to live “in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind” (Ephesians 2:3 ESV). But here is the good news! “But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved—and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus” (Ephesians 2:4-7 ESV). God showed us mercy and grace. He didn't ask us to reform ourselves or correct our behavior before He would love us. He loved us while we were at our worst. He reconciled us to Himself through the death of His son, not through some form of self-reformation. We couldn't have saved ourselves any more than the Jews of Josiah's day could. There is a day coming when God will completely restore His people. He will reform their behavior, but He will do so by changing their hearts. He will do for them what they could never have done for themselves. “And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules. You shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers, and you shall be my people, and I will be your God. And I will deliver you from all your uncleannesses” (Ezekiel 36:26-29 ESV).

Father, You are a faithful, loving, gracious God. When we couldn't do anything to save ourselves, You stepped in and provided salvation for us through Your own Son's death. You did for us what we could never have done for ourselves. And one day, You are going to do for the people of Israel what they have never been able to do on their own. You are going to complete restore, renew, and reform them, from the inside out. You will reconcile them to Yourself and make them a people after Your own heart. Amen