God preventing our evil actions

The story of Balaam (chapters 22-24 of Numbers) is fascinating on many different levels. But in this post, I'd like to focus on one small piece of that story.

In chapter 22, Balaam is riding his donkey to a place where he'll be able to curse the Israelites. During that journey, an "angel of the LORD" stands in the path of the donkey to prevent its passing. The donkey sees the angel, but Balaam does not. When the donkey stops moving, Balaam become irate and hits the donkey.

Finally, the angel reveals himself to Balaam, and explains why the donkey's path has been blocked (Numbers 22:32, KJV),

I went out to withstand thee, because thy way is perverse before me.

This passage seems to imply that, although we occasionally sin, and although we pay the consequences for those sins, there are other sins that we never commit, because God prevents us from committing those sins. If not for God standing in our way, we'd be even worse than we are!

Recognizing how deeply ensconced in sin we really are can be depressing! How to respond? Two verses later (Numbers 22:34, KJV), Balaam responds,

I have sinned; for I knew not that thou stoodest in the way against me.

Subsequent parts of the Bible speak to Balaam's complex legacy. But at least on this one occasion, he appears to confess his sin and humble himself. Let us aim to do likewise.

"Fringes" to help us remember obedience

I occasionally warn that I am not a trained theologian. I hope that what I write here conforms with Biblical doctrine, but I encourage readers to seek independent guidance on these matters.

With that disclaimer aside, Numbers 15:38-39 (KJV) includes God's instructions, delivered via Moses, that the people attach spiritual reminders to their clothes. Those verses read,

Bid them that they make them fringes in the borders of their garments ... And it shall be unto you for a fringe, that ye may look upon it, and remember all the commandments of the LORD, and do them; and that ye seek not after your own heart and your own eye.

Modern translations usually render the word "fringe" as "tassel." The point is that the ancient Israelites used those fringes, always on their clothes, to remain focuses on spiritual matters.

We can do this in modern times as well. Those "fringes" may take many possible forms: crucifix necklaces, prayer beads, and pocket Bibles, just to name a few possibilities. Modern smartphones offer many options, as well, including prayer reminders, spiritually-theme background images, Bible apps, etc.

Now the reason for the aforementioned disclaimer is that some people see such reminders as violating the second commandment's prohibition against "graven images." And maybe they're right, although I think the second commandment's real prohibition is "Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them."

So I think such reminders are beneficial, so long as they don't displace God, but rather direct us toward him.

Cleansed of sin

One statute of emphasis in the Mosaic Law is the prohibition on eating blood. Although certainly important from a health standpoint, this rule also served to emphasize the spiritually symbolic importance of blood.

First, sacrificial blood for the atonement of sins is an important element of the annual Hebrew Day of Atonement (known as the Jewish holiday Yom Kippur in modern times). And then Jesus sacrificed the ultimate blood for the permanent removal of all sins. Thus, Christians view the Old Testament Day of Atonement as foreshadowing the eventual crucifixion of Jesus.
 
Mosaic law, in prohibiting the consumption of blood, required those who do consume it to thoroughly cleanse themselves (Leviticus 17:16 (KJV),

If he wash [his clothes] not, nor bathe his flesh; then he shall bear his iniquity.

David hits a similar theme (Psalm 51:2, KJV),

Wash me throughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin.

The Bible contains many such passages that reference "cleansing" of sin. Returning to the subject of blood, we don't literally wash in blood, of course, but we do figuratively wash ourselves in blood -- through faith in Jesus -- to cleanse ourselves of sin. Let us make that a point of emphasis in our prayers today.

Gathering manna every morning

Chapter 16 of Exodus finds the Israelites traveling through the wilderness, without easy access to food. God, in turn, rains manna and quail from heaven, with specific instructions regarding how they are to collect it. Verse 21 (KJV) of that chapter reads,

They gathered it every morning.

This passage first reminds us that God provides our daily provisions. But, second, it reminds us that we bear responsibility to gather. This gathering pertains to items to sustenance, such as food, and also to spiritual matters, such as godliness. And what better time to conduct that gathering than in the morning, before the distractions of the day begin!

So let us begin our days in prayerful spirits, collecting that spiritual manna that God is so eager to provide for us.

Unquestioning trust

Mark 6:30-44 tells of Jesus feeding more than 5,000 people with five loaves of  bread and two fish. The very next passage (Mark 6:45-52) tells of Jesus' disciples getting stranded on a boat during a storm. Being stranded during a storm must be a scary experience, but you'd think that, having just witnessed Jesus create matter out of nothing, the disciples would trust Jesus to save them from danger.

Mark 6:52 (KJV) highlights their lack of trust,

They considered not the miracle of the loaves: for their heart was hardened.

We all struggle with this problem. We intuitively "know" that God -- having created time, space, and matter -- certainly can bend the physical rules of those things in order to establish his will. But somehow we doubt that he will.

As a broader point, a common complain is: How can God allow bad things to happen to his followers. The key, I think, is to realize that, whether we experience joy or pain, God works for the ultimate benefit of his followers. For an extreme example, consider Joseph being sold into slavery. His extremely dire circumstances eventually worked for the benefit of billions of people, including us! But his circumstances didn't seem so hot at the time!

God knows what he's doing, and he asks for our trust. But establishing that type of unquestioning trust is a difficult aspect of faith. I don't have it! But I believe that we can work toward it through prayer.

"My face shall not be seen"

In Exodus 33:18 (KJV), Moses says to God,

I beseech thee, shew me thy glory.

God responds (33:20, KJV),

Thou canst not see my face: for there shall no man see me, and live.

As discussed in the Life Application Study Bible, because we are finite and morally imperfect, we cannot at the same time exist in our imperfect states and see God. In fact, our earthly perceptions struggle to fathom what "seeing" means in a spiritual sense.

However, God does reveal part of his presence to Moses (33:23, KJV),

Thou shalt see my back parts: but my face shall not be seen.

God allows Moses see him as he passes by, which indicates that our finite minds know God by what he does, not by how he "looks."

As humbling as this passage is, I also find it encouraging. Whenever we become frustrated that we don't comprehend God's full plan, and we struggle to sense his full presence, we should recall that Moses, one of the central figures of the entire Bible, and the person who arguably came closest to actually seeing God, also struggled with this same partial revelation.

Our task is to remain humble in prayer, and trust that God's design is greater than ours.

"Cause the lamp to burn always"

Genesis 41:4 (KJV) describes a part of pharaoh's dream,

The ill favoured and leanfleshed kine did eat up the seven well favoured and fat kine.

As Joseph interprets for pharaoh, the lean kine -- "kine" being an archaic word for "cows" -- represents a seven-year famine that would follow seven years of economic success. Joseph advises pharaoh to save during the seven successful years in order to prepare for the lean years.

But as Charles Spurgeon points out, those lean kine also represent our own unfortunate experiences with spiritual backsliding. As Spurgeon puts it,

My days of sloth have ruinously destroyed all that I had achieved in times of zealous industry ... my fits of worldliness have thrown me back from my advances in the divine life.

How do we avoid those times of "lean kine"? An answer comes in Exodus, where God instructs the Israelites on construction of the holy tabernacle. A seemingly trivial detail in those instructions involves the burning of the lamp (Exodus 27: 20, KJV),

Command the children of Israel, that they bring thee pure oil olive beaten for the light, to cause the lamp to burn always.

It's easy to fall asleep while reading details of Hebrew law in the Old Testament. But those details help emphasize spiritual commitment and/or foreshadow the arrival of Jesus. The detail of the lamp obviously serves as a reminder to keep our spiritual zeal burning. And we can achieve that through "praying without ceasing."