Reflections from April 27, 2011

In Numbers 19, we can draw the parallel between the ritual of cleansing to the sanctification we receive today from God. We read in Numbers 19:20,
"But the man who is unclean and does not purify himself, that person shall be cut off from among the assembly".

For the Israelite to remain unclean, he had to make a willful choice to do so. We seal our fate when we make a willful choice to remain unholy and sinful in the eyes of God, not receiving the blessing of salvation that He offers through His Son Jesus Christ. Just as the ashes of the red heifer and the purifying water were there for the Israelites to use, so is the salvation of Jesus; we only need to extend our hand and receive His gift.

Speaking of willful choice, we read about the time when Moses willfully set aside the commandment of God and took matters into his own hands. God spoke to Moses to speak to the rock in order to bring forth water. However, in a flash of anger, Moses hit the rock with his rod bringing the water out. So, why did Moses do this? Only he can say, but some thoughts about this include his anger at the Israelites complaining boiled over and came out; he was troubled through the years by his upbringing in the Egyptian palaces and this troubled past came out in this manner. Whatever the reason, Moses act of disobedieance and foolishness had a momentous impact on his life. We read in Numbers 20:12,
"The the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, 'Because you did not believe Me, to hallow Me in the eyes of the children of Israel, therefore you shall not bring this assembly into the land which I have given them.'"
A huge blow to Moses and Aaron. Still, they did not give up on the Lord, but accepted His righteous justice and carried on with their duties.

Moses did see a lot of grumbling from the Israelites, and at times it seems that they used God or turned their back on a whim. We read in Numbers 21:2,
"So Israel made a vow to the Lord, and said, 'If you will indeed deliver this people inot my hand, then I will utterly destroy their cities."
God did and they did! But almost immediately, the Israelites say in Numbers 21:5,
"And the people spoke against God and against Moses: 'Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? For there is no food and no water, and our soul loathes this worthless bread.'"

Quite the contrast. On one hand, they almost seem to use God for their benefit, but when things don't go their way, they immediately forget that God has delivered them from evil time and time again. God is with us through the good times and through the bad times. We must choose to remain faithful through both and in the end, we will be rewarded with our "promised land" as well.

Blessings to all