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CHAPTER THREE

HELPS AND HINDRANCES ON THE HIGHWAY OF HOLINESS

Numbers 14-20

Part I

Recently, three of us stood on the vast rocky heights near the base of York Peninsula, watching the arrival of a sweeping storm, with lightnings and thrusts of dark power, like impending judgment, the sky changing and regrouping as the depths wild dynamic were tossed from above, as if to superimpose on the gleaming and darkening ocean. So does life offer opportunity for storms, and while they may be dramatic to watch, it is often better to change the weather we can, that of the spirit and the life which we live, so as to circumvent the storm. The majesty of God is sufficient without provocation.

Alas the children of Israel on their way to the Promised Land, after their exit at the famous and divinely sanctioned and sustained Exodus, at times called for storms with such persistence that at length, brooding and black, they came. As we  look  forward now to the still fresh New Year, let us learn from their situations and from the word of God that covers them, and seek to walk on the Highway of Holiness (Isaiah 35), with step both eager and expectant, at peace with the divine plan,  and unprovocative toward the Lord.

HINDRANCES ON THE HIGHWAY

The Breach, the Double Provocation, and the Presumption

THE BREACH

So they went on, after that miracle of deliverance, to thunder for millenia through history, that Exodus, now through many vicissitudes. The new Christian likewise, after conversion,  has many phases of life, like phrases in a sentence, and they tend to add up to mean something.

Let us take the case of Israel in the desert. First of all, it was just a tramp, a passage, a challenge, like sailing around the world, or climbing Mt Everest. It is something you go through, calling for resolution, purposefulness and  self-discipline. When GOD is with you, it is exhilarating within, instead of enervating, since God is like that, whatever the outward circumstances, praise His name!

The people of Israel then arrived, the job done, at the very entry to the Promised Land. It had not taken so very long, but it had been testing as to their values and morals, cleanness of heart and resolution. Still, there they were, duly arrived. One might have thought that entry would no more be delayed, that amid happy hearts and delicious savour, they would prepare with care, for the onset amid prayers of rejoicing, and in the fear of God, giving careful and thorough address to the entry. One would have thought they would be rehearsing their case before God, stirring up their hearts to ask for MUCH assistance as they did this epochal thing: FROM EGYPT TO THE PROMISED LAND, through the divine method and presence!

Instead, they not only had to check it all out with spies (not a bad idea, depending on the motive! whether to see if it would be too hard, or to see how best to consider it),  but were moved to assess the report emotionally and without relish. Where was faith in this ? What might have been a strategy became a battery of unbelief, a depression of dynamic, and then a plain negative. WE WILL NOT GO IN!

What, not enter ? Of all the follies ever done on earth, what is this! You reach your desideratum, find your desire, have God with you and THEN simply refuse to go in! It is handed to you through faith, and yet you find yourself faint-hearted! Is it possible ? Not only possible but historical, it was. Thus when the report came back from the impressed spies, who spoke of the richness of the land to which God, in divine judgment on its inhabitants and commission to them (cf. Genesis 15, 17) had sent them, instead of delighting in His abundance in such a choice, they dumped it in disbelief.

That changed everything.  A wondering had led to a wandering, an investigation to a repudiation, an estimation to a rejection. They quivered, they quibbled, they procrastinated and then prohibited. Beware then of dithering, which readily leads as here, to withering, even if for some time, the case seems slightly hopeful. When the way opens, SEIZE it, and don't play with flames that can engulf. In parallel,   if pre-marital sexual relationships are abominable in this, that they make promiscuous what is build for purity in body and mind and spirit, for all are involved in matters of family, how much more is impenitent toying with one's place before the Lord, a sort of pre-marital experience SPIRITUALLY. Hebrews 10 warns of this, while reassuring the people that the Lord is merciful, and His exhortation is not here synonymous with rejection, but expressive of challenge.

What then of Israel, who having been shown mighty miracles, merciful deliverance, massive power, repetitive divine intervention on a specifically commissioned leader, having been met in need on the way, now on arriving, quivered all over again! Alas and alas, when the heart becomes like an opera, endlessly repeated, or moves in such a way, its very cords may be burnt, its strength seduced; and its ways tend to wither. With Christ's valour before us, let us simply be valiant, for the truth, and neither dither nor wither nor work for our salvation (cf. Ephesians 2), but rather WORK with FAITH, because SAVED! (Titus 3:3-7). They tried to work (in a self-made later attack), to deliver themselves by themselves; but this simply failed. Not only did they rebel when the occasion offered direct entry, but they even were moving towards STONING their leaders, Moses and Aaron, in application of their negative resolve! (Numbers 14:10).

The generation of adults who so categorically and emphatically rejected this offer, this opportunity,  would not enter, because now they COULD not, since the way was divinely closed to them. The work is done, as in salvation, but you MUST enter. You MUST take the pill, surrender the thrill of being a god to yourself (direct, or through your own chosen appointees or idols) and repenting, believe and receive eternal life in the Lordship of the Saviour; for if not, there is only the shrivelling of the word of God in your hard heart, till it is gone and you are finished. God is merciful, but this is the risk of playing the fool and seeking to find excuses for unbelief, as though you were an accounting firm, and not a believer in the God of infinite power and mercy. Faith receives eternal  life as a gift (I John 5, Romans 6:23); toying with truth surges awry.

Thus they tried after this to make a sally, but were repulsed, like those who try a sect or unbiblical church. THAT will not help (Numbers 14:39ff, Proverbs 24:21). Instead of MORE self-motivated effort, they needed to repent at once and in faith proceed. This not being done, they failed, and soon fell from a breach, to a double provocation. Sleep-walking in spirit is like that: it leads ANYWHERE.

First they clamoured - some of them - against Moses. You are acting like some prince! said Dathan and Abiram, of the children of Korah: and that was a tilt at Moses' background through the princess who had virtually adopted him! However, it was callous, for Moses had given up all that in his concern and crusade for the deliverance of his people, when he WAS as a prince in Egypt! It was THIS access which he gained which had in God's mission led to the Exodus from slavery for Israel. Being callous is almost as perilous as being callow, as in their refusal to enter the promised land. You are inviting burns if you play with fire, and this fire is divine! (Hebrews 12:28ff., 10:31ff).

Moses "fell on his face", for he was conscientious and this sounded like an impossible confrontation; but with God, it was not only possible but assured of a functional outcome.

"Tomorrow, " he told them, "the Lord will show who is His and who is holy, and will cause him to come near to Him." 

So they were to take their censers and their flames and appear. SEPARATE from them! Moses advised the others, just as one advises those who use the name of Christ to do now, relative to those who insufferably depart not from a princely leader, Moses, but from the power of the word of God, its truth and its morals, its declarations and its directions, today. As Proverbs 24:12 declares of those "given to change", "do not associate with them," as in Romans 16:17. But many INSIST on disobedient rebellion, and WILL not separate, thus swelling the ranks of deceivers, and failing to enlist in the army of the Lord.

"Depart from these evil men," said Moses, "and take NOTHING OF THEIRS!"

Now Moses intimated, by this you will know

"that the Lord has sent me and that I do nothing of myself."

 

Indeed, he added,

 

"If these men die naturally  ... then the Lord has not sent me."

The ground opened to engulf the men of Korah, and any with them! So  a pastor and elders, if faithful, MUST stand their ground on the word of God, and in the first instance, INSIST on it, as I did in the PC of New Zealand as a condition of taking the charge of St Ninian's, though when the pressure came on, and the Church as it had been, decided nationally to repudiate the promised 'land' of the risen Christ, who broke death in His very body, they would not follow, except for a minority. The leeks of Egypt, their brand new Church, and their relationships with others were too strong. At length even the eldership, which had to meet my condition at the first, broke with it utterly at the last. If to deny the necessity of the bodily resurrection does not create a new Christ, what would! What have they then? a pitiful mess left to rot, lying apostles, fraudulent attestation, disciples preparing for hell as bearing false witness, madmen trying to live amid persecution and loss to attest what was not there! (cf. SMR Ch.  6)

THE DOUBLE PROVOCATION

This was not all, however, in the revolt in Israel, to which we now return. After the deaths of the rebels, by the divine action, those who would have led entirely on a different way where entry into the promised land was NO LONGER a priority unsurpassable (a requirement, since in fact it would lead to the Messiah, and hence salvation for the race, as many as DID receive HIM and so enter the more ultimate PROMISED LAND of eternal life), there was a further outcry. Look, YOU caused the death of these good people, murderer! was the pith of their new outcry against Moses (Numbers 16:41ff.), who, after all, as far as this world was concerned had given up all to follow God, being sent for their deliverance about which they now quivered, questioned and quibbled.

That produced the second provocation of most of the populace!

The Lord then took an initiative and asked them to place rods for each tribe, including one for Aaron, another victim of their assault (and he was more vulnerable in that he had made a colossal, but soon repented error in having the golden calf wrought, as Moses was on Mt Sinai!). They put the twelve rods into the tabernacle, and in the morning that of Aaron had not only budded, but broken out into flower, and produced ripe almonds. People tend, in their own contemporary rebellions to try this or that mode of supplanting the word, work and power of God by silly substitutes, refusing to believe by faith in the power of God who uses such miracles PRECISELY as He pleases.

Then they turn down manifest provisions of the Lord, as the Church which I was pastoring in Hinsdale, Illinois, did when after a staggering response to prayer, the Lord in stages made available a new way of evangelical outreach in our area. Yet evidently for the sake of a trifling sum, the people decided not to go on with it. Afterwards, it was found that one of the members had underwritten any such loss for the first year, thus completing the rebuke to their unbelief, but would not have this divulged until  after they had voted! This ended in rupture, for the work God had given was now in the hands of those who went from error to error, and just as they had promised to heed what was to be done for the word of God, now as in N.Z., it had lost its appeal.

THE PRESUMPTION

Alas, however, it was not to end entirely well for Moses. One can sympathise with the endless provocations, humiliations that he faced, as he earnestly sought good for them; but one has to watch and pray, and though in the midst of fracas and fracture, it is easy to be roused or even rattled, yet this is verboten. Prayer is a good prelude in such challenging situations, for which after all one should in one way be grateful, for it is never boring doing the will of God! It may (and does) take amazing amounts of patience, but it does not lapse with the living Lord, Jesus Christ, who now acting by His Holy Spirit, gives power and wisdom to His people, as they abide in His word (John 15:7, Ephesians 3:16, 1:19, John 14:12).

As they grumbled as if without vision once more, Moses was directed to strike the rock, and so gain water under divine jurisdiction and authority, from the God who made the earth and knew its treasures and sites. This he did in HIS OWN WAY. Often we hear from this or that political or sports or similar figure, "I did it my way." This is exceedingly dangerous. While it is good to have initiative, the boundary between self and Spirit is clear. It is to be done God's way. With God for you, why draw on what is inferior, the sinful reality of self, instead of being cleansed, relying on the sinless and staggering perfection of God, who made you, called you and conducts your way! Major decisions without faith are like exploding an atomic bomb, and then checking whether you had it placed right.

Calling the people 'you rebels' which of course they were, Moses struck the rock twice, at which we look  DV next week, saying

"Must we bring water out of the rock for you!"

From this presumption we plan to draw important lessons next week, as we see the whole matter in the light of the kingdom of heaven. Meanwhile, note that this Mosaic outburst is recorded in Numbers 20, and the second provocation of the people, in Numbers 16, with the budding of Aaron's almond rod, in Numbers17. Chs. 18-19 deal with the duties of priests, and the law of purification. It is interesting that this comes BETWEEN the vindication of Aaron, and the presumption of Moses. It is as if to remind us that where there is responsibility, there is also an awesome need not only for fidelity, but a constantly purified heart! Trouble there, probably in exasperation, led to Moses' personal exclusion from the promised land (though not of course, from the Lord).

In this, we come upon the water of purification. As normal in cleansing (cf. Leviticus 17), this was a matter of sprinkling (cf. Exodus 24, where the book and the people are sprinkled with blood as they approach the presence of God). It is not the surface area (or the merely superficial things, to apply this) covered by the symbol of cleansing (now water, since the blood of Christ is not repetitively available, but the index for it, water, is): it is not this which matters. You see this principle clearly in John 13, where Peter is confronted absolutely in his desire NOT to have his feet washed by Christ, but rather hands and face: if NOT, then you are not covered! was the reply. It is the witness of a clear conscience to God through the resurrection of Jesus Christ which matters, says apostle Peter, a life cleansed by the eternal redemption which He provides (Hebrews 9:12).

Nor is it an intrinsically efficacious act  (Jeremiah 9:25!, I Peter 3:21): that is, the sprinkling does not cleanse. It is the Lord who cleanses, and this is merely the symbol, though as symbol, it speaks! It is not for man to exclude children from this, as if to confront the Lord, as Peter did from time to time! Baptism is the new circumcision (Colossians 2:11-12 cf. Jeremiah 4:4, Deuteronomy 10:16), for once you are baptised you ARE circumcised (in the symbolic way which matters, that is your heart is cleansed, your path changed, your life transformed in the pardon which brings peace). It is not mere dedication, but this in terms of the sacrificial  covenant of Jesus Christ.

It is the MEANING which matters, and the early action to baptise presents to one and to all the provision of the parents, who have no other desire for their children than this, that they become the Lord's. Thus as in Deuteronomy and Jeremiah, to be clean and cleansed you need to  'circumcise the foreskins of your hearts'.  It is not a 'stiff-necked' people but one released from sin by the removal of impurity on the covenantal basis that matters. As in Deuteronomy 30:6, this action symbolises not only purge and purification, but release into life and the love of God (cf. News 51, Possess Your Possessions Volume 11, Ch. 2). It is bound together with sacrifice (Leviticus 12:3,6-7).

It is this attestation that ALL THINGS past and present and future, are for the Lord of the thoroughly consecrated soul that matters. It is thorough and comprehensive, and not even one's children are superior to this (as if you might seek something secularly impressive for them, merely covering yourself!). The water of purification so used in cleansing had dissolved or stirred within it the ASHES of a burnt offering, so that it had a sacrificial importance in cleansing. The WATER, a symbol, did not cleanse, but it was applied as the case required. In the historical act of the  circumcision of the children,  the case was parental and the impact future when the result the Lord  appointed, would appear; but the totality of triumph in the Lord and committed travel was thus not only indicated from the human side, but this in terms of the most clear-cut DIVINE MANDATE which specified its topic, the atonement. The covenant is from God TO man, and not vice versa.

This teaches us to beware of ANY spiritual fibrillation, vacillation, improvisation, seeking extenuation and innovation in our ways. Let us rely on God ABSOLUTELY, ALWAYS, as He has it written, and He does not change, nor does mankind, nor does the Bible. THEN the hindrances quashed, let us be

"looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of faith,
who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross,
despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God," (Hebrews 12:2).