Dear church,

From the very beginning of humanity, the end has been in sight. God’s purposes have been clear. The victory has been certain (Genesis 3:15). At times in the history of God’s people, the way has seemed veiled and mysterious, but God never has been vague about the fact that his chosen ones would be secure. Salvation would come them, and so would a Savior. 

“I see him, but not now; I behold him, but not near …” Time always has stood between God’s people and the final fulfillment. Time remains in the way today, although we don’t know how much of it. The first coming of the Messiah came as a surprise to many, and the second coming will be the same way. 

But the end is certain, even if it seems distant sometimes. God will emerge victorious, and his people will be saved from every enemy, human or spiritual. Sin and death will be cast away, and the chosen nation will dwell secure in its own land – a new heaven and earth. 

All of these things remain in the background of our lives. We must not forget them as we do the things we must do today. We have goals that we seek to accomplish in this life. Kids need to be raised. Projects need to be completed. Anniversaries need to be celebrated. Retirements must be enjoyed. 

But we must not lose sight of the end. To keep the end in view, and the uncertain nature of “not now” and “not near,” means we might pursue the things of our lives differently. We might take more time for some things and less time for others. We might check and double-check some of our work more closely, knowing it is important in light of the end. And we might leave some tasks unfinished, knowing they will make no difference at the final appearance of the “star” and “scepter.”

What we must not do, after learning of God’s final and perfect end to this redemption project, is what Balaam and Balak did. They went away, back home to their old lives. They seemed to resist the truth that this story was a story they ought to join – that this end of things was one that ought to dictate the rhythms of their own lives. 

What would it have been like if this prophet and king had come down the mountain and humbly approached the tents of Jacob, not to curse or to attack, but to join – knowing God’s end for His people even better than the people themselves?

Chris

Dear church,

The idea of God’s choosing is both frightening and alluring. If God can choose anyone he wants for any reason that he wants – or no reason at all – then there is a chance he will not choose me. That is a frightening thought, to be left out of God’s circle of blessing. 

And yet, we can be chosen. Even with all our moral warts and wrinkles, God can choose us. He is not constrained only to pick the best and the brightest and the most ethically competent among us. He could choose me. And that leaves us filled with hope and in awe of God’s grace. 

The people of Israel are unlike any nation on earth because they have been chosen by God. They are “a people dwelling alone and not counting itself among the nations.” They are alone because God made them the center of his plan of redemption for the world. That plan emerged out of this rather ordinary people who were made peculiar because of God’s choosing.

There’s not another people like Israel. Out of the aloneness of Israel came Jesus Christ. Through the suffering and resurrection of Jesus, a bunch of “wild olive shoots” can now become part of the God’s chosen people (Romans 11:17).

And we, too, now are part of this people of God dwelling alone and not counting itself among the nations. Do you understand yourself as set apart and holy among the people of the world?

There will be some people who will be standing off in the distance – in the “crags” and “hills” – looking out toward this people camped out in the plains of Moab. Our great hope in this life must be they will come join us. It is certain there are others who have been chosen (John 10:27). 

We should be looking for them.

Chris

Dear church,

The way of Jesus Christ always requires sacrifice from the people who follow Him, and one of the more obvious sacrifices we are called to make is the sacrifice of our wills. To follow Jesus means to do his will and not ours – or the will of other people. 

The center of this episode in the life of Balaam was the way in which he became firmly lodged between the will of King Balak and the will of God. Just as the donkey could go no farther and collapsed to the ground, hemmed in by uncomfortable and divine circumstances, so Balaam found himself.

We sometimes make God’s will into some mysterious thing, but it most often is in black and white in the pages of our bibles, should we take the time to read them. And when we come face to face with the will of Jesus Christ, we have no place else to turn. If he is my Savior and Lord – if I believe he has died on the cross for my sins and bears the promise of eternal life for me – then I must obey.  

“If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth” (1 John 1:6). 

Balaam’s problem was in his desire for worldly gain (2 Peter 2:15-16). In his heart and despite his stated intention, he was willing to curse Israel (Deuteronomy 23:4-5).

The lure to do our own will or the will of the world always will be present. We will not be able to escape it in this life – not until Jesus returns to set all things right. Until then, we must remain steadfast in our faith and certain in our obedience to Christ.

We do sometimes have difficult decisions in our walk with Christ (Matthew 10:34-39). But obedience is worth it.

Chris

Dear church,

The only kind of person who will come into the church and make his home there is the person who recognizes he is dying. Something fatal has gotten ahold of that person, and he has become desperate.

It’s not clear Nicodemus understood this at first. “And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life” (John 3:14-15).

Jesus brought clarity to a deep mystery in Israel’s history. Why did God use the image of a snake – an unclean animal that represented sin itself – to bring healing to the nation? God did this because he was going to put his very Son in the same position as that copper snake. A dead body on a cross – an unclean and despised thing – would represent the sins of the entire world. 

It is to Jesus we are to look for our salvation.

Many people call this foolishness (1 Corinthians 1:23). But to the person who knows he has been snake-bitten, this is the greatest news of all. 

“And if a serpent bit anyone, he would look at the bronze serpent and live.” God has provided for our salvation. Every one of us has been afflicted by sin. The realization of this ought to make us desperate for a cure – and thankful we’ve received it.

Of course, we aren’t the only ones afflicted by sin. There are others. And the cross of Christ is there for everyone to “see” – to believe in. Continue to “preach” Christ crucified.

Chris

Dear church,

Moses’ mistake was not in doubting the power of God to bring water out of the rock. Rather, Moses’ mistake was in not burying his life so deeply in the life of God that Moses no longer was visible – and only God was. 

“Because you did not believe in me, to uphold me as holy in the eyes of the people of Israel …” Moses stood in front of the rock and undertook a human action. “Shall we … ?” he asked them. Moses refused to take himself completely out of the picture so that only God remained. 

Often in Scripture, God is described as the “rock” of Israel. Christ is described in this way as well (1 Corinthians 10:4). More specifically, God is the “rock of refuge” for his people. 

“The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer, my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge” (Psalm 18:2).

“Incline your ear to me; rescue me speedily! Be a rock of refuge for me, a strong fortress to save me!” (Psalm 31:2).

We do not reach for God as we might reach for an argument or an excuse. We do not grasp God as we would a weapon. No, we hide ourselves in the safety of our Rock and Fortress. When our enemies or critics come to search for us, we are not to be found. The only one they see is God himself. 

But how do we do this? We face all sorts of trouble in life, and we may frequently want to turn to God for help, as Moses and Aaron rightly did. We take refuge in God by entering humbly into his presence, hearing his Word, and doing exactly as he says. 

We find refuge not so we can prop up some image of ourselves before other people, so that we can keep up appearances. Rather, we lose ourselves entirely in the way and will of God. The story people need to hear is not about us by ourselves, but about who we are in Him.

Chris

Dear church,

Death has been a part of the human experience since the first sin, back in the Garden of Eden. It is such a part of our experience that sometimes we don’t notice it. We just accept it happens, and it someday will happen to us. 

But we do rebel at times against the notion of death. A global pandemic causes us to rebel. We protect ourselves from the invisible agents of death by wearing masks and keeping our distance. As much as we know death is a reality, we don’t like it. And we don’t want it to come to us too soon. 

We don’t realize, of course, that as we don our masks walking into the grocery store, we are carrying out a ritual. We demonstrate we recognize the reality of death, and we express our opposition to it. 

The reverse also could be said to be true. Those who willfully refuse to don their masks also may be carrying out a ritual. Theirs is different in that they may be announcing, both to themselves and the world, that death is not something to fear. It has been conquered. 

The fact of the matter is death is something that must be reckoned with, one way or another. We must approach it at times, and how we approach it reflects what we believe about it. 

The ancient Israelites viewed death as a disruptive force in their culture and camp. “Whoever touches the dead body of any person shall be unclean seven days.” Touching a dead body made a person unclean. Death was closely linked with sin, which God himself tied together in the Garden (Genesis 2:17). 

To come close to death, such as in the form of touching a corpse, was to approach the end result of sin. And this made a person unclean. A person in God’s kingdom had nothing to do with death. God’s kingdom was to be a kingdom of life. And the people never were to forget that. 

And so they lived outside the camp for seven days after touching a dead body. The priests sprinkled them with the “water for impurity” on the third and seventh days. This water contained the blood of the sin offering. Again, sin and death are linked. And almost everything was purified with blood (Hebrews 9:22). 

The Christian has nothing more to do with this ritual. We reject death more than any people on earth. Our God died for us. His death makes us clean. This ritual was fulfilled on the cross of Christ.

“For if the blood of goats and bulls, and the sprinkling of defiled persons with ashes of a heifer, sanctify for the purification of the flesh, how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God” (Hebrews 9:13-14).

The sprinkling of the ashes (and blood) from the red heifer allowed people to re-enter the camp, to resume life in a normal sense. The blood of Christ does more than that. His blood sprinkled frees us from the grip of death once and for all. 

This is not only for us but for the purpose of our serving the living God, to carry the good news forward into a death-darkened world.

When we speak about death in this world that has been re-awakened to death’s presence, we speak as people who are full of hope and courage and compassion. It is one thing to protect our neighbor from death by a coronavirus, and it is altogether another thing to tell our neighbor about the freedom from death provided by the blood of Christ. Many call it very “Christian” to attempt the former without ever doing the latter. 

It is better to do the latter. 

Chris 

Dear church,

It is one thing to receive the gospel. It is another thing to do the work of the gospel. The latter is work that was specially marked out by God from the very beginning. “And with you bring your brothers also …” There were those in the kingdom who did the work of ministry, the sacred work of the gospel.

Today, every disciple is called to do the work of the gospel (Matthew 28:18-20). It is not reserved only for holy men. We all have been made holy by the blood of Christ. And the holy now is within the reach of anyone who accepts the sacrifice of Christ on the cross (Matthew 27:51).

The question we must ask ourselves is whether we only have received the gospel or whether we are doing the actual work of the gospel in the church and the world. 

We have not been sanctified only for the benefit of ourselves (Hebrews 10:10). There is more to do. If I look at my life and cannot see how it is taking the good news of Jesus into the world, then I am not living the life of a disciple. 

We aren’t guarding the holy things any longer, protecting the camp from harm. We are drawing people to the Holy One, to the Son of God himself. Or better yet, we are taking the Son of God living in us to a world that desperately needs him. 

Is your life marked in some way by the work of the gospel? 

Chris

Dear church,

God will not leave you alone until you understand the fullness of his holiness – and everything about yourself. He will not be satisfied if you come to him saying only, “Yes, God, I have discovered I need to clean up a few areas of my life. Thank you for pointing that out.” The fact of the matter is we would be completely unqualified even to speak God’s name but for his grace. 

The budding of Aaron’s staff reminded the people of Israel they needed a high priest to intercede for them. And the high priest was of God’s choosing. No one could presume to take that role on himself because all were unholy. The high priest was the only way an unholy people could approach a holy God. 

The people needed to understand this yet again. Only one man could stand in for them in God’s presence.  

Our understanding of Jesus is an understanding of God’s holiness and our need for a High Priest to speak to God on our behalf. We cannot go there on our own. To try would be to “perish.”

We recognize this most clearly by comparison. The difference between holy and unholy is stark and somewhat mysterious. But we can feel it. A budding staff is obvious next to a collection of dead walking sticks. The trembling vision of the throne room of God is enough to strike conviction in a prophet (Isaiah 6:5). An unexpected catch of fish left a disciple on his knees (Luke 5:8). Our Helper is ever teaching us about these things (John 16:8).

Some day, every human being will understand all these things about God and themselves. All pretenses will be gone. The outer show of respectability will disappear, and we will know who we are and who He is. Every knee will bow “in heaven and on earth and under the earth” (Philippians 2:10).

What do you know about God and yourself today?

Chris

Dear church,

The happy Christian is the one who is content with the position where God has placed him, even if questions remain about why it is this position where he’s been placed and not some other position. This contentment only comes from Christ himself (Philippians 4:13). 

Some find it easy to listen to the words of our elders and wonder why these people are the ones to whom we must submit. “Surely, there are others who can lead a church!” We think we can do a much better job. And we might be right. 

But that is not the point. The point is to learn to be content with the grace of God, however that grace manifests itself in his church. Sometimes contentment calls for us to make the best of a not-so-good situation and to follow those whom we might not fully agree. Godly contentment requires faith that God is in these things that don’t make total sense to us in the moment. 

We “go too far” when we seize opportunities that God hasn’t given to us. Instead, we should wait for God to demonstrate for himself what his intentions are. “In the morning the Lord will show who is his.”

It does not matter what position we serve in the kingdom of God. What matters is that we are letting God lead.

Chris

Dear church,

The tassels weren’t for magical purposes. They were reminders – “for you to look at and remember all the commandments of the Lord.” Blue was a mark of the priesthood and the holy things of God (Exodus 28:31; Numbers 4:6). The Israelites were to remember, among other things, God had made them into a kingdom of priests (Exodus 19:6). “Be holy to your God.”

They were no ordinary people. They were members of the kingdom of God. 

Humans are a forgetful people. This is why we make so many mistakes. We forget who we are and what we are supposed to be doing because of who we are. A cross hanging around your neck or a Bible verse on the wall ought to be examined from time to time – so that we remember and don’t forget. We have been bought with a price. 

The people of Israel were a noticeable group because of the way they ate and worshipped and spent each seventh day – and, yes, because of the tassels, too. Our lives ought to be noticeable as well. Our minds are different because of Jesus Christ. They are renewed (Romans 12:1-2). The Holy Spirit serves to help us recall our identity as children of the King and as brothers and sisters to each other. 

The Holy Spirit does the work that tassels never could (John 14:26).

Chris