beautiful "big sky". It speaks multitudes of God's creation,
but most of all of God Himself!
God's signature characteristic is love. God is love (I John 4:8)--and His love for us is always at the root of whatever He does. He sees and knows things we are not aware of--we only know in part (I Corinthians 13:9) and we must come to trust in His unfailing love for us. Psalm 34:1, reminds us to "bless the Lord at all times. His praise shall continually be in my mouth". We may not understand why God does certain things or allows stuff to happen. However, to remember that His word is truth and that God has a clear view of the future helps us trust Him. It also sheds light when we understand that, on the other hand, our perspective of things is not clear--as Paul says, we "see through a glass darkly" (I Corinthians 13:12). The more we know about God--through reading the Bible--the more we can be assured of His love.
Numbers 25 opens with a tremendous lesson about one thing leading to another. Israel's involvement in harlotry with Moab led them to join in with Baal worship. There are many verses of scripture that warn us about choosing our friends and guarding our hearts (Proverbs & Proverbs 4:23). Phinehas recognized that what he was witnessing was sin. He had just seen people hanged for idolatry which had its roots in a cozy relationship with the Midianites. When Zimri, a Simeonite presented a Midianite woman to his brethren (who were weeping at the door of the tabernacle, no doubt because of the executions that had just occurred), and in the sight of Moses and all the congregation, Phinehas did not hesitate to kill them both. His discernment of the situation and his quick action brought a blessing from God for him and his descendants. God commended Aaron's grandson for his zeal; because Phinehas acted immediately, the divine plague was stopped, but not before 24,000 died in its wake.
There's also a tremendous lesson here about knowing what is going on at home. Zimri was evidently out having a good time while the judgment of God was being carried out back at the tabernacle of meeting. His lack of vigilance cost him his life. We cannot allow sin to blind us and remove us from reality or we may also find ourselves paying a hefty price.
Phinehas' quick action leaves us with a question--can we discern what is evil in God's eyes? And, do we take action without hesitation in order to remove ourselves from situations that have the potential for sin?
Dr. Stanley reminds us that: "Even a polite invitation to worship any god other than the Lord ought to be immediately and firmly rejected". As God's people, we must be watchful and discerning and not be "seduced" by even neighborly politeness to become involved in something that God forbids. Our concerns should not include what people think about us. What God thinks about us trumps all other concerns we may have. We have a family history of seduction that goes all the way back to the Garden of Eden. It would be foolish to imagine that "we can handle it", or that "we know where to draw the line"! To begin our day with an awareness that our enemy, the devil is looking for those he can devour (I Peter 5:8), and to pray that God would deliver us from evil ((Matthew 6:13)--more specifically, the evil one, helps put us on the path of vigilance.
We complete our study today with a reminder in Mark 13, that no man knows the day and hour of Christ's return. We may kid ourselves into believing that Jesus may not return for several years or decades. However, we would do well to realistically understand that we may not even be around for the next sun rise. Jesus advised his disciples in Mark 13:32-37, to "Take heed, watch and pray. . you do not know when the master of the house is coming--in the evening, at midnight, at the crowing of the rooster, or in the morning--lest coming suddenly, he find you sleeping. . . .And what I say to you, I say to all: Watch!" Zimri unknowingly walked into the judgment of God. God's love for him was evidently not enough and he was out seeking something to fill the God-shaped void in his life. He allowed his lust to separate him from the congregation of God's people and sought a relationship with sin. Unless we know God and unless we are rooted and grounded in the truth about His love for us, we like Zimri, will be looking for something to fill the emptiness in our lives.
It is a joy to revel in God's love! May we not allow the Deceiver to cause us to doubt God's love for us. May God help us be alert to our own lusts, to the deception of worldliness, and to the deceitfulness of sin--it's pleasures do not last (Hebrews 11:25), but rather transition into unpleasant consequences. Follow hard after God (Psalm 63:8), my friends! Come to know Him better with each passing day. We will never live to regret it and we will never know all there is to know about our loving Heavenly Father!
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