How God works fearfully and wonderfully.
Fearfully
Looking across a field from Midgery lane, at the side of Savick brook. The scene looks pleasant but there is a serious warning here. The warning is the clouds overhead, warning of impending rain, yes rain again. As I was taking a photo of this field someone stopped and tried to have a go at me. I was polite but it seemed he was after an argument. He was lost and he was finding it hard to get back on track so he took it out on someone else. Have you ever done that, really got flustered and in your anguish to get back on track, taken it out on someone else. We must seriously show love, even if it looks like we are weak.
I prayed for him, for Jesus to come into his heart and lead him.
I have a yearning for God’s presence in my life. I have been praying about this and this passage stopped me dead.
24 And it came to pass on the way, at the encampment, that the Lord met him and sought to kill him.
It sort of can get missed in the huge story of Moses and his battle to do the will of God. I say battle because he seems the most unwilling person to do the job;
the Angel of the Lord has appeared to him – physically,
shown him wonders and miracles,
told him exactly what will happen,
told him all his previous enemies are dead,
given him a spokesperson,
even given him a cool stick to wave around.
This verse has been flying around my head all day. I feel that I should not pass on by until I understand it and when the best biblical scholars have tried hard and still it seems to sit hard in the story of Moses.
Some translations say he had mental turmoil, but it appears plain to read; God met Moses, God sought to kill him. Why Kill him?
George Mueller once said;
It is true that the faith, which I am enabled to exercise, is altogether God’s own gift; it is true that He alone supports it, and that He alone can increase it; it is true that, moment by moment, I depend upon Him for it, and that, if I were only one moment left to myself, my faith would utterly fail.
Without my faith, I am nothing. It comes from God and I must treat it seriously. If I imagine a life without God, I would rather face my worse nightmare than that. I used to lie in bed at night and imagine what the world, what life would be like without God, and every time I got a deep dark blackness, utter nothing. It wasn’t just the dark but a nothingness – it was phenomenally petrifying.
All exists through him and we are extremely privileged to be loved by God.
So back to the verse. So God had done everything possible to convince Moses that He was going to be his leader, to lead his first born son out of slavery. The first born son is Israel. But Moses is not keeping up his part of the solution. He has not taken the covenant seriously between him and God. His wife performs a near fatal operation with just a sharp stone, by cutting the skin of the son’s genitals. She throws this bloodied skin at Moses and reminds him that he will bring blood, and his son needs to be out of danger as well. He needs to be beyond reproach as a leader.
This is a sobering thought. Have we ever not taken God’s Holy covenant seriously, the blood of Christ?
Wonderfully
Just then I had to go and listen to a story my son had picked out – no not angry birds, or some superhero book, but tonight he picked “Peter the fisherman”.
Four Fishermen Called as Disciples
5 So it was, as the multitude pressed about Him to hear the word of God, that He stood by the Lake of Gennesaret, 2 and saw two boats standing by the lake; but the fishermen had gone from them and were washing their nets. 3 Then He got into one of the boats, which was Simon’s, and asked him to put out a little from the land. And He sat down and taught the multitudes from the boat.
4 When He had stopped speaking, He said to Simon, “Launch out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.”
5 But Simon answered and said to Him, “Master, we have toiled all night and caught nothing; nevertheless at Your word I will let down the net.” 6 And when they had done this, they caught a great number of fish, and their net was breaking. 7 So they signaled to theirpartners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both the boats, so that they began to sink. 8 When Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord!”
9 For he and all who were with him were astonished at the catch of fish which they had taken; 10 and so also were James and John, the sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. And Jesus said to Simon, “Do not be afraid. From now on you will catch men.”11 So when they had brought their boats to land, they forsook all and followed Him.
The old covenant has passed, the new is here.
Peter has the same winging tone as Moses. The same tone as me on some days. Jesus shows He is Lord of nature, of people, of the winds, the fish, he has control over the normal physics of day to day living. He shows he is God, and yet Peter moans. Then when Peter gets it, he tells Jesus to go away, for fear that he is very similar to Moses, he is a sinner. But Jesus says “Do not be afraid. From now on you will catch men.”
The new covenant is here. Do not be afraid, but take it seriously. I urge everyone, please do not pretend to be a follower of Christ. If we take one thing seriously, it has to be your eternal journey. Please, I pray, do not sit on the gate, because sooner or later you will fall off and you will land on one side or the other.
The man drove up as I was sat on the gate, he was the tempter, I responded in love. I thank God that he gave me enough faith to respond that way. I pray that God will give me this mana every day.
The truth of the gospel is joyous, it is a gift offered freely and it can have wonderfully miraculous transformations, but we must be serious. We must be Godly men, and women, and children of God. We must show the world how our lives have changed. We must change the world with our hands, our feet, our mouths, but above all our love.
When my son was hurtling down a steep road today and he started to call out help, I called back “use your brakes” as I increased my speed so I was near him. – he was fine and when he slowed a little, he started to enjoy it.
God is near us and some days he does send us a warning, but this is out of love, not hate, or wanting to kill us. He wants His love to be shown and he needs men, and women to lead. If it is getting too scary, relax and pull the brakes a little, but enjoy the ride.
Dear Lord, thank you for your reprimand today – I pray shall not take you lightly but always accept you will a loving, joyful heart. Lord, come down and help us through your Holy Spirit to reach others that are in danger of being led by the tempter, lead them not into temptation and deliver them from evil.
Amen
365 Exhortations 