Not safe
Psalm 90
Numbers 17:1-11
2 Peter 3
When we think of Advent, destruction of masses of people is not really what leaps to mind, yet this is exactly where we are. The trouble with daily readings like this is that they are separated from their context. The story in Numbers is kind of odd and interesting taken alone, but it also loses it's true impact. To see how this is really the culmination of a much bigger story, you have to know the story. So, I find myself using the phrase which I seem to use a lot when doing Bible study, let's back up.
The book of Numbers comes after the Israelites have escaped slavery in Egypt but before they are allowed to enter the Promised Land. They are smack dab in the middle of the forty years of wandering in the wilderness. The people of Israel are, to use yesterday's phrase, living in the in between. Literally. They are no longer slaves, but they certainly have not reached their destination. During this time, God continued to give to Moses instructions as to how to live as a holy people. It is no small thing to have God living in your midst, and it is not always a comfortable thing. To use C. S. Lewis' phrase, God is not safe.
To make this more manageable, God set up ways that the Israelites could approach God without being consumed. Sinful and holy do not mix. The priesthood was one of those ways. The priests would be set apart and essentially run interference between the people and God. It was a privileged position and an important one. To understand Numbers 17, you have to know what happened in Numbers 16. Numbers 16 is a much more difficult story.
Those priests designated to mediate between the people and God were from the tribe of Levi (thus Levites, the priests.) Among this tribe was a man named Korah. I think we can all agree that one sin we humans are very susceptible to is that of wanting more, of not being content with what has been given to us. This was Korah's and his followers failing. Not content with being priests, they looked at Moses and Aaron and felt envy. Why should those two men be in charge? Why shouldn't everyone get a chance? What made those two guys so special? The feelings of being wronged and the feelings of discontent grew, and these men gathered against Moses.
You can read the details, but in the end, God destroys the men entirely... families, tents, possessions, everything... in an earthquake. After the earthquake, fire then consumes the men who followed them. The people of Israel are terrified, understandably. The next day, their terror takes a wrong turn. They take their terror and turn it into anger, grumbling against Moses and Aaron, blaming them. In response, God sends a plague which wipes out more than a few people before Aaron can make atonement for the people's sin and stop the plague. The plague has just been stopped when we take up with chapter 17.
Now we can see that this story of the staffs is more than a cool little miracle in the middle of the desert. This now becomes a bigger story of who can draw near to God, of who is really in charge. This is a story of who can bring life from death. This is a story of the need for a high priest.
So the twelve staffs from the twelve tribes, each visibly labelled so that no one can question the results are set inside the tabernacle. Aaron's staff, that long dead piece of wood, has not only budded, but grew flowers and then fruit. The dead stick with Aaron's name on it has come back to life as a fruit bearing tree. It is an amazing miracle. There is no doubt who God has called to be the high priest. There is no doubt God can bring life from death.
I think we sometimes take for granted what it means to have God near us. In verse 12 and 13, which are not part of the reading, but I think are important say, "And the people of Israel said to Moses, 'Behold, we perish, we are undone, we are all undone, everyone who comes near to the tabernacle of the LORD, shall die. Are we all to perish?'" For our sinful selves to come near and all powerful and all holy God is to surely die. I'm afraid that too often modern Christianity has tamed God into a good buddy, but has stripped Him of His power. From there it is too easy a jump to lose sight of why we need a savior. A good buddy god, one that can do some cool things but is generally benign can be approached however we like. A god like that does not require anyone to run interference. Like Korah, we think that we can do whatever we like. If this is true, we never needed Jesus in the first place.
This is not God. God, and His power and His holiness, is not to be taken lightly. The creator of the universe is not our good buddy. For us to even begin to think about approaching God, we do need a mediator. The Israelites needed a high priest to offer atonement for their sins or they would have been utterly destroyed. We need a high priest to offer atonement for our sins or we will be utterly destroyed. Nothing has changed. God doesn't change. What has changed is who the high priest is.
And this is Christmas. Our high priest, God himself, came to be our mediator. And He did it in a way no one really expected, as a little baby. A baby who would grow into a man who would permanently offer atonement for our sins so that we do not have to perish before God's holiness.
Alleluia.
Numbers 17:1-11
2 Peter 3
When we think of Advent, destruction of masses of people is not really what leaps to mind, yet this is exactly where we are. The trouble with daily readings like this is that they are separated from their context. The story in Numbers is kind of odd and interesting taken alone, but it also loses it's true impact. To see how this is really the culmination of a much bigger story, you have to know the story. So, I find myself using the phrase which I seem to use a lot when doing Bible study, let's back up.
The book of Numbers comes after the Israelites have escaped slavery in Egypt but before they are allowed to enter the Promised Land. They are smack dab in the middle of the forty years of wandering in the wilderness. The people of Israel are, to use yesterday's phrase, living in the in between. Literally. They are no longer slaves, but they certainly have not reached their destination. During this time, God continued to give to Moses instructions as to how to live as a holy people. It is no small thing to have God living in your midst, and it is not always a comfortable thing. To use C. S. Lewis' phrase, God is not safe.
To make this more manageable, God set up ways that the Israelites could approach God without being consumed. Sinful and holy do not mix. The priesthood was one of those ways. The priests would be set apart and essentially run interference between the people and God. It was a privileged position and an important one. To understand Numbers 17, you have to know what happened in Numbers 16. Numbers 16 is a much more difficult story.
Those priests designated to mediate between the people and God were from the tribe of Levi (thus Levites, the priests.) Among this tribe was a man named Korah. I think we can all agree that one sin we humans are very susceptible to is that of wanting more, of not being content with what has been given to us. This was Korah's and his followers failing. Not content with being priests, they looked at Moses and Aaron and felt envy. Why should those two men be in charge? Why shouldn't everyone get a chance? What made those two guys so special? The feelings of being wronged and the feelings of discontent grew, and these men gathered against Moses.
You can read the details, but in the end, God destroys the men entirely... families, tents, possessions, everything... in an earthquake. After the earthquake, fire then consumes the men who followed them. The people of Israel are terrified, understandably. The next day, their terror takes a wrong turn. They take their terror and turn it into anger, grumbling against Moses and Aaron, blaming them. In response, God sends a plague which wipes out more than a few people before Aaron can make atonement for the people's sin and stop the plague. The plague has just been stopped when we take up with chapter 17.
Now we can see that this story of the staffs is more than a cool little miracle in the middle of the desert. This now becomes a bigger story of who can draw near to God, of who is really in charge. This is a story of who can bring life from death. This is a story of the need for a high priest.
So the twelve staffs from the twelve tribes, each visibly labelled so that no one can question the results are set inside the tabernacle. Aaron's staff, that long dead piece of wood, has not only budded, but grew flowers and then fruit. The dead stick with Aaron's name on it has come back to life as a fruit bearing tree. It is an amazing miracle. There is no doubt who God has called to be the high priest. There is no doubt God can bring life from death.
I think we sometimes take for granted what it means to have God near us. In verse 12 and 13, which are not part of the reading, but I think are important say, "And the people of Israel said to Moses, 'Behold, we perish, we are undone, we are all undone, everyone who comes near to the tabernacle of the LORD, shall die. Are we all to perish?'" For our sinful selves to come near and all powerful and all holy God is to surely die. I'm afraid that too often modern Christianity has tamed God into a good buddy, but has stripped Him of His power. From there it is too easy a jump to lose sight of why we need a savior. A good buddy god, one that can do some cool things but is generally benign can be approached however we like. A god like that does not require anyone to run interference. Like Korah, we think that we can do whatever we like. If this is true, we never needed Jesus in the first place.
This is not God. God, and His power and His holiness, is not to be taken lightly. The creator of the universe is not our good buddy. For us to even begin to think about approaching God, we do need a mediator. The Israelites needed a high priest to offer atonement for their sins or they would have been utterly destroyed. We need a high priest to offer atonement for our sins or we will be utterly destroyed. Nothing has changed. God doesn't change. What has changed is who the high priest is.
And this is Christmas. Our high priest, God himself, came to be our mediator. And He did it in a way no one really expected, as a little baby. A baby who would grow into a man who would permanently offer atonement for our sins so that we do not have to perish before God's holiness.
Alleluia.
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