Peter Misselbrook's Blog

Mar 18 2019 - Numbers 20:1-13 – The waters of Meribah

Two days ago we read the Israelites reaction to those who had explored the Promised Land. They wished that they were back in Egypt or had died in the wilderness. And the Lord granted their wish. Because of their failure to trust God they would not enter the Promised Land. All the adults who had been rescued from Egypt, with the exception of Joshua and Caleb, would die in the wilderness.

And yet the Israelites seem to have learnt nothing. Here they are again complaining against Moses and against God, this time because of lack of water: "If only we had died when our brothers fell dead before the Lord! Why did you bring the Lord’s community into this wilderness, that we and our livestock should die here? Why did you bring us up out of Egypt to this terrible place? It has no corn or figs, grapevines or pomegranates. And there is no water to drink!" (vv. 3-5). Did it ever cross their minds that, but for their rebellion, they would not have been in "this terrible place"? If they had listened to Caleb and Joshua and placed their faith in the living God who had promised to give them the land they would have been enjoying "corn, figs, grapevines, pomegranates and water."

But the real tragedy of this chapter concerns Moses. Moses and Aaron fall face down before the Lord at the entrance of the tent of meeting, seeking God's help and guidance. There in glory the Lord spoke to them. They were told to gather the people together and Moses, with the staff of God in his hand, was to speak to a rock and water would flow from it to satisfy the needs of the people.

This staff was no magic wand but a visual symbol of the power by which God came to his people's aid. This staff had been stretched over the waters of the Red Sea and they had parted to allow the Israelites to cross over on dry ground. This staff had again been stretched over the sea and the waters had rolled back to drown the pursuing Egyptians. This staff had been raised towards the valley in which the Amalekites were fighting against the Israelites and while Moses was able to stretch out the staff the Israelites prevailed against their attackers. Now Moses needed only to hold this symbol of God's power in his hand and speak to a rock and water would gush out from it.

But Moses is angry with the people and fed-up with his thankless job. So we read, "He and Aaron gathered the assembly together in front of the rock and Moses said to them, ‘Listen, you rebels, must we bring you water out of this rock?’ Then Moses raised his arm and struck the rock twice with his staff. Water gushed out, and the community and their livestock drank." (vv. 10-11). Yes, he struck the rock with the staff of God, and he struck it not once but twice.

And for this act of disobedience, "the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, ‘Because you did not trust in me enough to honour me as holy in the sight of the Israelites, you will not bring this community into the land I give them.’" (v.12). Moses and Aaron are to share the fate of the rest of the rebellious people, they will not enter the Promised Land but will die in the wilderness. It is a truly awful incident from which we might draw out many practical and useful warnings concerning the cost of disobedience. But I want to focus on a different application.

Moses was a great leader of God's people, deserving of much honour, but we have a far greater leader in the Lord Jesus Christ. He also identified himself completely with us, the weak and rebellious people of God. He also came to share our condemnation and punishment. But he, unlike Moses, was perfectly obedient to his heavenly Father, obedient even to death upon the cross. And so he broke the power of sin and death. This also he shares with us and, by his resurrection from the dead he has taken away our condemnation and has guaranteed that we, with him, shall enter glory.

Father God, we thank you for our incomparable Saviour and for the hope we have in him. Help us to follow in his faithful footsteps and not to grumble or rebel against your great goodness and grace. May we encourage one another in thankful and trustful obedience.

Mar 18 2020 - Galatians 6:1-18 – The work of restoration

In Galatians 6:1 Paul writes, “Brothers, if someone is caught in a sin, you who are spiritual should restore him gently.” The verb here translated in the NIV as “restore” is one which we first encounter in the New Testament in Matthew 4:21 (and the parallel in Mark 1:9), where we read of Jesus coming upon James and John while they were in their father’s boat “mending their nets”. They were removing all of the weeds and other items that had become entangled in the nets, mending any tears and generally restoring them to all that they were designed to be and making them fit for purpose. This is the same verb that Paul uses here.

As God enables us by his Spirit, we are to be engaged in God's business of restoring damaged lives. As a fisherman with his nets or as a skilled restorer of a great work of art, we are to assist in the removal of grime, the repairing of damage and the restoring of the person to all that God designed them to be, making them fit for the Master's use.

What do you do with an old tangled and torn fishing net? You can repair it or you can throw it out and look for a new one. Those whose lives God has touched may become mired again in sin and damaged and broken through use and misuse, but they are never beyond repair. God does not give up on us; we are not to give up on one another. Paul was not going to give up on these Christians from Galatia. We need to be about God’s business of repairing damaged lives. Oh, and by the way, just in case we get to thinking that we are the spiritual ones and others need our help, Paul adds, “If anyone thinks he is something when he is nothing, he deceives himself” (6:3). We also need healing – the restoring hand of God and restorative ministry of our brothers and sisters.

Paul reminds us that our faith and hope centre upon Christ crucified and risen. His death means that this fallen world with all its deceitful attractions has been crucified to us and we to it (6:14). His resurrection calls us into the life of the new creation (6:15). Christ crucified and risen is the foundation for God’s restoration project – his work of making all things new. We are not only part of this project, we have been engaged as members of the project team. We need to help and encourage one another to be free from the old and to live as those who have been restored in Christ. We need to work together for the restoration of the world.

Forbid it, Lord, that I should boast
Save in the death of Christ my God
All the vain things that charm me most
I sacrifice them to His blood.

The world will not be transformed by more laws and better politicians – though we should be thankful for such interim measures. The world can be restored only by the power of its creator and by a people empowered by the Spirit of the crucified and risen Messiah.

Spend some time thinking about what it means for this present world with all its priorities and demands to have been crucified to you and you to it. What does it mean for you to boast in the cross of Christ? How are these truths going to shape the way you live in the days ahead? How are you going to play your part in God's great project of restoring creation?

Lord, get us on board with your great restoration project. Make your church a healing and restorative community, where broken lives are put back together, the wounded are healed and the sheep that have gone astray are brought back to the Good Shepherd. Restore your work of art and fulfil your purpose in and through us.

 

Peter Misselbrook