I was waiting to pick up some pizzas yesterday afternoon and saw part of an interview with Lebron James. Having just won an NBA championship, he was wearing a shirt with the big, bold words that read: EARNED NOT GIVEN. For those who do not follow sports much, Jams is saying that the ring he won is not undermined because he won it after joining other superstars at the Miami Heat. He still can boast in his achievement since he doesn’t think it was just handed to him.
Earned, not given, is truly a desire of all men and women. We want to achieve and boast in what we do. But the reverse is true in what matters most of all. In Joshua we are going to see Israel receive a land that they have not earned. They should all put on shirts that say, GIVEN NOT EARNED, and wear them proudly. Moses had reminded them of this and looking back on their history they must know that to be true. The Promised Land is not a reward for their efforts, but a gracious gift of God.
Thousands of years later the story hasn’t changed. As we read another gospel and get into the letters in the New Testament, the truth is that God’s grace is given, not earned. What is most important in life is received. It is our relationship with God. We must be reconciled to him, and we could never do that by our own strength nor could never earn the love he gives us. If you ever see those EARNED NOT GIVEN shirts around, remember that when it really counts, the reverse is true. God’s grace is given, not earned.
Have you had any great experiences with your time in God’s Word?
We began Year in the Bible a few months back as a way to continue with the tools our church had learned in a previous study. We learned better ways to study the Bible–how to read it, meditate on it, ask better questions, pray through it, etc. But to learn the how and then fail to put it into practice would have been a waste.
So here we are, reading the whole Bible. In your devotional times, have you been able to gain a better understanding of Scripture? Have you had new insights? Has it helped you to have a better vision of who God is? Has your dedication to the Word worked itself out in your life in ways you didn’t expect?
If you have some story to share, I’d love to hear it. To hear of the varied ways that the Spirit works in us can be a great encouragement and comfort to other brothers and sisters.
We’ve spent a great deal of time in these last months reading about Moses. But now that we’re finishing Deuteronomy, we’ll have to say goodbye. Moses is such a prominent figure of the Old Testament it is hard to look back and summarize all we’ve learned about him.
He stands apart from so many other people of Scripture, as we see in this line from chapter 34:
“And there has not arisen a prophet since in Israel like Moses, whom the Lord knew face to face…”
This following article calls to our attention a lesson of grace we can learn from Moses, that even a man who had done so much, still is reliant as we are solely on the grace of God.
I hope you’ve been enjoying the readings this week as we have read the words Moses has chosen to leave Israel with as they prepare themselves to enter the promised land. I imagine it must have been a trying experience for Moses and his role as a leader of the people. He has to deliver words to people who will be entering a land that he will not be able to see. Moses also must pass on warnings and remind them of the promises of God, knowing that the people will never cease to turn toward false gods and false worship (as we still do today). He urges them to faithful to a God who has always been faithful to us, even though we do not deserve it, nor do the people deserve the land they are about to inhabit.
Next week we’ll finally transfer our attention from Moses, whom we met back in Exodus, as Joshua will take over.
In Acts we continue to see just how the Spirit is building up this church and doing so by spreading the boundaries out far and wide. Disciples are voyaging around the Mediterranean, going to both Jews and Gentiles. We read about the council where it was decided more clearly how to bring the Gentiles into the fold and what was (and really what wasn’t) required of them. This good news is brought to the churches and Paul puts himself in harms way to do such work, getting himself arrested.
I’ve had questions recently about the laws of the Old Testament and how do we know what remains binding for us now. If you’ve kept up with Year in the Bible then you have come across dietary restrictions or requirements for personal hygiene that do not sound like something the church currently upholds. Do we just pick and choose which laws we follow? Do we select some of the Ten Commandments, then neglect ritual cleansing and stoning, then find some other codes that help us to judge others by some moral standard and keep those?
I’ll provide a quick answer, then point you in the direction of a couple of resources I’ve found helpful. To (perhaps over) simplify, there are different sorts of laws in the Old Testament, laws that had different purposes and held different roles. There were laws that dealt with the rituals of Israel, that made the people ceremonially clean or symbolized forgiveness of sin. There were laws that helped to divide and set apart Israel as a people unlike the pagan nations that were a people of God’s own choosing. There were civil laws, since Israel was a political group as well as a religious one. Then there were also moral laws that guided the people on how to live the way that God intends.
What we see in Jesus Christ, who says it in his own words and whose actions are described elsewhere in the New Testament, is a fulfillment of Old Testament law. He came to be our sacrifice, once for all, so why would we need to continue making sacrifices for our sin? By his death, a death that cleanses us of our sin, we are given access to God. Why then would we need to follow ritual laws that enable entrance into the tabernacle? Christ did not cast aside or overthrow the law, rather he fulfills it. And this was all God’s plan for us.
It still isn’t always to clear to the reader what is to be followed and what no longer applies for Christians today. So ask the questions, what sort of law was it? Was its purpose fulfilled in Jesus Christ? What does the New Testament have to say about it? Read through books like Acts and Hebrews to see the way in which early Christians struggled with these very same questions. What Jewish customs do we carry with us, what laws have had their time but are no longer of value? If the book of Acts instructs us about dietary laws, then we can confidently follow its interpretation on how Old Testament laws relate to us now.
One more point before I link to two articles. If looking at the Old Testament laws lead you to think that some part is no longer binding because it was part of the ritual laws, make sure to look at the entire witness of Scripture. If it is a part of God’s Word for his people throughout the Old and is found as well into the New, do not be quick to think we are in a different time and different place and different culture, therefore we can ignore that law. If Scripture is consistent from start to finish, I’d be inclined to say that law is still given for the church today.*
*And of course, remember that these laws are given as a way to live in response to God’s grace, not as something to merit it. Obedience is our gratitude to God’s grace.
The judgment on the Israelites for their fear and disobedience in regards to entering the promised land was that they’d wander in the desert for forty years. No one of that generation would see that abundant land, none but Caleb and Joshua. Instead it would be for the next generation to take possession of it for themselves. We read through this wandering in the second half of Numbers, watching how the old guard makes way for the new.
This may be a bit of review of last week, but this question came to mind this morning in a small group Bible study I’m in: What would you have said to the people to convince them to follow God and go into the promised land? If you were Caleb and Joshua, the two spies who trusted God’s provision, what would you have said to the people? How could you have tried to help Israel avoid the wandering we see in this week’s readings?
I think the way we answer that will also help us to know how to speak to fear in our own lives. How do we encourage trust in God in the face of fear? How do we follow when the road seems hard? These are the questions for Israel, and they are questions for today. I’d love to hear in the comments or via email what you would say if you were Caleb or Joshua.
Balaam, the Angel and the Ass; Woodcut from the Nuremberg Chronicle (from Wikipedia)
Welcome to Week 10.
We’re back to just reading two books this week as the Psalms are taking a week off. But in its place we have another hearty week of Numbers and seven chapters of Acts.
In Numbers we have some well known stories like when Moses brought forth water from a rock, a bronze snake that heals the Israelite people, and a donkey that talks. We finish this week as the Israelites come to the end of their wandering and are readying themselves to enter the promised land (again).
Acts is a continuation of Luke, written by the same author, continuing the story of what happens once Jesus is raised. It is often described as Acts of the Holy Spirit, and that is what it is. You’ll see the way that God’s Spirit empowers the early church and the disciples to spread the gospel of Jesus Christ. We’ll read about Pentecost, healings, opposition from the Jewish establishment, and Stephen’s wonderful testimony before the Sanhedrin and subsequent stoning. Stephen is considered the first Christian martyr.
Hope you enjoy this week. If you have questions or comments, send them this way and I’ll do my best to respond and share with everyone else. I’d love to have you join me this summer at either reading groups, which you can find more information about at the above link. Some things take breaks as school is out in the summer, but you can always find yourself welcome at a reading group.
Christ of Saint John of the Cross by Salvador DalÃ, 1951.
God has a special claim among his people of the first born. Then in Numbers 3 he makes an arrangement that I’m sure the tribes were happy about. Instead of having to give over their own firstborns, all the tribes will be represented by the Levites. They will consecrated to the Lord in the place of the children of the rest of Israel.
But this is not the only stand in we see in God’s story. Jesus is arrested and accused of crimes he did not commit. He alone in history is the true innocent one. Yet, in Luke 23, when the people call for someone to be pardoned they cry out for Barabbas. They cry out, “Crucify” to the innocent, and demand release for the guilty.
We can see ourselves in this story, taking the place of Barabbas. We are the guilty ones who deserve the punishment standing beside the innocent Jesus. But we receive the pardon because of Christ’s sacrifice. It is as though God says, “Take my own firstborn instead of these people who deserve the consequences of their sin.” Christ suffers the punishment that we deserve and stands in on behalf of God’s people. Because of this substitution sinners are forgiven and are reconciled to God.
Having completed such a work in Christ, we now press on to read in Acts, and we will see what God will do to care for and grow his church once Jesus has left the people. It is a church made possible only because of the life, death, and resurrection of Christ, who stands in on our behalf.
I was waiting to pick up some pizzas yesterday afternoon and saw part of an interview with Lebron James. Having just won an NBA championship, he was wearing a shirt with the big, bold words that read: EARNED NOT GIVEN. For those who do not follow sports much, Jams is saying that the ring he won is not undermined because he won it after joining other superstars at the Miami Heat. He still can boast in his achievement since he doesn’t think it was just handed to him.
Year in the Bible 