Does The Lord Hates Us?

"You were not willing to go, but rebelled against the command of the Lord and you grumbled in your tents and said, The Lord hates us, He has brought us out of the land of Egypt to deliver us into the hand of the Amorites to destroy us". Deuteronomy 1:26-27

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Israel was positioned on the east side of the Jordan river, ready to enter the Land God had promised to give them. It had been a long journey. Moses addressed the entire community, in preparation for this moment, and explained why it had taken 40 years for them to travel 450 miles. The journey should have taken a little more than a month.

Moses began...The Lord told us to set our journey toward the land of the Canaanites and Lebanon. God said "I have placed the land before you; go in and possess the land which I swore to give to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to them and their descendants after them."

So far...so good. But wait...

The Israelites suggested Moses send in spies...to ensure the land was ripe for the taking. It made sense so...Moses sent in 12 men to recon the land,

Although...this is not what God commanded.

And, the recon report was not unanimous. Remember, only two of the twelve favored invading the land. So the community rebelled and refused to go into the promised land. The people claimed God hated them and intended to have the Amorites destroy them.  

"The Lord hates us!" Really?

Hearing this, God was so angry He said "not one of these stubborn people will enter the land I have promised...except Caleb and Jephunneh" (the two spies who gave a good report). God sent them back into the desert.

Of course, the people got all repentant and said "we have sinned against the Lord; we will indeed go up and fight, just as the Lord our God commanded us." The geared up for battle and went to fight the Amorites in spite of the fact that God said He wouldn't go with them. Naturally, things didn't go as planned and they were soundly defeated. They returned and wept before the Lord but, God wouldn't listen.

40 days turned into 40 years...and not because God hated them.

Things haven't changed, have they? We still throw around the word "HATE" when we don't like what somebody says or does. Many people we know assert their hatred for God. Not because God has done anything wrong but because He has done something they don't like. 

God is continually leading us through our lives. Often it is a wilderness filled with uncomfortable and frightening things. It's natural to fear. However, when we took a step of faith and followed Christ, our commitment was forever...not for pleasure. But, we are commanded not to fear.

Are we wandering in the wilderness? How long do we want to remain there? I know of only one way out...listen to God the first time.

Live boldly out there today...

 

We need a Phinehas

Just then, while everyone was weeping in penitence at the entrance of the Tent of Meeting, an Israelite man, flaunting his behavior in front of Moses and the whole assembly, paraded a Midianite woman into his family tent. Phinehas son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, saw what he was doing, grabbed his spear, and followed them into the tent. With one thrust he drove the spear through the two of them, the man of Israel and the woman, right through their private parts. That stopped the plague from continuing among the People of Israel. But 24,000 had already died.            Numbers 25:6-8

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Sin, in the life of unrepentant people, breeds a level of hubris that is stunning. The need to hide sin from the community, in shame, disappears and heinous acts are paraded arrogantly in front of everybody. And, if not addressed directly, becomes a virus that will infect the entire nation. 

We cannot suggest this man was unaware of his bad behavior because Israel was enduring punishment, at that very time, for sexual immorality and Baal worship. So, He just didn't care what his behavior cost the community. 

Such carelessness comes at a terrible price...

We live in a world saturated with immorality...flaunted publicly before all to see. The level of self-absorption is incomprehensible. Activities considered abhorrent just a generation ago are now commonplace. Public immorality is a cancer that is destroying our communities. But...unrepentant sinners don't care about the cost to others, as long as they can satisfy their own lusts. Sober people should have none of it. The 

First, I am not implying we take matters into our own hands and mete out God's wrath. These offenders are loved by God and must be loved by us...in hopes of turning them around. Second, I am not suggesting those of us who are more circumspect are somehow morally superior. Hidden sins are just as deadly as public sins. 

I do suggest we begin taking a stand against against behavior we know offends God. If we don't, our community will become a Petrie dish where the culture of sin grows and invades every part. Death of moral sensibility is right around the corner...making it impossible to, any longer, distinguish right from wrong. So, in humility before God, we must agree to call sin "sin". We must keep our personal struggles and temptations private and humbly bring them before God who sees all and knows all. This isn't to pretend we aren't sinners. This is to help ensure others don't use our own behavior as license to disobey God. 

Later in the chapter God told Moses, “Phinehas son of Eleazar, son of Aaron the priest, has stopped my anger against the People of Israel because he was as zealous for my honor as I myself am." Think about this. God may change His entire attitude toward our nation simply because you...or I, take a stand. 

Will you be our Phinehas?

This isn't popular. This will certainly result in ridicule and worse. Yet, we must choose. Scripture says we cannot serve both God and man. "But if serving the LORD seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD." Joshua 24:15

The eternal welfare of our children may depend on it...

Live boldly out there today...