Hiding From TRUTH

 

Friday, March 17, 2023

But Samuel replied, “What is more pleasing to the Lord:  your burnt offerings and sacrifices or your obedience to his voice?  Listen!  Obedience is better than sacrifice, and submission is better than offering the fat of rams.  Rebellion is as sinful as witchcraft, and stubbornness as bad as worshiping idols.  So because you have rejected the command of the Lord, he has rejected you as king.”  Then Saul admitted to Samuel, “Yes, I have sinned.  I have disobeyed your instructions and the Lord’s command, for I was afraid of the people and did what they demanded.  But now, please forgive my sin and come back with me so that I may worship the Lord.”  But Samuel replied, “I will not go back with you!  Since you have rejected the Lord’s command, he has rejected you as king of Israel.”  As Samuel turned to go, Saul tried to hold him back and tore the hem of his robe.  And Samuel said to him, “The Lord has torn the kingdom of Israel from you today and has given it to someone else—one who is better than you.  And he who is the Glory of Israel will not lie, nor will he change his mind, for he is not human that he should change his mind!”  Then Saul pleaded again, “I know I have sinned.  But please, at least honor me before the elders of my people and before Israel by coming back with me so that I may worship the Lord your God.”  So Samuel finally agreed and went back with him, and Saul worshiped the Lord.  

1 Samuel 15:22-31

A mask hides what’s underneath.  Symptoms can mask a deeper problem.  Criminals wear masks, and use masks to hide their activities when caught.  Even when apprehended in the very act of their crime, an excuse mask is an attempt to wiggle-free from the consequences.  Masks are common, weak, and ever-present; just ask King Saul.

Saul knew what God wanted him to do, completely destroy the Amalekite nation.  He began well, but never completed his mission.  When it came to finishing the task, he tweaked the orders to savor some of the victory for himself.  He didn’t put the Amalekite King Agag (a ruthless killer) to the sword.  He also managed to pocket some of the wealth of the nation (livestock).  The reasons were obvious; parading the captured king Agag like a puppet on a string would build Saul’s prestige among the people he ruled.  And keeping the livestock to provide a feast for the people…well, feed them and who can get angry?  Keeping the critics off your back is sometimes a full-time job when you’re a king (or any other leader).

When questioned by the prophet Samuel about his rebelliousness, Saul put on his best excuse mask, deflecting Samuel’s questioning accusation.  The livestock were for a sacrifice to honor Jehovah.  From Samuel’s answer we can easily see that he saw right through it, and it disgusted the prophet.  He told Saul God was done with him, because he didn’t know the difference between building his own name, and honoring God’s name.  This incident is how Saul found out that, where God is concerned, there is no such thing as playing both sides of truth.  No mask is capable of hiding you from He who IS truth.  Saul tried to claim some of the glory and spoils that God had said were not to be spared.  That is not a plan that ever turns out pretty!

For You Today 

One of the reasons God gave us REGULAR worship is we are surrounded by reminders of what it is like to live in truth, and we are then more likely to value living in truth, than grabbing whatever we can obtain by untruth.  Saul learned that lesson the hard way, and it cost him whatever honor and place in the Kingdom he thought he possessed.  He was afraid of the people’s opinion of him; he should have been concerned with God’s opinion.

You chew on that as you hit the Rocky Road; have a blessed day!

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There are about 2,500 devotional posts and 400 sermons in the Rocky Road Devotions library.  To dig deeper explore some of these:  A Rebellious Servant - Part 1  and A Rebellious Servant - Part 2  

Title Image: via Pixabay.com    Images without citation are in public domain.

Unless noted, Scripture quoted from The New Living Translation^©   

Riot - Part 2

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Wednesday, May 31, 2017

Meanwhile, Korah had stirred up the entire community against Moses and Aaron, and they all gathered at the Tabernacle entrance.  Then the glorious presence of the Lord appeared to the whole community, and the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “Get away from all these people so that I may instantly destroy them!”  But Moses and Aaron fell face down on the ground.  “O God,” they pleaded, “you are the God who gives breath to all creatures.  Must you be angry with all the people when only one man sins?”  And the Lord said to Moses,  “Then tell all the people to get away from the tents of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram.” So Moses got up and rushed over to the tents of Dathan and Abiram, followed by the elders of Israel.  “Quick!” he told the people.  “Get away from the tents of these wicked men, and don’t touch anything that belongs to them.  If you do, you will be destroyed for their sins.”  So all the people stood back from the tents of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram.  Then Dathan and Abiram came out and stood at the entrances of their tents, together with their wives and children and little ones.  And Moses said, “This is how you will know that the Lord has sent me to do all these things that I have done—for I have not done them on my own.  If these men die a natural death, or if nothing unusual happens, then the Lord has not sent me.  But if the Lord does something entirely new and the ground opens its mouth and swallows them and all their belongings, and they go down alive into the grave, then you will know that these men have shown contempt for the Lord.”  He had hardly finished speaking the words when the ground suddenly split open beneath them.  The earth opened its mouth and swallowed the men, along with their households and all their followers who were standing with them, and everything they owned.  So they went down alive into the grave, along with all their belongings.  The earth closed over them, and they all vanished from among the people of Israel.  All the people around them fled when they heard their screams.  “The earth will swallow us, too!” they cried.  Then fire blazed forth from the Lord and burned up the 250 men who were offering incense.  Numbers 16:19-35^(NLT)

Have you ever had the experience of a teacher punishing the whole class for the actions of a rowdy few?  It’s doesn’t seem fair, does it? 

God’s judgment of Korah and his followers seemed overly harsh.  Yet, of the people who perished that day, who among them hadn’t been confronted with the truth, and yet chose to stand with Korah’s rebellion?  Korah, Dathan, and Abiram may have been the ringleaders, stirring up the community, but the 250 priests carried incense with their own hands.

It’s really hard to figure out what God is up to when it comes to judgment.  Perhaps, like me, you have lots of questions about that.  For instance, it’s hard to understand why the punishment for Korah’s stubborn desire to serve God at the temple warranted him and his followers being swallowed-up by the ground.  On the other hand, Jonah refused to serve God and his one sermon saved 120,000 people in Nineveh.  Is that unbalanced?

I do not presume to judge God; quite the contrary, I know God is the only one able to pass judgment, and it is far wiser for me to pay attention to my own ways than to try to hold God accountable for what He does.  That would be light years above my pay grade.

Still, in the making sense of it all department, I’ve come to at least one understanding about what appears to be unfairness, or unevenness about God’s judging.  It’s a principle given to Samuel the Prophet after King Saul is rejected and Samuel is sent to anoint a new king.  As he is looking over the sons of Jesse, Samuel imagines one of the more regal-looking sons as the next king; God tells him to have his vision checked:

 But the Lord said to Samuel, “Don’t judge by his appearance or height, for I have rejected him. The Lord doesn’t see things the way you see them. People judge by outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”  1 Samuel 16:7^(NLT)

Therein is why we are not equipped to judge like God judges; we can’t see like God sees!

For You Today

When you discover something else about God that you don’t understand, before you stand with Korah, kneel with Moses; that will likely improve your vision!

You chew on that as you hit the Rocky Road…have a blessed day!

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NOTES

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 ^I Title image: By U.S. Department of Defense Current Photos (140403-M-PK171-789) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

Riot - Part 1

[i]

Tuesday, May 30, 2017

One day Korah son of Izhar, a descendant of Kohath son of Levi, conspired with Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab, and On son of Peleth, from the tribe of Reuben.  They incited a rebellion against Moses, along with 250 other leaders of the community, all prominent members of the assembly.  They united against Moses and Aaron and said, “You have gone too far!  The whole community of Israel has been set apart by the Lord, and he is with all of us.  What right do you have to act as though you are greater than the rest of the Lord’s people?”  When Moses heard what they were saying, he fell face down on the ground.  Then he said to Korah and his followers, “Tomorrow morning the Lord will show us who belongs to him and who is holy.  The Lord will allow only those whom he selects to enter his own presence.  Korah, you and all your followers must prepare your incense burners.  Light fires in them tomorrow, and burn incense before the Lord.  Then we will see whom the Lord chooses as his holy one.  You Levites are the ones who have gone too far!”  Then Moses spoke again to Korah:  “Now listen, you Levites!  Does it seem insignificant to you that the God of Israel has chosen you from among all the community of Israel to be near him so you can serve in the Lord’s Tabernacle and stand before the people to minister to them?  Korah, he has already given this special ministry to you and your fellow Levites.  Are you now demanding the priesthood as well?  The Lord is the one you and your followers are really revolting against!  For who is Aaron that you are complaining about him?”  Numbers 16:1-11^(NLT)

Korah and his followers rebelled against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness.  They saw the leadership of God’s people as a prize to be seized so they could be in the front seat.  They were very wrong! 

Moses responded with humility, praying to God to settle the issue clearly the next day.  As we will see in the next few days, that did not go well for Korah and the 250 other leaders, as well as several thousand of their followers.

A prideful, rebellious spirit is not unfamiliar to the children of Adam; we all have the seed of rebellion.  Even to deny that is a matter of rebelliousness.  In the Garden of Eden when both Adam and Eve had sinned, God showed up in the cool of the evening, and the first thing the couple did was hide.  God pressed the issue and called them out.  Do you recall the conversation?  God initiated the accounting; he asked:

“Have you eaten from the tree whose fruit I commanded you not to eat?” 

The man replied, “It was the woman you gave me who gave me the fruit, and I ate it.”

Then the Lord God asked the woman, “What have you done?”

“The serpent deceived me,” she replied. “That’s why I ate it.”  Genesis 3:11b-13^(NLT)

Neither of the only two humans on earth wanted to admit they had rebelled against God’s command to stay away from that tree.  Adam weakly claimed innocence by blaming God for giving him THAT WOMAN; Eve deflected the guilt from herself by pointing to how badly the serpent had treated her. 

Neither was willing to own their rebellious spirit.

And that is an incredibly poor choice when your life is directly accountable to the One who made you, and Who just happens to be the Creator and sustainer of everything in the universe, as well as sovereign God over everything He created.  It’s a pretty foolish choice to think you can hide yourself, or even the smallest detail of who you are in a lie.

For You Today

The first step towards heading-off being on the wrong side of a riot with God is to get honest before God.  So…how’s that conversation going?

You chew on that as you hit the Rocky Road…have a blessed day!

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NOTES

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 ^I Title image: By U.S. Department of Defense Current Photos (140403-M-PK171-789) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

The Face of Rebellion

[i]

Friday, March 3, 2017

Have mercy on me, O God, because of your unfailing love.
Because of your great compassion, blot out the stain of my sins.
Wash me clean from my guilt.  Purify me from my sin.
For I recognize my rebellion; it haunts me day and night.  Psalm 51:1-3 ^(NLT)

If there is one thing the Season of Lent requires it is to look within and recognize our human rebellion against God.  Certainly all of Christian theology and doctrine rest on the reality that sin separates all created beings from their Creator.  Sin is first degree, premeditated, and the whole of Adam’s race is infected.  And without question, there are no survivors to this epidemic; the mortality rate is 100%.      

In King David’s great prayer of contrition in Psalm 51, the former shepherd boy has looked deep in the mirror and recognized his own rebellion; he proclaims it haunts him day and night.  What an accurate and compelling picture of the effects of sin – to see beyond the obvious torture of being caught with your hand in the cookie jar, facing punishment for your deeds…and seeing clearly how justified God is in his judgment.  When we sin we are without excuse.

As the Scriptures say, “No one is righteous— not even one.  Romans 3:10^(NLT)

There is a story about Leonardo da Vinci’s Last Supper which may well reflect how our Lenten look is supposed to help us reflect on our sin so we can be startled enough by what we see to adequately repent and be forgiven.

The story has it that Leonardo had argued with another artist during the time he was painting his great work.  As a knee-jerk reaction he painted the other artist’s face on Judas (third to the left of Jesus), and his own face on Jesus.  It was then the work came to a screeching halt.  Da Vinci could not continue; every time he looked at the face of Judas he saw his anger, and every time he looked at the face of Christ he saw how inconceivable it is to take God’s place as judge above another. 

And so the great da Vinci painted over the faces; the face of Leonardo, human, rebellious, betraying…became the face of Judas.  He announced his sin, with his paint brush to the whole world and took his place with King David who prayed:  Have mercy on me…wash me…purify me…I recognize my rebellion.

This is repentance – seeing oneself as premeditated sinner, rebellious enemy of God.  This is the purpose of Lent – preparation for looking at the cross and seeing the perfect God who has the right to judge us, who instead chooses to die in our place.

For You Today

If you would go beyond giving up chocolate or okra for Lent, try locating where your face belongs at the Last Supper’s table.

You chew on that as you hit the Rocky Road…have a blessed day!

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NOTES

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Title image: Leonardo da Vinci [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

Legacy of Love

[1]

Wednesday, April 20, 2016

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“You must not make for yourself an idol of any kind or an image of anything in the heavens or on the earth or in the sea.  You must not bow down to them or worship them, for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God who will not tolerate your affection for any other gods.  I lay the sins of the parents upon their children; the entire family is affected—even children in the third and fourth generations of those who reject me.  But I lavish unfailing love for a thousand generations on those who love me and obey my commands.  Exodus 20:4-6^(NLT)

Most people consider placing judgment for sins done by parents on the children, grandchildren, and, even great-grandchildren as being somewhat unfair on God’s part.  However, when you stack that against the thousand generations of “unfailing love” (covenant blessings) for the obedient, you rarely get a lifted eyebrow.

In the reality of interpretation department – the verse actually means that the effects of the sins affect generations.  A drunk in the family can cause bankruptcy which may take the family generations to dig out from under.  Same with being the child of a murderer, and trying to have a decent reputation.

But using this verse to blame God for stuff we bring on ourselves is very convenient! 

It’s pretty typical of human nature that, when things are going well, and we are getting what we want – well, it’s just fine and dandy!  But if we get taken to the woodshed (and God really only does that when we’ve been especially bratty), we consider the system to be rigged and we are the poor victim; we sing our lament:  God, how could you do that to me; how can you be so unfair? 

Well, ain’t life hard!

Now consider the way God really does business with his human children:

The ratio here between God handing out disciplinary judgment and God showering undeserved blessings on us is a whopping 4/1000, or eighty years (3-4 generations) of judgment compared to 20,000 years (1,000 generations) of blessing.

Actually…it’s an even wider gap than that, because the 3-4 generations is specific, while the number 1,000 is sometimes interpreted as without ceasing.  So God could be talking about eighty years versus eternity!

Listen to what one of God’s choicest children said about all that:

Put your hope in the Lord.  Travel steadily along his path.  He will honor you by giving you the land.  You will see the wicked destroyed.  I have seen wicked and people flourishing like a tree in its native soil.  But when I looked again, they were gone!  Though I searched for them, I could not find them!  Look at those who are honest and good, for a wonderful future awaits those who love peace.  But the rebellious will be destroyed; they have no future.     Psalm 37:34-38 ^(NLT)

For You Today

The bedrock reality of the comparison of God’s judgment and blessing is that God is much more willing to bless his children than curse them.  Truth be told, the Father is rooting for our best; I’ve seen his refrigerator door, and your pictures are all over it!

You chew on that as you hit the Rocky Road today…and have a blessed day!

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[1] Title Image:   Rembrandt [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

The Good Ol' Days That Weren't

Monday, September 29, 2014

As Samuel grew old, he appointed his sons to be judges over Israel.  Joel and Abijah, his oldest sons, held court in Beersheba.  But they were not like their father, for they were greedy for money.  They accepted bribes and perverted justice.  Finally, all the elders of Israel met at Ramah to discuss the matter with Samuel.   “Look,” they told him, “you are now old, and your sons are not like you.  Give us a king to judge us like all the other nations have.”  Samuel was displeased with their request and went to the Lord for guidance.  “Do everything they say to you,” the Lord replied, “for they are rejecting me, not you.  They don’t want me to be their king any longer.  Ever since I brought them from Egypt they have continually abandoned me and followed other gods.  And now they are giving you the same treatment.  Do as they ask, but solemnly warn them about the way a king will reign over them.”        

1 Samuel 8:1-9 (NLT)

Rebellion demands that each generation despise something of the previous one. 

The Prophet Samuel’s sons, Joel and Abijah were no exception.  They were reared in a preacher’s household and put in charge of the ministry when their father got ready to retire.  But unlike their father, the sons did not respect the nature of unselfish leadership; they were greedy, and when they rejected the call of God on their lives it caused nothing but trouble for everyone!

There is abundant example across the pages of Holy Scripture that show how the past is much less “rose colored” than individual or collective memory might lead us to believe.  In short, the good ol’ days weren’t!

The good ol’ days of Jacob were rotten days.  “Jacob” means “trickster” or “supplanter” – he bullied and schemed his way to the top.  God later re-named him “Israel” (Prince of God), but the rebellion in him made for a tough climb out of many a mess.

Nobody names their child “Judas” or “Adolph” anymore; those rebellious lives ended badly.  Not good ol’ days at all!

And do you recall how the children of God followed Moses around the desert complaining about the food, clothing and lack of water?  They wailed that they wanted to go back to their good ol’ days of onions and slavery in Egypt. 

Go figure!

So why is it that people in churches still clamor for the good ol’ days? 

Now, hold on; before you call the bishop on me, let me disclaim that I have it in me too.  I remember the good ol’ days in the church of my youth.  But I also recall the rebelliousness that led me away from church for a number of years.  If those good ol’ days were that good, why did I run?

I guess the point is that, for most of us…uhhh…ALL of us…we just have to go through it; we just have to rebel until the past catches up with us.

Like Jacob we have to wrestle with God’s angel and roll around in the dust until we get tired, covered in mud, bruised and disjointed enough – honest enough – to quiet down so we can see how our rebellion has taken us to the Prodigal’s pigpen.

Like David, we’ve got to sin big enough to invite the rebuke of God to wake us up to the cost of our rebellion.

Frankly, I wouldn’t go back to those good ol’ days for love or money! 

That’s why I’m trying to go forward every morning.

For You, Today…

As you think about your good ol’ days remember them accurately with all the good stuff AND the warts and rebellion; then thank God for where, what and Whose you are today.

And then move forward in joy and peace.