Thursday: Apostasy and Punishment
“All that the LORD has spoken we will do” (Exodus 19:8; see also Exodus 24:3, Exodus 24:7). Though, no doubt, the people had meant those words each time they said them, sacred history shows that, unfortunately, their actions time and again contradicted their words. Though they were the chosen people, though they had entered freely into the covenant with the Lord, they didn’t keep up their end of the deal, which really came down to one thing.
What was the crucial component for Israel in regard to the covenant? ( Exodus 19.4-5).
Image © Kevin Carden Goodsalt.com
The call to obey God, to keep His law, was no more legalism then than it is now (see Matthew 7:24-27; John 14:15; James 2:20; Romans 6.11-12), and yet, over and over the children of Israel failed to keep up their end of the deal.
Indeed, early on, even in the very sight of Mount Sinai itself, they fell into rank apostasy (see Exodus 32:1-6). Unfortunately, unfaithfulness seemed to be more the norm than the exception, and thus, instead of quickly entering into the Promised Land, they wandered in the wilderness for 40 years.
Read Numbers 14:28-35. What was the punishment meted out to the nation because of their refusal to trust what the Lord had told them to do?
Then, as now, so often disobedience comes, not just from outright rebellion (though that does happen) but from a failure to trust in what God tells us. What made this sin even more heinous for Israel was the fact that, as God Himself said, all these men had “seen My glory and the signs which I did in Egypt and in the wilderness, and have put Me to the test now these ten times” (Numbers 14:22). Despite all that they had seen and experienced, they still refused to obey the Lord and to take the land, despite God’s promises that they would succeed (Numbers 13-Numbers 14).
| Think about what was said above: that so often disobedience comes from a lack of trusting in God’s Word to us. Why is this true, and how can we, indeed, learn to trust in God more? |
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We sometimes look back at the Children of Israel and shake our heads with wonder at their promises of faithfulness, followed by a quick return to idolatry as soon as the going got tough. I think that the time that elapsed between God presenting the ten commandments from Mount Sinai to the making of the golden calf was in the order of 6 weeks. They had made promises to obey God's law but in a few weeks time they had fallen back into idolatry. We ask ourselves, Why were the so fickle?
Here is an illustration: I have friends who, on seeing my bird photographs, ask me what camera and lens I use. I tell them, and they go out and buy similar equipment and off they go into the bush looking for birds. After about 6 weeks, they have produced a few barely recognisable pictures of birds and they wonder if they have bought the right gear. They have a long discussion about focal lengths and f-stops and shutter speeds, but in the end their photos do not improve, so they put their gear on the shelf and go back to watching TV or whatever it was before they got the bird-photography bug. The truth of the matter is that if you want to get good photographs of birds you have to understand birds and what they eat and how they live. And you have to spend a long time watching them. Once you understand that, getting good photos is merely a matter of pressing the button at the right time (and a bit of luck).
It's not a terribly good illustration, but the Israelites thought that obedience was mechanics and not commitment. Mechanics wears thin after a while while commitment and relationship endures.
Actually, Maurice, I think you provided an excellent illustration. 😊 Good photos of birds are taken by photographers who love birds, as demonstrated by their commitment of time to get know them by observing their habits. Real obedience to God can only be rendered by those who love God and are committed to put in the time to get to know Him and work with Him.
That a great illustration! The same thing can be applied to sharing the Word of God with others. Many times, You have to know the person before sharing the message of God with them, in order to be more effective. I use to teach a Bible Worker class, and I would always start the first lesson with the 3 Knows: Know the Lord, Know the Bible, and Know the Man.
Unfortunately, we, as humans, want to skip over some of the steps, especially the getting to "Know the Man", the person that you are witnessing to. If you get to know the person, then you would form a relationship, sort of a discipleship relationship, with the person, and then both you and the person could strengthen your faith and commitment in Jesus. But as with your birds, we want to skip over the important parts, the step of studying the birds in their own habitants (not in our habitant). I hope you get my point as well. It gives me some comfort to know that God is always patient with us.
God's blessings to you.
excellent....as a bird photographer myself!!
Amen!!!! I love ❤️ your bird illustration! Yes brother i agree that commitment is the key.
What is Apostasy?
It is a defection or revolt or it is the formal disaffiliation from, abandonment of, or renunciation of a religion by a person.
What is the result of apostasy?
Many religious groups and some states punish apostates; this may be the official policy of a particular religious group or it may simply be the voluntary action of its members. Such punishments may include shunning, excommunication, verbal abuse, physical violence, or even execution.
Today's lesson covers two examples of Israel's apostasy and the results.
1. Worship of another god.
When Israel rejected Moses as their leader and made an image/golden bull of the Egyptian god Apis to lead them what was the result? Moses instructed the Levities to kill 3000 of the apostates. When Moses asked the LORD to forgive the rest He said whoever sinned I will blot them out of My Book, and He sent a plague on the people.
2. Rebellion - refusal to obey the LORD's instruction to march into war and conquer Canaan. The result was they had to wander in the desert for 40 years before they could receive the promised land.
What lessons can we as individual children of God learn from their experience? Are there things or activities that we put before the LORD? Are there instructions from the LORD that we refuse to carry out? What could be the result? Could our names be blotted out of His Book? Could the Second Coming be delayed?
Have you noticed how easy it is to discover that someone has misunderstood what you thought you were saying? Unfortunately, language is typically quite imprecise. Much of the time it doesn't matter too much - but sometimes the impacts are significant.
Have you considered what The Serpent used in Eden to bring about the fall of the entire human race (and natural world)? The power of words - or more precisely the influence and impacts of the ideas that certain 'word pictures' can call up in our minds.
When you hear the word punishment, what is automatically brought to mind for you? Most typically, punishment is understood as imposed consequences because that matches most people's background experiences with punishment. But imposed consequences is only one potential shade of meaning of the word. Punishment can equally refer to experiencing some form of 'cost' or otherwise detrimental impact that is an inherent consequence. Someone participating in a triathlon might rightly describe it as a 'punishing' experience.
Most broadly, the word (or concept) of punishment refers to experiencing an undesirable outcome. However, the specific cause of and means by which that undesirable outcome comes to be experienced is not automatically specified. Thus, when today's lesson refers to Israel experiencing punishment that was "meted out", we need to investigate the specific cause and means by which that punishment came about. This is particularly the case given that, as I cited on Tuesday, "inspired writers of the Scriptures COMMONLY credit God with doing actively that which in Western thought we would say He permits or does not prevent from happening".
God has designed this world to operate on a foundation of law* (which produces order) - inherent cause-and-effect principles. As we will see in Deuteronomy 28, if you live in harmony with these principles you will live. Doing so is referred to by Paul in Romans 8:2 as operating in accordance with "the law of the Spirit of life". However, should someone choose to exercise their freedom to go out of harmony with these principles, they will experience a different set of inherent consequences which Paul refers to in the same verse as "the law of sin and death". Paul again parallels this in Galatians 6:7,8 where he specifically refers to God's use of cause-and-effect principles.
Right from the outset, The Serpent intentionally and deceptively misportrayed God as arbitrarily restrictive and punishing (Genesis 3:1,4,5). It was all too effective. And Satan has continued that misportrayal ever since. So when you read of 'punishment' in the Bible, I would invite that you go beyond initial assumption that it is God that is imposing punishment and investigate whether the punishment is an inherent outcome from being out of harmony with what is essential for abundant life to work.
Because there is risk of misunderstanding what I am saying, I need to mention that God does discipline (Hebrews 12:6; Revelation 3:19). Many people mistakenly think that punishment and discipline are the same thing when they are in fact fundamentally different in nature. Essentially, discipline involves permitting/allowing inherent consequences to be experienced via direct cause-and-effect. Punishment involves applying imposed/contrived consequences that otherwise wouldn't inherently happen.
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* Law most broadly is also referred to as a constant: a principle of cause-and-effect whereby the same cause always produces the same inherent effect. It is the cause that produces the effect. Romans 6:23 reflects "the law of sin and death" (Romans 8:2). It is the sin (lawlessness: 1 John 3:4) that produces/causes deterioration, death and destruction via the chaos that lawlessness inherently produces.
thanks it is well explained
Would you mind explaining of how you interpret God's dealing with the rebellion at Sinai as "inherent consequences" - the Levites executing some of the rebels and a plague killing the rest? (I agree with the basic principle that sin destroys, but I see God exercising control over the when and how. After all, we all live on probationary time, only by His grace)
Thanks for your question Inge. I will attempt to overview my perspective and its basis.
Embracing of sin puts the 'sinner' immediately out of harmony with what is necessary for life (ie; (a) trust-based connection with the Source of life who ongoingly imparts to us the breath of life and (b) absolute harmony with all of life's design laws/'mechanisms' of life. Under this reality, being out of harmony with (a) and (b) inherently precludes life and thereby produces non-life/death. This will happen by 'default' unless God intervenes to 'temporarily' (ie non-permanently) restrain those inherent consequences. Thus you are correct that we all live on/within probationary time only by His grace. And you are also correct in saying that God does exercise control over when and how the inherent consequences manifest. This is, in part, why I say that God's release of someone to the inherent consequences of sin (the actual causative agency of the resultant destruction) is not a passive process on God's part. But while God is involved, He is not the causative agency that is driving the situation. Perhaps I could say God is working to influence the trajectory of the inherent destruction that sin has unleashed in ways that also maintain God's absolute commitment to freedom of choice by creation - including the freedom to embark on courses that unleash (self-)destruction. I restate this point because it is the foundation for and to what I outline following in regard to my explanation of situations such as the one you raised.
Sometimes the specific form via which God 'exercises control' over how the inherent consequences are released is manifest is more straightforward manner (eg, release of restraint of the plague you referred to) and sometimes such is manifest in a significantly more complex manner (eg, release of restraint via the Levites executing some of the rebels). As a caveat, unfortunately, this latter example, being a considerably more complex situation and that necessitated a considerably more complex expression of release of restraint also risks God being misperceived in the course of such. Although this is a risk God has been inherently willing to undertake, it has come at great cost to His 'reputation' via Satan's misportrayal of God's role in destruction from the outset and humanity's vulnerability to believing that misportrayal.
The most concise explanation I can offer, in summary, is that manifestations of release of restraint in this manner is first and foremost tailored to the immediate 'redemptive-learning needs yet learning-capacity limitations' inherent to the particular persons present at the particular time within the particular context (including particular stage of level of moral development). I believe such instances as this one (and others that are similar in nature) were manifest they way they were because there was no alternative option that would better increase the chances of the particular people present at the time realising the gravity of what they were embarking upon or at risk of embarking upon in the hope that realisation of such would result in them rethinking where they were heading and what they were dealing with in terms of the gravity of sin (a more complex manifestation of 2 Peter 3:9 principle). If there was a better alternative available at that time for the particular persons present, I absolutely believe God would have utilised it. This is also why we see significant variance as to how such situations were specifically played out in a particular given instance (the origin of 'individualised learning plans' perhaps?).
Phil - as I read your discourse on the justification of the use of God's established Law of Love - Justice, Mercy, and Grace -, - His committed to power to decide life and death -, - His chosen principle to govern life -, may I share the following picture which came to mind:
Comparing man's life - body and spirit - to an engine; the body is the motor, the Holy Spirit is the fuel providing the power for the engine to run perfectly. This mixture has all the right ingredients the engine needs to run smoothly -Justice, Grace, Mercy - producing Love, the power in/of life.
With time, man refilling the tank using less good quality fuel (sin - malice, anger, unforgiveness etc. (only God knows)), the engine starts sputtering, running roughly and often comes to a stop needing cleaning of the fuel line to get started again.
Eventually, all the clean, perfect, original fuel mixture is diluted to the point where what is in the fuel tank cannot provide the engine with what it needs to keep running; it 'dies' from the absence of clean, proper fuel, even though fuel is still in the tank.
The engine/body is still there, but it lost its life-giving essence/power - Love - to move it forward.
God originally gives all man a full tank of His best, cleanest, fuel; enough to live with love a lifetime. But when man lives his life becoming accustomed to the use of 'dirty' fuel, the engine's life-force deteriorates progressively. Eventually, with only dirty fuel in the tank, it runs out of the power of life - Love -, and dies.
Brigitte, I agree 100% that God gave Adam and Eve all the advantages to live a holy life filled with love and happiness. They most certainly had the same access to Holy Spirit guidance that we have today. That said, I have some concerns with your comment, as you wrote:
Your comment appears to imply that the Holy Spirit is the "spirit" that God breathed into Adam so that he became a living being. However, that "spirit" is literally the breath or life principle that keeps all humanity alive - both the righteous and the evil people of this world.
By contrast, Christ promised that the Holy Spirit would be His personal Representative after He would ascend back to the Father in heaven. Thus the Holy Spirit is as much an individual person, distinct from our "spirit" as is Christ. See John 14:16-18; John 14:26; John 15:26-27; John 16:7-13, Acts 1:8.
Dear Inge - Please be assured that I also believe the Spirit of Truth is not the breath of Life. The Holy Spirit is the Word of God promoting the Will of God to/in the heart of man; just as His Son Christ Jesus did during His ministry.
My comments depicted the current life of the human being - "this 'mixture' has all the right ingredients the engine(the living soul) needs to run smoothly - Justice, Grace, Mercy - producing Love, the power in/of Life.
Reading this history lesson is very painful for me! My heart aches for the people of Israel, but also, for myself and the people of this generation, all over this planet. Can't we see that we are the present day people of Deuteronomy? The people on the brink of Jesus Second Coming? Are we going to be like the children of Israel? Almost there but can't quite make it in?
Unfortunately, Paul tells us of this time, in
2 Thessalonians 2:3,"Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition;"
Again, I tell you this, this Bible was written for us, Christians or anyone that loves God (our memory verse), as a warning or Roadmap to the Promised Land. This is also why, in my opinion, the Sabbath School author added the verses in Matthew 7:24-27 in today's lesson, "24 “Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock: 25 and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock."
So, please listen, pray and obey. If you don't already have a Love relationship with Jesus, pray for that. There's a song that I love, "Falling in love with Jesus", look it up on Youtube.com. Anyway, this is why our memory verse is from 1 John 4:8 (instead of from Deuteronomy), “He who does not love does not know God, for God is love”. The only way that we will be able to make it to that Promised Land is 1)if we love God, Jesus our Lord, and 2)show that Love to others. Please listen, read, study, and share while we are still in the time of Peace.
God's blessings to you all!
Do not all believers, even now, experience this 'shortcoming' of their expressed hope to remain faithful in all circumstances? Israel's children numbered in the 100's of thousands, but each individual was tasked to wrestle with perfectly applying faith and trusting in God under their unique circumstances.
Theirs was the time before the coming of the promised Savior who showed in word, deed, and example the Father at work in the heart and mind of man. Can anyone sit in judgement about their shortcomings when even we, who have the completed record, fall short in actions requiring faith?
It was a hard, difficult task for God and man during these times when Faith, Trust and Love was just started to be developed between man and God!
I find only compassion in my heart for these people living with the circumstances of that time. Faith and trust in God by more people might have made it easier for all; though I am certain that all who heard God and were prepared to respond, did so; the others passed on and will find their judgement in the time to come.
Yes, the flesh is weak - Rom.7:14-25KJV - v. 14 "For we know that the law is spiritual: but I am carnal, sold under sin. Let us pray that the love for God and our fellow man never grows cold!