The Biblical James Bond

In chapter 13 of Numbers Moses chooses twelve leaders--one from each clan--go to on ahead into the new land of Canaan and spy.

Unfortunately, not much is said about their travels and I doubt very much they had any cool gadgets like the fictional James Bond.  What they did was report back that the people of Canaan were like giants and even went on to say that "we felt as small as grasshoppers."

This was also the image they projected onto themselves--all except Caleb, who said they should attack now and that they were ready.

Chapter 14 sees an awful lot of complaining on the part of the Israelites.  A lot!  So much so that God tells Moses that he's going to wipe out everyone over the age of 20!  All except the people of Caleb and Joshua.  These two men were the only one who did not complain to God.  The people of the other ten leaders (who complained to God) went on to invade Canaan . . . only to perish because God was not with them.

Psalms 9 - God's Thanksgiving

As it was Thanksgiving here in the United States a few days ago, it seems fitting to talk about Psalms 9 here--often referred to us giving thanks to the Lord.

Psalms 9 is a bit longer piece at 20 verses.

It starts by giving grand praises for the Lord and what He has done.  It continues by telling that our enemies have turned their back and fled when the Lord has appeared, for He protects the oppressed.  He is also the great judge of all nations, and He is both honest and fair.

One line, verse nine, struck with me: "The Lord is a refuse for the oppressed, a place of safety in times of trouble."  This brings me much peace to read this, and for those whom He sides with.

Verse 13-14 is pure thanksgiving: ". . . Rescue me from death, O Lord, that I may stand before the people of Jerusalem and tell them all the things for which I praise you, I will rejoice because you saved me."

Verse 18 is another favorite: "The needy will not always be neglected; the hope of the poor will not be crushed forever."

Criticizing Moses

In Number chapter 12, Miriam and Aaron criticize Moses.  They criticize him for his choice of spouse.

The Lord was furious.

How dare anyone criticize someone whom God speaks clearly to and not in riddles, whom God had shown his true form to?

Miriam was punished with a dreaded disease.  Moses, on the other hand, was humble and asked the Lord for forgiveness and pleaded with Him to heal Miriam.  God did, but only under the circumstance that Miriam be exiled for seven days.

Moses handled the criticism well and did not hold any grudges against Miriam and Aaron.  He easily could have, and everyone would've understood.  Instead, Moses brushes off the criticism and looks to the positive.

Duties And Rules and the Delegation of Moses's Leadership

Chapter 4 of Numbers deals with the three clans of Levites and what their assigned duties to the Lord entail.  Through chapter 8 there are more Old Testament rules the Israelites are ordered to follow.

In chapter 9 there is a Second Passover.

Then, through chapter 10, they break camp and they move on towards the final destination.  The Ark of the Covenent always went on ahead and the Lord placed a cloud over them to hide them from their enemies' presence.

Starting in chapter 11, the people is Israel complain that they don't have any meat to eat.  Moses takes the complaints to the Lord and asks God why Moses has been given such a responsibility to all these people.  God then ordered Moses to assemble 70 respected men to act as leaders--a true act of delegation.

People Are Flawed. God Is Not

I am in no way, shape, or form putting myself up on a pedestal, but I can honestly say that I don't remember a time in my life when I turned my back on God and denounced Him.

Oh, I'm sure there were low moments when I felt alone and had destructive thoughts, and if I told God I hated Him it never lasted very long.

I grew up going to a small-town Lutheran church.  There's always something special I felt about Lutherans--how one man stood up to the Catholic Church and starteed a movement.  Here's a trailer of the 2003 movie Luther.

This is in no way a sales pitch for Lutherans, however.  The point I'm making is that there are many routes one can take to worship God, and not to let the workings of a specific church or pastor or religious organization cloud your vision of what God wants from you if that church or pastor or organizaiton isn't run in a way that matches with your values.

Back in college, at Bemidji State University, I came in contact with a non-denomonational religious group who held weekly song/worship nights--I will refrain from telling you the name of this group, and with good reason.  I had a lot of fun the first year I went, and even have a few friends I met there up to this day.  But something happened the second year.  I was ignored.  Completely.  There were nights when not one single person said a word to me (of course, on those nights, my friends weren't in attendance).  I almost felt like I was being shunned for something, but had no knowledge of what that was.

I wasn't the only one who felt this way.  Remember those friends I mentioned?  They felt the same way.  It didn't take long before I quit attending.

I could've very easily turned my back on God because of what they did to me.  I was hurt by them.  But I didn't turned my back on God.  I knew this organization was run by people, and people have flaws.

God does not.

What's funny about this whole thing is that a girl got me into this organization (okay, that sounds like a cult, but they're not okay?) by teaching me about the Bible (I knew about the Bible, so I was a little confused by it) and ended by my asking Jesus to be my Lord and Saviour.  She called me a born again Christian.

I was confused . . . if I was born again, wouldn't that mean I was somehow lost in God's eyes?  Or somehow walked away from God and then came back?

Like I said in the beginning of this blog post, I've never known a time in my life where I doubted God's existence--or even Jesus's, for that matter.  I've always believed.

Or, as much as my sinning can do, always believed.  I am nowhere near perfect.  Not even close.

If you're uncomfortable in your current religious surroundings, then go look somewhere else.  Find another church where you fit in.  They're out there.  Just remember: people are flawed; God is not.

Besides my 2-3 true friends I met in college, the music they sang was dynamic.  Here are two of my favorites:

People are flawed.

God is not.

Go find where you fit in.  God wants you to.  I did.  And the leaders involved back at Bemidji State?  I forgive them.  I forgive them their short-sightedness and ignorance.  I'm not sure if they intended to treat me the way they did, but for whatever the reason, I forgive them.