Inside Out Living

The theme for this week is ‘living as foreigners.’ In John 17:14, Jesus says that we who are His followers are not of this world. We are going to explore some of the ways in which Israel’s early years living in the Promised Land parallels our experience of living as God’s children in a broken and sinful world that is not our home.

Devotional for today:

45 years after giving a positive report on the Promised Land, Caleb finally has his opportunity to conquer the land that God had promised to him (Numbers 14:24). In chapter 14 Caleb senses his opportunity to ask permission to take this land. It is not a simple task, though, since the Anakites (a race of giants) live there. However, Caleb’s faith at 85 years old is still as strong as it was at 40, and he knows he will conquer if the Lord is with him.

Caleb did not fear the giants that stood between him and God’s blessings. He knew that his Lord is a mighty warrior and greater than the Anakites.

What are the ‘giants’ in your life that must be defeated in order for you to experience the fullness of God’s blessing? Maybe it is lust or pride or selfishness that has you defeated. Caleb had faith that when the Lord was with him there was no enemy too great. We can approach our ‘giants’ in the same way.

God’s justice is not often talked about in our churches. We would much rather talk about His love and mercy and grace. The story of Korah, Dathan and Abiram is a vivid reminder that our God is a just God who cannot let sin go unpunished. These men were challenging the leadership of Moses and Aaron, and worse, they were in rebellion to the Lord.

For me, the difficult part of this passage is that the families were punished as well. This is an illustration of God’s very own description of himself in Exodus 34:7, “I will show unfailing love to many thousands by forgiving every kind of sin and rebellion. Even so I do not leave sin unpunished, but I punish the children for the sins of their parents to the third and fourth generations.”

As unfair as it may seem we see the impact parental sin has on children lived out every day. Some will walk away from the Lord because of the sins of their parents. To those who are living with the impact of a parent’s sin, know that there is grace available in Jesus to break that bondage of sin.

The report from the spies truly tested if Israel trusted God for their protection. Already struggling with the level of sacrifice expected of them, they decided the prospect of engaging the inhabitants of the Promised Land wasn’t worth it. The people ignored the fact that the Lord was with them (Num. 14:9).

You might find it easy to criticize their lack of faith as I often have. The harsh reality is that we do the very same thing sometimes. We size up a situation and decide the cost is too great and, instead of trusting in the Lord’s protection and provision, we make a fear-based decision and miss out on God’s blessings.
Why are we prone to fear? The Apostle John tells us that perfect love casts out all fear (1 John 4:18). As broken yet redeemed people our love for God is being perfected. As this process continues fear is diminished and love will increase. As God’s faithful love continues to work in our lives, our love for Him grows, and our willingness to sacrifice and follow Him grows as well.

I have overseen a few short term mission trips with teenagers, and am preparing for the next one right now. It has been my experience that the most important rule for keeping the group together and focused is that there is no complaining. Anytime you choose to follow the Lord’s leading there will be some form of sacrifice associated with it. Whining or complaining communicates an unwillingness to make that sacrifice.

It is obvious here that many of the Israelites and the foreigners who were with them had reached their limit of personal sacrifice and had begun to complain. They were prepared to return to slavery in Egypt because the sacrifice was too great.

Returning to slavery may sound silly to us. Personal freedom is worth the sacrifice, isn’t it? While this may be true, how often are we tempted to return to being slaves to sin because the sacrifice of following Christ is too great? As you follow Christ, remember his sacrifice, and what he gave up to secure your salvation.

The Nazirite vow was a special way for an Israelite to dedicate one’s self to the Lord, and he knew that it came with certain restrictions. We even see this practiced by the Apostle Paul who shaved his head because of a vow (Acts 18:18).

Not every Israelite would make a Nazirite vow, but every believer who is indwelled by the Holy Spirit is already dedicated to the Lord. We do not operate with a list of restrictions like one who has taken a Nazirite vow. In fact, we operate with a higher standard. Romans 12:1 says that we are to be a living and holy sacrifice. We show our dedication by not copying the ways of the world. We are then to be transformed by the renewing of our minds. This is different than being the same person with some additional rules. It is a change of the entire person. When we come to faith in Jesus it is more than a ticket to Heaven. It is dedicating our whole life to the Lord. Have you truly dedicated your whole life to the Lord?

In the instructions that the Lord gave to Israel through Moses, purity was greatly stressed. There were a number of reasons for this, and the one given in this passage is because the Lord dwelled in their camp.

Praise God that we live under a covenant of grace and not one of law as the Israelites did. And yet, even though we are called to grace, we cannot ignore the need for purity. God demanded purity because he dwelled among Israel. God now, through His Spirit, dwells in the life of every believer and in the community of believers as a collective whole. His expectation is still purity in the lives of believers and in the community of believers. As a new creation, we are made pure by the blood of Christ, and we maintain purity by confessing our sins (1 John 1:9). Unfortunately, some within the community of faith stop practicing personal confession and knowingly and willing engage in sin, thus defiling the church. As with Israel, the church must take action to remove those who defile the community (1 Cor. 5:5). However we must not forget that once purity is restored, through forgiveness and grace, fellowship is also to be restored.

As I reflect on the responsibilities given to the Levites I am rather overwhelmed. Could you imagine being responsible for taking care of the one place where the true God could be worshipped? Wow! Then I think about the fact that they didn’t aspire to this, but that the Lord chose them and they were born into it. Their whole purpose in life was the proper care and operation of the tabernacle.

Now this is not all that different than for us today. Like the Levites, we have been chosen by God and then given a purpose in life. We do not inherit this based on our genealogy, but we are born into it, for every believer is born of the Spirit (John 3:5). The Levites were instructed as to what their purpose was – they didn’t get to choose. In the same way, God directs and gives each believer significance and purpose. This is what I mean by sacrificing our freedom. As chosen people, we are not free to declare the purpose for our life. Our purpose, one that will bring real meaning and significance, comes from above.

The theme for this week is sacrifice. This week we are going to explore what it means for us to sacrifice. One of the key verses that will be brought up this week is Romans 12:1-2:

“And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice — the kind He will accept. When you think of what he has done for you, is this too much to ask? Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will know what God wants you to do, and you will know how good and pleasing and perfect his will really is.”

May you, as you read this week, ponder the ways in which your life can be a living and holy sacrifice.

The last chapter of Leviticus is concerned with redeeming that which was dedicated to the Lord. The act of redemption was a major part of life for the Israelites. For the 21st century Christian it is not something we often think about. When is the last time you heard someone talk about redeeming. If anything, we use the word to speak of getting even which isn’t the biblical meaning.

Redemption is an important concept for us though, because if you are in Christ then you have been redeemed (Titus 2:13-14). You may have noticed the cost involved with redeeming in this chapter. If someone or something is going to be redeemed there is always a cost.

So if we are redeemed and if there is always a cost associated with redemption, then how are we to pay the cost? Fortunately, for you and I, Jesus paid the cost for our redemption (1 Peter 1:18-19). It is a cost far beyond what we could afford.

There were numerous types of sacrifices in the Old Covenant system of worship. In our modern mindset, we might wonder why all these sacrifices were necessary. It is difficult for us to relate to and understand this system of worship and forgiveness that God had ordained. However, there is a connection between their receiving of forgiveness and our receiving of forgiveness, and that connection is Christ.
Leviticus 1:4 says that a man was to “lay your hand on its head so the Lord will accept it as your substitute, thus making atonement for you.” Why would killing an animal while placing a hand on its head atone for sins?

As people, we generally want to make up for our mistakes. We also want to attempt to earn God’s favor and forgiveness. However, this is impossible for we cannot repay the debt we owe to Christ. Forgiveness is only received by a willingness to believe according to God’s system, whether that is belief that God would forgive based on an Old Testament sacrifice, or if it is trusting in Christ’s sacrifice for us today.

Over the course of twelve days the twelve tribes of Israel gave their gifts of dedication for the tabernacle. You probably noticed that all twelve gifts were identical. To me this is a remarkable thing. Bible Commentator Matthew Henry notes that this points to the “equal share” that each tribe had in the tabernacle and altar. I am sure that it was tempting to those tribes with greater resources to out-give the other tribes. And yet none of them did.

Under the Old Covenant, all people came to God through the system of sacrifices. Today, under the New Covenant, all people come to God through the one sacrifice of Jesus Christ (John 14:6).

The tribes gave their dedication offerings in recognition of the importance of the tabernacle. So what is an appropriate offering for us to give in recognition of Jesus? Romans 12:1-2 says that we are to give our whole life as a “living and holy sacrifice.” Now that is an offering that truly shows we all have equal share in the sacrifice of Christ for our salvation.

In our first seven years of marriage, my wife Kristi and I had seven different addresses. We would often make jokes about being part nomadic or having the “year-and-a-half itch.” However, through those years and all the moves, one thing was consistent – it was always our decision when we moved.

As you read today, that was not necessarily the case for the Israelites. How would you like it if every day you woke up and had to check if the cloud had moved to know if you were leaving or staying? It didn’t matter how much you liked your current spot, if the cloud was moving, it was time to go. I would imagine that many of us would begin to complain and grumble if we had to live like that. And yet in a way we do live this way. If you are at all concerned with being in God’s will and He says “go,” then you will go.

Are you willing to follow God’s direction? If God were to say “go,” would you go? How will you go? Will you complain and grumble or will you go joyfully knowing that God is leading you?