March 14
Num 21:1-22:20 | PS 57:1-11 | Prov 11:9-11 | Luke 1:26-56
God is real. His Word is true. We are responsible for what we do with Him. What we choose will have ramifications both during our time on earth and for eternity. Moses was truly a beautiful servant of God. He tolerated and endured so much from the Israelites due to his relationship with God. Moses did so well but he made a serious error when the people once again complained of thirst in Numbers 20. Moses was clearly told to speak to the rock and God would provide the water from it. In frustration, Moses, rather than speaking to the rock, "raised his hand and struck the rock twice with the staff" (Numbers 20:11). We see the result in 20:12, "But the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “Because you did not trust me enough to demonstrate my holiness to the people of Israel, you will not lead them into the land I am giving them!”" Many are troubled with this. After such a lifetime of faithfully leading the people, he loses his mantle of leadership over one seemingly minor infraction. But such is the case when we misrepresent or mischaracterize God. This Rock was a picture of Jesus who would be struck once for the sins of mankind. After He willingly chose to die on our behalf all we must do is speak to Him. Moses did not lose his salvation for eternity; he lost his ability to lead. Such is the case when any teacher misrepresents God before the people as we read in James 3:1, "Dear brothers and sisters, not many of you should become teachers in the church, for we who teach will be judged more strictly.
In Zechariah we see another response to God. An angel approaches him and declares that he and his wife, Elizabeth, will soon be with child despite their old age. He found the promise too lofty to believe, so we read what happened in Luke 1:20, "But now, since you didn’t believe what I said, you will be silent and unable to speak until the child is born. For my words will certainly be fulfilled at the proper time.” Due to his unbelief, he spent a year mute. As occurred many times before, we see the Israelites once again complaining about God in Numbers 21:4-5, "Then the people of Israel set out from Mount Hor, taking the road to the Red Sea to go around the land of Edom. But the people grew impatient with the long journey, and they began to speak against God and Moses. “Why have you brought us out of Egypt to die here in the wilderness?” they complained. “There is nothing to eat here and nothing to drink. And we hate this horrible manna!” The result of this complaining was many fell victim to poisonous snakes sent by God. Many simply don't like God's clear answer, such as Balaam who clearly spoke in Numbers 22:12, "But God told Balaam, “Do not go with them. You are not to curse these people, for they have been blessed!” Not liking that answer we read what happens when these same representatives of the king of Moab come a second time in 22:19, "But stay here one more night, and I will see if the Lord has anything else to say to me.” Balaam will go on to teach the king to make the Israelites compromise with the Moabite women and therefore manipulate God.
Mary was faced with a serious situation as she was told she would conceive of the Holy Spirit and give birth to the Son of God, her being a teenager in a very small town of Nazareth. She would be spoken about, mocked, considered unworthy by the townspeople for conceiving outside of marriage. From an earthly standpoint in many ways her life would be ruined. She was already betrothed to Joseph and there was nothing from the angel, Gabriel's message about what Joseph, her parents, or the townspeople would do to her. But we see her beautiful response in Luke 1:38, "Mary responded, “I am the Lord’s servant. May everything you have said about me come true.” And then the angel left her." Mary responded in obedience. So here we are. As said previously, God is real, and His Word is real. What will we do with it today? We can choose to ignore it, we can get angry about it, we can mischaracterize it, we can choose not to believe it, we can manipulate it as many of the characters above did, and we read of the consequences. Or we can respond in humble obedience accepting the position as vessels, as ambassadors. God allows us free will, so the choice is ours.
Messages from Pastor Lloyd Pulley: