Greetings in Christ,
The interesting thing about reading the Bible and its stories people can imagine they were present at the timeframe of the story they are reading. It is interesting to put current people into past situations and think what would they do if they were there? The thought of being able to go back in time to live out the hardships or blessings which those who lived in the biblical times crosses my mind quite frequently.
Numbers gives us an example of God speaking to Moses and Aaron. God is a little upset with the people of Israel because they chose not to invade the promise land due to the giants who lived there. They have felt they have endured too much already, and they are not willing to give up their lives just to inhabit a piece of land. Instead, they are willing to walk around in the desert going nowhere. Some of the people are even willing to go back to Egypt and endure the hardship they had all become accustomed to having in their lives.
God told Moses and Aaron the people who are above the age of twenty will not see the promise land. They have grumbled and complained long enough and because they did not trust God, they will not have the pleasure of knowing green grass. Their bodies will fall in the desert where they chose to reside because they felt the promised land was too hard to occupy. To make things worse they would know their transgressions for not trusting God.
Now back to the idea of being in their situation. I have often wondered if I was to be in their place what would go through my mind. Would I feel the same way? Would I feel it was too hard to accomplish? Would I complain and grumble? It is impossible to go back in time. Do we fall short at times in our thinking and applying faith in God in the present times, or have we become so advanced in our thinking and application of faith we can go beyond those who lived out their lives in the biblical times?
We do have the advantage of living by faith because it has been exercised in Jesus coming to earth. We also have the advantage of the Holy Spirit who has been sent to dwell among us, but do we allow this to give us the depth of spirituality we can live by in our everyday life here on earth?
In Acts, the debated question of being circumcised was being kicked around for the Gentiles to observe as they turned to Christianity. The reasoning was it was good enough for us to observe as the Jewish leaders and it is good to follow the law so it will be fulfilled. It had reached the point Paul and Barnabas had to return to Jerusalem to get the blessing from the Jewish leaders there to either pass on the circumcision or to perform the ritual on the Gentile men. The debate came to rest with the words of Peter.
“After there had been much debate, Peter stood up and said to them, “Brethren, you know that in the early days God made a choice among you, that by my mouth the Gentiles would hear the word of the gospel and believe. And God, who knows the heart, testified to them giving them the Holy Spirit, just as He also did to us; and He made no distinction between us and them, cleansing their hearts by faith. Now therefore why do you put God to the test by placing upon the neck of the disciples a yoke which neither our fathers nor we have been able to bear? But we believe that we are saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus, in the same way as they also are.” Acts 15:7-11
Grace covers a multitude of sins, but it must be accompanied by faith. The Israelites had fallen short in the faith department. They had witnessed many miracles performed by God and they still did not believe God could do more miracles. God’s grace had been extended to the Israelites, but then it had been withdrawn because of their lack of faith. They wanted God’s grace, but they refused to accept it on faith. They had seen the hand of God at work in their lives which may have given them more of an advantage than we have had in our present time.
God’s grace is extended to all people who accept it on faith. God knows the heart of the individual and gives grace to those who accept if on faith, and that has not changed for anyone at any time in the past or in the present, or in the future. Faith has always been the key to living a life that God has desired for us to live.
“God be gracious to us and bless us, and cause His face to shine upon us— Selah. That Your way may be known on the earth, Your salvation among all nations. Let the peoples praise You, O God; let all the peoples praise You. Let the nations be glad and sing for joy; for You will judge the peoples with uprightness and guide the nations on the earth. Selah. Let the peoples praise You, O God; let all the peoples praise You. The earth has yielded its produce; God, our God, blesses us. God blesses us, that all the ends of the earth may fear Him.” Psalm 67
Lord may we never fall short in our faith to believe in You. May our faith increase as we walk with You. Amen
Blessings,