Are you ready for a new life?

Every day we're reading or listening to part of the Bible together and sharing thoughts with you. Today it’s Bern Leckie:

What did I like about today’s passage?

There’s a lot not to like today. The grumbling people are unable to represent God faithfully. I find it interesting that God does not blame Moses for this. His leadership was never about getting people to do what he wanted, but to point to God. So God recognised that the problem was in people turning away from him, even treating him “with contempt.”

So it was up to God to respond, and it’s severe: to ban Israel from promised land. Their descendants would have it, but not for 40 years. The people who didn't like this new command and said "Now we are ready to go up to the land the Lord promised" received a severe beating back.

The point is that God was not calling people to make their own kingdom, something nice inspired by their religion. God was building his Kingdom. If people would not recognise God as King, trusting and following him, they were not going to be part of that Kingdom.

Korah’s rebellion was interesting because I like their idea that "the whole community is holy, every one of them, and the Lord is with them." What was wrong with that? It sounds great but it’s not for us to control. Korah was overlooking God's unique role and placing himself in it. Just because Korah thought people should be holy (and God did plan to make this possible through Jesus), his sincere belief that he was holy did not make him so. God chooses who he uses. If we take that role for ourselves, we're trying to build our own kingdom, and this is rebellion against God. The response this time: spectacular death.

What did it show me about Father God, Jesus or the Holy Spirit?

God is serious about building a real, recognisable, good Kingdom where people can understand what life can be like when he is King. His Kingdom building project outlasts each rebellious human generation. God does not depend on us - we depend on him, so he supports people with survival materials (food, shelter, rest…) and powerful, meaningful symbols to remind us of what a good, holy, God-centred life is like. Tassels on garments was a good example here. Communion is an example of one Jesus provided for us. God knows that we need help in order to follow him and share this way of life with others.

What am I going to do differently as a result?

As our search for “the new normal” in life continues, I want to renew my commitment to seeking God’s Kingdom first. It’s tempting to elevate ourselves, but I choose to worship him.

Who am I going to share this with?

Some of the people I know who discuss their ideas of the perfect “new normal” online now.