The glory of God’s love, battles and… boundaries?
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?
Firstly, if you have only read but not listened to this book so far, give yourself a treat today and enjoy David Suchet reading all those place names. Twice each! This story is clearly about the journey over time, not the most efficient way to get from A to B…
And what a journey! God has brought his people a long way from slavery to the beginnings of a new Kingdom centred around him, bound together by faithfulness. Can you imagine the number of times people got into the routine of watching for God to signal a move, packing up, moving together, unpacking, setting up and restarting a camp? Can you feel the yearning for a place to settle? At Severn, I know we know that feeling!
I notice how the Kingdom was always going to be a battle, displacing other kingdoms, and a work in progress, an illustration to guide the way to the future, not the end in itself. The world would come to know God through Jewish faithfulness expressed in leaders like David and his family, ultimately in Jesus.
But God chose not to tell the world to obey him before he had showed the world how faithful people could enjoy life in faithfulness and covenant agreement with him.
What did it show me about Father God, Jesus or the Holy Spirit?
God loves his people and the rest of his creation. I notice in this section of Numbers especially the importance of boundaries in God’s design for demonstrating life with him. This includes boundaries on what people were expected to do, eat and avoid, as well as places for them to live.
In ordering people like this, perhaps God was telling people to prefer faithfulness over complete freedom. Or it may be that God knows that without useful boundaries, we can end up hurting each other, straining to defend our spaces and struggling to find the freedom to be ourselves.
What am I going to do differently as a result?
During lockdown with less freedom to get around, I’ve ended up being given more work and responsibilities. Finding boundaries and limits on this turns out to be a necessary part in keeping me free from overwork and overstress! This comes at the same time that the big ideas about “new normal” life and how the Kingdom might come are really interesting to me and I could write about them all day.
Instead of doing whatever I want, when I want here, I’m going to look increasingly for God’s boundaries and guidance to be faithful in the relationships he has blessed me with. I want to grow in faithfulness and let God be seen.
Who am I going to share this with?
The people I live and work with.