Killed for Gathering Sticks

Numbers 15:17-16:40

It was going to be a test.  A showdown. The children of Israel, we are told, in Numbers 15:32, found a man gathering sticks on the Sabbath. They brought him to Moses, because they knew this activity was forbidden in God’s law.

Moses and Aaron secured the man, not yet sure what was to be done. Then the Lord spoke to Moses and told him the man should be stoned to death, by the congregation, outside the camp.

I thought of the possible reasons this man was gathering sticks. Maybe he was bored, or restless. Maybe his wife sent him out to gather sticks for a fire. Maybe he wanted some warmth later in the day.

I was looking at the human element. I imagined the stoning. I visualized people picking up stones and the man turning to his friends and family, imploring them to intervene, to have mercy, to plead his case. The stones thudded against his flesh, again, and again, until he slumped over, and died.

This was the reality. We sometimes don’t let ourselves into what it was like to be there. I, personally, would rather not think about the details of that day. However, it is in the Bible, and I need to grapple with this story.

At first I was angry. It seemed so unjust to me, such an excessive and extreme punishment for a little thing like picking up sticks. I considered rejecting a God who was, to my sensitivities, so harsh, and, seemingly unfair. But, for me, this was not an option. Long ago I decided that indeed His thoughts are above my thoughts, and his ways are above my ways. So I asked for an explanation.

I was reading out of my One Year Bible which has daily portions selected from the Old Testament, New Testament, Psalms and Proverbs.

In the past I might have succumbed to a black or white, fundamentalist perspective, believing that I must simply accept what God does and says as good and right and disregard my fears and feelings. However, I now understand that my reaction is significant. It reveals things about me and my relationship with God and his word.

It only took a moment before other thoughts came to me. The first was, this man, undeniably knew that picking up sticks on the Sabbath was forbidden by God. The law had been very clearly presented to the Israelite congregation. Therefore his actions were clearly willful disobedience.

I began to see that if there was no consequence, then either the commandment meant nothing, or God could be defied.

I also saw that this incident was public knowledge and was going to set a precedent.

People were watching. The effectiveness of the law was on trial. How the case was handled would be extremely significant, given that the commandment originated with God.

Essentially, God was on trial, and I’m sure two questions were burning in the hearts of the Israelites, from the beginning, just as they burn in our hearts today. Who is this God? How does he respond to his people, particularly when they rebel?

I noted that if there had not been a command, then a man picking up sticks on the Sabbath would be of no consequence to anyone. But this was the crux of the matter. There was a command. And the command came from God.

One more thing, Moses was the guardian of the law. As the leader of the nation of Israel, he was responsible to enforce the law and mete out consequences for disobedience. It was not an enviable position. In the next chapter we read of a coup attempt.

Levite priests, Korah, Dathan and Abiram, along with two hundred and fifty supporters, “princes of the assembly, famous in the congregation, men of renown” (Numbers 16:3 King James Version), protested against Moses and Aaron. They claimed that “all the congregation are holy, every one of them, and the Lord is among them; (why do you lift yourselves) above the congregation of the Lord?” (v. 3). It was an all-out revolt against authority.

Gathering sticks on the Sabbath set in motion a whole series of events. It revealed the hearts of the leaders of Israel. The accusation was not new to Moses. “Who made you a ruler and a judge?” was hurled at him when he tried to break up a fight between two Israelites (Exodus 2:14).

Moses was no different, as a man. But he was anointed by God and this set him apart. God warns, “…Touch not the Lord’s anointed, and do his prophets no harm” (1 Chronicles 16:22, Psalm 105:15).

It is common to resist any type of authority or restraint. In fact, we might produce the argument that all Christians are anointed and we are all equal.

Who are you to tell me what to do? We don’t like your virtue signaling. You are no different from the rest of us.

I believe this passage bears out that not every anointing is on the same level. Some carry greater responsibility. Some are subject to others. Some can even be abused.

I just want to clarify that Jesus came to fulfill the law and to exchange the heavy burden of the Old Testament law for a lighter, easy yoke. When his disciples were criticized by religious leaders for “threshing” on the Sabbath, as they plucked and ate grain in the field, Jesus declared that the Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. He abolished the tradition of stoning, when a woman was caught in adultery and brought to him. He demanded that those without sin cast the first stone.

The law serves the purpose of revealing the nature of man. We tend to resist authority. Ultimately we need a new nature. Jesus came to give this newness of life to us through faith in him. But Jesus never gave us license to disobey or defy God.

The question, Who made you a judge would be better replaced by, Who gave humans a standard of righteousness? We have a tendency to shoot the messenger when we are really rebelling against the message which originates with God.

By this time there should not have been any doubt in the minds of the people concerning the authority of Moses. Moses led the Israelites out of Egypt. God gave the law to Moses and revealed to him the pattern for the tabernacle and the rituals of worship. Moses’ face shone with the glory of God when he came from his presence. But the Levites, who served in the tabernacle, and the princes of Israel seemed to have forgotten all of this.

Moses told the people to separate themselves “from the tents of these wicked men” (v. 26). The ground opened and swallowed them and their families and closed again. A fire ignited and consumed the two hundred and fifty men who held censors with incense. God spare the rest of the congregation because of the intercession of Moses and Aaron.

The next portion for the day in my One Year Bible reading, is the story of the crucifixion of Christ. I see a clear parallel in the attitude of the religious leaders who could not accept the authority of Christ and demanded his death. Jesus Christ was crucified. However, he rose from the dead, victorious over the demons of hell. Have no doubt, Satan, the deceiver and destroyer, is behind this rebellion.

I read somewhere, recently, (I apologize for forgetting the source) that Jesus was not crucified because he was good, but because he presented something new. I don’t concur. In fact, I strongly resist this message. It was precisely because he was good, and because he upheld a high standard, and because he claimed to be God, that he was crucified. This message, today, is no longer “new” and it is still being resisted just as strongly.

So, yes, God was just in putting to death those who defied his Godhead. And he forever will be.

How I Read My Bible

I asked an evangelist once how she read her Bible. I had the privilege of driving her to the airport and I wanted to know about her Bible study habits. I expected her to tell me she read so many chapters a day, or maybe that she studied the Bible for an hour a day. Her response was, “I read until it speaks to me.”

I have met Christians who have a light in their eyes and sometimes even a glow on their faces. It is as though they have a secret “source.” I’ve heard testimonies of people who could tell  before they became Christians which people were Christians. The Bible actually instructs us to identify and “mark” those who stand out as Christian leaders. I compare this to placing a bookmark in a book where there is an important passage I want to return to. I remember them because I have “marked” them.

This evangelist had that light in her eyes and I have met others like her. I think this light comes from seeing God on the page when they read the Bible. They read it in such a way that it speaks to them and feeds them and gives life to their souls.

In the Bible we read accounts of people who understood God in a unique way. I sometimes feel an intimacy with characters like Queen Esther, Ruth, Sarah, Mary, and other women. I have studied them, and I get a thrill of expectation at the thought of meeting them one day. They are almost as real to me as the evangelist whom I drove to the airport.

One of the characters that I have “bookmarked” in my Bible is Job. I sense there is so much to learn from him. In my recent study of Job certain passages leapt out at me with a compelling message. I often have this experience when I read the Bible. It is as though new sections are highlighted each time I read and they speak to me in a specific way.

Job was highly honored in his community before tragedy struck. He lived an outstanding life. People greatly revered him. We can read about his former honor in Job 29. Here Job is reflecting on a time in his past when the people “waited for me as for showers and drank in my words as the spring rain.” He starts the chapter this way,

How I long for the months gone by,

for the days when God watched over me,

when his lamp shone on my head

and by his light I walked through the darkness!

Oh, for the days when I was in my prime,

when God’s intimate friendship blessed my house,

when the Almighty was still with me…

The poetry of this book is a true work of art. Job clearly had a very personal intimacy with God and now he feels he has lost this. It is heartbreaking to read.

The core issue of the book is something I have struggled to understand and accept. Why would God remove his protection from one of his favored servants and allow Satan to torment him?

The understanding in Job’s time was that tragedy was a sign of God having removed his presence from a person or a nation. Even Job has this perception. It was believed that God allowed bad things to happen to cause people to reflect on their path and change their course and then God would once again restore them to a place of favor. The only thing is, Job does not agree that he has transgressed and so he is at a loss to understand why God is punishing him. We find out later that he was right. This was not the reason for what happened to him. It wasn’t punishment.

Job’s friends, who are sincerely trying to make sense of what is happening to Job, insist his trials are a consequence of Job’s sin. This is their limited understanding of the workings of God. However, they are about to receive a broader understanding of God and his ways.

I find this is often the case when I read my Bible. It speaks to me and opens my understanding to things I have not previously seen.

Job’s friends were in the wrong and God forgave them. God actually required that Job pray for his friends so that he would pardon them, after his trials ended. It appears that God was not too pleased with them.

There is much wisdom in the words of Job’s friends but not all they say about Job applies to him. The disrespect his friends show to Job makes it apparent that he is no longer favored as in former days when “old men rose to their feet (and) the chief men refrained from speaking” in his presence. Now even “young men mock me (and) throw off restraint in my presence.”

Job is tormented by his loss of family and possessions and the afflictions in his body, but he is also tormented in his mind by the loss of his former status. We can imagine how we would feel in his place.

I have been baffled to think that God allowed Satan to torment someone, essentially to prove a point. I’ve been tempted to think this was some sort of “sport of the gods.” But I’ve been humbled by a deeper reading of the text to see that it is actually a story about God’s confidence in his servant. It also reveals the sinister intention of the enemy of our souls to “take out” God’s faithful servants and the fact that he has access to us in some cases. Although God allowed the match, he set parameters and kept a watchful eye throughout.

Satan claimed Job only served God because God blessed him. I suppose he was trying to argue that God had an unfair advantage and Job would not honor God for his goodness alone if God removed his blessings. Job proves that his commitment to God is not dependent on blessings. Job makes the striking statement, “Though he slay me, yet will I trust him” Job 13:5 KJV. In his heart and mind Job believes there is no better alternative than to trust and serve God.

There are many kinds of writings in the Bible and they speak to us in different ways. We find comforting passages, convicting passages, wisdom and guidance passages, inspiring stories, disturbing stories, eternal hope passages, laments, praises, histories and genealogies, laws, theology, prophesies, condemnation passages, salvation passages, and more.

The beauty of the Bible is that it communicates to us in so many different ways. If we approach the Bible with an expectation that God will guide us in our reading, he will speak to us.

Why Does God Allow Evil in the World?

Why does God allow evil? Because to prevent it would go against his just character. I will explain my reasoning.

In the book Worldviews in Conflict, Ronald H. Nash tackles the question, Why is there evil in the world? I think he merely side-steps the issue with his explanation:

1. God exists, is omnipotent, omnibenevolent, and created the world.
2. God created a world that now contains evil and had a good reason for doing so.
3. Therefore, the world contains evil (p. 98).

It is rather like a parent saying to a child, you must obey me because I know better than you, instead of going through the work of giving a deeper explanation. Admittedly, the explanation may need to come later when the child has developed a capacity for reason.

Because humans have this capacity for reason, we are restless when it is not satisfied. This is particularly the case when we consider that a God we believe to be loving, all-knowing, and all-powerful would withhold significant information from us. We long to have a full understanding, but, temporarily, we only see through a glass, darkly.

For some this creates an internal dissonance and may even give rise to a belief that God is malevolent. But, like children, we are not always ready for deeper truth. We may even find ourselves rejecting truth claims that do not agree with our worldview.

I agree with Nash that God has reasons beyond our comprehension. After all, he is God. However, I am not satisfied with stopping there on such an important subject. We also have to consider that we may be the ones hindering our own understanding by holding to our preconceived or trite notions.

In cases like this I am overcome with wonder to have possession of written accounts of men and women who, through the ages, have lived with a consciousness of God as a God who communed with them. God actually revealed his character through his dealings with them. This is the revelation we find in the Bible. I am astounded that the Bible contains conversations God had with people. There is no other source of information about God that compares with what is found in the Bible and the Bible contains a component that needs to be a part of this discussion of the reason for evil in the world.

I’d like to take you to the story of Adam and Eve, God’s first created human beings. If you are not a believer in the creation story, please bear with me for the sake of this discussion.

We read that evil was introduced in the Garden of Eden through the serpent. The serpent had a nature contrary to God. It is reasonable to assume that this particular serpent was indwelled by a spirit that spoke through it. The serpent had a knowledge of God and of his instructions to Adam and Eve. God had told Adam and Eve that they could eat of any tree in the garden; only one tree was forbidden—the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. God warned Adam and Eve that they would surely die if they ate of this tree.

The serpent came with a different message. He began a conversation with Eve by cleverly introducing doubt into her mind, “Did God really say you must not eat from every/any tree in the garden?” Well, no, not exactly. Just the one tree.

Now that Eve’s focus was on the tree in question, the serpent continued with the reassurance that, contrary to what God had said, she would not surely die if she ate of the tree, thereby attempting to allay her fears.

Before this there was no dissonance in the garden. There were no conflicting worldviews.

The serpent apparently had new information for Eve. Since we know the story, we know what he said was untrue. He was introducing an alternate worldview. But, as is usually the case, there was still an element of truth in what he said. The serpent slightly embellished it, “God knows that in the day you eat of the tree your eyes will be opened and you will be like gods (or like God, in some translations), knowing both good and evil” (Geneses 4). Yes, their eyes would be opened. But this was not the good thing he made it out to be. The knowledge of evil would spell disaster for them and their offspring.

The serpent’s deceptive worldview has been successfully perpetuated through the ages. Summarized, it is the concept that God is not truly good. That what he says cannot be believed. That he is withholding something from you. And that the real reason he does this is because he doesn’t want you to have access to the same power he has. He doesn’t want you to be like a god. He doesn’t want you to have this much control. He wants to limit you.

I’m reminded of Bob Dylan’s song, Gotta Serve Somebody… “It may be the devil, or it may be the Lord, but you gotta serve somebody.”

Who would refuse the possibility of becoming like a god? Remember that Adam and Eve will not have known the meaning of the word evil at this time because they had never experienced it. They didn’t know what they were buying into.

The way to obtain this supreme knowledge of good and evil is simple. Just question the ultimate goodness of God and defy his command.

The Creator placed Adam and Eve in a garden, a protected place, a unique place, a place of beauty and sustenance. However, he did not withhold choice from them. In the middle of the garden was a tree from which they were instructed not to partake. They most likely had not concerned themselves with this one tree, until now, because there were so many other trees they could eat from freely. But this tree, of course, was the central focus of the serpent. It was his entry point. It was the means for him to gain access to humans and wield his influence over them.

After they ate of the tree, there was an immediate change in their outlook. Shame and guilt—the natural consequence of disobedience—became a part of their reality. We see these emotions in every child who willfully disobeys his parents. Suddenly there is a divide, a distance. There may also be sorrow and regret. All of these emotions were foreign to Adam and Eve up to this time.

These emotions wreck havoc in our lives. We don’t know what to do with them. We feel uncomfortable, even tormented. We want to rid ourselves of them. If we cannot find forgiveness and be restored to our former relationship, then we will struggle to justify, or excuse, or numb our feelings.

Thankfully, in the Bible, God explains how we can be free from our sin, as well as the consequence of eternal death. God never intended for Adam and Eve to die. It looked, at first, like the serpent was right because they did not die immediately. But they ultimately died.

God is the life-giver. The serpent destroys life. All of his work is contrary to God’s goodness. There is evil in this world because God allowed people to choose. Even today we battle evil spirits, serpents of various kinds seducing us into unbelief.

That brings me back to Nash’s insufficient explanation for why there is evil in the world. I would revise his explanation as follows:

1. God exists, is omnipotent, omnibenevolent, and created the world.
2. God created both heavenly beings and humans with the power to make undetermined choices.
3. God allows heavenly beings to influence humans and impact life on earth.
4. Heavenly beings influence humans to rebel against God’s perfect will.
5. Therefore, the world contains evil.

The logical conclusion of allowing “undetermined choice” is that it will result in “alternate choice.” God knew this, and he allowed it. He would not dictatorially override another who willed to disregard his wishes, be it angels, or demons, or humans.

A righteous and loving God is engaged in a battle against evil forces in heaven and on earth. He will prevail. But we will need to wait for the end of the battle before we see justice meted out and his full glory revealed.

We pray, “Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” We read, “Whatsoever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatsoever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.” There is an interplay between earthly and heavenly powers.

Jesus was constantly confronting demonic forces. Only demonic powers could cause men to nail the righteous Son of God to the cross. Is it any wonder that believers continue to be under vicious attack? Is it any wonder that the church so often falls under deceptive influences?

One of the most clever tricks of the enemy has been to misattribute his actions to others, and to cause people to believe that there really is no enemy—no devil, no demons, no evil spirits. Without this understanding of the spiritual realm we will never be able to grasp why there is evil in the world.

God has allowed choice. God has determined to deal with the consequences of choice. We can be assured that he is opposing evil. We might also appreciate the dilemma he has created for himself. He allows the evil one to sow bad seed. The bad grows alongside the good. To uproot the bad may mean to uproot some good. So he has to wait for the harvest. One day there will be a harvest, a separation, a judgment. Even the devil knows this and trembles. Without redemption, the consequence of sin is still death.

To conclude, I add the following

1. God exists, is omnipotent, omnibenevolent, and created the world.
2. God created heavenly beings and humans with the power to make undetermined choices.
3. God allows heavenly beings to influence humans and impact life on earth.
4. Heavenly beings influence humans to rebel against God’s perfect will.
5. Therefore, the world contains evil.
6. God will deal justly with evil in his own time.