SPIES LIKE US

SPIES LIKE US:

The year was 1985. The movie, SPIES LIKE US, was pretty bad. Dan Aykroyd and Chevy Chase played a couple of dim-witted federal employees who were easily duped into believing they were international spies. In actuality they were a couple of hilariously bumbling decoys.

The Bible has a tragic story about some not-so-hilarious bumbling spies who went into Canaan, aka “The Promised Land.” In the book of Numbers it seems like God told them to go in and explore, scout, spy on the land. But in the book of Deuteronomy it sounds like it was the people’s idea to go in and explore, scout, spy on the land.

The reason why this is significant is at least two-fold:

First, one might conclude that the reason the nation of Israel was punished to wander in the wilderness for 40 years was because they failed to simply waltz into the land God had promised Abraham’s descendants - trusting that God would take care of all the details. But if God commanded them to go in and explore, scout, spy…  Hmmmm... Was God just setting them up to fail? If so - how do we know He doesn’t do the same thing to us today? What kind of loving God would do that?

Second, the two accounts (in Numbers and Deuteronomy) seem vastly different - especially regarding who initiated the whole idea of exploring, scouting, spying. Does that mean the Bible is riddled with inconsistencies and contradictions? Is this some kinda game that God is playing? Does that prove - or at least give credence to the idea - that the Bible is of human origin? If so…  Hmmmm… Then it certainly cannot actually be trusted as being accurate, authoritative, or timeless - right?

Well let’s begin with the fact that there’s a HUGE difference between actual inconsistencies / contradictions and apparent ones. If we can explore the reasons for these apparent contradictions, then hopefully it will facilitate your reconsidering the authority, accuracy, and fidelity of the Bible.

Sometimes apparent contradictions pop up when you really stop to read your Bible carefully. Notice the emphasis on -apparent- contradictions. The Bible is God’s Word and it is unlike any other book because it is neither merely a book - nor is it of human construction or origin. Certainly humans like Moses, Matthew, Paul, and John were intimately involved as inspired authors (or “redactors” as some prefer), but ultimately there is no denying the truth of 2 Timothy 3:16a: “All Scripture is God-breathed…”

One apparent contradiction comes when reading and comparing the story mentioned above, i.e. that of the Israelites conducting a covert operation into the land of Canaan - i.e. The Promised Land.

The first story comes from the book of Numbers 13:2 Where God says to Moses “Send some men to (wə-yā-ṯu-rū from the Hebrew verb tur) the land of Canaan, which I am giving to the Israelites..." Depending on the context the verb tur typically means to explore, spy, search, scout, or something along those lines. Therefore, in the book of Numbers it appears as though God is the one initiating, in fact commanding Israel to embark upon, this exploratory or probative covert op.

The second story, told approximately 40 years later, comes from the book of Deuteronomy. In context, Moses is talking to a whole new generation of Israelites and giving them a “second law” or “second telling” of how the nation failed epically, was punished to wander, and now stands on the cusp of finally entering into God’s “Promised Land,” Canaan, in order to fulfill His covenant promise to Abram and bless all of humanity. In Deuteronomy 1:22 Moses states, “Then all of you came to me and said, ‘Let us send men ahead to (wə-yaḥ-pə-rū from the Hebrew verb khawfar) the land for us and bring back a report about the route we are to take and the towns we will come to.’”

Not only do the verbs differ in Deuteronomy (khawfar: to uncover or dig) and Numbers (tur: to explore or scout), but it seems to be a very different story. Did the plan initiate with God telling them to go explore/scout -or- did the plan initiate with Israel in wanting to go uncover/dig up something?

The short answer is “Yes.”

The Latin phrase Scriptura Scripturae interpres, meaning Scripture interprets Scripture, is absolutely essential here. Scripture, i.e. the Bible, was never intended to be used as a “cut and paste” self-help guide or reference manual to rally support for religious or denominational beliefs, doctrine, building projects, plans, traditions, etc.

Instead, the Bible, as 2 Timothy 3:16b-17 instructs us “... is useful/profitable for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.” It is the ultimate love story by which God Himself discloses the goal and purpose of transforming humanity from separation, darkness, sin, and eternal death to unity, light, holiness, and eternal life.

The Bible is God’s gracious instrument of transformation. When received, approached, and used rightly - by it humanity is not only restored, redeemed, and reconciled into community with our Creator, but we actually become the vehicle, as the Bride of Christ, through which God’s gracious covenant promise to Abram, “all the families on earth will be blessed through you,” is literally fulfilled.

Contrastingly, if one approaches the Bible with the predetermined intent to reject God by confirming or establishing inherent flaws, its uselessness, its oppressiveness, and/or the utter lunacy of an invisible omnipotent sovereign Creator - then the Author, i.e. God, will certainly allow one to arrive at that tragic conclusion.

Apparent contradictions within the Bible, such as the one discussed above, appear, in fact, to have been divinely woven into the fabric of Scripture. Thus, God allows the perpetual hardening of hearts by those whom He foreknew would refuse to accept His free gift of grace by faith, and instead would choose to elevate self to the throne in God’s place.

If one has a hard time believing that “a loving God” would ever give people over to the hardening of their own hearts, then all one need do is read passages like Genesis 6:3; Exodus 9:12; Matthew 13:13; and Romans 1:24.

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So back to our original question and answer: “Was it God’s idea or Israel’s to explore the land?”

God foreknew that humanity would rebel in Eden. God foreknew that Israel would fail as a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. God foreknew that Israel would not only merely desire to go into the land to find the best path in - but that they would fail to trust in Him despite God’s covenant promises, despite having been supernaturally delivered from 400 years of slavery, despite having seen all the miracles and wonders, despite the parting of the sea, despite God’s destruction of Pharaoh’s army, despite manna from heaven, despite water from the rock, despite His awesome Presence atop Mt. Sinai, despite God descending to dwell in the midst of their community, and despite their forgetfulness, idolatry, and insecurities.

Israel came to Moses with a seemingly valid plan, but ultimately the majority didn’t just want to go in and find the “best path.” No, ten of those twelve ambassadors went in without any faith in God Almighty to do anything. Ten of those guys went in to khawfar, i.e. dig up, seemingly rational, logical, justifiable, and legitimate reasons for denying, opposing, preventing, and attacking God’s character, will, and plan - and God allowed them to find it.

Joshua and Caleb were the exception. In Numbers 13:30 those two stood together as Caleb said, “We should go up and take possession of the land, for we can certainly do it.”

The other ten had a very different take. In Numbers 13:31-33 we read, “But the men who had gone up with him (Caleb) said, ‘We can’t attack those people; they are stronger than we are.’ Thus they spread among the Israelites a bad report about the land they had explored. They said, ‘The land we explored devours those living in it. All the people we saw there are of great size. We saw the Nephilim there (the descendants of Anak come from the Nephilim). Compared to them we seemed like grasshoppers in our own eyes, and we looked the same to them.’”

We read the same thing in Deuteronomy 1:26-28: But you were unwilling to go up; you rebelled against the command of the Lord your God. You grumbled in your tents and said, “The Lord hates us; so he brought us out of Egypt to deliver us into the hands of the Amorites to destroy us. Where can we go? Our brothers have made our hearts melt in fear. They say, ‘The people are stronger and taller than we are; the cities are large, with walls up to the sky. We even saw the Anakites there.’”

Moses summed up the sin of the ten spies, and in fact the entire nation of Israel, perfectly in Deuteronomy 1:32 when he said simply, “you did not trust in the Lord your God.”

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Fidelity, i.e. faithfulness, is permanently and eternally inherent as part of the essential character of God. When humanity rebelled in Eden’s garden our Creator owed us nothing albeit the explicit consequence of our rebellion - eternal separation from God, i.e. death. God made a graciously unmerited covenant promise (Gen 3:15) of hope and reconciliation to humanity by anticipating a sacrificial serpent crusher; a covenant promise that He Himself would eventually fulfill as the God-man Jesus Christ.

The Israelites condemned to wander and die in the wilderness were SPIES LIKE US. Like we who devise and implement plans that appear logical, sound, and valid. Like us they moved forward not only forgetting God’s impeccable character, but also having lost track of His covenant promise and unwavering mission: “all the families on earth will be blessed through you.”

All of this ultimately reveals the truth, as disclosed by Moses, “you did not trust in the Lord your God.”

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So what are the plans that you’ve brought before God that seem rational, valid, and sound on the surface? Is it a plan or prayer of relationship, a job, a house, a business, or even a ministry idea or church?

Are you telling people “God told me _______?” Remember, in Numbers God said to Moses, “Send some men to explore the land of Canaan.” God told them to go explore. Ultimately it’s not just about what God tells us to do or where He commands us to go, but whether or not we will respond in faith when we get there.

By the transcendent gift of faith will you stand firm in the character, promises, and mission of God? Or will you - like the spies of Israel who questioned God’s fidelity, character, promises, and mission - falter amid the uncertainty of circumstances only to reveal Moses' truth: you never really knew or trusted Him to begin with.

Maybe the reason you’ve been wandering in the wilderness so long outside the Promised Land is because your faith has always been just that - yours. Maybe it was never sourced in or from God.

The solution is simple - pray. Get down on your face and plead with Jesus Christ, our LORD and Savior, to bless you with the free gift of faith. Tell Jesus that you don’t want to be like the ten spies who had no trust - but instead your desire is to be like Joshua - whose name literally means trusting that “THE LORD SAVES!”

They were SPIES LIKE US and most of that rebellious generation never entered into God’s promise or presence and quite frankly never wanted to. Thankfully, Jesus went to the Cross to become both the gateway and fulfillment of God’s promise.

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. -John 3:16

Blessings,

-Kevin M. Kelley

aMostUnlikelyDisicple.com

PRODUCING FROGS

PRODUCING FROGS:

Then the Lord said to Moses, “Go to Pharaoh and say to him, ‘This is what the Lord says: Let my people go, so that they may worship me. If you refuse to let them go, I will send a plague of frogs on your whole country. The Nile will teem with frogs. They will come up into your palace and your bedroom and onto your bed, into the houses of your officials and on your people, and into your ovens and kneading troughs. The frogs will come up on you and your people and all your officials.’” -Exodus 8:1-4

Our family is part of a church with a building on a piece of property backing up to a paper mill. On certain days - when all the conditions are right: heat, humidity, etc. - the stench of dank, musty, toxic, cardboard is overwhelmingly palpable. It’s so tragically pungent that you can literally taste it.

In the book of Exodus we see God call Moses to be the LORD’s spokesperson and ambassador of Israel’s deliverance in order to fulfill God’s covenant promise to Abram/Abraham “...and all the peoples/families/tribes of the earth will be blessed through you” in Genesis 12:3.

The nation of Israel was enslaved for approximately 400 years - just as God had forewarned in Gen 15:13. So God appeared to Moses in the burning bush, instructed him to approach Egypt’s king (Pharaoh), and demand their emancipation “so that they may worship me (God) in the wilderness.”

Egypt was arguably the greatest superpower on earth at the time. The idea of a transient shepherd even gaining Pharaoh’s audience seems absurd - never mind the idea of approaching him with a non-negotiable demand for the unconditional release of his country’s inherent workforce.

Think about it - the United States of America has been around since 1776. We just celebrated our bicentennial a few years ago. Our nation has only been in existence for ½ the time Israel endured the hardships of national slavery before labor laws, social justice reform, etc. Now imagine a random farmer or rancher demanding an audience with our President…

Moses understood fully the apparent lunacy of this proposal and said to God, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?” So God let Moses know that it wasn’t about Moses or Pharaoh, but rather about God’s covenant promise “...and all the peoples of earth will be blessed through you” for the purpose of a divinely reconciled relationship between humanity and the Almighty Creator.

God anticipated both Moses’ uncertainty and Pharaoh’s reluctance; so God told Moses, “But I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, and though I multiply my signs and wonders in Egypt, he will not listen to you. Then I will lay my hand on Egypt and with mighty acts of judgment I will bring out my divisions, my people the Israelites. And the Egyptians will know that I am the Lord when I stretch out my hand against Egypt and bring the Israelites out of it.”

For the most part, those “signs and wonders,” and “mighty acts of judgment” are what we typically refer to as “The Ten Plagues of Egypt.” Because Pharaoh had hardened his own heart toward God - God gave him over to his rebellion. Pharaoh refused to listen and yield to God and His sovereignty; therefore we read “and all the water was changed into blood. The fish in the Nile died, and the river smelled so bad that the Egyptians could not drink its water. Blood was everywhere in Egypt.”

The Nile had been turned to blood. There were dead fish everywhere, a horrific stench - far worse that wet cardboard. All the water in Egypt was turning to blood - in their Mr. Coffee makers, their Britta filters, their vending machines, their dishwashers… every last drop was turning to blood - and then we read, “But the Egyptian magicians did the same things by their secret arts…” Ironically, in an effort to demonstrate his power and authority Pharaoh’s magicians actually compounded the problem.

You might be asking, what has any of this to do with the title: “PRODUCING FROGS?” Well, the second plague was the plague of frogs. Remember what we opened with today: “Go to Pharaoh and say to him, ‘This is what the Lord says: Let my people go, so that they may worship me. If you refuse to let them go, I will send a plague of frogs on your whole country. The Nile will teem with frogs. They will come up into your palace and your bedroom and onto your bed, into the houses of your officials and on your people, and into your ovens and kneading troughs. The frogs will come up on you and your people and all your officials.’”

Despite the fact that the entire country was saturated in blood - Pharaoh continued to ignore God’s demand for the release of His people for the purpose of emancipation, reconciliation, and glorious worship. Then we read in Exodus 8:6, “So Aaron stretched out his hand over the waters of Egypt, and the frogs came up and covered the land.” From the nasty blood-muck Nile, which was Egypt’s lifeblood of fertility, emerged an host of hemoglobin and plasma coated croakers. Frogs were making their way into homes, kitchen counters, bedrooms, ovens, pantries… and we read, “But the magicians did the same things by their secret arts; they also made frogs come up on the land of Egypt.”

God’s covenant promise to Abram stands. All the families, tribes, and peoples of earth will, and in fact have been blessed, through Him in the unique God-man Jesus Christ. Yet we, like Pharaoh, harden our hearts to His authority, sovereignty, and almighty will.

In our insatiable quest for autonomy and striving to not only “be like God,” but in fact to be god in and over our own lives - we, like Pharaoh, make a ridiculously feeble attempt to trample His unstoppable covenant promises and subject God’s authority, will, and mission to the indentured servitude of our personal authority, will, and mission in life. We attempt to eject God from His throne and strive to reign over our lives in His place.

God’s desire in bringing “signs and wonders” and even “mighty acts of judgment” upon us is not our misguided conception of spite, malice, revenge, or malevolence - but rather as God said to bring us out of bondage to sin in order to know that He truly is God. When God brings those gracious plagues into our lives we, like Pharaoh’s magicians in an effort to demonstrate our authority, power, and will - merely compound the problem by producing frogs.

God’s covenant promise stands - humanity’s universal blessing exclusively in and through Jesus Christ. Our sin-debt has been paid-in-full. His mission continues to be perfectly fulfilled. It wasn’t hindered by Satan, Adam & Eve, by Pharaoh, Israel, the Pharisees, by me - or even by you.

So in the midst of His signs, wonders, and mighty acts of judgment - all perfectly designed and intended for the purpose of our emancipation and reconciliation - are you pushing back in an effort to reign supreme and demonstrate your resolve, toughness, tenacity, power, sovereignty, and indomitable will - only to ultimately compound the problem and produce frogs? Or have you come to that place of yieldedness in order to celebrate freedom and worship God Almighty in the wilderness that precedes the Promised Land?

Blessings,

-Kevin M. Kelley

aMostUnlikelyDisciple.com

BREAKOUT:

BREAKOUT:

Look and see, there is no one at my right hand;

   no one is concerned for me.

I have no refuge;

   no one cares for my life.

-Psalm 142:4

David was the anointed and divinely appointed king of Israel yet Saul remained on the throne. Saul then drove David into the wilderness. King David hid in caves -fearing for his life- while Saul’s men hunted him down. That’s when and where David wrote Psalm 142: “...no one is concerned for me. I have no refuge; no one cares for my life.”

There are times in life when all of us feel stuck, trapped, confined, imprisoned, forgotten, and even disposable. This may be due to depression, divorce, unemployment, the loss of a loved one... In these times of walking through the Valley of The Shadow of Death we are consumed and joy seems both a vague, distant memory, and an impossible future.

David’s exclusive hope for deliverance in these bleak circumstances stemmed from his relationship with, and faith in, God. We know this with all certainty because David prefaced his sincere prayer of apparent hopelessness with:

I cry aloud to the Lord;

   I lift up my voice to the Lord for mercy.

I pour out before him my complaint;

   before him I tell my trouble.

The only real difference between hopelessness and hope is God. Apart from a long and rich relationship with God David would have been utterly consumed with his dire and overwhelming circumstances. He might have taken his own life - or been captured or killed after giving up. Instead, we see David -DOING- not just some-random-thing, but the one thing that breaks us out and brings us into communion with God - David prayed. David not only prayed, but he prayed in 4 distinct and beautifully authentic ways:

I cry...

I lift...

 I pour...

  I tell...

David didn’t seek to adopt a worldview of coexistence. David didn’t pray to an impersonal universe. He didn’t crack open a self-help scroll. David didn’t burn incense or rub crystals together in an effort to gain inner peace. David didn’t fire off a random prayer to a random god somewhere in the void of outer space with his fingers crossed.

Instead, David prayed to the God of creation, the God of the Bible, the God who promised to personally redeem humanity (Gen 3:15), the God of Abram, Isaac, and Jacob who promised to bless all the families on earth (Gen 12:3), the God who delivered Israel from 400+ years of slavery (Exodus) to demonstrate He has the power and authority to deliver us from our slavery to sin, Satan, and death.

David prayed to the God who cares for orphans and widows (Deut 10:18), the God who is patient, kind, merciful, and overflowing with grace, the transcendent God of eternity who would not only personally step into His creation as Jesus the Christ, but Who would come to tabernacle/dwell with us - and eventually die for us at the Cross. David prayed to the God who would soon defeat sin and death in rising from the grave on the 3rd day, the God who fulfills His every promise, the God of Holy Trinity - Father, Son, and Spirit - who created us to experience life to the fullest, David prayed to the God in whom satisfaction and joy are exclusively found.

That’s who David prayed to. David was delivered in his circumstances to a place of peace. Eventually David was also delivered from those circumstances. Saul died in battle and David was not only restored to the throne, but was given a promise by God that someone from his line would never cease to sit on the throne (2 Sam 7), which was fulfilled in the God-man Jesus.

Therefore, take hold of the hope and life offered in Christ. He is our anchor that holds firm behind the veil (Heb 6:19) - i.e. the veil of current circumstance, the veil of depression, the veil of crushing loss, the veil of lies our enemy buries us beneath in an effort to keep us divorced from our Creator, Savior, Redeemer, and God.

Joshua was Moses’ successor as the leader of Israel. His name means “the LORD saves.” At the inauguration of Joshua’s ministry as their leader - he said to the nation of Israel, “This Torah must not cease to leave your mouth, but rather you are to meditate, ponder, recite, speak it day and night toward the goal of keeping watch...” (Josh 1:8a). The verb “to keep watch” is the same verb God used to describe Adam’s ministry in Gen 2:15 to cultivate and keep watch over her.

Adam failed miserably at this, which led to the woman’s temptation and ultimately to humanity’s epic rebellion. But even then, even after our systemic, universal, comprehensive coup d’état attempt against our loving Creator - humanity’s expulsion from God’s life-giving presences wasn’t the end of the story...

God chose to demonstrate Their perfect trinitarian love for us by expressing what They meant in saying: “let us make them in our image; according to our likeness” (Gen 1:26). God’s likeness is most perfectly expressed by Their selfless altruism and eternal love for one another within the context of eternal Trinity. This selfless altruistic love is the essence and foundation of God’s compassion, mercy, and grace - thus His mission - in restoring, reconciling, and redeeming fallen humanity back into the life-giving presence of The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

So when Joshua said, “This Torah must not cease to leave your mouth, but rather you are to meditate on it day and night toward the goal of keeping watch..." He concluded that statement with God’s promise of hope, redemption, and life by saying, “... for then you will BREAKOUT via understanding.”

Study Scripture under the guidance of the Holy Spirit. Meditate on it since it reveals the character and nature of God. Keep watch over your thoughts and actions - and those entrusted to your care (spouse, kids, etc.). Then God promises you will BREAKOUT under the light of understanding.

God doesn’t bring evil upon us. The muck of our lives is our’s and our’s alone. God certainly allows us the freedom of that folly because it’s only when we come to the end of ourselves that life in Christ can begin.

You’ve tried the alternatives. Now it’s time to breakout.

Breakout from depression.

from loneliness.

 from incapacitating defeat.

  from the clutches of death.

   from the snares of our enemy.

David’s circumstances were overwhelming and real - just like yours. His deliverance came from the faith and hope sourced in God Almighty; so he prayed. He cried, he lifted, he poured, and he told.

Now it’s your turn. Pray honest prayers from the depths of your hurt and suffering. Cry, lift, pour out, and tell God everything - words are optional. He created you. He knows the number of hairs on your head. He has numbered your tears. God cares.

But don’t let it end there. As Joshua instructed: meditate, ponder, discuss, and share Scripture. In doing so you not only can, but will, BREAKOUT - just as God promised. Not to win the lottery, not to be exempt from suffering and loss, not to float through life immune and disconnected from the ravages and consequences of sin, but rather to experience desperate dependence in Christ and the height, depth, breadth, and eternal richness therein.

Breakout.

That’s what He went to the Cross to make a reality. That is what most clearly reveals the beauty of God’s love for us.

Blessings,

-Kevin M. Kelley

aMostUnlikelyDisciple.com