"IT'S NOT FAIR!" (part two)
Last week I stated the series on the places in the bible where it seems as if God wasn't being fair. We see it started right from the beginning with Adam and Eve getting kicked out of the garden for one act of disobedience. On the surface that seems extreme and unfair but once we looked into it we saw how it wasn't about the specific sin as much as it was about sin itself.
If God was going to act in accordance with his holy nature he had to banish Adam and Eve from the Garden of Eden because sin cannot coexist with purity. What about us? When we sin we can easily minimize it. So, when God gives us consequences we can think they're too harsh. What we need to do is pray to see our sin through the eyes of God. Then we will understand the seriousness of it and understand why God disciplines us the way he does.
Then we looked at the story of Job. We saw that Job was upright and blameless. God himself said there was no one like him. Yet, God allowed unspeakable calamity to invade his life. He lost everything; even all his children. Then, as if that weren't enough, he become plastered with painful boils all over his body.
That definitely seems unfair. You serve God faithfully and this is what you get in return? What's up with that? But Job did not call God unfair or unjust. Job did not charge God with wrongdoing. What about us? When hardships come we will be tempted to get angry with God and accuse him of being unfair with us. Will we be like Job and not allow our attitude toward God to change? Will we say that God is good?
1) "No fair, I was tricked!"
In 1st Kings 12, Jeroboam, king of Israel, was concerned that the people were going to favor Rehoboam, king of Judah and go to Jerusalem to offer sacrifices to the Lord there. And if they gave their allegiance to king Rehoboam then he would be killed. So, in fear, and after seeking some bad advice, he made two golden calves and told the people they didn't need to go to Jerusalem, they could make their sacrifices on the alter he built.
Then, God sent a prophet to prophecy against what Jeroboam had done. Jeroboam didn't like that so he stretched out his hand and told his soldiers to seize the prophet. Then suddenly his hand shriveled up and he couldn't pull it back. He freaked out and asked the prophet to pray for him. He did and God his restored hand. Jeroboam wanted to reward the prophet.
1st Kings 13:7-24, "The king said to the man of God, “Come home with me and have something to eat, and I will give you a gift.” But the man of God answered the king, “Even if you were to give me half your possessions, I would not go with you, nor would I eat bread or drink water here. For I was commanded by the word of the LORD: ‘You must not eat bread or drink water or return by the way you came.’ ” So he took another road and did not return by the way he had come to Bethel.
Now there was a certain old prophet living in Bethel, whose sons came and told him all that the man of God had done there that day. They also told their father what he had said to the king. Their father asked them, “Which way did he go?” And his sons showed him which road the man of God from Judah had taken. So he said to his sons, “Saddle the donkey for me.” And when they had saddled the donkey for him, he mounted it and rode after the man of God.
He found him sitting under an oak tree and asked, “Are you the man of God who came from Judah?” “I am,” he replied. So the prophet said to him, “Come home with me and eat.” The man of God said, “I cannot turn back and go with you, nor can I eat bread or drink water with you in this place. I have been told by the word of the LORD: ‘You must not eat bread or drink water there or return by the way you came.’ ”
The old prophet answered, “I too am a prophet, as you are. And an angel said to me by the word of the LORD: ‘Bring him back with you to your house so that he may eat bread and drink water.’ ” (But he was lying to him.) So the man of God returned with him and ate and drank in his house.
While they were sitting at the table, the word of the LORD came to the old prophet who had brought him back. He cried out to the man of God who had come from Judah, “This is what the LORD says: ‘You have defied the word of the LORD and have not kept the command the LORD your God gave you. You came back and ate bread and drank water in the place where he told you not to eat or drink. Therefore your body will not be buried in the tomb of your fathers.’ ”
When the man of God had finished eating and drinking, the prophet who had brought him back saddled his donkey for him. As he went on his way, a lion met him on the road and killed him, and his body was thrown down on the road, with both the donkey and the lion standing beside it."
He rejected the king when he wanted to reward him so that showed he didn't take God's command lightly. He honored God's command over his own benefit. Then he runs into another guy who asks him to go to his house and at first he refuses, continuing to honor God's command.
But then the guy throws him a curve ball. He said he had a word from the Lord; but it was a lie. The prophet believed him; he thought he was doing the right thing by going with the man. But in the end, he was punished for it. Punished for listening to a person who said he was a prophet representing God. Why should he be the one in trouble? Shouldn't the deceiver be the one who is mauled by a lion? This is unfair.
First, we don't know what ends up happening to the lying prophet so we can't draw any conclusions about that. But what the other prophet did wrong was listen to the lying prophet without inquiring of the Lord. If he had, God would've revealed that he hadn't sent him.
Plus, he received his first instruction directly from God. Since God was the one who gave him the first instructions, the prophet should've waited for God to give any further instructions. If the plan was going to change-God would be the one to do it. Even though what this other prophet said sounded legit, it wasn't.
Ok, but why such a harsh punishment? One reason would be to send a warning. I know if I was that lying prophet, I'd be worried about what punishment I was going to receive. And I would feel bad that my lie led to his death. And if my life was spared I wouldn't do that again. Word got around about what happened to this prophet so it was a message to all the other prophets and the rest of God's people that you don't mess with the sacred word and prophecy of God.
Plus, you don't forsake God's instruction for your own comforts. The prophet was told not to eat or drink in that town. But when they found him sitting under the tree, he was probably tired, hungry and thirsty. I'm sure the invitation was tempting. Though he rejected it at first, with the declaration of this so-called fellow prophet, he was won over.
Did he not think it was necessary to first inquire of the Lord or did he choose not to because of how hungry he was? I'd like to think that God pricked his heart to not go with him but did he push that aside?
When Jesus was hungry in the desert, Satan tried to get him to use his power to make bread. I'm sure he was tempted to do what the deceiver suggested. But instead, Jesus responded by superseding his physical need with a spiritual one-saying, 'man does not live on bread alone-but on every word that comes from the mouth of God'.
The prophet should have responded likewise. He superseded the word from the mouth of God with the word from the mouth of man along with his physical needs.
We need to take this to heart. First of all, don't ever say 'God said' or 'the Holy Spirit told me' unless you are totally sure. We can be tricked into thinking God is speaking to us when he isn't.
The prophet wanted food and water and he was tricked into thinking God was speaking through this man. When we want something badly enough we can convince ourselves God is giving his approval when he isn't. And it doesn't go well when we make decisions based on these deceptions.
And we need to be careful when people are speaking to us. Sometimes people attach, 'thus saith the Lord' to their words when they didn't come from God. What people say can sound good, but it doesn't mean they're speaking from God. We have to be careful when someone says that God sent them or that they have a word from God for you.
It's possible, but I think if God sent someone to tell me something he would also tell me himself. Oftentimes when God sends someone else it's a confirmation more so than a declaration. If I'm not listening to God he may send someone to confirm what he's been trying to say to me.
In any event, we need to test the spirits. 1 John 4:1, "Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world." We have a responsibility to be cautious. We need to hold what people say up to the word. If it seems to pass that test we pray for God to confirm or deny it.
We can't blindly accept everything someone says is from God. If we fail to test the spirits there can be serious consequences. We might not get mauled by a lion but it won't turn out well if we don't take time to seek God's wisdom in these matters and obey his clear instruction.
2) "No fair, they made me mad!"
In Numbers 20, the Israelites grumbled and complained that there were no grains, figs, grapevines or pomegranates to eat or water to drink. They did a lot of complaining; starting just days after leaving Egypt. God would come through for them and provide for their needs. But each time they were tested they started grumbling.
In Num. 20, not only do they complain about food and water, they go so far as to say they would be better off dead. So, as they had done before, Moses and Aaron went to inquire of the Lord about it.
Numbers 20:7-13, "The LORD said to Moses, “Take the staff, and you and your brother Aaron gather the assembly together. Speak to that rock before their eyes and it will pour out its water. You will bring water out of the rock for the community so they and their livestock can drink.” So Moses took the staff from the LORD'S presence, just as he commanded him.
He and Aaron gathered the assembly together in front of the rock and Moses said to them, “Listen, you rebels, must we bring you water out of this rock?” Then Moses raised his arm and struck the rock twice with his staff. Water gushed out, and the community and their livestock drank.
But the LORD said to Moses and Aaron, “Because you did not trust in me enough to honor me as holy in the sight of the Israelites, you will not bring this community into the land I give them.” These were the waters of Meribah, where the Israelites quarreled with the LORD and where he showed himself holy among them."
There was a previous incident where the Israelites complained there wasn't any water and God told Moses to strike a rock one time. This time, God tells Moses to speak to the rock but Moses did what he had done before; except this time he struck it twice. Moses was upset and he struck the rock out of anger. God allowed the water to flow but not without consequence.
Moses let his anger get the best of him one time and now he's not going to be allowed into the promised land. All those years of sacrifice and toil for these obstinate and stiff-necked people and this is the thanks he gets? God is definitely being unfair, right?
Especially when you look at what the Psalmist wrote in Psalm 106:32-33, "By the waters of Meribah they angered the LORD, and trouble came to Moses because of them; for they rebelled against the Spirit of God, and rash words came from Moses’ lips."
See, it wasn't Moses' fault; the Israelites incited him. They were the ones quarreling with God; they were the ones rebelling and Moses got in trouble because of them. They were the complainers and Moses had reached a boiling point and he snapped. So how can Moses be held accountable?
Regardless of what the people did, Moses was still responsible to do what God told him to do. Other people's actions shouldn't dictate ours. We don't have an excuse to come out of character because other people are acting ungodly. James 1:20 says that the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God. Moses allowed his anger toward the people to cause him to disregard the instruction of God.
Plus, notice how Moses said, 'must we bring you water from the rock'. Moses wasn't trusting God; he was trusting himself. This helps us understand God's response, "Because you did not trust in me enough to honor me as holy". Moses didn't believed God would produce merely by him speaking to the rock instead of striking it as he had done before.
I wonder what Moses was supposed to say when God told him to speak to the rock. I'm sure it would've been something that would give God the glory and acknowledge his power. In Moses doing it his way he took the recognition away from God and placed it on himself.
But wait; why did Aaron get in trouble? "God said to Moses and Aaron". That's not fair. Aaron didn't do anything; it was Moses. No; Moses said, 'must we bring you water'. Although Moses was the one speaking, Aaron was in agreement with him. They both didn't trust that God would perform the miracle of water from the rock through speaking to it; only striking it-as he had done before.
Sometimes we might be challenged like this. Perhaps we've seen God work in certain ways to bring something about but the next time it's clear he wants us to do something differently. Will we trust this new way or will we do it the way that worked before?
Another reason for the punishment they received was that it was "in the sight of the Israelites". This was a problem because it was a public mistrust. They were dishonoring God in front of everyone. Therefore, God had to deal with them in such a way to get everyone's attention; especially their future leader-Joshua.
Ok, but it still seems like a harsh punishment compared to all the good Moses had done. Surely his good deeds outweighed his bad ones so he should have gotten a break on this one. First of all, we're not sure this was the only time something like this happened. It seems strange that Moses and Aaron would be trusting all along and then be doubtful out of the blue like this. The consequence may have been due to a culmination of incidents.
In fact, earlier in chapter 11, the people grumbled over having only manna and they wanted meat. God told Moses to tell them that they were going to have meat for a whole month, so much that it would be coming out their nostrils. At this, Moses expressed doubt, saying, "Here I am among 600,000 men and you say you will give them meat to eat for a whole month!" God answered Moses, "Is the Lord's arm too short? You will now see whether or not what I say will come true for you." So, there were times when Moses doubted.
But despite that, we need to remember that God doesn't judge on a system of checks and balances. Just because we do well for a while, it doesn't give us a free pass when we sin. But we feel like it should be that way sometimes. "God, I've been doing a good job following the rules, how about letting me slide on this one?"
That's not how it works in life. If I was a drinker but followed the rule of don't drink and drive but then one night I break that rule and get pulled over do I deserve a break? I might think so but if the officer arrests me he hasn't treated me unfairly just because it was my first offense. I broke the law, I deserve to get punished; regardless of how many times I obeyed the law before.
Likewise, God is not being unfair by giving me consequences for my sin-even if I had been doing well up to that point. It doesn't mean I won't receive mercy and grace. It doesn't mean I won't be forgiven. Moses and Aaron were forgiven, but they were held responsible. And we might think their consequence was unjust but it wasn't; because God is always fair and just.
