Infectious Diseases

Numbers 31:2 “Take vengeance on the Midianites for the Israelites. 

After that, you will be gathered to your people.”

     In our day and age of antibiotics and modern medicine there are still natural forces that people can't control. Locust flights across fast areas of the African continent and a virus that has put tens of millions of people in mandatory quarantine are in the news. Medical supplies are in short supply and crops are destroyed. People are panicking.
     The best of human efforts can't stop the pain of human suffering.
     There are passages in the Scriptures that highlight a plague that has haunted humanity since right after the beginning. That plague is rebellion against the LORD's authority over the universe. And in His efforts to help humanity navigate the aftermath of sin's destruction He gives what can sound like very harsh, very unjust directives.
     Moses, the leader of the Israelites, the man who face Pharaoh king of Egypt and won, is about ready to die. The LORD gives him one last task: rid the earth of the evil the Midianite people and society practice. The practices were so dangerous for the LORD's plan for His people that He ordered that they be killed!
     Wow, that sounds harsh, doesn't it. It sounds harsh to our ears because we downplay the hideousness of sin. We think the sin we commit isn't so terrible, after all we didn't murder anyone. But sin, rebellion against the LORD's authority to govern our lives, is so eternally deadly that He takes drastic measures in an attempt to purify His people.
     But as history shows, sin has still not been wiped from humanity's presence. Its power has been broken in those who trust in Jesus' death and resurrection, but we still need to choose obedience over rebellion daily.

Honest Feelings

Psalm 17:10-15

          One difference between someone who follows the LORD and someone who doesn’t is that the follower wants the LORD looking in on their life, being aware of what is going on with them. The non-follower wants to hide what they are doing from the LORD and often from others. Inwardly they know they are doing wrong. That is, until their hearts become calloused by repetition of the sinful behavior. People then get to the point that they feel nothing when they engage in the sinful behavior.

          We see this in our psalm. In the first half of the psalm our writer has solicited the LORD’s presence. But more than that, he has asked for a thorough examination of is innermost being. He wanted the LORD to look into his motives and actions. He was like an open book; he wanted the LORD to read every page.

          Not so those who are addressed in today’s portion of this psalm. They are closed. They don’t want anyone looking into their business. We know this because they express their opinions with an arrogant attitude. Arrogance is a sign of contempt, an attitude that says that I am better than you. I deserve what I have and you deserve what you have. They think that no one is watching, that they will get away with their evil behavior. They feel above it all.

          And because they think no one is watching, they don’t even try to hide their evil. So they are open in their pursuit of our writer. This person is purposeful in their pursuit to do harm. This is not accidental harm. They are tracking the writer down. And when they find him, they surround him, alert and ready to pounce. They are like paid assassins. Once they get a target, they don’t take their eyes off them. They wait for the perfect moment and then carry out their mission, usually quickly and efficiently. This has been popularized in current movies and TV shows.

          He feels like he is going to be devoured by his enemy. Lions don’t give up tearing their prey until they have had their fill. And if you have ever seen what is left over after they have finished, and the hyenas have arrived, and the vultures have followed, and the other critters and flies…. You get the picture. Nothing will be left. What a terrible feeling that he will be next.

          But our writer has hope. He calls on the LORD to rise up and get involved. He wants the LORD to bring His sword of justice. What I find interesting is that he uses language that is picked up by Paul in his letter to the Roman church. Here our writer says that they store up wrath here for themselves, and they are also storing up wrath with the LORD.

          These words might not sound too Christian. Aren’t we supposed to be all sugar and spice? But these words express his true feelings, and if we can’t express our true feelings to the LORD, to whom can we express them? This is honesty. This is transparency. He feels these things, expresses them, and then leaves them in the LORD’s hands. He doesn’t try to carry out his own counter offensive. He lets it go.

          He has assurance of the LORD’s favor. Even if he dies, he knows he will see the LORD. He is accepted. He is safe, even when his world isn’t.

The Twenty-Plus-Nine’s

Psalm 29, 59, 89, 119, 149

Today’s reading is the longest set of psalms in our series. So get ready to read.

“Give it up to the LORD!” Almost like a late night TV show host introducing his next guest is how Psalm 29 begins. “Give a nice welcome to the LORD.” “Heeeerrrrres the LORD.”  What are we to give up to Him? We are to recognize His glory, strength, and the splendor of His holiness. To put it another way, we are to acknowledge just how different from ourselves and just how superior in every way He is. Words fail before they are even uttered at capturing the greatness of the LORD. Verse 3-9 give small glimpses at the LORD’s power. These are there as if to say, “Hey guys, look at nature’s power. That is nothing compared to mine.” So give it up to the LORD!

Have you ever felt like your adversary was “going for blood”? Psalm 59 records that feeling (Ps 59:2). The picture of dogs waiting to viciously attack the writer appears twice in this psalm (vv6 & 14). The writer’s enemies pictured as dogs on the prowl for blood, his blood is a pretty disturbing picture. He wants the LORD to intervene, to destroy them in order to protect His people (vv12-13). The way he survives is to focus periodically on the LORD (v16). He declares his dependence on the LORD. In our society that teaches us to really rely on no one, this is a radical statement for us. Radical, but true! We need to rely on the LORD.

“How is like you, LORD God Almighty” asks the writer of Psalm 89. And the answer he gives is no one. His love (v4) and faithfulness (v8), the creation itself, His righteousness and justice (14), and His continued presence with David the king each speak of His unparalleled nature. Even when His people fail, and He sends enemies to chasten, the LORD remains faithful. As the writer now lives with the consequences of rebellion, he cries out to the LORD, “Remember” (vv47 & 50). It is almost as if he were trying to get the LORD’s attention.

Psalm 119 has three defining components. First, every eight verses begin with the next letter in the Hebrew alphabet. Most modern translations mark this with the inclusion of the Hebrew letter before these sections, i.e. Aleph before verse one, Beth before verse nine, etc. The second component is the fact that God’s Word is referred to in almost every verse. Statutes, ways, precepts, decrees, commands, laws, word, promise. The central and essential nature of God’s Word is celebrated and recounted. The writer seems to spend a lot of time with His Word on his heart and mind. Probably a pretty good practice for us to adopt. Lots of benefits from this practice. Finally, the last component is the length of the psalm. It is the longest in the Scriptures, although not the longest song in recorded history.

Sometimes the Psalms surprise us with their content. Psalm 149:6-9 took me by surprise. As the writer is calling God’s people to worship, he puts two seemingly incongruous elements together in these verses. He puts praise of God and vengeance on their enemies in the same context. Justice is not contrary to God’s nature, even when it means an enemy is defeated. In fact, when God’s people are the instrument of that punishment, the writer says it is to their glory! In the era of Jihad, an abhorrent practice promulgated by a religion whose roots are evil, to read that the LORD’s people might be involved in carrying out His justice with a sword is perhaps surprising. But, surprising or not, God sometimes uses His people to carry out justice.