February 12, 2012
Memory verses:
2 Tim 3:16 “All Scripture is God-breathed…”
Romans 8:28 “And we know that in all things...”
2 Peter 1:3 His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness.
Reflections on Genesis through Numbers?
Passage: Numbers 11
Key verses:
Numbers 11:4 NIV The rabble with them began to crave other food (NKJV : yielded to intense craving), and again the Israelites started wailing and said, "If only we had meat to eat!”
Numbers 11:34 NIV Therefore the place was named Kibroth Hattaavah, because there they buried the people who had craved other food (yielded to intense craving)
Graves of Greediness
“Kibroth Hattaavah” means “Graves of Greediness” or “Graves of Craving” Make no mistake, yielding to intense craving will prove harmful to you. I’m experiencing the fruit of that now; as I get older my body is finding it more and more difficult to deal with the extra weight that comes from yielding to cravings and consuming more than I need.
I’m convinced it’s no coincidence that the first prohibitive or restrictive commandment in the Bible involved food: “Do not eat of the tree in the midst of the garden” Then the fall from grace happened, involving yielding to an intense craving for something beyond what had been given:
Genesis 3:6 When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it.
I also think it’s no coincidence that some of laws that mark Israel most clearly involve laws pertaining to food… what Israel is and is not allowed to eat. Now of course, we know that Jesus “declared all food ‘clean’.”
Mark 7:19 For it doesn't go into his heart but into his stomach, and then out of his body." (In saying this, Jesus declared all foods "clean.”)
But recall that Paul tempers this truth with this saying:
1 Corinthians 10:23 "Everything is permissible"-- but not everything is beneficial. "Everything is permissible"-- but not everything is constructive.
This restraint is necessary to us, because there is something in our natural selves that says “get everything you can!” and “do what feels good to you!” This is the pattern of this world, and Paul says:
Romans 12:2a Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.
The pattern of the world includes saying like this one: “Do what seems right to you” But this is foolishness: we don’t follow what seems right to us, because God has given us direction on what IS right!
Proverbs 14:12 There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death.
Here’s another popular saying from the world: “Follow your heart!” NO! No No No! DON’T follow your heart! Later in Numbers God says following your heart is like prostitution!
Numbers 15:39 You will have these tassels to look at and so you will remember all the commands of the LORD, that you may obey them and not prostitute yourselves by going after the lusts of your own hearts and eyes (NASB not follow after your own heart and your own eyes)
Following after our hearts and eyes is like prostitution because it’s selling ourselves to a false god, selling ourselves short to something that only provides temporary satisfaction, and in doing so, we bring harm to ourselves that far outstrips any pleasure we might have received.
So where does that leave us? Do we just commit to avoiding those things we crave and call that “dying to self”? Is that it?
Well, I don’t know about you, but I don’t find that very helpful. I personally don’t find it very helpful to only apply natural restrictions, with various fastings thrown in to make me feel like I’m being spiritual. Paul seems to say this too:
Colossians 2:23 Such regulations indeed have an appearance of wisdom, with their self-imposed worship, their false humility and their harsh treatment of the body, but they lack any value in restraining sensual indulgence.
Yep, quite true; just following regulations in the flesh have done nothing to restrain my heart’s cravings.
So what are we to do? Let’s take a step back to that first half of Romans 12:2. I believe we can bear hearing it again:
Romans 12:2a Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.
We must understand first that the craving is not a physical problem, though it may feel like it. What you crave may feel like a biological need, but I assure you, what you NEED God has given you, and your biological need is less than what you may feel… and far less than what the world will tell you. When we look beyond what He has given, it is not because our body needs more, it’s because our hearts, our minds have entered the realm of greedy craving, and it’s a short step from there to sinning in the flesh.
“What Is It?”
We need our minds renewed with the truth, and this truth is found in Scripture… “useful for training in righteousness” right? The truth is, when something in us, something we might call a “spirit of poverty,” when this voice tells us that that we don’t have enough, that we don’t have what we need, that voice is LYING. God’s Word is true, and the true “spirit of prophecy” spoke through David when he sang about God’s provision in Psalm 23: Adonai Roi, Lo Eksar. We can embrace this truth, too. We see it again in our newest memory verse:
2 Peter 1:3 His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness.
God’s power has given us everything we need… When we read through Numbers and see how God provided for Israel in the wilderness, we find story after story of how the people became dissatisfied with what God had given them. I chose this particular story, where the people were specifically rejecting God’s provision of manna, because it points to what we’ve been given today, and how, if we’re not careful, we can fall into our own “Graves of Greediness” if we reject what we’ve been given.
And here’s what we have been given: “What is it?” What? Exactly. “What is it?” That’s what we’ve been given. Huh? Exactly!
Just like Israel in the desert, MANNA is what we’ve been given, and “Manna” means, literally, “What is it?” That’s what the people said when they saw this “bread from heaven”
Exodus 16:15 When the Israelites saw it, they said to each other, "What is it?" For they did not know what it was. Moses said to them, "It is the bread the LORD has given you to eat.
Exodus 16:31 The people of Israel called the bread manna. It was white like coriander seed and tasted like wafers made with honey.
Numbers 11:7-8 The manna was like coriander seed and looked like resin. The people went around gathering it, and then ground it in a handmill or crushed it in a mortar. They cooked it in a pot or made it into cakes. And it tasted like something made with olive oil.
It might be an interesting study to consider these qualities and how they reflect the true bread that came from heaven. And who is that? Sure, Jesus. Jesus spoke of the manna in the desert, and then He pointed to Himself as the true bread from heaven:
John 6:31 Our forefathers ate the manna in the desert; as it is written: 'He gave them bread from heaven to eat.'" 32 Jesus said to them, "I tell you the truth, it is not Moses who has given you the bread from heaven, but it is my Father who gives you the true bread from heaven. 33 For the bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world." 34 "Sir," they said, "from now on give us this bread." 35 Then Jesus declared, "I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty.
He is the true manna, the true bread from heaven, and HE IS ENOUGH. He says that if we come to Him, if we believe in Him, if we partake of the food and drink He gives … then we won’t “go hungry” that is, we won’t be in bondage to these cravings.
Yet here we are, all of us believers, and still, for so many of us, there is this little Mick Jagger voice in our hearts, crying out: “I can’t get no satisfaction!” This is especially funny because there’s another Rolling Stones song that answers this for us: “You can’t always get what you want… But if you try sometimes you might find you get what you need”
We really do get what we need, and we can choose to look at that instead… We can declare the truth of what God has given us, in the spirit and in the natural… Consider what He has provided, and respond not with the greediness that leads to the grave, but instead with gratitude, the overflow of a content heart.
Great Gain
Here’s the truth: God has given us everything we need. Our response to that determines how we will experience life: are we going to settle for the “Graves of Greediness” or shall we instead press through to something the Scripture calls “Great Gain”? Do you need a little time to decide? “Graves of Greediness”… or… “Great Gain”? Which do you want? “Great Gain?” Good choice. Here’s how we get there:
1 Tim 6:6 “Godliness with contentment is Great Gain”
The Greek text uses the word “Mega” here…being content with godliness brings “Mega-means of provision.” Note also that it’s not just provision, but means of provision for yourself into the future… overflowing provision, an unfailing and abundant source of provision.
In John 7:38, Jesus promised something to those who believed in Him. He promised something to those who came and drank from Him, that is, those who consumed what He was offering and let Him provide nourishment for their souls. Did He say, “whoever believes in Me will be like a dried up river bed, parched and miserable?” NO! This is what He said:
John 7:38 “Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him."
Attitude of Gratitude
One proof of this overflow is an “attitude of gratitude.” When we know who we are, and “whose” we are, when we stand in the truth of what He’s done and what He’s provided, we overflow with gratitude. Paul speaks about this in Colossians 2:
Colossians 2:6 -10 6So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in him, 7 rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness.
He goes on to say…
8 See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world rather than on Christ. 9 For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form, 10 and you have been given fullness in Christ, who is the head over every power and authority.
Did you see that? You have been given FULLNESS in Christ… HAVE BEEN given, not WILL BE given. How about that? Is that not something to celebrate? Therefore, let us not be taken captive to the world’s pattern, which was found in the “rabble” of Israel, who yielded to intense cravings for food other than what God had given. Instead, let’s offer sacrifices that are pleasing to God, a soothing aroma… sacrifices of praise (Heb 13) and the sacrifices of shouts of joy (Ps 27) Let’s enjoy the spiritual fruits of joy and peace… by His Spirit we overcome the spirit of poverty and greediness. We can truly be satisfied with spiritual fruit, and we can truly walk in godliness with contentment, which is great gain.
We can walk this way, and we’re going to practice it right now! We’re going to close with songs of praise to our Lord, proclaiming His goodness and declaring that He really is Enough. May this truly be your declaration today!
Songs, Closing Prayer (for breaking spirit of poverty), Benediction
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