23/3/18 – Numbers 15, Numbers 16:1-35 – Luke 4:38-44, Luke 5:1-16 – Psalm 37:1-9

Num 16:31-35

As soon as he finished saying all this, the ground under them split apart and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them and their households, and all those associated with Korah, together with their possessions. They went down alive into the realm of the dead, with everything they owned; the earth closed over them, and they perished and were gone from the community. At their cries, all the Israelites around them fled, shouting, “The earth is going to swallow us too!”

And fire came out from the Lord and consumed the 250 men who were offering the incense.

WOW!

I mean just…. wow. You couldn’t make this up. This is one of those events that I don’t even know how to react when reading it. I must admit, I do not understand it – that the very earth opened up and shallowed them.

This is the sort of passage, that if we were not reading through the bible in a year… we’d probably never preach on.

But what it does tell me is this – sin is destructive and God will not stand for it. Sometimes the picture we have of God doesn’t fit with what we read in scripture. Why? Because we lack understanding. We wonder how a God of love can do this, but when we do that we are mistaken. Yes, God is love – but we cannot take one characteristic of God and elevate it at the expense of the others. He is also a God of Justice, Holiness is all powerful. We’d do well to remember that… no I don’t think God would open up the earth to shallow us like this today, we are living under a new covenant – but nonetheless, sin is serious – rebellion is serious and must be treated as such.

Luke 4:42-44

At daybreak, Jesus went out to a solitary place. The people were looking for him and when they came to where he was, they tried to keep him from leaving them. But he said, “I must proclaim the good news of the kingdom of God to the other towns also, because that is why I was sent.” And he kept on preaching in the synagogues of Judea.

People really appreciated the ministry of Jesus. So much so, they didn’t want Him to leave… they wanted Him all to themselves.

But Jesus knew He must go to the other towns too – because His message was for everyone. Sometimes our enthusiasm can become a hinderance. Sometimes our experience of church becomes all about what we can get from it. That’s not what it’s for. We must not get self centred with the gospel but remember it’s for everyone.

Ps 37:7

Be still before the Lord

and wait patiently for him;

do not fret when people succeed in their ways,

when they carry out their wicked schemes.

It’s easy to fret when people seem to succeed when they plot against you. Just looking at the world around us, and how sinful lifestyles are so prevalent… again it’s easy to fret.

But God doesn’t want us to do that. He wants us to be still and wait patiently. Because that involves trust… and God is after your trust.

We don’t have to learn how to worry…. but we do have to learn how to trust.

Be still…. and practice that trust.