The people made a golden calf at Mt. Sinai and worshiped a metal statue. They exchanged their glorious God for a statue of a bull that eats grass. They forgot the God Who saved them, Who had done great things in Egypt and amazing things by the Red Sea. So God said He would destroy them. But Moses, His chosen one, stood before Him and stopped God's anger from destroying them.
Then they refused to go into the beautiful land of Canaan. They did not believe what God had promised. They grumbled in their tents and did not obey the Lord. So He swore to them that they would die in the desert. (Verses 19-26)
God shows His anger because some knowledge of Him has been made clear to them. Yes, God has shown Himself to them. There are things about Him that people cannot see--His eternal power and all the things that make Him God. But since the beginning of the world these things have been easy to understand by what God has made. So people have no excuse for the bad things they do. They knew God but did not give glory to God or thank Him. Their thinking became useless. Their foolish minds were filled with darkness. They said they were wise, but they became fools. They traded the glory of God Who lives forever for the worship of idols made to look like earthly people, birds, animals and snakes...they traded the truth of God for a lie. They worshiped and served what had been created instead of the God Who created those things, Who should be praised forever. Amen. Romans 1
I like to think of myself as somewhat creative. Very right-brained. Although I hope the left side of my brain kicks in sometimes to bring some rationality into the process. I've written plays, books, poems and blogs. I've sewn dresses, slacks and Pink Lady jackets. I've landscaped several yards and decorated a few homes. But the most creative thing I've ever done had little to do with me and everything to do God. The miracle happened in my womb. Three times. And the beautiful results, of course, are my children. When they were little, I nursed them, wiped and diped them, comforted them and ultimately disciplined them. For a while, I was all they needed. They depended upon me to transition them from sucklings into toddlers and from toddlers to pre-schoolers. It was their father and I who gave them their world view. Who showed them how to live appropriately with others. So imagine how we would've felt if, when they hit kindergarten, they decided we didn't exist. At five years old, what if our kids decided the family dog was smarter than we are? Or the pet turtle?
"That's ridiculous," you say. I think so, too. For one thing, our kids would remain five years old emotionally and mentally if they decided to look elsewhere for sustenance and guidance in their ignorance. I'm doubting the turtle has much to offer a child who's fallen and hurt herself. Besides, there's so much we parents know that our kids can't possibly perceive. For instance, how in the world does a mommy and daddy ever get to the place where they have a house, or learn to drive a car, or are able to provide meals, give advice or prepare children for the dangers of this world? How does a kid navigate life without parents? Poorly. That's how.
The obvious point is that it's just as ridiculous for us to look to an idol to guide us as it is for a kid to ask her dog for life lessons and sustenance. And for the parent, whose little child has decided he no longer needs his daddy, the blow is crushing. And the decision deadly. I love our children more than anything on Earth. They're so precious to me I can't really articulate it. And so are we to our Father. Out of the abundance of His love and grace, He has welcomed us into His family. Made us joint heirs with Christ. Cried out a benediction over us by the power of the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 1). Our God adores us. In much the same way as I adore my children. By the power of His brilliant and imaginative mind, God pulled up mountains and dug out oceans, dotted the hillsides with sheep and mustangs, wildflowers and rushing waterfalls, and flung the heavens with stars, planets and galaxies past our ability to truly fathom. The Creator engineered DNA to hold in one cell all that unlocks each divinely different person who ever lived. "Look," He cries. "Behold your God!" What a letdown when we choose heroin, relationship, power, or an actual statue of a false god instead! When, in our desire to hold ourselves accountable to no one higher than ourselves, we trade His glory for our next drink. When we talk to turtles while the glorious God sits waiting for us to recognize not only His might, but His heart.
No wonder we don't believe His promises. Serpents and cows don't deliver. God is too lofty for us once we've worshiped the bull that eats grass. Hearts too tied to this life miss the weightiness of the bigger plan. Finally wish to die and be turned to dust--and that is all. Our one time around then gone. Or perhaps we come back as a cow...or insect...or some other nonsense that flies in the face of all the God of Everything created us to know. By looking around. By understanding that design smacks of a Designer. That with such brilliance comes wisdom too vast for our little minds. Sovereignty too scary for our self will. Grace too great to cover our wizened, crippled lives. Better to medicate than meditate. For a God so big must demand more than we have energy to obey. And the heart of the Father is crushed as we seek the face of a turtle so as not to be too intimidated by the face of God.
He did what a good Father does. Came into the mess that is our lives and walked it with us. Showed us that magnificence could endure the mundane in order for us to actually see what He is like. Fulfilled the promise, not for a trip to Canaan, but to life eternal. Yet some still do not believe the story. Will follow lesser gods into a lesser kingdom. It is our choice to sit in our tents and grumble or follow with God-breathed faith our Creator to heights not available when we are foolish enough to think any earthly thing can match joy unspeakable and full of glory. And the Father weeps to see us trade that for the addictions we think keep us sane. Thus believing the lie when the Truth has, from the very beginning, sought to awe us with His glory.
Then they refused to go into the beautiful land of Canaan. They did not believe what God had promised. They grumbled in their tents and did not obey the Lord. So He swore to them that they would die in the desert. (Verses 19-26)
God shows His anger because some knowledge of Him has been made clear to them. Yes, God has shown Himself to them. There are things about Him that people cannot see--His eternal power and all the things that make Him God. But since the beginning of the world these things have been easy to understand by what God has made. So people have no excuse for the bad things they do. They knew God but did not give glory to God or thank Him. Their thinking became useless. Their foolish minds were filled with darkness. They said they were wise, but they became fools. They traded the glory of God Who lives forever for the worship of idols made to look like earthly people, birds, animals and snakes...they traded the truth of God for a lie. They worshiped and served what had been created instead of the God Who created those things, Who should be praised forever. Amen. Romans 1
I like to think of myself as somewhat creative. Very right-brained. Although I hope the left side of my brain kicks in sometimes to bring some rationality into the process. I've written plays, books, poems and blogs. I've sewn dresses, slacks and Pink Lady jackets. I've landscaped several yards and decorated a few homes. But the most creative thing I've ever done had little to do with me and everything to do God. The miracle happened in my womb. Three times. And the beautiful results, of course, are my children. When they were little, I nursed them, wiped and diped them, comforted them and ultimately disciplined them. For a while, I was all they needed. They depended upon me to transition them from sucklings into toddlers and from toddlers to pre-schoolers. It was their father and I who gave them their world view. Who showed them how to live appropriately with others. So imagine how we would've felt if, when they hit kindergarten, they decided we didn't exist. At five years old, what if our kids decided the family dog was smarter than we are? Or the pet turtle?
"That's ridiculous," you say. I think so, too. For one thing, our kids would remain five years old emotionally and mentally if they decided to look elsewhere for sustenance and guidance in their ignorance. I'm doubting the turtle has much to offer a child who's fallen and hurt herself. Besides, there's so much we parents know that our kids can't possibly perceive. For instance, how in the world does a mommy and daddy ever get to the place where they have a house, or learn to drive a car, or are able to provide meals, give advice or prepare children for the dangers of this world? How does a kid navigate life without parents? Poorly. That's how.
The obvious point is that it's just as ridiculous for us to look to an idol to guide us as it is for a kid to ask her dog for life lessons and sustenance. And for the parent, whose little child has decided he no longer needs his daddy, the blow is crushing. And the decision deadly. I love our children more than anything on Earth. They're so precious to me I can't really articulate it. And so are we to our Father. Out of the abundance of His love and grace, He has welcomed us into His family. Made us joint heirs with Christ. Cried out a benediction over us by the power of the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 1). Our God adores us. In much the same way as I adore my children. By the power of His brilliant and imaginative mind, God pulled up mountains and dug out oceans, dotted the hillsides with sheep and mustangs, wildflowers and rushing waterfalls, and flung the heavens with stars, planets and galaxies past our ability to truly fathom. The Creator engineered DNA to hold in one cell all that unlocks each divinely different person who ever lived. "Look," He cries. "Behold your God!" What a letdown when we choose heroin, relationship, power, or an actual statue of a false god instead! When, in our desire to hold ourselves accountable to no one higher than ourselves, we trade His glory for our next drink. When we talk to turtles while the glorious God sits waiting for us to recognize not only His might, but His heart.
No wonder we don't believe His promises. Serpents and cows don't deliver. God is too lofty for us once we've worshiped the bull that eats grass. Hearts too tied to this life miss the weightiness of the bigger plan. Finally wish to die and be turned to dust--and that is all. Our one time around then gone. Or perhaps we come back as a cow...or insect...or some other nonsense that flies in the face of all the God of Everything created us to know. By looking around. By understanding that design smacks of a Designer. That with such brilliance comes wisdom too vast for our little minds. Sovereignty too scary for our self will. Grace too great to cover our wizened, crippled lives. Better to medicate than meditate. For a God so big must demand more than we have energy to obey. And the heart of the Father is crushed as we seek the face of a turtle so as not to be too intimidated by the face of God.
He did what a good Father does. Came into the mess that is our lives and walked it with us. Showed us that magnificence could endure the mundane in order for us to actually see what He is like. Fulfilled the promise, not for a trip to Canaan, but to life eternal. Yet some still do not believe the story. Will follow lesser gods into a lesser kingdom. It is our choice to sit in our tents and grumble or follow with God-breathed faith our Creator to heights not available when we are foolish enough to think any earthly thing can match joy unspeakable and full of glory. And the Father weeps to see us trade that for the addictions we think keep us sane. Thus believing the lie when the Truth has, from the very beginning, sought to awe us with His glory.
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