God will be patient with us…to a point.  That limit involves His holiness.  God is set apart, that’s what holiness is.  During this Lent 2021 devotional series, But God…, let’s remember when we take it upon ourselves to encroach into places where we have no business, no right, no authority, no purity to enter, the hammer falls…it’s punishment.  Or worse, like in the case of today’s passage, God strikes them dead.

The Philistines had captured the ark of the Lord and decided to try to manipulate it to their benefit.  They found out that, unlike their fake gods, our God can’t be manipulated by man.  The result? Plagues upon them so long as God’s ark remained in their custody.  So, they voluntarily decided to get rid of the thing.

1 Samuel 6:1 When the ark of the LORD had been in Philistine territory seven months, 2 the Philistines called for the priests and the diviners and said, “What shall we do with the ark of the LORD? Tell us how we should send it back to its place.” 3 They answered, “If you return the ark of the god of Israel, do not send it back to him without a gift; by all means send a guilt offering to him. Then you will be healed, and you will know why his hand has not been lifted from you.” 4 The Philistines asked, “What guilt offering should we send to him?” They replied, “Five gold tumors and five gold rats, according to the number of the Philistine rulers, because the same plague has struck both you and your rulers.”

It didn’t matter how wealthy or powerful one was…whether it was the rulers or the subjects, the same plagues descended because there was guilt aplenty.  The rulers represented their subjects (stop and note how an entire culture can reap the consequences of leadership decisions).  The whole story is bizarre.  Read 1 Samuel 6:5-12.  They sent the ark on its way on a cart, unattended, with the guilt offering in a chest beside it.  Kind of like putting it on the Israelites’ doorstep, ringing the doorbell and running.  But they kept watch.

The Israelites at Beth Shemesh (vs. 13-18) were thrilled at its return and the Philistines one can only imagine were glad to get rid of that cursed thing.  The Israelites chopped the cart’s wood, killed the cows, and offered a burnt offering to God … exactly what they should do to respect the holiness of God when it comes to the ark.  Until (Uh oh!!!) 70 of them decided to go where they were not allowed, and they peeked inside.  Boom, the hammer falls.  Just like in Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark.

“19 But God struck down some of the inhabitants of Beth Shemesh, putting seventy of them to death because they looked into the ark of the LORD. The people mourned because of the heavy blow the LORD had dealt them. 20 And the people of Beth Shemesh asked, “Who can stand in the presence of the LORD, this holy God? To whom will the ark go up from here?” (1 Samuel 6:1-20)

Instead of regarding God’s holiness as sacred, their irreverent curiosity surpassed their respect for God, and now they view the ark as a curse upon them too.  But you see, God didn’t curse them, He only punished the insolence of those who disrespected His holiness.  We would be wise to respect God with holy fear.  “Exalt the LORD our God and worship at his holy mountain, for the LORD our God is holy” (Psalm 99:9)

Father God, we praise You and thank You that You are a holy God. We ask, Lord, that through the power of Your Holy Spirit, You would convict each of us for the ways in which we disrespect Your holiness (whether subtle or blatant) … ways in which we treat You as common … ways in which we elevate man above You … ways in which we disregard the sacrifices that You have made so that we could have eternal life with You.  We ask, Lord Jesus, that You would forgive us and that the blessing that You promise to those who love You would be our focus.  May the holiness that You display guide and guard our actions. May we never take matters of faith or purity lightly for we know through Your Word what a terrible sacrifice You have made.  Lord Jesus, please don’t ever let us take for granted what You have done.  We are eternally grateful for who You are and for the sacrifices made.  In Jesus’ Name. Amen.

===

If you’re already signed up on my Home Page sidebar to receive posts, you’ll get the 2022 Lent Devotionals automatically. Or you can “Like” Seminary Gal on Facebook and they’ll be delivered to your Facebook news feed. If you haven’t signed up, today is a great day to do so. Advent and Lenten devotionals remain among my most popular offerings. You don’t want to miss this encounter with God to prepare your heart for Easter! Understanding that prior years’ devotionals continue to minister, you may want to have access to a full series ahead of time:

• Lent 2013 looked at The Letter to the Romans: Paul’s Masterpiece to reclaim foundations of our Christian heritage and began February 13, 2013.
•  A very special and ever popular offering was Lent 2014’s Be Still and Know that I AM God  which can be obtained through the archives beginning in March 2014. 
• Lent 2015 began on February 18, 2015 with a series entitled With Christ in the Upper Room: Final Preparations.  We explored what is often called “The Upper Room Discourse” found in John chapters 13-17. 
• ReKindle, the Lent 2016 series, began on February 10, 2016 and encouraged us to rekindle our spiritual lives.
• Light: There’s Nothing Like It was the 2017 Lent series and explored this metaphor often used to portray Christ.  It is archived beginning March 1, 2017.
• Lent 2018, we explored the questions of Pi and Chi (the Greek letter beginning the word Christos, which means Christ, Messiah, the Anointed One). We asked and answered the questions “Why?” from the movie Life of Pi as we discovered the uniqueness of Jesus Christ in a world of many faiths.
• Lent 2019 gave us a deeper window into Easter “More to the Easter Story” since we miss so much when we rely only on a superficial understanding of the work of Christ. These devotionals are archived beginning March 6, 2019.
• Our Lent 2020 devotional series offered prayer points surrounding “Be Thou My Vision” and were aimed at helping us to see God for who He is. The full set of devotionals are archived beginning February 26, 2020.
• The theme for 2021 Lent Devotionals was how to live between two worlds while waiting for Christ’s return. Into the gap between the City of Man and its fixation upon sin and the City of God with its demand for holiness, two words minister peace: But God. Praise God for His intervention! They are archived beginning February 17, 2021.

“But you promised!”  How many times have any of us uttered that when someone didn’t do what we wanted them to?  With God, it’s different. 

When God promises something, He doesn’t owe us anything:
not our plan, not our hopes, not our timetable,
and most certainly not apart from Him. 
He owes us only His plan on His timetable. 

Such is the case with the patriarchs as Stephen (of martyrdom fame) reminds us in Acts 7.  He begins with Abraham all the way to Christ Jesus to prove God’s plan happens faithfully on God’s timetable.

Acts 7:3 ‘Leave your country and your people,’ God said, ‘and go to the land I will show you.’ 4 “So he left the land of the Chaldeans and settled in Harran. After the death of his father, God sent him to this land where you are now living. 5 He gave him no inheritance here, not even enough ground to set his foot on. But God promised him that he and his descendants after him would possess the land, even though at that time Abraham had no child.

But God promised… Abraham an inheritance, just not now.

6 God spoke to him in this way: ‘For four hundred years your descendants will be strangers in a country not their own, and they will be enslaved and mistreated. 7 But I will punish the nation they serve as slaves,’ God said, ‘and afterward they will come out of that country and worship me in this place.’

But God … let them be purified by suffering.

8 Then he gave Abraham the covenant of circumcision. And Abraham became the father of Isaac and circumcised him eight days after his birth. Later Isaac became the father of Jacob, and Jacob became the father of the twelve patriarchs. 9 “Because the patriarchs were jealous of Joseph, they sold him as a slave into Egypt.

But God … doesn’t design gratuitous suffering.  It was part of God’s plan for the community and for Joseph personally. 

“But God was with him 10 and rescued him from all his troubles. He gave Joseph wisdom and enabled him to gain the goodwill of Pharaoh king of Egypt. So Pharaoh made him ruler over Egypt and all his palace. 11 “Then a famine struck all Egypt and Canaan, bringing great suffering, and our ancestors could not find food. 12 When Jacob heard that there was grain in Egypt, he sent our forefathers on their first visit. 13 On their second visit, Joseph told his brothers who he was, and Pharaoh learned about Joseph’s family. 14 After this, Joseph sent for his father Jacob and his whole family, seventy-five in all. 15 Then Jacob went down to Egypt, where he and our ancestors died.”

So what do we do with promises yet unfulfilled? 
Doubt God?  Reject Him? 
Stop believing? 

Scripture tells us what is going on.  “The Lord is not slow in keeping His promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance. But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything done in it will be laid bare. Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming. That day will bring about the destruction of the heavens by fire, and the elements will melt in the heat. But in keeping with His promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, where righteousness dwells. (2 Peter 3:9-13)

Thank You, Lord, that Your plan didn’t end with a promise delayed, a Last Day, or even with the empty tomb.  Just like a second visit where Joseph revealed himself, Your Son Jesus will have a second visit, a second Advent, a Second Coming to us.  So Father, we prepare our hearts during Lent 2021 with awareness that But for God, our hope would not exist. So we acknowledge Jesus’ first coming and culmination in crucifixion, burial, and resurrection…so that we may be ready for His Second Coming.  Lord God, purify us now.  Give to us the gift of faith so that we might be found faithfully watching, prepared for His Return.  In Christ and for His glory, Amen.

===

If you’re already signed up on my Home Page sidebar to receive posts, you’ll get the 2022 Lent Devotionals automatically. Or you can “Like” Seminary Gal on Facebook and they’ll be delivered to your Facebook news feed. If you haven’t signed up, today is a great day to do so. Advent and Lenten devotionals remain among my most popular offerings. You don’t want to miss this encounter with God to prepare your heart for Easter! Understanding that prior years’ devotionals continue to minister, you may want to have access to a full series ahead of time:

• Lent 2013 looked at The Letter to the Romans: Paul’s Masterpiece to reclaim foundations of our Christian heritage and began February 13, 2013.
•  A very special and ever popular offering was Lent 2014’s Be Still and Know that I AM God  which can be obtained through the archives beginning in March 2014. 
• Lent 2015 began on February 18, 2015 with a series entitled With Christ in the Upper Room: Final Preparations.  We explored what is often called “The Upper Room Discourse” found in John chapters 13-17. 
• ReKindle, the Lent 2016 series, began on February 10, 2016 and encouraged us to rekindle our spiritual lives.
• Light: There’s Nothing Like It was the 2017 Lent series and explored this metaphor often used to portray Christ.  It is archived beginning March 1, 2017.
• Lent 2018, we explored the questions of Pi and Chi (the Greek letter beginning the word Christos, which means Christ, Messiah, the Anointed One). We asked and answered the questions “Why?” from the movie Life of Pi as we discovered the uniqueness of Jesus Christ in a world of many faiths.
• Lent 2019 gave us a deeper window into Easter “More to the Easter Story” since we miss so much when we rely only on a superficial understanding of the work of Christ. These devotionals are archived beginning March 6, 2019.
• Our Lent 2020 devotional series offered prayer points surrounding “Be Thou My Vision” and were aimed at helping us to see God for who He is. The full set of devotionals are archived beginning February 26, 2020.
• The theme for 2021 Lent Devotionals was how to live between two worlds while waiting for Christ’s return. Into the gap between the City of Man and its fixation upon sin and the City of God with its demand for holiness, two words minister peace: But God. Praise God for His intervention! They are archived beginning February 17, 2021.

This year’s Lent Devotional Series “But God…” resumes tomorrow after today’s Sabbath rest to meditate and worship.

Today’s meditation focus:
Our days are all in the Lord’s hands.

Psalm 113:3 From the rising of the sun to the place where it sets, the name of the LORD is to be praised. 4 The LORD is exalted over all the nations, his glory above the heavens. 5 Who is like the LORD our God, the One who sits enthroned on high, 6 who stoops down to look on the heavens and the earth?

The Apostle Paul had an amazing past.  He talks about all his qualifications in Philippians 3:5-6 and 2 Corinthians 11:22-12:10.  What’s even more amazing is that he considers it all a loss and displays the humility of a man—but for God’s redemption of his past—who would have had no future to boast about.  Let this sink in during Lent 2021.

Hell is every man’s destination but for Jesus Christ. 
And hell brings no bragging rights.

Paul, for all of his qualifications, learned that those were only useful when redeemed for Christ as fuel for a great testimony. To Paul, everything was for evangelism, for the Gospel, for the sake of Christ.

He tells his story repeatedly.  One of my favorites is Acts 26:10-19 when he’s testifying before King Agrippa and Festus.  It’s one of my favorites because God presses irony in the face of the world.

Acts 26:19 “So then, King Agrippa, I was not disobedient to the vision from heaven.  20 First to those in Damascus, then to those in Jerusalem and in all Judea, and then to the Gentiles, I preached that they should repent and turn to God and demonstrate their repentance by their deeds.  21 That is why some Jews seized me in the temple courts and tried to kill me.  22 But God has helped me to this very day; so I stand here and testify to small and great alike. I am saying nothing beyond what the prophets and Moses said would happen– 23 that the Messiah would suffer and, as the first to rise from the dead, would bring the message of light to his own people and to the Gentiles.”

Ironically neither Festus nor Agrippa believed his testimony at the time (vs 24-31)
but as they leave the room, they say two of the
world’s most ironic and wrong statements of God and government. 

“This man is not doing anything that deserves death or imprisonment.”  Agrippa said to Festus, “This man could have been set free if he had not appealed to Caesar.” (Acts 26:31-32). 

Weren’t they listening?  We all deserve death as a consequence of sin.  We cannot be truly set free by Caesar or any other government official.  Only Jesus can do that.  Only Jesus can redeem our past, pay for what we deserved, and set us free indeed for a future worth bragging about, and worth telling others about.

Lord Jesus, sometimes we are amazed at the words of Scripture because of the irony that is present in what we say among men.  We thank You and praise You that You redeem our past, that You use our flaws, our faults, even the things we’ve done that have grieved You, and by redeeming us, You put these things to work in our lives.  It is our humanity in need of rescue that gives us a testimony to Your great goodness, to Your grace, and Your mercy.  How we praise You, Father, for the forgiveness that comes by the shed blood of Your Son Jesus.  Oh, Father, during this season of Lent may we be mindful that it is human sin that compelled Jesus to the cross out of love for You and only by His shed blood can we hope to know eternal life.  To You be the glory, Lord, now and through the ages. Amen.

===

If you’re already signed up on my Home Page sidebar to receive posts, you’ll get the 2021 Lent Devotionals automatically. Or you can “Like” Seminary Gal on Facebook and they’ll be delivered to your Facebook news feed. If you haven’t signed up, today is a great day to do so. Advent and Lenten devotionals remain among my most popular offerings. You don’t want to miss this encounter with God to prepare your heart for Easter! Understanding that prior years’ devotionals continue to minister, you may want to have access to a full series ahead of time:

• Lent 2013 looked at The Letter to the Romans: Paul’s Masterpiece to reclaim foundations of our Christian heritage and began February 13, 2013.
•  A very special and ever popular offering was Lent 2014’s Be Still and Know that I AM God  which can be obtained through the archives beginning in March 2014. 
• Lent 2015 began on February 18, 2015 with a series entitled With Christ in the Upper Room: Final Preparations.  We explored what is often called “The Upper Room Discourse” found in John chapters 13-17. 
• ReKindle, the Lent 2016 series, began on February 10, 2016 and encouraged us to rekindle our spiritual lives.
• Light: There’s Nothing Like It was the 2017 Lent series and explored this metaphor often used to portray Christ.  It is archived beginning March 1, 2017.
• Lent 2018, we explored the questions of Pi and Chi (the Greek letter beginning the word Christos, which means Christ, Messiah, the Anointed One). We asked and answered the questions “Why?” from the movie Life of Pi as we discovered the uniqueness of Jesus Christ in a world of many faiths.
• Lent 2019 gave us a deeper window into Easter “More to the Easter Story” since we miss so much when we rely only on a superficial understanding of the work of Christ. These devotionals are archived beginning March 6, 2019.
• Our Lent 2020 devotional series offered prayer points surrounding “Be Thou My Vision” and were aimed at helping us to see God for who He is. The full set of devotionals are archived beginning February 26, 2020.

Looking at God has long been a certain death sentence.  See God and die.  Boom!  But seventy-four men escaped that death sentence because God called them.  And God preserves where He calls.

Exodus 24:1 Then the LORD said to Moses, “Come up to the LORD, you and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel. You are to worship at a distance, 2 but Moses alone is to approach the LORD; the others must not come near. And the people may not come up with him.” 3 When Moses went and told the people all the LORD’s words and laws, they responded with one voice, “Everything the LORD has said we will do.”  4 Moses then wrote down everything the LORD had said. He got up early the next morning and built an altar at the foot of the mountain and set up twelve stone pillars representing the twelve tribes of Israel.  5 Then he sent young Israelite men, and they offered burnt offerings and sacrificed young bulls as fellowship offerings to the LORD.  6 Moses took half of the blood and put it in bowls, and the other half he splashed against the altar.  7 Then he took the Book of the Covenant and read it to the people. They responded, “We will do everything the LORD has said; we will obey.”   8 Moses then took the blood, sprinkled it on the people and said, “This is the blood of the covenant that the LORD has made with you in accordance with all these words.”

9 Moses and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and the seventy elders of Israel went up 10 and saw the God of Israel. Under his feet was something like a pavement made of lapis lazuli, as bright blue as the sky. 11 But God did not raise his hand against these leaders of the Israelites; they saw God, and they ate and drank.

Since the Garden of Eden, we’ve all been under a certain death sentence.  We’re mortal.  There is no escaping death.  But I love the pattern given in Exodus 24 above.  Where God calls, He preserves. 

God makes the rules.
He can suspend the rules or change everything to remake the rules.
Because of what Jesus Christ—the Word made flesh, Emmanuel, God with us–has done, we can see God and still live…and live eternally. 
Praise God!

Thank You Father for Your Son Jesus Christ!  Thank You that He is the eternal Son of God within the Triune Godhead.  We praise You that all the disciples could see Jesus in His lifetime, and now by faith His disciples today will eternally be in Your presence.  Thank You that there will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain but we will rejoice at the marriage supper of the Lamb.  We will live and live eternally because of what Jesus Christ has done.  We praise You, Father.  We praise You in the Name of Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior. Amen.

===

If you’re already signed up on my Home Page sidebar to receive posts, you’ll get the 2021 Lent Devotionals automatically. Or you can “Like” Seminary Gal on Facebook and they’ll be delivered to your Facebook news feed. If you haven’t signed up, today is a great day to do so. Advent and Lenten devotionals remain among my most popular offerings. You don’t want to miss this encounter with God to prepare your heart for Easter! Understanding that prior years’ devotionals continue to minister, you may want to have access to a full series ahead of time:

• Lent 2013 looked at The Letter to the Romans: Paul’s Masterpiece to reclaim foundations of our Christian heritage and began February 13, 2013.
•  A very special and ever popular offering was Lent 2014’s Be Still and Know that I AM God  which can be obtained through the archives beginning in March 2014. 
• Lent 2015 began on February 18, 2015 with a series entitled With Christ in the Upper Room: Final Preparations.  We explored what is often called “The Upper Room Discourse” found in John chapters 13-17. 
• ReKindle, the Lent 2016 series, began on February 10, 2016 and encouraged us to rekindle our spiritual lives.
• Light: There’s Nothing Like It was the 2017 Lent series and explored this metaphor often used to portray Christ.  It is archived beginning March 1, 2017.
• Lent 2018, we explored the questions of Pi and Chi (the Greek letter beginning the word Christos, which means Christ, Messiah, the Anointed One). We asked and answered the questions “Why?” from the movie Life of Pi as we discovered the uniqueness of Jesus Christ in a world of many faiths.
• Lent 2019 gave us a deeper window into Easter “More to the Easter Story” since we miss so much when we rely only on a superficial understanding of the work of Christ. These devotionals are archived beginning March 6, 2019.
• Our Lent 2020 devotional series offered prayer points surrounding “Be Thou My Vision” and were aimed at helping us to see God for who He is. The full set of devotionals are archived beginning February 26, 2020.

Start to talk about “guardian angels” and people light up with fanciful stories about how they have their own personal angel like Clarence from It’s a Wonderful Life.  Their personal angel hangs around 24/7 like a designated spiritual sidekick, ready to give them near parking spots and protect them from car crashes and other calamities.  Are angels ministering spirit beings?  Yes.  Do I have my own personal one?  I don’t know.  I don’t have a drafty old house or Zuzu’s petals either. 

But I do know that God protects those He loves.  How do I know?  The Bible tells me so.

Psalm 34:15 The eyes of the LORD are on the righteous, and his ears are attentive to their cry; 16 but the face of the LORD is against those who do evil, to blot out their name from the earth. 17 The righteous cry out, and the LORD hears them; he delivers them from all their troubles. 18 The LORD is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit. 19 The righteous person may have many troubles, but the LORD delivers him from them all; 20 he protects all his bones, not one of them will be broken. 21 Evil will slay the wicked; the foes of the righteous will be condemned. 22 The LORD will rescue his servants; no one who takes refuge in him will be condemned.

Never was this more the case than when David was hiding in the wilderness because Saul (present king) knew that David was anointed next king. Saul wanted David dead to keep that from happening.  God had something else in mind.

“David stayed in the wilderness strongholds and in the hills of the Desert of Ziph. Day after day Saul searched for him, but God did not give David into his hands” (1 Samuel 23:14).

When it feels like the world is against you, maybe it is.  During Lent 2021, we are reminded of this assurance in our troubled world: “But God…” protects those He loves in all ways required to bring them safely to the gates of eternal life and to do His will.  No one can snatch us out of His hands (John 10:27-30)

Lord, I thank You that Your eyes are on the righteous and Your ears are attentive to our cry.  We praise You that You deliver us from our troubles… that You are close to us when we are discouraged… and You save us when we are completely crushed in spirit.  Thank You that You rescue Your servants!  What a precious promise that no one who takes refuge in You will ever be condemned!  We give You glory! Amen.

===

If you’re already signed up on my Home Page sidebar to receive posts, you’ll get the 2022 Lent Devotionals automatically. Or you can “Like” Seminary Gal on Facebook and they’ll be delivered to your Facebook news feed. If you haven’t signed up, today is a great day to do so. Advent and Lenten devotionals remain among my most popular offerings. You don’t want to miss this encounter with God to prepare your heart for Easter! Understanding that prior years’ devotionals continue to minister, you may want to have access to a full series ahead of time:

• Lent 2013 looked at The Letter to the Romans: Paul’s Masterpiece to reclaim foundations of our Christian heritage and began February 13, 2013.
•  A very special and ever popular offering was Lent 2014’s Be Still and Know that I AM God  which can be obtained through the archives beginning in March 2014. 
• Lent 2015 began on February 18, 2015 with a series entitled With Christ in the Upper Room: Final Preparations.  We explored what is often called “The Upper Room Discourse” found in John chapters 13-17. 
• ReKindle, the Lent 2016 series, began on February 10, 2016 and encouraged us to rekindle our spiritual lives.
• Light: There’s Nothing Like It was the 2017 Lent series and explored this metaphor often used to portray Christ.  It is archived beginning March 1, 2017.
• Lent 2018, we explored the questions of Pi and Chi (the Greek letter beginning the word Christos, which means Christ, Messiah, the Anointed One). We asked and answered the questions “Why?” from the movie Life of Pi as we discovered the uniqueness of Jesus Christ in a world of many faiths.
• Lent 2019 gave us a deeper window into Easter “More to the Easter Story” since we miss so much when we rely only on a superficial understanding of the work of Christ. These devotionals are archived beginning March 6, 2019.
• Our Lent 2020 devotional series offered prayer points surrounding “Be Thou My Vision” and were aimed at helping us to see God for who He is. The full set of devotionals are archived beginning February 26, 2020.
• The theme for 2021 Lent Devotionals was how to live between two worlds while waiting for Christ’s return. Into the gap between the City of Man and its fixation upon sin and the City of God with its demand for holiness, two words minister peace: But God. Praise God for His intervention! They are archived beginning February 17, 2021.

God doesn’t like it when we take a “Maybe God will change His mind about it” approach.  Ranks right up there with the “A little bit won’t be a problem”
nibbling at the boundaries of sin. 
God isn’t lukewarm about important matters and if He says it, He means it. 

A guy named Balaam learned it the hard way.  He was internationally renowned as a “diviner,” a spiritual guru whose prophetic services were sought when someone wanted to hear from a god and didn’t really care which god was speaking to him.  Yeah, we’re in the Old Testament today but don’t let that scare you.

Our God wanted to make it plain He had chosen to bless Israel.  The king of Moab, named Balak (not a God-fan) wanted Balaam to curse Israel out of fear.  What happens in Numbers 22-24 results in Balaam being the poster-boy for being a moral, ethical, and religious reprobate.

Balaam starts off okay (even though he doesn’t believe God is God, but only A god). 

Numbers 22:12 “But God said to Balaam, “Do not go with them. You must not put a curse on those people, because they are blessed.”   13 The next morning Balaam got up and said to Balak’s officials, “Go back to your own country, for the LORD has refused to let me go with you.”

But then he begins to waver when outnumbered and outranked…and “incentivized”. 

“14 So the Moabite officials returned to Balak and said, “Balaam refused to come with us.” 15 Then Balak sent other officials, more numerous and more distinguished than the first. 16 They came to Balaam and said: “This is what Balak son of Zippor says: Do not let anything keep you from coming to me, 17 because I will reward you handsomely and do whatever you say. Come and put a curse on these people for me.” 18 But Balaam answered them, “Even if Balak gave me all the silver and gold in his palace, I could not do anything great or small to go beyond the command of the LORD my God. 19 Now spend the night here so that I can find out what else the LORD will tell me.”

What??? Read that last line again.  What else?  Seriously, like God wasn’t clear enough?  Balaam knew he wasn’t supposed to go curse those whom God had blessed.   And he’s supposed to be a seer, a diviner, someone who can see spiritual things, but is blind as a bat.  God then permits him to go to prove the point…that even a donkey (whose liver would be read by such a diviner) is more of a seer of spiritual things.  Read Numbers 22:20-34 for the bizarre story of a talking donkey saving the life of this diviner by turning aside.

31 Then the LORD opened Balaam’s eyes, and he saw the angel of the LORD standing in the road with his sword drawn. So he bowed low and fell facedown. 32 The angel of the LORD asked him, “Why have you beaten your donkey these three times? I have come here to oppose you because your path is a reckless one before me.  33 The donkey saw me and turned away from me these three times. If it had not turned away, I would certainly have killed you by now, but I would have spared it.”  34 Balaam said to the angel of the LORD, “I have sinned. I did not realize you were standing in the road to oppose me. Now if you are displeased, I will go back.”  (Numbers 22:12-34)

The path of ignoring and rebelling against God is a reckless one whether you’re an internationally renowned diviner, a Congressman, a Hollywood celebrity, the CEO of Twitter, or anyone with a pulse.  Sometimes we are on a reckless path, displeasing God, hellbent on evildoing, but God, who is both merciful and just, may choose to stand in our way of self-destruction.

Let’s pray.  Lord Jesus sometimes it seems like the last ones to catch on are the ones who are the most blatantly reckless.  Those in their vicinity can point out that they are rebelling, but their eyes are so blind, their ears are so closed, that they will not accept any kind of insight that points to something other than what they want.   We praise You and thank You for the times You stand in the way of wickedness.  You stand in the way of reckless actions that would be self-destructive whether we see it or not.  You stand in the way of faithlessness which You do for our benefit.  Thank You for this weird story in the Bible to remind us that You do not change Your mind on critical matters of righteous living.  You are indeed sovereign, indeed holy, and indeed the only true God. Amen.

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If you’re already signed up on my Home Page sidebar to receive posts, you’ll get the 2022 Lent Devotionals automatically. Or you can “Like” Seminary Gal on Facebook and they’ll be delivered to your Facebook news feed. If you haven’t signed up, today is a great day to do so. Advent and Lenten devotionals remain among my most popular offerings. You don’t want to miss this encounter with God to prepare your heart for Easter! Understanding that prior years’ devotionals continue to minister, you may want to have access to a full series ahead of time:

• Lent 2013 looked at The Letter to the Romans: Paul’s Masterpiece to reclaim foundations of our Christian heritage and began February 13, 2013.
•  A very special and ever popular offering was Lent 2014’s Be Still and Know that I AM God  which can be obtained through the archives beginning in March 2014. 
• Lent 2015 began on February 18, 2015 with a series entitled With Christ in the Upper Room: Final Preparations.  We explored what is often called “The Upper Room Discourse” found in John chapters 13-17. 
• ReKindle, the Lent 2016 series, began on February 10, 2016 and encouraged us to rekindle our spiritual lives.
• Light: There’s Nothing Like It was the 2017 Lent series and explored this metaphor often used to portray Christ.  It is archived beginning March 1, 2017.
• Lent 2018, we explored the questions of Pi and Chi (the Greek letter beginning the word Christos, which means Christ, Messiah, the Anointed One). We asked and answered the questions “Why?” from the movie Life of Pi as we discovered the uniqueness of Jesus Christ in a world of many faiths.
• Lent 2019 gave us a deeper window into Easter “More to the Easter Story” since we miss so much when we rely only on a superficial understanding of the work of Christ. These devotionals are archived beginning March 6, 2019.
• Our Lent 2020 devotional series offered prayer points surrounding “Be Thou My Vision” and were aimed at helping us to see God for who He is. The full set of devotionals are archived beginning February 26, 2020.
• The theme for 2021 Lent Devotionals was how to live between two worlds while waiting for Christ’s return. Into the gap between the City of Man and its fixation upon sin and the City of God with its demand for holiness, two words minister peace: But God. Praise God for His intervention! They are archived beginning February 17, 2021.

Odd, isn’t it, that God would be preparing and protecting all of His people by sending one of His own into years of slavery and imprisonment?  In the strange plan of God, what must have seemed like Joseph’s string of bad luck was in fact the very preparation necessary for Joseph’s use to Pharaoh and the protection of God’s people.  Were it not for imprisonment for 3 men (cupbearer, baker, and Joseph), the Pharaoh’s cupbearer would not have had a testimony that involved dream interpretation.

Genesis 41:15 Pharaoh said to Joseph, “I had a dream, and no one can interpret it. But I have heard it said of you that when you hear a dream you can interpret it.”  16 “I cannot do it,” Joseph replied to Pharaoh, “but God will give Pharaoh the answer he desires.” 17 Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, “In my dream I was standing on the bank of the Nile…”

and he goes on to explain the dual dreams.

25 Then Joseph said to Pharaoh, “The dreams of Pharaoh are one and the same. God has revealed to Pharaoh what he is about to do…”

and outlines the famine to come following years of abundance.

32 The reason the dream was given to Pharaoh in two forms is that the matter has been firmly decided by God, and God will do it soon. 33 “And now let Pharaoh look for a discerning and wise man and put him in charge of the land of Egypt. 34 Let Pharaoh appoint commissioners over the land to take a fifth of the harvest of Egypt during the seven years of abundance. 35 They should collect all the food of these good years that are coming and store up the grain under the authority of Pharaoh, to be kept in the cities for food. 36 This food should be held in reserve for the country, to be used during the seven years of famine that will come upon Egypt, so that the country may not be ruined by the famine.” 37 The plan seemed good to Pharaoh and to all his officials. (Gen. 41:15-37)

Time passes and the famine descends, but Egypt has grain…because of a long-lost brother who had been sold into slavery.  The time of reckoning arrives.

Genesis 45:4 Then Joseph said to his brothers, “Come close to me.” When they had done so, he said, “I am your brother Joseph, the one you sold into Egypt! 5 And now, do not be distressed and do not be angry with yourselves for selling me here, because it was to save lives that God sent me ahead of you. 6 For two years now there has been famine in the land, and for the next five years there will be no plowing and reaping. 7 But God sent me ahead of you to preserve for you a remnant on earth and to save your lives by a great deliverance. 8 “So then, it was not you who sent me here, but God.”

The nuances of the journey from point A to point B often make no sense to us in the flow of time.  To the baker, the cupbearer, Joseph, the people of Egypt, and Joseph’s family it might have seemed like nothing but bad luck, total injustice and a world broken beyond repair.  But God…preserves in surprising ways.

Thank you, Father, that Your plans reign supreme.  Ways that make no sense to us, yet in Your will because of Your perfect wisdom, these ways lead perfectly beyond the mountains that obscure our view to the outcome needed.  Thank You that You give us neither what we want nor what we deserve.  Thank You for Your mercy giving us what we need, that by Your grace we are saved! Your surprising outcomes are better than anything we, ourselves, could imagine and for this we give You glory.  Amen.

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If you’re already signed up on my Home Page sidebar to receive posts, you’ll get the 2022 Lent Devotionals automatically. Or you can “Like” Seminary Gal on Facebook and they’ll be delivered to your Facebook news feed. If you haven’t signed up, today is a great day to do so. Advent and Lenten devotionals remain among my most popular offerings. You don’t want to miss this encounter with God to prepare your heart for Easter! Understanding that prior years’ devotionals continue to minister, you may want to have access to a full series ahead of time:

• Lent 2013 looked at The Letter to the Romans: Paul’s Masterpiece to reclaim foundations of our Christian heritage and began February 13, 2013.
•  A very special and ever popular offering was Lent 2014’s Be Still and Know that I AM God  which can be obtained through the archives beginning in March 2014. 
• Lent 2015 began on February 18, 2015 with a series entitled With Christ in the Upper Room: Final Preparations.  We explored what is often called “The Upper Room Discourse” found in John chapters 13-17. 
• ReKindle, the Lent 2016 series, began on February 10, 2016 and encouraged us to rekindle our spiritual lives.
• Light: There’s Nothing Like It was the 2017 Lent series and explored this metaphor often used to portray Christ.  It is archived beginning March 1, 2017.
• Lent 2018, we explored the questions of Pi and Chi (the Greek letter beginning the word Christos, which means Christ, Messiah, the Anointed One). We asked and answered the questions “Why?” from the movie Life of Pi as we discovered the uniqueness of Jesus Christ in a world of many faiths.
• Lent 2019 gave us a deeper window into Easter “More to the Easter Story” since we miss so much when we rely only on a superficial understanding of the work of Christ. These devotionals are archived beginning March 6, 2019.
• Our Lent 2020 devotional series offered prayer points surrounding “Be Thou My Vision” and were aimed at helping us to see God for who He is. The full set of devotionals are archived beginning February 26, 2020.
• The theme for 2021 Lent Devotionals was how to live between two worlds while waiting for Christ’s return. Into the gap between the City of Man and its fixation upon sin and the City of God with its demand for holiness, two words minister peace: But God. Praise God for His intervention! They are archived beginning February 17, 2021.

“But I think it is necessary to send back to you Epaphroditus, my brother, co-worker and fellow soldier, who is also your messenger, whom you sent to take care of my needs. For he longs for all of you and is distressed because you heard he was ill. Indeed he was ill, and almost died. But God had mercy on him, and not on him only but also on me, to spare me sorrow upon sorrow. Therefore I am all the more eager to send him, so that when you see him again you may be glad and I may have less anxiety. So then, welcome him in the Lord with great joy, and honor people like him, because he almost died for the work of Christ.” (Philippians. 2:25-30)

Oh, the mercy of God!  How grateful we ought to be for this.  Just when we think we can’t take any more disappointment, pain, or strife, God’s mercy opens the relief valve to spare us sorrow upon sorrow.  As we continue looking at But God… for Lent 2021, we can see that this relief involves a letting off of steam by the mercy of God before the heat of trials consumes us or blows us to smithereens. It is every bit the act of grace as it is forming our character through trials…and He does it all without breaking us beyond His ability to keep us together.

This isn’t a case of “God will never give you more than you can handle” which is unbiblical nonsense.  In fact, God will give you more than you can handle precisely so you’ll see you can’t handle things without Him. 

I’ve had a long season in my life like that.  Inexplicable but instructive.
And I’m not alone.
There are people in my circle of acquaintance who have had nothing but a decade-long series of trials and sorrows, illness and suffering, terrible losses.
I have marveled at the amplitude of the grace of God
to minister to the severity of their struggles. 
Illness, family trauma, nearly dead. 

To some in this world, it would seem as though they have a string of bad luck like none other.  But in reality, God has been strengthening their faith and giving them a testimony with the full power of God behind it.  If you feel so moved, please check out my friends Gerard and Jeannie Long’s ministry, “Awakening to God.” They also have a great app that I enjoy for daily Scripture encouragement on either iPhone or Android. Please let it encourage you through Lent 2021 and beyond.

Father, we lift our Christian brothers and sisters up to You, those who are struggling underneath the weight of so many sorrows.  Those who are despairing even of life. We ask Lord that out of the greatness of Your mercy, You would lift the oppression from them, You would mitigate the difficulties in their lives. We ask You to free them from struggles, and implore that You would offer healing where healing is needed, comfort where comfort would be like a drink of cool water, and that You would minister to them in the midst of their stresses.  We thank You that our troubles—while severe in our eyes here on earth—in view of eternity, they are light and momentary as Your Word proclaims.  We ask Lord that You would give us Your eyes to see divine perspective, to understand who You are and how our difficulties can point others to the need for a Savior in their lives too.  We thank You Lord that Your mercies are new every morning.  We need more of Jesus!  In His Name we pray. Amen.

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If you’re already signed up on my Home Page sidebar to receive posts, you’ll get the 2022 Lent Devotionals automatically. Or you can “Like” Seminary Gal on Facebook and they’ll be delivered to your Facebook news feed. If you haven’t signed up, today is a great day to do so. Advent and Lenten devotionals remain among my most popular offerings. You don’t want to miss this encounter with God to prepare your heart for Easter! Understanding that prior years’ devotionals continue to minister, you may want to have access to a full series ahead of time:

• Lent 2013 looked at The Letter to the Romans: Paul’s Masterpiece to reclaim foundations of our Christian heritage and began February 13, 2013.
•  A very special and ever popular offering was Lent 2014’s Be Still and Know that I AM God  which can be obtained through the archives beginning in March 2014. 
• Lent 2015 began on February 18, 2015 with a series entitled With Christ in the Upper Room: Final Preparations.  We explored what is often called “The Upper Room Discourse” found in John chapters 13-17. 
• ReKindle, the Lent 2016 series, began on February 10, 2016 and encouraged us to rekindle our spiritual lives.
• Light: There’s Nothing Like It was the 2017 Lent series and explored this metaphor often used to portray Christ.  It is archived beginning March 1, 2017.
• Lent 2018, we explored the questions of Pi and Chi (the Greek letter beginning the word Christos, which means Christ, Messiah, the Anointed One). We asked and answered the questions “Why?” from the movie Life of Pi as we discovered the uniqueness of Jesus Christ in a world of many faiths.
• Lent 2019 gave us a deeper window into Easter “More to the Easter Story” since we miss so much when we rely only on a superficial understanding of the work of Christ. These devotionals are archived beginning March 6, 2019.
• Our Lent 2020 devotional series offered prayer points surrounding “Be Thou My Vision” and were aimed at helping us to see God for who He is. The full set of devotionals are archived beginning February 26, 2020.
• The theme for 2021 Lent Devotionals was how to live between two worlds while waiting for Christ’s return. Into the gap between the City of Man and its fixation upon sin and the City of God with its demand for holiness, two words minister peace: But God. Praise God for His intervention! They are archived beginning February 17, 2021.

This year’s Lent Devotional Series “But God…” resumes tomorrow after today’s Sabbath rest to meditate and worship.

Today’s meditation focus:

God deserves worship because He is our powerful Creator.

“You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for You created all things, and by Your will they were created and have their being.” (Revelation 4:11)