The Park Forum

Links for today’s readings:

Read: Numbers 22 Listen: (5:55) Read: 1 Thessalonians 4 Listen: (2:24)

Scripture Focus: Numbers 22.6

6 Now come and put a curse on these people, because they are too powerful for me. Perhaps then I will be able to defeat them and drive them out of the land. For I know that whoever you bless is blessed, and whoever you curse is cursed.”

Reflection: Unworthy Prophets

By John Tillman

The prophets we have needed in recent times are those like Nathan, Daniel, and Jeremiah, who would not shirk their duty to speak the truth in order to stay in the good graces of kings. The kind of unworthy prophets we seem to have in abundance are Balaams and Pashhurs, (Jeremiah 19.14-20.6) who comfort and coddle kings to stay close to power.

Balaam was not concerned with the king’s morals. Balaam’s prophecies were for sale. Balaam intended to cash in by putting words in God’s mouth, but God put his words in Balaam’s mouth instead. (Numbers 23.16)

Balaam said what God commanded. This could be because he was overwhelmed by supernatural visions or because he obeyed out of fear of the angel who threatened him. Scripture does not tell us. Although God spoke through Balaam, there was no relationship of love or trust—no expectation of good faith.

We must remember that there will always be political leaders like Balak. They want prophets of God to identify with them, stand with them, and give blessing to their policies in exchange for favors.

We must also remember that there will always be prophets like Balaam. These prophets claim to speak for God but, instead, tickle the ears of the powerful in exchange for assurances of influence and power. These modern Balaams do their best to put words in God’s mouth that are pleasing to the powerful.

Along their desert sojourn, the Israelites faced being hated by Balaks and cursed by Balaams. In our political realms, we will more likely be wooed by Balaks, and have our ears tickled by the Balaams doing their bidding.

As God’s people, we may feel powerless against the Balaams or the Balaks of the world. We can be assured that God is more than able to deal with them according to their sins. This world, ruled by Balaks and preached to by Balaams is not our home. It is the land of our sojourn.

May we keep serving our God and following him through this desert. As Balaam could not deny the beauty of the tents of Israel (Numbers 24.5), may the conspiring prophets and rulers of our culture not be able to deny the beauty of the love of God that works among us.

May a better class of prophets speak the truth to power and to God’s people.

Divine Hours Prayer: The Refrain for the Morning Lessons

I will bear witness that the Lord is righteous; I will praise the name of the Lord Most High. — Psalm 7.18

– Divine Hours prayers from The Divine Hours: Prayers for Springtime

 by Phyllis Tickle

Read more: The Losers Who Write History

Not one of those glowingly positive, king-praising prophets’ writings are in our Bible. Instead we have the writings of the losers.

The Losers Who Write History

Read more: The Prophet of Profit

Balaam has an impressive string of mentions throughout scripture which make clear he was unfaithful and deceptive.

The Prophet of Profit

Links for today’s readings:

Read: Numbers 21 Listen: (5:03) Read: 1 Thessalonians 3 Listen: (1:44)

Scripture Focus: Numbers 21.7-9

7 The people came to Moses and said, “We sinned when we spoke against the Lord and against you. Pray that the Lord will take the snakes away from us.” So Moses prayed for the people.

8 The Lord said to Moses, “Make a snake and put it up on a pole; anyone who is bitten can look at it and live.” 9 So Moses made a bronze snake and put it up on a pole. Then when anyone was bitten by a snake and looked at the bronze snake, they lived.

Image Note: The image is of The Brazen Serpent Monument by Giovanni Fantoni. It is located on Mount Nebo, the traditional site of Moses’ death overlooking the Promised Land

Reflection: The Antivenom for Sin

By John Tillman

With sin, as with serpents, it isn’t the size that kills you—it is the venom.

Venom is a specific kind of poison. Poison can be transmitted by touch or ingestion, like the poison on the skin of a poisonous frog or in a poisonous plant. Venom is a poison inflicted through a wounding attack, such as a bite or sting.

Venoms can cause necrosis, killing the tissue it is injected into. Many cause vomiting, hemorrhaging, seizures, heart failure, and other deadly symptoms. Many venoms also cause blindness, paralysis, or disorientation, making victims easier to kill by other means.

Through the serpent in the Garden of Eden, humanity was stung by sin. Its venom necrotizes our spirit, disorients us, blinds us, and makes us easy victims to be toyed with or killed by our adversary, the devil. (1 Peter 5.8)

Contrary to popular belief, venom cannot be sucked out of a wound. In most cases, the surrounding tissue is flooded with venom and it is nearly instantly carried through the bloodstream. Antivenom must be taken. In some cases antivenom must begin to be administered within minutes of being bitten or the victim may not survive.

We cannot save ourselves from the venom of sin. It inevitably will cause our death and many other harms in our lives. The venom that pained and even killed some of the Israelites was a direct consequence of sin and a realistic representation of how the venom of sin infects our bodies and communities.

When the Israelites looked to the sign of the serpent, they were looking in faith at God’s promise of an antivenom for sin. Every heel struck by a serpent in the Israelite camp was healed not by looking at the serpent but by the bruised heel of the one promised to Eve in the garden. (Genesis 3.15; Isaiah 53.4-5)

Jesus was struck by sin, stung with its venom, and raised up as a sign of God’s provision. Sin wounds us. He is the balm. Sin injects venom that necrotizes our souls. Jesus injects us with the antivenom of his indestructible life.

No matter what we have done, or what sin we are struck by, Jesus is lifted up for us to look to for salvation. (John 3.14-18) There is no sting of sin too grievous for him to heal.

Jesus is the only antivenom for sin and we are commanded to lift him up so that the world can be freed from the sting of sin and death. (1 Corinthians 15.54-57; Isaiah 25.7-8; Hosea 13.14)

Divine Hours Prayer: The Refrain for the Morning Lessons

This is the Lord’s doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes. — Psalm 118.23

– Divine Hours prayers from The Divine Hours: Prayers for Springtime

 by Phyllis Tickle

Read more: Intercepting Deconstruction

Faith, like young plants, is vulnerable when immature…However, even mature faith can be harmed and even great trees can be felled.

Intercepting Deconstruction

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Links for today’s readings:

Read: Numbers 17-18 Listen: (6:58) Read: Galatians 6 Listen: (2:18)

Links for this weekend’s readings:

Read: Numbers 19 Listen: (3:39) Read: 1 Thessalonians 1 Listen: (1:27)
Read: Numbers 20 Listen: (4:15) Read: 1 Thessalonians 2 Listen: (2:53)

Scripture Focus: Numbers 17.1-8

1 The Lord said to Moses, 2 “Speak to the Israelites and get twelve staffs from them, one from the leader of each of their ancestral tribes. Write the name of each man on his staff. 3 On the staff of Levi write Aaron’s name, for there must be one staff for the head of each ancestral tribe. 4 Place them in the tent of meeting in front of the ark of the covenant law, where I meet with you. 5 The staff belonging to the man I choose will sprout, and I will rid myself of this constant grumbling against you by the Israelites.” 6 So Moses spoke to the Israelites, and their leaders gave him twelve staffs, one for the leader of each of their ancestral tribes, and Aaron’s staff was among them. 7 Moses placed the staffs before the Lord in the tent of the covenant law. 8 The next day Moses entered the tent and saw that Aaron’s staff, which represented the tribe of Levi, had not only sprouted but had budded, blossomed and produced almonds.

Reflection: Life-Giving Leadership

By John Tillman

Jesus said a wicked and adulterous generation seeks signs. (Matthew 16.4)

That is certainly true about the generation of Israelites that continually rebelled against the leadership of Moses and Aaron. Sign after sign they experienced, and yet, rebellion after rebellion occurred. These rebellions varied in severity from the constant annoyance of simple grumbling up to treasonous and violent threats and actions. Centuries later, Asaph described them as a stubborn and rebellious generation with disloyal hearts and unfaithful spirits. (Psalm 78.8)

God’s responses to rebellions also varied in severity. Sometimes dramatic signs brought people in line. Sometimes God used violence or plagues against the hard-hearted rebels, just as he did against the hard-hearted Egyptians he freed them from.

In Numbers 17, God sought another sign to cement Moses and Aaron’s leadership in the Israelites’ minds and prevent future rebellions and punishments. God chose a contest pitting Aaron’s staff against other tribal leaders’ staffs.

God previously used Aaron’s staff in a contest with Pharaoh’s magicians. Aaron’s staff became a snake. Egyptian magicians matched Aaron, making their staffs into snakes, however, Aaron’s snake outmatched theirs. It killed and ate them.

This time, God caused Aaron’s staff to bring life instead of take it. God said the staff of the man he chose would sprout. Aaron’s staff sprouted, budded, blossomed, and produced almonds.

Aaron’s snake-killing staff became a life-giving tree. It stood between the people and the presence of God to remind them that Aaron was the priest through whom God chose to bring life.

Many leaders are contesting for our support and attention. Some claim to be “sent by God.” Jesus taught that we would know false prophets by their fruit. (Matthew 7.15-23) Let us put such leaders to the test. Are their words and actions a bludgeoning stick or a blossoming tree? Does the pattern of their life and leadership produce life or death? Would you want your children to emulate them?

Let us also test ourselves. Jesus is our snake-crushing, life-giving priest. Aaron’s priesthood was exclusive. We are included in Jesus’ new covenant priesthood. He is the true vine, connecting us to God’s presence. As priests under Jesus, we are called to blossom like Aaron’s staff, producing fruit and bringing life to those around us.

Be a life-giving leader. Sprout, bud, blossom, and produce fruit, leading people to Jesus’ presence. Let us be the sign people need to believe the gospel.

Divine Hours Prayer: The Refrain for the Morning Lessons

For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. — 2 Corinthians 4.6

– Divine Hours prayers from The Divine Hours: Prayers for Springtime
by Phyllis Tickle

Read more: Splintering or Blossoming Staff?

What staff are you leaning…Is it an alliance? A person? A party? Every other staff will splinter. Only Jesus will blossom.

Splintering or Blossoming Staff?

Read more: Becoming Firstborns

As servants of the snake-crushing priest, we have no battle to fight—only a victory to announce.

Becoming Firstborns

Links for today’s readings:

Read: Numbers 16 Listen: (6:59) Read: Galatians 5 Listen: (3:22)

Scripture Focus: Numbers 16.46-50

46 Then Moses said to Aaron, “Take your censer and put incense in it, along with burning coals from the altar, and hurry to the assembly to make atonement for them. Wrath has come out from the Lord; the plague has started.” 47 So Aaron did as Moses said, and ran into the midst of the assembly. The plague had already started among the people, but Aaron offered the incense and made atonement for them. 48 He stood between the living and the dead, and the plague stopped. 49 But 14,700 people died from the plague, in addition to those who had died because of Korah. 50 Then Aaron returned to Moses at the entrance to the tent of meeting, for the plague had stopped.

Reflection: Forgetful Rebels

By John Tillman

Imagine people ignorant about nuclear radiation breaking into a nuclear power plant. They enter the reactor unprotected and start handling the fuel rods. In minutes, they suffer lethal radiation doses. In hours, they die. It’s a tragedy of ignorance. “If only they had known,” we might say.

Now imagine a group of nuclear scientists who are well-educated about radiation, yet demand to enter the reactor unprotected. Peers warn and plead with them but they persist and perish. We would recognize that something went wrong with the scientists, not the uranium. It is a tragedy, not of ignorance, but of denial, rebellion against reason, and stubborn refusal to submit to authority. We cannot say, “If only they had known.” We are left with, “If only they had believed.”

God is not an inanimate, radioactive object like uranium fuel rods. Uranium’s power is merciless. It will kill anyone. God’s power rarely breaks out to punish rebels. Yet, God is also not “safe.” As C.S. Lewis said, “He is not a tame lion.” In order for God to live among them, Israel had to respect the ceremonial system and the priesthood God provided.

Korah and the rebels are like those stubborn scientists who rebelled against knowledge and reason to enter the reactor. They knew the regulations. They knew Aaron’s sons died from improperly burning incense. They knew Miriam and Aaron were punished for opposing Moses’ authority. How did they rationally expect this rebellion to go?

In order for God to live among us, Jesus came and died, crucifying our sin and irradiating us with his healing righteousness. We are purified and set apart like the Levites but we can still become rebels against our high priest.

Like Korah, we rebel by forgetting or denying what we know. Do we forget that Jesus is among us as the hungry to be fed, the naked to be clothed, the stranger to be welcomed, and the prisoner to be visited? Do we demand he bless our lusts or greeds? Do we place our security and economic benefit over the sanctity of life for others? Do we presume upon his grace?

Let us not be forgetful rebels against Christ’s mercy and let us run, like Aaron, to save any rebels we can. No one is beyond hope. Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.

Divine Hours Prayer: The Request for Presence

Teach me your way, O Lord, and I will walk in your truth; knit my heart to you that I may fear your name. — Psalm 86.11

– Divine Hours prayers from The Divine Hours: Prayers for Springtime

 by Phyllis Tickle

Read more: Much Given, Much Expected

They ignored all they had just learned, and did things in an unauthorized way…To whom much is given, much is expected.

Much Given, Much Expected

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Links for today’s readings:

Read: Numbers 15 Listen: (5:09) Read: Galatians 4 Listen: (4:13)

Scripture Focus: Numbers 15: 32–36

32 While the Israelites were in the wilderness, a man was found gathering wood on the Sabbath day. 33 Those who found him gathering wood brought him to Moses and Aaron and the whole assembly, 34 and they kept him in custody, because it was not clear what should be done to him. 35 Then the Lord said to Moses, “The man must die. The whole assembly must stone him outside the camp.” 36 So the assembly took him outside the camp and stoned him to death, as the Lord commanded Moses.

Reflection: Atonement is Not Permission to Sin

By Erin Newton

Israel’s relationship with God was founded on the covenant. Much like marriage, this relationship was built on trust and fidelity.

Numbers 15 talks about the ritual required for sins committed unintentionally. These are sins that had no premeditation; they just happened. Determining the intentionality of sins was based on the motivation of the person. Was this due to forgetfulness or naivety? Or was this something that was openly acknowledged and then willfully ignored? Those would be called “intentional sins.”

Thankfully, God provided the people with rituals to enact when unintentional sins were committed. The guilty parties would offer the proper sacrifice and a clean slate would be issued.

The process of atonement seems like a way to guarantee forgiveness—a biblical get out of jail free card. The law is easy to measure and to judge oneself against. Any flaw could be erased. Any error could be corrected.

Sort of.

The problem of oversimplifying life under the law is that we risk using atonement as permission. Or as Paul said, “What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase?” (Rom 6.1).

Should we? Even before Christ, they had a way out for unintentional sin. But the law is clear about those who sin with a high hand. Such actions were the equivalent to breaking a marriage vow. The person who chooses to sin against God’s command is choosing not to be in covenant with him.

The man caught gathering sticks on the Sabbath has chosen to work when he was told to rest. (How many of us could fall prey to the spirit of the workaholic?) Taking a day off was more than observing self-care. For ancient Israel, it was specifically the sign that they were in a relationship with God, their Redeemer from slavery and their Provider in the wilderness.

The death penalty for such high-handed actions sounds harsh. The punishment fit the crime of treason (in this perspective, it was treason against their King).

Although we are no longer under the law, we are still bound to God in the same relationship of trust and fidelity. “Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires. Do not offer any part of yourself to sin as an instrument of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life” (Rom 6.12-13).

Divine Hours Prayer: A Reading

Jesus taught us, saying: “Everything now covered up will be uncovered, and everything now hidden will be made clear. For this reason, whatever you have said in the dark will be heard in the daylight, and what you have whispered in hidden places will be proclaimed from the housetops.” — Luke 12.2-3

– Divine Hours prayers from The Divine Hours: Prayers for Springtime

 by Phyllis Tickle

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Read more: Wandering Sin

We don’t get to say, “I didn’t intend this” or “I didn’t do that.” We are connected to these sins and must confess them.

Wandering Sin