Saturday, May 25, 2024

God's Broken Heart; Numbers 14:13-16

 

Rev. George Miller

May 26, 2024

Numbers 14:13-16

 

Starting today we are going to hear the scriptures that YOU, the people, submitted in the past for Stump The Pastor Sunday.

 

Today’s reading could not be timelier.

 

We have one of the most heartbreaking stories in the Bible.  Much of the Israelite’s history hinges on this moment,

 

Featuring a decision that never had to happen, a moment that was theirs and theirs alone to mess up.

 

Today we hear why it took 40 years for them to wander through the wilderness to enter the Promised Land when they could have done it in 19 months.

 

The simple answer is hubris; good ol’ fashion human hubris.

 

Today’s story has lessons to learn.

 

Lessons about listening.  Lessons about truth telling.

 

Lessons about waiting; about not giving into ego-driven fear.

 

Lessons about what happens to a religious body when they’re more willing to listen to the fears of the world, then the hopes of God.

 

Here is what happens- God heard the cries of the enslaved Hebrews and set them free, leading them across the Red Sea.

 

God guided them to Mount Sinai, giving them a year of rest as they receive the Law and take time to recover from their trauma.

 

God guides them to the edge of the Promised Land just as it is Spring.

 

The Land, the Nahalah, the Heaven Here on Earth that God is ready to lead them into is ripe and fertile with all the goodness of Creation.

 

The grass is green.  The goats have udders full of milk.  Bees busy making an abundance of honey.  Grapes are ginormous.

 

Everything anyone could want is right across the way, ready to be enjoyed, ready to be embraced.

 

The rivers flow with fresh water and fish, and the formerly

 

used-and-abused and oh-so-tired people are just a step away from entering into God’s promise of rest and being Pharoah-free.

 

All they have to do is trust, believe, and enter into their future.

 

Representatives are chosen to scout out the land and see the goodness God has waiting for them.  12 men selected to say what’s good.

 

Trouble is that although all 12 see the milk and the honey, and they see the abundance of fruit,

 

10 of the men come back and decide to give a false report.

 

Instead of sowing seeds of hope, they sow seeds of doubt into the people’s ears. 

 

They tell everyone that the land is way too dangerous, the people that live there are way too scary.

 

Even though God has brought the people from slavery into freedom, even though God has parted the Sea, 10 of the leaders lie and tell the people-

 

“We simply cannot enter.  It’s too dangerous; it’s unwise.  We will fail.”

 

And with that…the people God cared for, the people God listened to, the people God fought for and planned for…

 

They begin to weep, moan, and fight amongst each other.

 

They say “It was better the way things were.  Let’s go back to being slaves to the Pharaoh.”

 

Moses, Aaron, Joshua, and Caleb do all they can to turn the people’s hearts and trust back to God, but the people refuse.

 

Amidst of all these lies told and lies listened to, in the midst of the sobbing and wailing and fear and folks focused on what-ifs,

 

We are told that the Glory of God is literally standing before the people at the tent of meeting.

 

And it breaks God’s heart. 

 

God, who is full of compassion, compassion meaning “womb love.” Love that comes from having created, having carried, having cared for.

 

Imagine, God is filled with compassion, God filled with womb-love, just like a Mother.

 

Imagine what it must have done to God’s heart to see and hear the people choose the lies over 10 men,

 

then embrace the love and promise God made to them upon their freedom.

 

So God gets angry; God gets mad.  So mad that’s God’s immediate response is-

 

“That’s it- we are going to pull this car over to the side of the road and all of you can get out and walk home.”

 

This is God, filled with the kind of Womb Love that a parent has when their toddler becomes a teenager, who sees the puss on their face, and says

 

“Fine.  Fine.  If you think you know better, go ahead…I am done with you.”

 

And Moses intercedes.  He has a talk with God, a “come to Jesus” moment with the Creator.

 

Moses says “OK Senor, Ok Big Poppa, we know you’re mad, but you don’t mean what you’re saying; you’re just in your feelings.”

 

This is the second time since freeing the people that Moses had to have this talk with God.

 

And the cool thing is that God listens.  God hears.

 

God decides not to pull the car over and make them all get out.

 

But God realizes there needs to be consequences.  There does need to be responsibility for their lies, their bad actions.

 

So the consequence is that the promised trip into the Land flowing with milk and honey is postponed, it is delayed.

 

Instead of getting to enjoy fresh fruit parfaits and sweat tea with honey, the people will wait many years before they enter the land.

 

Instead of getting to rest in the green grass, and walking beside still waters, they’ll endure perils and frustrations of the wild.

 

It is heartbreaking.  It is so sad.

 

They are literally on the cusp of entering into the Promise during the height of its fertility…

 

…and yet they are swayed by the fear placed upon them by a few.

 

It’s a sad story about how fear can fatally affect faith.

 

And we wonder- why were those 10 so quick to lie about a land so, so good?

 

Why did they hold the people back from reaching their full potential?  

 

Perhaps some mistrusted God. 

 

Perhaps some were worried that once they succeeded, no one would need them.

 

Why were the people so willing to be led astray?

 

Perhaps they were so used to being slaves they couldn’t imagine anything else.

 

We all know someone uncomfortable with change, no matter how promise filled it is.

 

Some prefer sticking with what they know than to step into the unknown.

 

Perhaps they were addicted to chaos; the kind of people who were most happy being unhappy.

 

Some fear success and the added responsibility that comes with it, so they accept failure and keep everyone around them down.

 

Why do some value the currency of fear when others use the promise of possibilities? 

 

Sadly, the Israelites wandered the wilderness for 40 more years,

 

never getting to see, feel, taste, smell or hear what a land flowing with milk and honey was like.

 

Sadly, God’s compassionate heart was broken, and God had to see as all this needlessly unfolded.

 

As Emmanuel embarks on our Search and Call journey, this is a timely story to hear, for there will be so many steps, so many possibilities, hopes, fears.

 

And during the Search and Call process there will be so many questions-

 

-How do we follow God?

 

-How do we balance fear with faith?

 

-How do we listen to what the Holy Spirit says?

 

-How do we prevent ourselves from going back?

 

-How do we know that we are not following the fear of man, but humbly walking with God?

 

-What timeline do we follow, and whose timeline is it?  Ours or Heaven’s?

 

May today’s story guide us as Emmanuel embarks on the next chapter of its existence.

  Amen and amen.

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