Category Archives: Consequences of Sin

Consequences of Sin, Fear / Reverence for God, Grace / Forgiveness, Hebrew Roots / Commands / Law, Jesus Christ / Yeshua, Loving / Kind, Obeying God, Offering Sacrifices, Repenting from Sin, Salvation, Seeking God, Sin, Thankfulness, Traditions / Holidays

Atonement: Getting Right With God

All of us should set aside time to consider atonement for our sins. Leviticus 16 describes animal sacrifice and ceremonial laws which were relevant to God’s people prior to the death of Christ. There is much focus on atonement, even ending with instructions to take a day each year to do no work just to reflect on atonement.

We all sin, even believers. The more we are sanctified by the Holy Spirit, the less we sin perhaps but none the less any sin is punishable by death. That is inherently a reminder built into the animal sacrifices. The penalty for sin is death. Prior to Christ’s death on the cross, animals were substituted for us and ceremonially paid the price for our sin for us to get atonement. Notice there is much detail in regards to approaching God. It is not just slaughtering an animal. There is a process to be followed in coming into God’s presence. We are to be cleansed and purified as we come into His presence.

Now, Jesus Christ has paid the price for our sin with His blood, shed on the cross. Through His sacrifice, our debt for sin is paid. We need not sacrifice animals. His sacrifice was sufficient. However, we do well to set aside time to reflect on atonement, which is simply the reparation for a wrong… the price to be paid for our sin. We should thankfully accept the gift God has offered us in Christ Jesus. Turn from our sins… our wrong attitudes and actions. Let us seek after God to do things His way… asking forgiveness for our wrong doing and wrong thinking.

Leviticus 16

Law of Atonement

      1Now the LORD spoke to Moses after the death of the two sons of Aaron, when they had approached the presence of the LORD and died. 2The LORD said to Moses:
“Tell your brother Aaron that he shall not enter at any time into the holy place inside the veil, before the mercy seat which is on the ark, or he will die; for I will appear in the cloud over the mercy seat. 3“Aaron shall enter the holy place with this: with a bull for a sin offering and a ram for a burnt offering. 4“He shall put on the holy linen tunic, and the linen undergarments shall be next to his body, and he shall be girded with the linen sash and attired with the linen turban (these are holy garments). Then he shall bathe his body in water and put them on. 5“He shall take from the congregation of the sons of Israel two male goats for a sin offering and one ram for a burnt offering. 6“Then Aaron shall offer the bull for the sin offering which is for himself, that he may make atonement for himself and for his household. 7“He shall take the two goats and present them before the LORD at the doorway of the tent of meeting. 8“Aaron shall cast lots for the two goats, one lot for the LORD and the other lot for the scapegoat. 9“Then Aaron shall offer the goat on which the lot for the LORD fell, and make it a sin offering. 10“But the goat on which the lot for the scapegoat fell shall be presented alive before the LORD, to make atonement upon it, to send it into the wilderness as the scapegoat.

      11“Then Aaron shall offer the bull of the sin offering which is for himself and make atonement for himself and for his household, and he shall slaughter the bull of the sin offering which is for himself. 12“He shall take a firepan full of coals of fire from upon the altar before the LORD and two handfuls of finely ground sweet incense, and bring it inside the veil. 13“He shall put the incense on the fire before the LORD, that the cloud of incense may cover the mercy seat that is on the ark of the testimony, otherwise he will die. 14“Moreover, he shall take some of the blood of the bull and sprinkle it with his finger on the mercy seat on the east side; also in front of the mercy seat he shall sprinkle some of the blood with his finger seven times.

      15“Then he shall slaughter the goat of the sin offering which is for the people, and bring its blood inside the veil and do with its blood as he did with the blood of the bull, and sprinkle it on the mercy seat and in front of the mercy seat. 16“He shall make atonement for the holy place, because of the impurities of the sons of Israel and because of their transgressions in regard to all their sins; and thus he shall do for the tent of meeting which abides with them in the midst of their impurities. 17“When he goes in to make atonement in the holy place, no one shall be in the tent of meeting until he comes out, that he may make atonement for himself and for his household and for all the assembly of Israel. 18“Then he shall go out to the altar that is before the LORD and make atonement for it, and shall take some of the blood of the bull and of the blood of the goat and put it on the horns of the altar on all sides. 19“With his finger he shall sprinkle some of the blood on it seven times and cleanse it, and from the impurities of the sons of Israel consecrate it.

      20“When he finishes atoning for the holy place and the tent of meeting and the altar, he shall offer the live goat. 21“Then Aaron shall lay both of his hands on the head of the live goat, and confess over it all the iniquities of the sons of Israel and all their transgressions in regard to all their sins; and he shall lay them on the head of the goat and send it away into the wilderness by the hand of a man who stands in readiness. 22“The goat shall bear on itself all their iniquities to a solitary land; and he shall release the goat in the wilderness.

      23“Then Aaron shall come into the tent of meeting and take off the linen garments which he put on when he went into the holy place, and shall leave them there. 24“He shall bathe his body with water in a holy place and put on his clothes, and come forth and offer his burnt offering and the burnt offering of the people and make atonement for himself and for the people. 25“Then he shall offer up in smoke the fat of the sin offering on the altar. 26“The one who released the goat as the scapegoat shall wash his clothes and bathe his body with water; then afterward he shall come into the camp. 27“But the bull of the sin offering and the goat of the sin offering, whose blood was brought in to make atonement in the holy place, shall be taken outside the camp, and they shall burn their hides, their flesh, and their refuse in the fire. 28“Then the one who burns them shall wash his clothes and bathe his body with water, then afterward he shall come into the camp.

An Annual Atonement

     29“This shall be a permanent statute for you: in the seventh month, on the tenth day of the month, you shall humble your souls and not do any work, whether the native, or the alien who sojourns among you; 30for it is on this day that atonement shall be made for you to cleanse you; you will be clean from all your sins before the LORD. 31“It is to be a sabbath of solemn rest for you, that you may humble your souls; it is a permanent statute. 32“So the priest who is anointed and ordained to serve as priest in his father’s place shall make atonement: he shall thus put on the linen garments, the holy garments, 33and make atonement for the holy sanctuary, and he shall make atonement for the tent of meeting and for the altar. He shall also make atonement for the priests and for all the people of the assembly. 34“Now you shall have this as a permanent statute, to make atonement for the sons of Israel for all their sins once every year.” And just as the LORD had commanded Moses, so he did.

My family and I have started setting aside a day of Sabbath rest once a year consistent with God’s instructions at the close of this chapter in scripture. It serves well as a reminder to be humble and remember our sin and be thankful as we accept God’s gift of forgiveness through Christ. So, too, it reminds us that we continue to sin and should come before God humbly and thankfully, asking for His help to more fully commit our lives to Him and His ways… letting go of our own sinful and selfish desires. I encourage you to do the same.

If you are interested to participate in the day of Atonement, it usually comes in late Sep or early Oct. Because man changed the calendar we mostly find it confusing to follow these Biblically commanded days. There are many Jewish websites which try to maintain the Jewish calendar in the same way as Moses and the Israelites did in the past. You can search for day of atonement and probably find some websites to help you. Else you can search “Jewish holidays”. Do not be discouraged, just because the world labels them this way… and you are Christian. The facts are that God did not change the calendar, man did. They are not Jewish holidays… they are Jehovah’s holy days. The exact day is less important than the act of setting aside time to spend with our Father reflecting and praying regarding atonement for our sin and continuing our journey to repent from sin and become more like Jesus.

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Have you submitted your life to Jesus Christ? Are you living today filled with the peace and joy of truly knowing and following Jesus Christ? Learn more about salvation through The Message of the Cross.

Adultery / Sex Outside Marriage, Consequences of Sin, Temptation/Tempting

Neither Follow Nor Be The Harlot

Many fall prey to the seductive ways of the harlot and families are wrecked, lives are destroyed. It promises excitement and pleasure, but delivers crushing blows to our walk with God and to those in our lives around us. Those who would hold to wisdom turn and run from adultery or immorality. Those without self control may be drawn into its trap.

Let there be no rationalizing. Adultery (and sex outside marriage of any kind) is wrong and is destructive. There are no exceptions. Note how even in Proverbs 7, there is a reference to the harlot making her peace offerings. Today as well, some will claim the name of Christ and then rebel against Him through adultery and immorality.

Proverbs 7

The Wiles of the Harlot

     1My son, keep my words
And treasure my commandments within you.

      2Keep my commandments and live,
And my teaching as the apple of your eye.

      3Bind them on your fingers;
Write them on the tablet of your heart.

      4Say to wisdom, “You are my sister,”
And call understanding your intimate friend;

      5That they may keep you from an adulteress,
From the foreigner who flatters with her words.

      6For at the window of my house
I looked out through my lattice,

      7And I saw among the naive,
And discerned among the youths
A young man lacking sense,

      8Passing through the street near her corner;
And he takes the way to her house,

      9In the twilight, in the evening,
In the middle of the night and in the darkness.

      10And behold, a woman comes to meet him,
Dressed as a harlot and cunning of heart.

      11She is boisterous and rebellious,
Her feet do not remain at home;

      12She is now in the streets, now in the squares,
And lurks by every corner.

      13So she seizes him and kisses him
And with a brazen face she says to him:

      14“I was due to offer peace offerings;
Today I have paid my vows.

      15“Therefore I have come out to meet you,
To seek your presence earnestly, and I have found you.

      16“I have spread my couch with coverings,
With colored linens of Egypt.

      17“I have sprinkled my bed
With myrrh, aloes and cinnamon.

      18“Come, let us drink our fill of love until morning;
Let us delight ourselves with caresses.

      19“For my husband is not at home,
He has gone on a long journey;

      20He has taken a bag of money with him,
At the full moon he will come home.”

      21With her many persuasions she entices him;
With her flattering lips she seduces him.

      22Suddenly he follows her
As an ox goes to the slaughter,
Or as one in fetters to the discipline of a fool,

      23Until an arrow pierces through his liver;
As a bird hastens to the snare,
So he does not know that it will cost him his life.

      24Now therefore, my sons, listen to me,
And pay attention to the words of my mouth.

      25Do not let your heart turn aside to her ways,
Do not stray into her paths.

      26For many are the victims she has cast down,
And numerous are all her slain.

      27Her house is the way to Sheol,
Descending to the chambers of death.

Turn and flee from temptation as Joseph did in Genesis 39.

11Now it happened one day that he went into the house to do his work, and none of the men of the household was there inside. 12She caught him by his garment, saying, “Lie with me!” And he left his garment in her hand and fled, and went outside.

Do not do as Eve did in Genesis 3 when tempted in the garden, lingering to look upon the forbidden fruit and talking about it with the serpent.

    1Now the serpent was more crafty than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said to the woman, “Indeed, has God said, ‘You shall not eat from any tree of the garden’?” 2The woman said to the serpent, “From the fruit of the trees of the garden we may eat; 3but from the fruit of the tree which is in the middle of the garden, God has said, ‘You shall not eat from it or touch it, or you will die.’” 4The serpent said to the woman, “You surely will not die! 5“For God knows that in the day you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” 6When the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was desirable to make one wise, she took from its fruit and ate; and she gave also to her husband with her, and he ate.

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Have you submitted your life to Jesus Christ? Are you living today filled with the peace and joy of truly knowing and following Jesus Christ? Learn more about salvation through The Message of the Cross.

Adultery / Sex Outside Marriage, Consequences of Sin, Hebrew Roots / Commands / Law, Marriage, Temptation/Tempting

Immorality Devastates Individuals and Families

Immorality is destructive. It may seem tempting to some at times, but leads to destruction. Take heed God’s warning, or just look at the destruction it has ravaged in the families in our culture around us. Broken families ending in divorce, children out of wedlock by different parents,  deception and lack of intimacy with your family even for those who don’t “get caught”.

It is far better to observe discretion and flee temptation.

Proverbs 5

Pitfalls of Immorality

      1My son, give attention to my wisdom,
Incline your ear to my understanding;

      2That you may observe discretion
And your lips may reserve knowledge.

      3For the lips of an adulteress drip honey
And smoother than oil is her speech;

      4But in the end she is bitter as wormwood,
Sharp as a two-edged sword.

      5Her feet go down to death,
Her steps take hold of Sheol.

      6She does not ponder the path of life;
Her ways are unstable, she does not know it.

      7Now then, my sons, listen to me
And do not depart from the words of my mouth.

      8Keep your way far from her
And do not go near the door of her house,

      9Or you will give your vigor to others
And your years to the cruel one;

      10And strangers will be filled with your strength
And your hard-earned goods will go to the house of an alien;

      11And you groan at your final end,
When your flesh and your body are consumed;

      12And you say, “How I have hated instruction!
And my heart spurned reproof!

      13“I have not listened to the voice of my teachers,
Nor inclined my ear to my instructors!

      14“I was almost in utter ruin
In the midst of the assembly and congregation.”

      15Drink water from your own cistern
And fresh water from your own well.

      16Should your springs be dispersed abroad,
Streams of water in the streets?

      17Let them be yours alone
And not for strangers with you.

      18Let your fountain be blessed,
And rejoice in the wife of your youth.

      19As a loving hind and a graceful doe,
Let her breasts satisfy you at all times;
Be exhilarated always with her love.

      20For why should you, my son, be exhilarated with an adulteress
And embrace the bosom of a foreigner?

      21For the ways of a man are before the eyes of the LORD,
And He watches all his paths.

      22His own iniquities will capture the wicked,
And he will be held with the cords of his sin.

      23He will die for lack of instruction,
And in the greatness of his folly he will go astray.

Do not be one who “will die for lack of instruction, and in the greatness of his folly he will go astray.” The consequences are devastating to families and individuals.

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Have you submitted your life to Jesus Christ? Are you living today filled with the peace and joy of truly knowing and following Jesus Christ? Learn more about salvation through The Message of the Cross.

Consequences of Sin, Discipline / Correction, Greed, Hebrew Roots / Commands / Law, Love, Loving / Kind, Lying / Deceiving, Money / Finances / Wealth, Offering Sacrifices, Rebuke Wrong Behavior, Repenting from Sin

Reconcile with Both God and Man When You Sin

As followers of Christ, many of us have been brought up and taught as children to focus almost exclusively on the New Testament rather than the proper approach of building a foundation on the Old Testament and then continuing to build on it with the New Testament. They are two parts of the same relationship and commitment between Jehovah and His people. They are not two unrelated agreements. Because many of us don’t have a strong foundation in properly understanding the content and context of the Old Testament, it can sometimes be difficult to apply it. We started with the New Testament (the end of the history), and now we are trying to figure out the Old Testament (the beginning of the history). We go about it in reverse order and without the benefit of fully understanding the language and culture of the Old Testament people.

A good tool to remember that can really help motivate you to continue studying the Old Testament passages and looking for applicability in your life is the following wisdom provided by our Lord, Yeshua, Himself. All the law and the teaching of the prophets are summarized as loving God and loving one another.

Matthew 22:35-40

35One of them, a lawyer, asked Him a question, testing Him, 36“Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” 37And He said to him, “ ‘YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND.’ 38“This is the great and foremost commandment. 39“The second is like it, ‘YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.’ 40“On these two commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets.”

The chapters that precede Leviticus 6 discuss various offerings to be made as part of reconciling to God for our sin or guilt. Leviticus 6 reminds of the need to also reconcile with people whom we have sinned against. It also provides a very tangible incentive discourage the actions described that come about from greed or coveting and represent sin against God and fellow man.

Leviticus 6:1-7

Guilt Offering

      1Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 2“When a person sins and acts unfaithfully against the LORD, and deceives his companion in regard to a deposit or a security entrusted to him, or through robbery, or if he has extorted from his companion, 3or has found what was lost and lied about it and sworn falsely, so that he sins in regard to any one of the things a man may do; 4then it shall be, when he sins and becomes guilty, that he shall restore what he took by robbery or what he got by extortion, or the deposit which was entrusted to him or the lost thing which he found, 5or anything about which he swore falsely; he shall make restitution for it in full and add to it one-fifth more. He shall give it to the one to whom it belongs on the day he presents his guilt offering. 6“Then he shall bring to the priest his guilt offering to the LORD, a ram without defect from the flock, according to your valuation, for a guilt offering, 7and the priest shall make atonement for him before the LORD, and he will be forgiven for any one of the things which he may have done to incur guilt.”

As the Holy Spirit reveals to us our sin, we must seek to reconcile ourselves with our heavenly Father to be sure, but also seek to reconcile ourselves with those whom we have sinned against.

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Have you submitted your life to Jesus Christ? Are you living today filled with the peace and joy of truly knowing and following Jesus Christ? Learn more about salvation through The Message of the Cross.

Consequences of Sin, Encouragement, Faith / Trusting God, Obeying God, Persecution / Glorifying God, Sin, Suffering / Adversity

Lay Aside Sin and Run With Endurance

This world is filled with sin and distraction. It can be difficult to lay aside so many things which seem important, but only promise to entangle us and keep us from living the life God intends for us. Just as a runner in a race does not carry with him extra baggage, so too we must lay aside that which would weigh us down. Let us fix our eyes on the example of Jesus Christ and do as He did. Let us seek and follow God’s will for our lives no matter how difficult. We do so for the glory of God. Though the race we run is difficult in this life, the reward is substantial and we will not be disappointed when we stand before God after we finish our journey in this life.

Hebrews 12:1-3

Jesus, the Example

      1Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, 2fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

      3For consider Him who has endured such hostility by sinners against Himself, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.

We will have many trials and face much hostility. Let us consider Jesus and what He endured for us so that we will not grow weary. Sin of all kinds will distract and draw our attention. Be on guard and seek after the things of God. Do not be led astray by greed or coveting, by idolatry or lust or gossip or so many more.  Fear of persecution or being mocked may discourage some of us. Sometimes it is sloth or gluttony or drunkenness that lay forth a trap. Jesus endured temptation for these things and more, as fully man and fully God. He resisted the devil and turned away from temptation with the word of God as His guide. He ran the race in a focused manner with great endurance and accomplished all God had for planned for Him.

What is holding you back from living fully devoted for God in your life? We only live once… don’t miss running the race well. Pray today for God’s help to guide you and help you break free.

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Have you submitted your life to Jesus Christ? If you die today, do you know for sure that you would be with God in heaven? Learn more about salvation through The Message of the Cross.

Consequences of Sin, Father / Yahweh, Holy, Justice / Judgment, Repenting from Sin

Sin Separates Us From God

Sin separates us from God. This theme is repeated consistently throughout the Bible. When we choose to sin, we create distance between us and our loving Father in heaven. We may still seek Him, but He is a holy God and will not tolerate being close to sin. We must repent and turn back to Him asking forgiveness.  Even so, there are still consequences we may experience because of our choice to sin.

In Exodus 33, God removes Himself from amongst the people after they chose to turn away from God’s instruction and worship a golden calf while Moses was with God on Mt Sinai.

Exodus 33:1-11

The Journey Resumed

      1Then the LORD spoke to Moses, “Depart, go up from here, you and the people whom you have brought up from the land of Egypt, to the land of which I swore to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, saying, ‘To your descendants I will give it.’ 2“I will send an angel before you and I will drive out the Canaanite, the Amorite, the Hittite, the Perizzite, the Hivite and the Jebusite. 3“Go up to a land flowing with milk and honey; for I will not go up in your midst, because you are an obstinate people, and I might destroy you on the way.”

      4When the people heard this sad word, they went into mourning, and none of them put on his ornaments. 5For the LORD had said to Moses, “Say to the sons of Israel, ‘You are an obstinate people; should I go up in your midst for one moment, I would destroy you. Now therefore, put off your ornaments from you, that I may know what I shall do with you.’” 6So the sons of Israel stripped themselves of their ornaments, from Mount Horeb onward.

      7Now Moses used to take the tent and pitch it outside the camp, a good distance from the camp, and he called it the tent of meeting. And everyone who sought the LORD would go out to the tent of meeting which was outside the camp. 8And it came about, whenever Moses went out to the tent, that all the people would arise and stand, each at the entrance of his tent, and gaze after Moses until he entered the tent. 9Whenever Moses entered the tent, the pillar of cloud would descend and stand at the entrance of the tent; and the LORD would speak with Moses. 10When all the people saw the pillar of cloud standing at the entrance of the tent, all the people would arise and worship, each at the entrance of his tent. 11Thus the LORD used to speak to Moses face to face, just as a man speaks to his friend. When Moses returned to the camp, his servant Joshua, the son of Nun, a young man, would not depart from the tent.

God did not reject or pull away from the righteous, such as Moses or Joshua. He was still present with them. However, even though the people now mourned for their mistakes, there were still consequences. God continued to keep His promise to the people to deliver them to the promised land, but now the people had to keep a distance from God, even while God approached Moses and Joshua.

How do I apply this in my life today? Consider that when we choose to sin we create separation from God. Even if or when we repent and seek forgiveness, we may still experience real consequences that affect our life. We should strive to draw near to God and not rely on His grace or forgiveness as an excuse to go on sinning.

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Have you submitted your life to Jesus Christ? If you die today, do you know for sure that you would be with God in heaven? Learn more about salvation through The Message of the Cross.

Consequences of Sin, Disobeying, Rebelling Against, Ignoring God, Doubt / Lacking Faith, Forgive Others / Seek Forgiveness, Idols / False Gods, Rebuke Wrong Behavior, Repenting from Sin

Confronting Sin In The Camp

Moses went up on the mountain to spend time with Jehovah, our Creator. He left the people for a period of time in the charge of Aaron, his brother, who had been at Moses’ side through all the miracles and power demonstrated by God before Pharaoh to lead the people out of Egypt. Of course, the people themselves witnessed these miracles of great power from God as well while they were delivered from slavery.

One would think that the people could behave at least for awhile, but, in fact, they did not last long at all once Moses. left. They claimed to celebrate in the name of God, but they built an idol and worshipped the way the pagans worshipped their false gods. Jehovah was angry, but Moses intervened and Jehovah agreed not to destroy the people.

Knowing they had sinned, when Moses came upon the camp and saw the revelry and pagan style worship he was angry. So angry he actually shattered the tablets he had brought down from God.

How should he confront this situation as leader of these people?

Exodus 32:19-35

Moses’ Anger

      19It came about, as soon as Moses came near the camp, that he saw the calf and the dancing; and Moses’ anger burned, and he threw the tablets from his hands and shattered them at the foot of the mountain. 20He took the calf which they had made and burned it with fire, and ground it to powder, and scattered it over the surface of the water and made the sons of Israel drink it.

      21Then Moses said to Aaron, “What did this people do to you, that you have brought such great sin upon them?” 22Aaron said, “Do not let the anger of my lord burn; you know the people yourself, that they are prone to evil. 23“For they said to me, ‘Make a god for us who will go before us; for this Moses, the man who brought us up from the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.’ 24“I said to them, ‘Whoever has any gold, let them tear it off.’ So they gave it to me, and I threw it into the fire, and out came this calf.”

      25Now when Moses saw that the people were out of control—for Aaron had let them get out of control to be a derision among their enemies— 26then Moses stood in the gate of the camp, and said, “Whoever is for the LORD, come to me!” And all the sons of Levi gathered together to him. 27He said to them, “Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, ‘Every man of you put his sword upon his thigh, and go back and forth from gate to gate in the camp, and kill every man his brother, and every man his friend, and every man his neighbor.’” 28So the sons of Levi did as Moses instructed, and about three thousand men of the people fell that day. 29Then Moses said, “Dedicate yourselves today to the LORD—for every man has been against his son and against his brother—in order that He may bestow a blessing upon you today.”

      30On the next day Moses said to the people, “You yourselves have committed a great sin; and now I am going up to the LORD, perhaps I can make atonement for your sin.” 31Then Moses returned to the LORD, and said, “Alas, this people has committed a great sin, and they have made a god of gold for themselves. 32“But now, if You will, forgive their sin—and if not, please blot me out from Your book which You have written!” 33The LORD said to Moses, “Whoever has sinned against Me, I will blot him out of My book. 34“But go now, lead the people where I told you. Behold, My angel shall go before you; nevertheless in the day when I punish, I will punish them for their sin.” 35Then the LORD smote the people, because of what they did with the calf which Aaron had made.

Moses reaction was quite strong by our standards today, but keep in mind that he changed God’s mind so that all the people would not be destroyed. He was now dealing with those who would not even repent and come to the Lord’s side even after he returned.

First, Moses destroyed the idol. He removed a key focal point associated with the rebellion against God. He did not have a council meeting to discuss all points of view. He knew it was wrong. He was the leader of the camp and the people. He destroyed it in a lasting way, scattering the gold in a way that it would not soon be gathered back together.

He confronted the leadership that was supposed to be watching over the people and instead facilitated and endorsed their rebellion, Aaron. Aaron’s response is completely unsatisfying. There is no direct admission of guilt and repentance. He blames the people for “making him do it” and blames Moses for being gone a long time and then says the golden calf just “leapt” out of the fire as if it sculpted itself. The truth is that Aaron gave in to pressure to rebel against God’s ways and tried to make excuses that they were still worshipping the Lord.

In verse 26, now Moses addresses the people and calls for repentance… for them to come to the Lord’s side. Those that still refuse, after all the earlier events since Moses’ return are dealt with very harshly. Their sin was serious. It was not to be ignored.

We can have a very meaningful discussion about when and in what situations we would be called to exact such harsh punishment today. Jesus died for our sins and calls for us to rebuke and then remove sinners from our midst, but not to execute them.  However, we can not say that Moses was wrong to do so… remember that Jehovah Himself was going to destroy all the people except Moses.

While the punishment and reconciliation is now different with the death and resurrection of Christ, the behaviors that please God and those that anger Him have not changed. When we find sin in the camp in our lives, we are to confront it and not ignore it. Our “camp” may be our family or our workplace or our church. We are to remove idols and other things which are clearly wrong from our midst. We are to confront and rebuke the leadership of the wrong behavior and then follow up to confront and rebuke the people who refuse to repent and separate ourselves from them.

If we are involved in such a rebellion, rather than make excuses like Aaron did, admit we have done wrong, ask forgiveness, and repent. Help others involved to know they should repent and then don’t repeat our error.

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Have you submitted your life to Jesus Christ? If you die today, do you know for sure that you would be with God in heaven? Learn more about salvation through The Message of the Cross.

Consequences of Sin, Disobeying, Rebelling Against, Ignoring God, Idols / False Gods, Interceding for Others, Speaking, Through Prophets

So The Lord Changed His Mind?

To some it will be surprising and to others it is obvious. Jehovah does indeed listen to His people and at times is willing to be influenced by them to change His mind. This does not mean that God is surprised by some new information He did not know… this is not the case. God is all knowing. It simply confirms that He loves His people and cares for them. In particular, those who are obedient and faithful will draw near to Him and have a closer relationship with Him.

Moses had a very close relationship with God. One of the clearest examples of someone successfully interceding on behalf of others and influencing God to change His mind is documented in Exodus 32. The people rebelled against God’s instruction and He was considering destroying them and starting over. Moses intervenes on their behalf to influence God’s decision.

Exodus 32:1-18

The Golden Calf

      1Now when the people saw that Moses delayed to come down from the mountain, the people assembled about Aaron and said to him, “Come, make us a god who will go before us; as for this Moses, the man who brought us up from the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.” 2Aaron said to them, “Tear off the gold rings which are in the ears of your wives, your sons, and your daughters, and bring them to me.” 3Then all the people tore off the gold rings which were in their ears and brought them to Aaron. 4He took this from their hand, and fashioned it with a graving tool and made it into a molten calf; and they said, “This is your god, O Israel, who brought you up from the land of Egypt.” 5Now when Aaron saw this, he built an altar before it; and Aaron made a proclamation and said, “Tomorrow shall be a feast to the LORD.” 6So the next day they rose early and offered burnt offerings, and brought peace offerings; and the people sat down to eat and to drink, and rose up to play.

      7Then the LORD spoke to Moses, “Go down at once, for your people, whom you brought up from the land of Egypt, have corrupted themselves. 8“They have quickly turned aside from the way which I commanded them. They have made for themselves a molten calf, and have worshiped it and have sacrificed to it and said, ‘This is your god, O Israel, who brought you up from the land of Egypt!’” 9The LORD said to Moses, “I have seen this people, and behold, they are an obstinate people. 10“Now then let Me alone, that My anger may burn against them and that I may destroy them; and I will make of you a great nation.”

Moses’ Entreaty

      11Then Moses entreated the LORD his God, and said, “O LORD, why does Your anger burn against Your people whom You have brought out from the land of Egypt with great power and with a mighty hand? 12“Why should the Egyptians speak, saying, ‘With evil intent He brought them out to kill them in the mountains and to destroy them from the face of the earth’? Turn from Your burning anger and change Your mind about doing harm to Your people. 13“Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, Your servants to whom You swore by Yourself, and said to them, ‘I will multiply your descendants as the stars of the heavens, and all this land of which I have spoken I will give to your descendants, and they shall inherit it forever.’” 14So the LORD changed His mind about the harm which He said He would do to His people.

      15Then Moses turned and went down from the mountain with the two tablets of the testimony in his hand, tablets which were written on both sides; they were written on one side and the other. 16The tablets were God’s work, and the writing was God’s writing engraved on the tablets. 17Now when Joshua heard the sound of the people as they shouted, he said to Moses, “There is a sound of war in the camp.”

18But he said,
“It is not the sound of the cry of triumph,
Nor is it the sound of the cry of defeat;
But the sound of singing I hear.”

Moses makes three arguments starting in verse 11, and none of them have anything to do with “the people deserve another chance”, because they did not. The first argument appeals to God in regards to why He would want to destroy the people He just brought out of Egypt with such demonstration of God’s mighty hand and great power.  The second argument points not to the people but to how the situation glorifies, or would not glorify, God. Moses directly asks God to change His mind.  The third argument points back to God’s fulfilling of His promises.

In all three arguments, Moses points to how the situation reflects on God and His glory and purpose rather than the perceived needs of individuals or groups of people. I think we all do well to remember these principles as we come before God to ask Him for help or intercession on someone’s behalf. It is not that God does not love or care for His people, He does. Rather the kind of attitude and perspective Moses had really showed a lot of personal maturity and showed that he was focused on God’s plans rather than his own desires. This focus is particularly common amongst those who truly follow and care for God and His glory above their own.  Those are the individuals that may have the most potential to call upon our Father for consideration when there are difficult situations.

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Have you submitted your life to Jesus Christ? If you die today, do you know for sure that you would be with God in heaven? Learn more about salvation through The Message of the Cross.

 

All Knowing, Consequences of Sin, Disobeying, Rebelling Against, Ignoring God, Doubt / Lacking Faith, Faith / Trusting God, Father / Yahweh, Idols / False Gods, Obeying God, Speaking, Through Prophets

Put Your Faith In Jehovah Rather Than Your Religious Leaders

Jehovah tells us to put our faith in him rather than men, even when men may be righteous and in leadership roles. Now that is not to say we should not be respectful and honor those in leadership over us, we should. However, men fail or even when they do not fail, we may lose sight of them. Eventually they die. If our faith is in men, then we will surely have our faith tested and fail. If our faith is in Jehovah, He will never fail us.

Consider the Israelites, who were led out of slavery in Egypt by God through Moses.

Exodus 32:1-18

The Golden Calf

      1Now when the people saw that Moses delayed to come down from the mountain, the people assembled about Aaron and said to him, “Come, make us a god who will go before us; as for this Moses, the man who brought us up from the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.” 2Aaron said to them, “Tear off the gold rings which are in the ears of your wives, your sons, and your daughters, and bring them to me.” 3Then all the people tore off the gold rings which were in their ears and brought them to Aaron. 4He took this from their hand, and fashioned it with a graving tool and made it into a molten calf; and they said, “This is your god, O Israel, who brought you up from the land of Egypt.” 5Now when Aaron saw this, he built an altar before it; and Aaron made a proclamation and said, “Tomorrow shall be a feast to the LORD.” 6So the next day they rose early and offered burnt offerings, and brought peace offerings; and the people sat down to eat and to drink, and rose up to play.

      7Then the LORD spoke to Moses, “Go down at once, for your people, whom you brought up from the land of Egypt, have corrupted themselves. 8“They have quickly turned aside from the way which I commanded them. They have made for themselves a molten calf, and have worshiped it and have sacrificed to it and said, ‘This is your god, O Israel, who brought you up from the land of Egypt!’” 9The LORD said to Moses, “I have seen this people, and behold, they are an obstinate people. 10“Now then let Me alone, that My anger may burn against them and that I may destroy them; and I will make of you a great nation.”

The people put their faith in Moses rather than God! Thus when he was out of sight for awhile, they grew nervous and failed in their faith very quickly.

    1Now when the people saw that Moses delayed to come down from the mountain, the people assembled about Aaron and said to him, “Come, make us a god who will go before us; as for this Moses, the man who brought us up from the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.”

The people had not learned to trust in God directly, but relied on having an intermediary, a go-between, to communicate between God and man. Moses was even righteous… he did not fail in this case, but still the people were separated from him and their faith failed. When it did, they acted boldly in rebellion to God’s instructions by creating and worshipping an idol. They worshipped God the way they saw Egyptians worshipping their gods. They had not drawn near to God, but rather relied on Moses to do so on their behalf.

God invites each of us to draw near to Him in personal relationship and to put our faith in Him and Him alone. Let us each accept this generous invitation from the Creator of all things and put our faith where it belongs!

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Have you submitted your life to Jesus Christ? If you die today, do you know for sure that you would be with God in heaven? Learn more about salvation through The Message of the Cross.

All Knowing, All Powerful / King of All, Consequences of Sin, Disobeying, Rebelling Against, Ignoring God, Father / Yahweh, Hebrew Roots / Commands / Law, Idols / False Gods, Justice / Judgment, Speaking, Through Prophets, Traditions / Holidays, Worthy of Fear / Reverence

Do Not Turn Aside From God’s Commands

Most of us who have followed Yahweh for awhile have had the opportunity to see His hand at work in our lives. I have marveled that He takes such an interest in someone so insignificant as me, but nonetheless He does! He loves each of His children. As we get to know Him more closely, we more easily recognize His hand at work in our lives.

We must take heed, however, and not turn away when we feel distant from Him or when we do not feel His presence. At those times, we must continue obeying His commands and His ways, faithfully believing that He is there, even if we do not see His hand at work. Often we can point back to events in our lives where He intervened to encourage us to remember Him. Do not turn from Him.

Consider His people as they left Egypt. Yahweh delivered them from slavery through many mighty miracles. There were ten plagues, parting of the Red Sea, defeat of Pharaoh’s army, God appearing as fire  and smoke to lead them, manna and water miraculously to meet their needs in the dessert. Surely we would think that generation could never turn from God, but they did.

Exodus 32:1-10

The Golden Calf

      1Now when the people saw that Moses delayed to come down from the mountain, the people assembled about Aaron and said to him, “Come, make us a god who will go before us; as for this Moses, the man who brought us up from the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.” 2Aaron said to them, “Tear off the gold rings which are in the ears of your wives, your sons, and your daughters, and bring them to me.” 3Then all the people tore off the gold rings which were in their ears and brought them to Aaron. 4He took this from their hand, and fashioned it with a graving tool and made it into a molten calf; and they said, “This is your god, O Israel, who brought you up from the land of Egypt.” 5Now when Aaron saw this, he built an altar before it; and Aaron made a proclamation and said, “Tomorrow shall be a feast to the LORD.” 6So the next day they rose early and offered burnt offerings, and brought peace offerings; and the people sat down to eat and to drink, and rose up to play.

      7Then the LORD spoke to Moses, “Go down at once, for your people, whom you brought up from the land of Egypt, have corrupted themselves. 8“They have quickly turned aside from the way which I commanded them. They have made for themselves a molten calf, and have worshiped it and have sacrificed to it and said, ‘This is your god, O Israel, who brought you up from the land of Egypt!’” 9The LORD said to Moses, “I have seen this people, and behold, they are an obstinate people. 10“Now then let Me alone, that My anger may burn against them and that I may destroy them; and I will make of you a great nation.”

I think we can all see clearly that Yahweh was not pleased with His people for making this idol and worshipping it. He was going to destroy them and start over. Let us consider carefully what happened. If we read to quickly we may conclude, as many have, that the Israelites were worshipping an idol of a false god and that is why Yahweh was upset… but this is not the case.

Look closer. Indeed they had created an idol and began to worship it, but in fact they were using the idol to represent Yahweh Himself. Consider the following verses:

“This is your god, O Israel, who brought you up from the land of Egypt.” 5Now when Aaron saw this, he built an altar before it; and Aaron made a proclamation and said, “Tomorrow shall be a feast to the LORD.”

In fact, the people were worshipping Yahweh, and He was very upset! Why? Yahweh does not want His people to worship Him in the way that the pagans worship their false gods. It disgusts Him. He wants us to worship Him in the way He tells us.

Deuteronomy 12:30-32

30beware that you are not ensnared to follow them, after they are destroyed before you, and that you do not inquire after their gods, saying, ‘How do these nations serve their gods, that I also may do likewise?’ 31“You shall not behave thus toward the LORD your God, for every abominable act which the LORD hates they have done for their gods; for they even burn their sons and daughters in the fire to their gods.

      32“Whatever I command you, you shall be careful to do; you shall not add to nor take away from it.

The Israelites may have been worshipping Yahweh, but they were doing so in like manner to how the Egyptians worshipped their false gods by making idols.

While this may seem like it does not apply today, it certainly does! Yahweh has not changed His opinion on what is good and what is bad. He still does not want us to worship Him with idols or with any of the manners or traditions with which the pagans worship false gods. If we take the time to study our common Christmas and Easter traditions (and other traditions as well), we will certainly find the history of many of these traditions are derived not from God’s word, but from pagan worship practices. Christians have created new meanings for many of these traditions, but they still are derived from pagan worship. Yahweh is not pleased, even if we say it is He whom we are worshipping.

Do not repeat the error of the Israelites, which drew great anger from Yahweh. Instead, learn the history and true origin of the traditions you practice. Reject the ones that are derived from pagan worship. Instead, study and learn the practices and worship that Yahweh instructs us in His word. There is so much to learn!

I feel like I have been on an archaeological dig for a decade to understand and lay down traditions rooted in pagan worship and instead to focus on and adopt practices and traditions that are commanded in God’s word in the Old Testament.

I encourage you to invest time to get to know Yahweh. If He is Lord, then you should take time to learn His ways and reject the ways of the pagan worship… even if done in Yahweh’s name.

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Have you submitted your life to Jesus Christ? If you die today, do you know for sure that you would be with God in heaven? Learn more about salvation through The Message of the Cross.