“Then they believed His words; they sang His praise. But they soon forgot His works; they did not wait for His counsel. But they had a wanton craving in the wilderness, and put God to the test in the desert; He gave them what they asked, but sent a wasting disease among them. When men in the camp were jealous of Moses and Aaron, the holy one of the LORD, the earth opened and swallowed up Dathan, and covered the company of Abiram. Fire also broke out in their company; the flame burned up the wicked.” Psalm 106:12-18
Devotional Thought For The Day
The psalmist continues his reflections upon the wretched, sinful, and rebellious behavior of the children of Israel during the wilderness wanderings. He writes about the matter of the quail [Numbers 11], when the people craved meat. God blessed them with the quail but also an accompanying judgment which claimed the lives of many. They “put God to the test” – that is, they dared Him to provide them with exactly what they craved, with the proviso that if He didn’t, either He was not “God-enough” to perform or not worth having as their God. It is hard to imagine the heartache this must have caused God. He is love, and He had just delivered them from Egypt in an astonishing manner, and was in the process of bringing them back to Canaan, to their own beautiful and blessed land. How does God put up this? And it is no different with us – when we set stipulations upon God and conditions for our faith in Him and our faithfulness to His Word, as if we will not believe or commit to His ways unless He gives us what we want. Lord, have mercy on us!
The second matter described in these verses is the whole issue of who God places in positions of leadership and authority and what His thoughts are in regard to maintaining distinctions even within the community of His own dear people [this incident is recorded in Numbers 16, and is well worth reading and contemplating, especially today, for in our egalitarian culture there is this same deep-seated resentment and firm belief that “all in the congregation are holy, every one of them, and the LORD is among them” and that anyone who draws or maintains distinctions should be confronted with the question addressed to Moses and Aaron: “Why then do you exalt yourselves above the assembly of the LORD?” – Numbers 16:3]. The psalmist reminds his hearers of the outcome of this arrogance against Moses and Aaron, this rebellion against God’s instituted and implemented system of teaching and leadership within the church. No one should have any difficulty in learning what God thinks of rebellion against His called servants, and this fierce anger of God should be sufficient to remove any and all such temptations. Alas, whether out of sheer ignorance or utter unbelieving rebellion, there is a much increased tendency among Christians today to indulge this wretched temptation and to engage in acts of aggression and persecution against God’s servants – even within the institutional church. The outcome cannot be good, especially not for the perpetrators! Lord, have mercy on us!
Again, all of these things were written for our learning, so that we not succumb to the urgings of our sinful flesh and bring judgment and destruction upon ourselves. There are things that we lust for and covet which are contrary to God’s Word, His Law, against love, goodness, humility, kindness, and gentleness. The Scripture urges us to “make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires.” [Rom. 13:14] This includes not only coarse sexual desires, or lust for things that enslave us – like drugs, alcohol, or even food, but also selfishness, greed, envy, covetousness, and lust for wealth, privilege, prestige, prerogative, pleasure, and power. It also includes our lust for freedom from God’s Word and autonomy in our relationship with God, lust to be free from pesky preachers and from the accountability God provides for us within the fellowship of the church. Now we may think that it is a new day, a modern world, and that surely our version of this is completely reasonable. It is astonishing how utterly ancient all of this wretched sin and rebellion truly is. It is no different at all! Lord, have mercy on us all!
Recognizing our own sinful weaknesses, and how we have indulged them through the years, and the power and influence they continue to have upon our thinking, our hearts and minds, there is surely great need for deep and ongoing repentance and confession to God, and pleading for His gracious mercy and forgiveness. We should not be afraid of this – the psalmist has made it public, bringing the darkness of sinful human hearts out into the light of day. We should not be afraid of this because God has declared and promised: “This is the one to whom I will look: he who is humble and contrite in spirit and trembles at My Word.” [Is. 66:2] The psalmist understood, and got it right: “I said, ‘I will confess my transgressions to the LORD,’ and You forgave the iniquity of my sin.” [Ps. 32:5] The apostle guarantees us the same thing: “If we confess our sins, God is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” [1 Jn. 1:9] This is what Jesus came to accomplish for us and for our salvation, when He laid down His life for us on the cross as “the Lamb of God Who takes away the sin of the world.” The invitation remains for us to wash our robes and make them white in the blood of the Lamb [Rev. 7:14]. And it is certain that when in genuine and humble repentance we pray “Lord, have mercy,” we will surely receive the mercy He has provided and promised. So let us learn, and give all thanks and praise to God our Savior!
Prayer For The Day
Dear Lord Jesus, it is truly marvelous, the patience and love that You have for us, and the greatness of Your redemption and forgiveness. Help us to learn, to heed Your admonitions, and to humble ourselves in repentance. Give us joy in the certainty of Your forgiveness and salvation. Turn us and reshape our hearts and minds to conformity with Your precious Word, to the ways of real and genuine love and goodness. Amen.