Civil Responsibility

Today’s Scripture: Numbers 14-15 and Psalm 90

Sometimes people just don’t want to do what authority (whether that be God or man) tells them to do.  Okay, I’ll be honest — rarely do people want to follow authority.  Here, in this passage, the people’s tendency to rebel lands them in quite the predicament: forty years wandering in the desert, and not a single one of them granted permission to enter the Promised Land.  Their rebellion sure was worth it, wasn’t it?

God gave the Israelites detailed instructions on how they were to live as His people — and though humans are not perfect and will certainly make mistakes, God provides for that by creating the system of sacrificial offerings.  It wasn’t rocket science by any means — and though it took a lot of discipline to live according to God’s law, what blows my mind more than anything is that the very thing that restricts their access to the Promised Land was extraordinarily simple.  All they had to do was say, “Yes, I will be obedient and follow God’s guidance into the Promised Land, and I will trust Him to deliver our enemies into our hands.”  Instead of staying the course like they had done since their departure from Egypt, they just decided to say “no” this time.

Notice that in the passage (not by coincidence, I contend!), we see God’s laws concerning defiant sin for the first time.  We have seen the law regarding the sin offering and the guilt offering, which are used for purification purposes in case of accidental sin.  Here, though, God distinguishes between accidental and defiant sin — and there is no offering that can atone for defiant sin.  The offender must be “cut off” — indicating both human and divine repercussions.  In fact, the verb translated “to blaspheme” in 15:30 is used only here in the Old Testament, and literally means to taunt God.  Since the defiance of the Israelites in not continuing on to the Promised Land was intentional, those directly involved are as a result “cut off”; while God does extend forgiveness in response to Moses’ intercession for them, the people experience both human and divine consequences for their actions.  They must wander in the desert for forty years, and must die without ever reaching the Promised Land.  While their children are granted access to the Promised Land after the death of the first generation, the children do still suffer as a result of their parents’ actions, for they, too, will suffer in the desert during the forty-year wanderings.

I suspect this is precisely what Moses had in mind when he wrote Psalm 90.  He speaks of living under the wrath of God, and the Israelites’ desire to return to His favor and accomplish His work.  Moses, the one who received the tablets from God atop Mt. Sinai, is acutely aware of the price one must pay to remain in the Lord’s favor — and that is to walk with Him in obedience, following the law He gave.  The Israelites have defiantly refused, and cannot take back that choice.

A final note about the law God gave the Israelites: you’ll notice here and various other places (throughout the text of His ordinances, in Numbers, Leviticus, and Exodus so far) that when God gives the law for the people, He specifies that this applies to both the Israelite and the foreigner living among them.  God demands equal rights for the alien and the citizen alike — even including foreigners among those who are to be provided for and protected in Exodus 22 and 23, likening them to the widow and orphan and reminding the Israelites of their former status as aliens in Egypt.  Remarkably, however, God’s statutes also demand that as the alien lives among the Israelites, he/she must abide by the same laws.  The same sacrifices must be made in the same manner and for the same circumstances.  The same punishments are applicable for the same offenses.  Putting this into today’s perspective, consider the immigrants to America.  They must be treated with respect, provided for, and protected.  They must, however, obey the same laws as every other American citizen.  Taxes must be paid.  Work must be legal — on both ends!  They are not to be oppressed, and they must not take advantage of the system.  I realize that the process for obtaining citizenship in America is a long and tedious one, and I am not suggesting that anyone be unfairly deported before given the chance to finalize that process.  I am merely suggesting that everyone be held to the same standard when it comes to drug trafficking, income taxes (and yes, tax law does need amending), and every other aspect of society.  They are a part of our country and therefore must be treated as such!

Tomorrow’s Scripture: Numbers 16-17