Posts tagged ‘God’s Presence’
Sermon Extra – When Judah Came Near
This past Sunday, we kicked off a summer-long series at Zion on the book of Numbers. The book opens with the Israelites at the foot of Mount Sinai, where they have been camped for almost a year while Moses has been meeting with God and receiving His commands, including the famed Ten Commandments.
Now it is time for Israel to continue their trek through the Sinai wilderness. Before Israel breaks camp, however, God commands Moses to conduct a census. In Numbers 1, we get a list of tribes and clans, along with the number of men of fighting age in each tribe. In Numbers 2, we get instructions for how these tribes are to be arranged around the tabernacle—the place where God graciously promised to dwell among His people.
The picture above is my favorite depiction of the tribal arrangement from Numbers 2. To be clear, we don’t know exactly what this arrangement would have looked like. Numbers 2 does not say that the tribes were arranged in rectangles that fanned out perpendicular to the tabernacle. Still, the visual of the arrangement forming a cross is at least fascinating and fun to imagine.
What is clear from the instructions in Numbers 2 is that the tribe of Judah was stationed on the east side of the tabernacle, toward the sunrise, closest to the entrance:
“On the east, toward the sunrise, the divisions of the camp of Judah are to encamp under their standard.” (Numbers 2:3).
But between Judah and the tabernacle stood another small group: Moses, Aaron, Aaron’s sons, and other Levites. Their calling was to guard the sanctuary from unauthorized approach:
“Moses and Aaron and his sons were to camp to the east of the tabernacle, toward the sunrise, in front of the tent of meeting. They were responsible for the care of the sanctuary on behalf of the Israelites. Anyone else who approached the sanctuary was to be put to death.” (Numbers 3:38)
In other words, even though God dwelled in the midst of His people, direct access to Him was carefully—and lethally—guarded. Judah camped near the entrance, but Judah could not simply walk in.
But one day, someone from the tribe of Judah did walk in.
Jesus, a descendant of Judah, waltzed into His Father’s house like He owned the place. Even as a child, He told Mary and Joseph, “Didn’t you know I had to be in My Father’s house?” (Luke 2:49). But Jesus did more than come near to God’s house. He opened the way for us to come near to God Himself.
The preacher of Hebrews declares, “For it is clear that our Lord descended from Judah” (Hebrews 7:14). A few verses later, he says of Jesus, “He is able to save completely those who come to God through Him” (Hebrews 7:25).
Under the old covenant, unauthorized approach to God’s sanctuary meant death. But Jesus, the One from Judah, approaches God for us. And rather than barring sinners from God’s presence, He brings sinners into God’s presence. He does not put us to death when we draw near. He saves us from death when we draw near through Him.
How can Jesus do this?
Because Jesus is not merely a man from the tribe of Judah. He is also the God who dwelled in the tabernacle all along. Hebrews opens by saying, “The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of His being” (Hebrews 1:3). John says it this way: “The Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us” (John 1:14). The phrase “made His dwelling” is the verbal form of “tabernacle” in New Testament Greek. The Word “tabernacled” among us.
Jesus can bring us into the presence of God because He is the presence of God.
So, even if the tribes of Israel did not arrange themselves in the form of a cross some 1,500 years before the cross, their arrangement nevertheless points us toward the One who would die on the cross. The God who dwelled in the tabernacle came as a man from the tribe of Judah. And through Him, we are invited to draw near to God.
Judah could not simply walk into the tabernacle.
But Jesus, the Lion of Judah, did.
And now, we can.
Just Passing By
In Mark 6, Jesus’ disciples are sailing across the Sea of Galilee. Late into the night, Jesus decides to hit the water too, but instead of chartering a boat across the lake, Jesus steps out onto the lake. Mark tells the story like this:
Shortly before dawn He went out to them, walking on the lake. He was about to pass by them, but when they saw Him walking on the lake, they thought He was a ghost. They cried out, because they all saw Him and were terrified. (Mark 6:48-50)
Three of the four Gospels – Matthew, Mark, and John – recount this story, but Mark adds a unique detail that is not found in the other accounts when he writes: “He was about to pass by” (Mark 6:48).
This detail reminds us that Jesus is doing much more than simply trying to work a miracle. He is offering His disciples some revelation. He is showing His disciples who He really is.
In Exodus 33, Moses requests to see God. God reminds Moses that although he cannot see Him face-to-face:
There is a place near Me where you may stand on a rock. When My glory passes by, I will put you in a cleft in the rock and cover you with My hand until I have passed by. (Exodus 33:21-22)
Moses may encounter God, but it will be only for a cursory, partially concealed moment. Moses will only get to encounter God as He passes by.
Likewise, in 1 Kings 19, when God reveals Himself to the prophet Elijah, He says to him:
Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the LORD, for the LORD is about to pass by. (1 Kings 19:11)
After the announcement of God’s arrival, there is a hurricane, an earthquake, and a fire, but God is not in any of these things. Instead, He passes by in “a gentle whisper” (1 Kings 19:12).
Like Moses, Elijah gets to encounter God, but it is only in a cursory, partially concealed way. Elijah only encounters God as He passes by.
This is how God consistently revealed Himself to His people of old – by passing by. So, when Jesus begins to pass by His disciples as they are sailing along on the Sea of Galilee, He is making a claim about His identity: He is the same One who passed by Moses and Elijah. He is God!
But in Mark 6, the story takes a surprising turn. Because instead of being there one moment and gone the next like God was when He revealed Himself to Moses and Elijah, Jesus, as He is about to pass by His disciples, instead:
…climbed into the boat with them, and the wind died down. They were completely amazed. (Mark 6:51)
Before, when God met with His people, He only passed by. Now, when God meets people in Jesus, God gets in.
During difficult and uncertain times – like the ones we are experiencing as a society – it can be easy to wonder: Where is God? Why hasn’t He shown up? Mark 6 reminds us that Jesus does not just pass by us in our pain, in our uncertainty, and in our fear. He gets in. And because God gets in, He and we are all, as the saying goes, in the same boat.
Christianity is unique among the world religions in that it teaches that there is a God who does not just look down on our pain, but actually joins us in our pain. Jesus joins us in the boat.
The seeming absence of God, then, is undone by the presence of Christ. So, if you’re looking for God, you don’t have to look far. He’s right there. And He will not pass you by.
ABC Extra – “Rejoice…Always!”
“Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice” (Philippians 4:4)! This verse has always frustrated me. Not because I think it is somehow incorrect. Quite the contrary, I believe the command to rejoice is a divine and a good command. No, this verse has always frustrated me because I’m no good at it. The command is clear: I am to rejoice in the Lord always. I, however, seem to manage to rejoice in the Lord only sometimes. There are plenty of moments when I either find my joy in something other than the Lord or I lose my sense of joy altogether. I fail miserably at following this command.
It’s far too easy, when reading a verse like this, to chalk up Paul’s language here to a bit of hyperbole – a bit of overstatement just to make his point. “Surely Paul wasn’t being rigidly literal!” we might whisper to ourselves. “As long as I rejoice in the Lord sometimes, or even most of the time, I’m sure the Lord will be content with my best efforts.” But when our God gives commands, He does not hand out “A’s” for effort. He actually expects us to follow His mandates. And this mandate is clear: We are to rejoice in the Lord always.
But how can this happen? On the one hand, we must confess that it doesn’t happen – at least on this side of heaven. As I admitted above, I certainly fall short in the joy department. But I can rejoice that God forgives me through Christ for my lack of rejoicing. As with every other command of God, this is a command which we do not – and, because of our sinful natures, cannot – follow. On the other hand, it is important to note that Paul does not give this command to rejoice without offering us a roadmap to joy when he writes, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God” (Philippians 4:6). In verse 4, when Paul exhorts us to rejoice in the Lord always, the Greek word for always is pas. In verse 6, when Paul tells us address everything with prayer and petition, the Greek word for “everything” is pas. Here, then, is how we are to rejoice in the Lord during everything – we are to encounter everything with Him through prayer and petition. That trial that we face – we are to face it with the Lord. That triumph that we enjoy – we are to enjoy it with the Lord. That question that we have – we are to ask it to the Lord. We are to live our lives with a keen awareness that we live with the Lord. For as long as we are with the Lord, we always have reason to rejoice. This is why Paul says, “Rejoice in the Lord always!”
Rejoicing, then, begins not with an effort to conjure up joy, but with an awareness of God’s continual presence. It begins with an awareness that, as Paul states, “The Lord is near” (Philippians 4:5). He is near in time – for His second coming is imminent. And He is near in space – for He promises to always be with us. And when you are aware of God’s presence and closeness, which is an indication of His care, concern, and compassion for us, it’s hard to anything but rejoice…always.
Want to learn more? Go to www.ConcordiaLutheranChurch.com and check out audio and video from Pastor Tucker’s message or Pastor Krueger’s ABC!
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