June 10, 2024; Day 2 of Week 11

Daily Dose of Hope

June 10, 2024

Day 2 of Week 11

Scripture:  Numbers 30-33; Psalm 35; Luke 3

Welcome back to the Daily Dose of Hope, the devotional and podcast that complements the New Hope Bible reading plan.  Let’s get right into our Scripture.

Today’s passage in Numbers is difficult.  I’m talking especially about chapter 31.  After the Israelites conquer the Midianites, the army returns and Moses gets quite angry at them.  Why?  Because they allowed the women to live.  Now, many of these were the women who had led the Israelite men into sin but still, these guys had minds of their own too.  And then there were the children.  The boys were killed and the young girls were saved, presumably to be slaves or concubines.  This is all very, very hard to swallow.  What is going on here?  This doesn’t seem to be consistent with the character of God. 

I have to lean into Isaiah 55:8, “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the Lord.  God had a reason for dealing with the Midianites the way he did.  We know that God said he would have vengeance against the people of Midian.  They were evil in God’s eyes.  They worshipped many gods and engaged in some pretty horrible rituals to those gods, include child sacrifice and temple prostitution.  They were a violent people with no moral compass.

That being said, the passage is still troubling and raises questions within me that I can’t answer.  But when we find ourselves in a place like this, we are left at a crossroads:  we can either call God to account based on our twenty-first century human understandings OR we acknowledge our limited grasp of God and his purpose and plan for people.  I have intentionally chosen the latter.  I am a mere human with my limited understanding and doubts.  Yet, God has never failed me, even if there are times I simply don’t understand.  I have chosen to trust God and not get too preoccupied with some passages in Numbers when I have a whole Bible to learn and understand.  Remember, we have to always look at the whole narrative of Scripture and not get too worked up over a passage.  I hope that offers some help and didn’t muddy the waters too much.

Psalm 35 is another Psalm of David.  In it, King David is detailing the sins of his enemies and asking God to conquer them.  There is a desperation to his words.  While this psalm isn’t connected to a specific instance in David’s life, there were certainly several times in which David could have potentially written it, including when Saul was after him or when Absolom wanted him dead.  I think it’s normal to want revenge against one’s enemies but on the other side of the cross, we have different marching orders.  Jesus was pretty clear about loving one’s enemies, something pretty revolutionary at the time.  Think about Paul’s letter to Romans 12:17-21, Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everyone. If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” says the Lord. On the contrary: “If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head.” Do not be overcome by evil but overcome evil with good.

With that, let’s move on to our New Testament passage for today, Luke 3.  This text, when John baptizes Jesus, marks the beginning of Jesus’ public ministry.  This call to ministry was accompanied by the Holy Spirit in the form of a dove and confirmed by God’s voice from heaven.  It is a beautiful picture of the Trinity.  What’s interesting and even a bit puzzling about this scene is that John’s baptism was one of repentance.  It was for sinners to come, repent, and be cleansed.  But Jesus was sinless.  He had no need of a sinner’s baptism.  And yet, he chose to go through the ritual.  Jesus sought to identify with the people he came to save.

Some of you will recall talking about the incarnation during Advent, as we prepare for Christmas.  Incarnation is a churchy word that refers to God coming to earth to become a human being. It’s in the incarnation that Jesus becomes one of us.  Jesus goes to the people, identifies with them, and gives them a real-life demonstration of who God is and how much God loves them. The baptism was simply the beginning. 

Please be sure to read through all of chapter 3.  It’s worth spending some time reflecting on John the Baptist’s ministry as he prepares the way for his cousin, Jesus.  What must that have been like for John?  The chapter closes with a genealogy of Jesus.  Take a moment and read through this genealogy again, as well as the genealogy in Matthew 1.  What are the similarities and differences?  How does each author go about telling the story of Jesus’ family? 

Just a reminder, tomorrow through the end of this week, you will be hearing Pastor Roberto’s voice.  He is brilliant and I can’t wait to hear his take on the end of Numbers and the beginning of the book of Deuteronomy. 

Blessings to all of you,

Pastor Vicki