Tag: God’s character

A Slice of Pie

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Getting through conflict is always tricky, especially family conflict. One of the best navigational tools to help us in this effort is something we see put on display in the life of Jacob just before his reunion with his estranged brother, Esau in their story in Genesis. While Jacob’s approach is rooted in having a correct understanding of who God is and who we are, we often talk about it in terms of dessert. Let’s talk about resolving conflict, pie, and how to get relationships right.

A Slice of Pie

I grew up in Independence, MO. My hometown has several claims to fame, but the most recent and well-known is that it was the hometown of President Truman. Truman still looms large over the medium-sized city that still feels like a small town in many ways. The First Baptist Church I grew up attending has an address on Truman Road. It is just a couple of blocks up from the Truman Home where he lived before becoming President and afterwards until his death in 1972. If you look down another street that goes out from the church you can see the Truman Library about a mile up the road. My high school and undergraduate institutions were both named for him. Reading about half of his classic biography by David McCullough was required in my college history class. It was pretty much all Truman all the time for me. 

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Digging in Deeper: Exodus 32:11-14

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“But Moses sought the favor of the Lord his God: ‘Lord, why does your anger burn against your people you brought out of the land of Egypt with great power and a strong hand? Why should the Egyptians say, “He brought them out with an evil intent to kill them in the mountains and eliminate them from the face of the earth”? Turn from your fierce anger and relent concerning this disaster planned for your people. Remember your servants Abraham, Isaac, and Israel – you swore to them by yourself and declared, “I will make your offspring as numerous as the stars of the sky and will give your offspring all this land that I have promised, and they will inherit it forever.”‘ So the Lord relented concerning the disaster he had said he would bring on his people.” (CSB – Read the chapter)

Have you ever prayed for someone else? I suspect you have. Nearly everyone has. That motion of spiritually looking up is hardwired into our programming. It takes real effort over time to turn it off. So, let me phrase that slightly differently. Have you ever interceded for someone else in prayer? This goes a little ways beyond merely praying for them. It’s easy to say a quick prayer for someone who is hurting and then go on about the rest of your day. Interceding is when we stand in the gap between them and God and make ourselves a passionate advocate for their interests. When God was ready to bring apocalyptic judgment against Israel because of their sin, Moses interceded for them. Let’s talk about what we see unfolding here.

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Morning Musing: Exodus 25:1-7

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“The Lord spoke to Moses: ‘Tell the Israelites to take an offering for me. You are to take my offering from everyone who is willing to give. This is the offering you are to receive from them: gold, silver, and bronze; blue, purple, and scarlet yarn; fine linen and goat hair; ram skins dyed red and fine leather; acacia wood; oil for the light; spices for the anointing oil and for the fragrant incense; and onyx along with other gemstones for mounting on the ephod and breastpiece.'” (CSB – Read the chapter)

There’s a difference between supporting a cause generally, and supporting a cause when you’ve got some skin in the game. The same thing goes with building a relationship. If you don’t actually invest something of yourself into a relationship, it’s not ever going to be very significant to you. It’ll never really move beyond being much more than a convenience. God was inviting the people of Israel into a relationship with Him. Because He didn’t want them to take this relationship with less than the seriousness with which it was due, He asked them to put some skin in the game. As we get into a whole new section of our journey, let’s talk about what’s going on here as well as what we will encounter over the next few weeks.

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Digging in Deeper: Exodus 23:23-28

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“For my angel will go before you and bring you to the land of the Amorites, Perizzites, Canaanites, Hivites, and Jebusites, and I will wipe them out. Do not bow in worship to their gods, and do not serve them. Do not imitate their practices. Instead, demolish them and smash their sacred pillars to pieces. Serve the Lord your God, and he will bless your bread and your water. I will remove illnesses from you. No woman will miscarry or be childless in your land. I will give you the full number of your days. I will clauses the people ahead of you to feel terror and will throw into confusion all the nations you come to. I will make all your enemies turn their backs to you in retreat. I will send hornets in front of you, and they will drive the Hivites, Canaanites, and Hethites away from you.” (CSB – Read the chapter)

One of the books on the shelves in my office wrestles with the question of God’s character. The title makes the question pretty plain: Is God a Moral Monster? It tackles several of the most challenging stories in the Old Testament that are often presented as evidence for God’s being just that. One of the subjects the author, Paul Copan, spends a lot of time on is the Israelite entrance into the land of Canaan which came at the expense of the peoples already living there. The Exodus narrative doesn’t cover that particular journey, but God does give the people a bit of a preview of coming attractions. So, let’s wrestle a bit with it.

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Digging in Deeper: Exodus 23:6-9

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“You must not deny justice to a poor person among you in his lawsuit. Stay far away from a false accusations. Do not kill the innocent and the just, because I will not justify the guilty. You must not take a bribe, for a bribe blinds the clear-sighted and corrupts the words of the righteous. You must not oppress a resident alien; you yourselves know how it feels to be a resident alien because you were resident aliens in the land of Egypt.” (CSB – Read the chapter)

Sometimes you come across a passage of Scripture that seems pretty straightforward on an initial reading. A bit closer of an inspection confirms this, but it can also help us see what made sense in the beginning with a little more depth and clarity. These verses once again remind us of the inherently just nature of God’s character. Let’s talk about what’s going on here, and then put them in the bigger context of the larger passage here at the beginning of Exodus 23.

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